Stories of Division E: A few rounds ago we had a double dose of Bob Dylan- this time around, we’re hopping across the pond to Liverpool for our second division in which an artist has two songs still alive (there are a few more still to come.) However, this pair of feel good tracks from Rubber Soul and Abbey Road don’t have a cakewalk ahead of them if Pete Townshend and Freddie Mercury have anything to say about it. Here Comes The Sun lines up against a tune reminding us that sometimes the new boss is the same as the old boss (I’ll bite my tongue on how I hope this doesn’t apply to recent world events,) while In My Life stares down that goliath of composition that made a-capella radio accessible.
The other match-ups feature definitive MJ’s hard rocking 1982 featurette (did gangs really tie their wrists together in knife fights? In the least it’s a fun maneuver to emulate at parties) trying to say Beat It to Billy Joel’s historical review of the last half of the 20th century. And last, a metal battle between Led Zeppelin, trying to recover from the Levee breach in Division B and get back on the Stairway to victory, versus recently-disbanded White siblings’ 2003 bass-heavy titular allusion to the Sixth Coalition and the end of the Napoleonic Wars.
Grooveshark link is here except for Here Comes The Sun and In My Life. Vote by commenting on this post or by e-mailing LTDdotorg@gmail.com. Votes are due by Monday evening at 8 pm.
#1 Beat It (Michael Jackson) vs. #9 We Didn’t Start The Fire (Billy Joel)
#5 Here Comes The Sun (Beatles) vs. #13 Won’t Get Fooled Again (The Who)
#2 Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin) vs. #7 Seven Nation Army (White Stripes)
#3 Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen) vs. #6 In My Life (Beatles)
Living the Dream 
#1 Beat It (Michael Jackson) 7 vs. #9 We Didn’t Start The Fire (Billy Joel) 5
#5 Here Comes The Sun (Beatles) 7 vs. #13 Won’t Get Fooled Again (The Who) 5
#2 Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin) 9 vs. #7 Seven Nation Army (White Stripes) 7
#3 Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen) 8 vs. #6 In My Life (Beatles) 7
Beat It [7]
We Didn’t Start the Fire [6]
Here Comes the Sun [6]
Won’t Get Fooled Again [7]
Stairway to Heaven [8]
Seven Nation Army [10]
Bohemian Rhapsody [7]
In My Life [6]
#1 Beat It (Michael Jackson) vs. #9 We Didn’t Start The Fire (Billy Joel) 8/6.5
#5 Here Comes The Sun (Beatles) vs. #13 Won’t Get Fooled Again (The Who) 8.5/7
HCTS is just the perfect song for a Sunday in the country in the springtime.
#2 Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin) vs. #7 Seven Nation Army (White Stripes) 6.5/8
#3 Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen) vs. #6 In My Life (Beatles) 5/8
Beat it 7.5
Eileen 6
To quote the Catholic, Beat It has “aged nicely.”
Here comes the sun 6.5
We don’t get fooled again 5
I’ve made my “not behind the beatles” stance pretty clear, but this is ok. The Who has gotta wrap. it. up.
Stairway To Heaven 7
Seven Nation Army 6.3
Bohemian Rhapsody 7.4
In My Life 5
Huh. Sorry Billy Joel, got mixed up. You get a 7.
Beat It 8.2
We Didn’t Start the Fire 5
Here Comes the Sun 7.8
Won’t Get Fooled Again 6
Stairway to Heaven 8.3
Seven Nation Army 6.9
Bohemian Rhapsody 6.9
In My Life 10
Danno’s Scores:
#1 Beat It (Michael Jackson) 8
#9 We Didn’t Start The Fire (Billy Joel) 7.5
#5 Here Comes The Sun (Beatles) 10
#13 Won’t Get Fooled Again (The Who) 8.5
#2 Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin) 8.5
#7 Seven Nation Army (White Stripes) 7.5
#3 Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen) 9
#6 In My Life (Beatles) 8
Beat It ~ 6.2
We Didn’t Start the Fire ~ 6.5
Enjoyed, but didn’t love , both of these songs.
Here Comes the Sun ~ 6
Won’t Get Fooled Again ~ 8.4
Not feeling the Beatle’s instrumentals. Won’t Get Fooled Again got me pumped up.
Stairway to Heaven ~ 5.5
Seven Nation Army ~ 5.6
Like, and dislike, both these songs for very different reasons. Stairway is classic, epic, awesome, but also starts slow, changes pace a bunch, and can be obnoxious at times. Seven Nation Army rocks, but its also very simplistic (purposefully so). I give it to SNA by a hair right now, but any given day this one could go either way, and in certain moods Stairway could be a 9 or 10…
Bohemian Rhapsody ~ 7.2
In My Life ~ 4.9
Bohemian Rhapsody suffers from the same shortcomings as Stairway, but maybe I was primed for it after the last matchup and it sounded better to me. In My Life is nice and sweet, but we’re not going for the nicest sweetest song with tinny instruments of all time, we’re going for the most rockinest awesome song of all time…
#1 Beat It (Michael Jackson) 7
#9 We Didn’t Start The Fire (Billy Joel) 8.5
#5 Here Comes The Sun (Beatles) 7.2
#13 Won’t Get Fooled Again (The Who) 7
On a snowy first day of spring, here comes the sun gives hope and a slight edge
#2 Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin) 7
#7 Seven Nation Army (White Stripes) 8
#3 Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen) 8
#6 In My Life (Beatles) 7.2
My Scores:
#1 Beat It (Michael Jackson) 5.5
#9 We Didn’t Start The Fire (Billy Joel) 7.8
#5 Here Comes The Sun (Beatles) 5.3
#13 Won’t Get Fooled Again (The Who) 8.1
#2 Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin) 9.7
#7 Seven Nation Army (White Stripes) 4.5
#3 Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen) 7.5
#6 In My Life (Beatles) 3.5
Beat It [7]
We Didn’t Start the Fire [6]
Here Comes the Sun [8]
Won’t Get Fooled Again [10]
Stairway to Heaven [9.3]
Seven Nation Army [7.3]
Bohemian Rhapsody [9.2]
In My Life [9]
Beat It 6
We Didn’t Start the Fire 7
Here Comes the Sun 8.5
Won’t Get Fooled Again 7.7
Stairway to Heaven 7.8
Seven Nation Army 8.2
Bohemian Rhapsody 8.3
In My Life 7.5
#1 Beat It (Michael Jackson) [7]
#9 We Didn’t Start The Fire (Billy Joel) [8.2]
#5 Here Comes The Sun (Beatles) [7.8]
#13 Won’t Get Fooled Again (The Who) [6.9]
#2 Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin) [6]
#7 Seven Nation Army (White Stripes) [7.25]
#3 Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen) [6]
#6 In My Life (Beatles) [8.75]
Beat It (Michael Jackson) vs. We Didn’t Start The Fire (Billy Joel) = 5.5 to 5
Here Comes The Sun (Beatles) vs. #Won’t Get Fooled Again (The Who) = 8.5 to 5.5
Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin) vs. Seven Nation Army (White Stripes) = 8 to 5
The White Stripes are cool and all, but think about how long it must’ve taken to write and record Stairway to Heaven…and to think about the state of mind these dudes must’ve been in to put this out. Awesome.
Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen) vs. In My Life (Beatles) = 7 to 9
Beat It (Michael Jackson) 5.3
We Didn’t Start The Fire (Billy Joel) 5.2
Here Comes The Sun (Beatles) 7.5
Won’t Get Fooled Again (Who) 8.2
Stairway To Heaven (Led Zepplin) 8.8
Seven Nation Army ( White Stripes) 8
Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen) 9.6
In My Life (Beatles) 8
Beat It – 5.5
We Didn’t Start The Fire -6.5
Here Comes The Sun – 8
Won’t Get Fooled Again – 7
Stairway to Heaven – 8
Seven Nation Army – 8.5
Bohemian Rhapsody – 8.5
In My Life – 8