Alright voters, the Sweet Sixteen is over and we have pared the field down to an Elite Eight. I’ll be handing that round back over to Janos, who steps in as an administrator starting tomorrow evening with the release of the first two match-ups.

Finals Parties: Remember, any voters that live in the Manhattan area are free to swing by Janos and Cristina’s place next Saturday, where they’ll be hosting a get-together involving a collective listen to the Championship Match. If you live in the DC area, I will be getting to the Red Derby bar in Petworth around 5 pm to scope out a corner of the rooftop with some speakers to hold a listen get-together there. The match in DC will be starting at 8 pm sharp next Saturday night.

There were some really great battles going on all day today, and two of our four matches were back and forth for the last 48 hours before a winner came out on top. We don’t call it the Sweetest Sixteen for nothing. And now results…

In our first match, you gotta hand it to Dusty Springfield for basically enveloping the rock bottom souls of most of our female voters. Aiko flexes her 11, Alithea, Carrie, and Dr J dole out 10s as well, and Son Of A Preacherman eliminates “For What It’s Worth,” 217.35-191.3. The queen of blue-eyed soul rides easy with the high score and a top average of 8.05. Neil and Stephen, fare thee well.

Now we come to first of two highly contested matches. This thing was a brawl, round by round, voter by voter, and was definitely the closest match of the Sweet Sixteen. In the end the artist who I imagine would be better at a bar fight anyways surges ahead and on top. Ring of Fire ekes by “Hey Jude,” 203.3-199.8. Scores like that are what it’s all about and why it’s better to have 27 voters than 7. Cash goes to the Wall thanks to the Hands On Gulf Coast Biloxi office maven duo of Astrid and Kate M (who now vote from Albany and Kampala, respectively. Those disaster relief kids end up in the craziest places…) In defeat, “Hey Jude” goes thanks to Danno, Gina, Jacob, Janos, and Marc. The Beatles are down to only “Twist and Shout” still alive.

The second close one is next. “Free Fallin’” got some of the male voters early on, and admittedly Jacob, Catholic, and I fell under the spell of Petty’s anthem to heartbreakers. It was a back and forth blow for blow for awhile, but late in the game Ben recovers and pulls out on top— Stand By Me eliminates “Free Fallin’”, 213.25-205.25. The former Drifters lead will go to the wall on Grant and Kate M nods. Petty is the only artist of the Sweet Sixteen to not earn a single 10— you sorta need those to move on at this point, Tommy…

Last but not least, a match I thought would be closer ended up not so close at all. After all of the magic up to now, voters collectively decide that “Sound of Silence” is simply too much of a bummer of a song to move on. Simon & Garfunkel can grumble at the Loser’s Bar with Jeff Buckley about how we’re just too happy to appreciate their contributions, but regardless, The Band and The Weight move on, 207.75-181.6.

Buffalo Springfield, Tom Petty, and Simon & Garfunkel are artists 269, 270, and 271 to fall. To review: the following eight songs remain undefeated over the last five months. Under Pressure. Twist and Shout. Baba O’Riley. Bohemian Rhapsody. Son of a Preacherman. Ring of Fire. Stand By Me. The Weight. What. A. List.

Nos tags in. See y’all soon. Gmo out.