Hello and welcome to the Right Side of Division A! My favorite thing about this tournament is that I am meeting so many songs and artists for the first time. The Right Side does not disappoint. 
Today we run the gamut between a hot match-up between a Swedish Songstress and some of the Founding Fathers of Punk Rock to a battle between a Jewish boy from Massachusetts turned Petaluma farmer and the King of Bayou Soul from Lafayette Parish. If the rest of the tournament is anything like Division A has been, we are in for a great summer!
Without further ado, here is the Grooveshark link. Votes are due Sunday, June 5 at 8 pm EST. As always, vote by commenting below or by emailing LTDdotorg@gmail.com.
The Match-ups:
#2 Hang with Me (Robyn) v. #15 Marquee Moon (Television) 
#7 Stuck in the Middle with You (Stealer’s Wheel) v. #10 That Girl (City & Colours)
#3 Jolene (Ray LaMontagne) v. #14 Dog Days are Over (Florence & the Machine)
#6 Spirit in the Sky (Norman Greenbaum) v. #11 Home (Marc Broussard)
Living the Dream 
Hang with Me (Robyn) 5.5
Marquee Moon (Television) 1.5
Was really digging the upbeat tempo in HWM. Started to get a little old towards the end, but the pre-chorus always brought me back a bit. Hated that one really long “mmeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee”. Thought I was hooked with those opening chords on MM, but the vocals rubbed me the wrong way. Also 10+ minutes with no payoff? You are no Free Bird my friend….also lost half a point for that fakeout at 9:15 where I thought it was finally over.
Stuck in the Middle with You (Stealer’s Wheel) 6
That Girl (City & Colours) 6.5
Am I the only one who thought SITMWY was a Dylan song? I guess I don’t feel so dumb given that it’s apparently what they were going for: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuck_in_the_Middle_with_You
Loved how That Girl picked up after 2 minutes. Good stuff. No so sure about the slowdown at 5 minutes though.
Jolene (Ray LaMontagne) 6.5
Dog Days are Over (Florence & the Machine) 6.5
LaMontagne has been on my musical to do list for a while and I never got around to listen to. Very chill. Good stuff. Digging the shiny start to Dog Days. This song is always hit or miss depending on my mood….today is a hit. Not a huge fan of that slow bit at 2 minutes.
Spirit in the Sky (Norman Greenbaum) 6.5
Home (Marc Broussard) 8
Look at me trying really hard not to be biased! Really tough matchup for me. Home is my first nomination. LOVE how it just keeps building up. When I nominated it Gmo called out the line “hot damn i shoulda felt the blues like i was swimming in a sea of soul”…awesome. Really like Spirit in the Sky though…my only complaint is they had no idea how to end the song. Hate those fadeouts.
You are the only one who watched Reservoir Dogs and thought that – they announce it on the radio – K Billy’s super sounds of the 70s weekend!
You know I don’t think I’ve ever seen reservoir dogs all the way through…and I own it. This is a paradox I should remedy soon.
Me, Cristina and Shilpa
Tonight’s theme is false endings, trap doors and related secret exits and entrances
Robyn: 2 /4 /4.7
Television: 6.2/ 5.7 /6.3
Stealer’s Wheel: 6/ 7.5 /6
City and Colour: 5.8/ 4.5 / 6.8
Ray ray: 6 / 6 /8.7
Flo y Machinas: 5.6 / 7 /6.3
Jesus friend: 8.2 /5.5 / 7.5 It would’ve gotten a 9 from me with a good old fashioned sax solo.
Home: 5/ 4.6/ 3.9
Listened to tonight’s playlist while having dinner with roommate and her bf. Votes for them included! My vote/Carolyn+Chris’ vote
#2 Hang with Me (Robyn) – 4/2
#15 Marquee Moon (Television) – 3.5/3
Didn’t love either… but I totally thought Marquee Moon was going to take this, until it NEVER ENDED.
#7 Stuck in the Middle with You (Stealer’s Wheel) – 8/9
#10 That Girl (City & Colours) – 6/6
#3 Jolene (Ray LaMontagne) – 9/6
#14 Dog Days are Over (Florence & the Machine) – 8.5/7.5
#6 Spirit in the Sky (Norman Greenbaum) – 8/9
#11 Home (Marc Broussard) – 8.5/8
Some unexpected love here for Home – none of us had heard this before, and we all were really digging this sound. Definitely need to look into Marc Broussard – great nomination!
Did Carolyn and Chris have a cute couple huddle before each score, or were they telepathically on the same page?
Haha it mostly represents Chris’ votes, with a few cute couple huddles that added Carolyn’s opinion.
hang with me – 5 – so catchy. for a while i heard “confide in you” as “kung fu you” so that was kind of a letdown when i realized it wasn’t.
marquee moon – 2 – not more than the sum of its parts? felt like i wasn’t getting something…and didn’t for all ten minutes.
stuck in the middle – 6.5 –
the girl – 7 – been looking for this song for awhile. i love it slow and then the ramp up just pulls me in. goes on a minute and a bout of depression too long.
jolene – 6 – not my favorite lamontagne songs, but i’m a fan.
dog days – 8 – love love.
spirit – 7 – classic
home – 6 – the soul sounds were a little odd after all these other songs but it’s rockin’.
Hang with Me (Robyn) 5.5 [not my style, but well done for what it is].
Marquee Moon (Television) 7.5
[Thanks for nominating this (although one of the shorter songs off that record may have a better chance in the tourney.) For anyone unfamiliar with this album, and wondering why such a long song is here, it came out in the late 70s (and still sounds pretty contemporary) and was pretty revolutionary– here’s the wiki-entry and pitchfork review of the reissue. The song gets an extra 1 point bump from me because of personal significance and driving around listening to this record in the summer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquee_Moon
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11853-marquee-moon-adventure/
Stuck in the Middle with You (Stealer’s Wheel) 7
That Girl (City & Colours) 7.1 [singer/songwriter tunes really rely on the voice. Dallas Green’s is pretty, but too pretty for me. He does get bonus points for that awesome switch-up in the middle, then looses again for the sachrine-background vocals. Then a .1 for the dub-step inspired ending].
Jolene (Ray LaMontagne) 5.5 [Here’s a voice I can get behind– pretty but raspy. And I like the atmosphere, but the lyrics didn’t break the wall for me. Kept trying to remember which Ryan Adams song that sounded like,
Dog Days are Over (Florence & the Machine) 6.0
Spirit in the Sky (Norman Greenbaum) 6.5
Home (Marc Broussard) 4.5 [Great blues song – just not my mood tonight.]
Hang with Me (Robyn) 8
Marquee Moon (Television) 4
I didn’t actually submit a Robyn song but I wish I had; I seriously think she’s the most underrated (I don’t get why she’s not more well known…the Body Talk series is brilliant) popstar of right now. This track is about as catchy as pop gets…I really like it, although – for those who don’t know it – I think this is her standout: http://youtu.be/CcNo07Xp8aQ . I found Marquee not to be a standout, especially in comparison.
Stuck in the Middle with You (Stealer’s Wheel) 7
That Girl (City & Colours) 5
Stuck in the Middle is a great track…groovy! I like That Girl but I can’t see myself listening to it again I don’t think.
Jolene (Ray LaMontagne) 7
Dog Days are Over (Florence & the Machine) 9
Dog Days was one of my picks so I’m a little biased but Jolene is also great which is unfortunate. I first heard Dog Days after a random CD-buying spree pre-roadtrip in England and it was before the song had been released. I listened to it literally 20 times in a row, belting it out at the top of my lungs after a few spins. Once the clapping starts, it’s surely irresistible?
Spirit in the Sky (Norman Greenbaum) 5
Home (Marc Broussard) 6
The PCT has been so contemporary so far, Spirit came as a bit of a shock and felt very dated to me. Classic nonetheless. Home takes it by a hair…good build-up.
Thanks for introducing me to Dog Days. I really like it!
Glad to hear it…my Motherland is coming out with some good stuff recently 🙂
Hang with Me=6
Marquee Moon=2
Stuck in the Middle with You=8
That Girl (City & Colours)=7
Jolene (Ray LaMontagne)=8.5
Dog Days are Over (Florence & the Machine)=6.5
Spirit in the Sky (Norman Greenbaum)=7.5
Home (Marc Broussard) =9
Sister or mother?
She’s my mama. She finally decided to check out this music tournament thing I’ve been talking about all of these months.
Allllll right. Voting from Nashville, and mini shout-out to Ryan McCostlin and Elizabeth Jones (soon to be McCostlin) for their marriage that starts in t-minus 3 hours. I have had a sincerely intense two nights in Tennessee- in that vein votes are me and my hotel roommate and friend from b-school; we voted between 3:30 and 5 AM this morning. Votes GDevine/Guillermo.
Hang With Me 6/5
Marquee Man 3/2
Sometimes I worry that the voters have aggregate ADD. I mean, I think I do, I can’t handle songs that are longer than 6 or so.
Stuck In The Middle With You 9/8
That Girl 8/7.8
SITMWY does sound dated, and That Girl does sound catchy. But it is a song that totally works for a hotel room at 4 am.
Jolene 7/10
Dog Days Are Over 9/7.5
This was a spirited discussion about ex-girlfriends that fell on both sides. For me, Jolene reminds me of shivering in an Albertson’s parking lot in Tahoe City in December 2006, homeless with another anonymous voter. We were trying to be carpenters but running out of money and spending much of a given night dodging snow plows and the police. I remember sitting in this parking lot at 2 am with said voter, just having dodged running my van down an icy slope by inches, just having explained to a police officer that we were just homeless and trying to find work, completely defeated, wondering what my life added up to, missing another anonymous voter, and listening to the Ray LaMontagne “Trouble” album . And then Jolene starting and I remember feeling like it was way too close to how I felt about my poor 23 1/2 year old life at that time. That’s a 10 on a visceral, vulnerable level, and I wasn’t brave enough to nominate this myself but am happy someone did. For GDevine, Dog Days Are Over elicits memories of his time in Patagonia this past fall with spotty internet- FATM was one of three bands he had on his iPod, so thus that was the entirety of his music, and it was listening to that song that he’d plunge through the Argentinian hills on foot running for miles and trying to forget a girl. Ugh, women- you have so much to do with our musical taste in the end.
Spirit Of The Sky 7.5/6
Home 8/8.6
I heart Home. See Danno’s comment.
#2 Hang with Me (Robyn) v. #15 Marquee Moon (Television) 7/2.25
I never thought I’d like another Robyn song after 1997 or so. This one proved me wrong. I really dig it. Marquee Moon does nothing for me, unless making me cranky counts.
#7 Stuck in the Middle with You (Stealer’s Wheel) v. #10 That Girl (City & Colours) 7/9.5
I probably would have given Stuck in the Middle a slightly lower score, but I’m listening to the songs at my parents’ house and my mom enjoys this song enough to be infectious. But I really really liked That Girl, which I’d never heard before.
#3 Jolene (Ray LaMontagne) v. #14 Dog Days are Over (Florence & the Machine) 10/8.75
I love Jolene. Really really really really love it. “Lately my hands don’t feel like mine…” I’ve never felt this way about a girl but I have felt this way about boys and sometimes this song can cut me to the quick. Plus it is beautiful. I think Ray Ray has the most gorgeous voice in a living man. I hadn’t heard Dog Days before and I really really like it too. I could probably grow to love it. But I nominated Jolene and I don’t think it is too tacky to give my own song a 10.
#6 Spirit in the Sky (Norman Greenbaum) v. #11 Home (Marc Broussard) 5/9
Hang with Me – 6.0 vs Marquee Man – 3.0
Stuck in the Middle – 8.0 vs The Girl – 7.5
Jolene – 7.0 vs Dog Days – 6.5
Spirit in the Sky – 7.0 vs Home – 8.0
#2 Hang with Me (4) v. #15 Marquee Moon (9.5)
Hang with Me has a nice bouncy synth that I’ve heard a million times, decent vocals and not-totally-mind-numbing lyrics. I know its an overdone pop trope but I could have really used a rap interlude. I need something salty or savory to get me through all this sugar.
Marquee Moon- This is one of my favorite albums of all time- if I had had more picks I probably would have included “Friction” or “Elevation” which are less epic than the title track. I hear the complaints about the length– it is true that most songs which are ten minutes long have no right to be (see, for example, the entirety of Dave Matthew’s catalog). But Marquee Moon totally pulls it off. The start: first I hope everyone is listening on speakers or headphones- laptop speakers will ruin this song as you’ll miss out on the crispness of the guitars and the positions of the instruments in the recording. The jingly guitar that comes in by itself is unlike anything in music until this point- and I don’t know of it being duplicated since. Then the bass comes in- it doesn’t seem special at first but by the end of the track I’m all about it. There are three verses which each consist of progressively more interesting guitar solos- but the peak of the song for me is at 8:40 when those twinkling-star guitars come in. Gorgeous. And then it goes out the way it came in. Boom.
#7 Stuck in the Middle with You (6.5) v. #10 That Girl (5)
All I think about when I listen to Stuck in the Middle with You is “Reservoir Dogs”. I think Tarantino is good for a full point. That Girl was okay- there were point where I found it growing on me and parts where I was bored again. A little to saccharine for me.
#3 Jolene (9.5) v. #14 Dog Days are Over (9.6)
This was the hardest vote for me so far. It was the second time I heard Jolene, Dog Days I’ve heard intermittently since it’s been on radio and a commercial or two. They’re both near perfect songs for me- Dog Days gets the edge just because the sound feels more original to me.
#6 Spirit in the Sky (4.5) v. #11 Home (8)
Spirit in the Sky might be good if it wasn’t my millionth time hearing it. It doesn’t keep. Home- first listen for me. I dig it.
Hang with Me – 6.0 – nice beat; didn’t mind the synth but that’s as far as it goes
vs
Marquee Moon – 3.0 – 9 minutes too long; not for me
Stuck in the Middle – 6.0 – upbeat but dated but not as much as me
vs
The Girl – 5.5 – really liked a lot of this; could even deal with the gear shift in the middle but the downshift at the end was like putting a spike to it
Jolene – 7.25 – I’m a Ray fan but this would not have been my first choice from this album; I would have gone with the title track, Trouble
vs
Dog Days – 4.5 – couldn’t get into this one from any direction; listened twice but no go
Spirit in the Sky – 6.0 – Ok but again, too dated; not the kind of tune that lives forever
vs
Home – 8.5 – finally a track I actually own; something to get all of my body parts moving; should take this bracket to the cleaners.
Hang w/Me 2 Marquee Moon 4
Stuck in the Middle w/You 5 That Girl 7
Jolene 7 Dog Days are Over 7
Spirit in the Sky 8 Home 6
Hang with Me – 4.5
Marquee Man – 2
Stuck in the Middle – 8
The Girl – 4.5
In an equally horrifying scene as Reservoir Dogs, I watched someone dressed up as an Oreo sing Stuck in the Middle with you at a college talent show … horrifying
Jolene – 6
Dog Days – 7.5
Spirit in the Sky – 6.5
Home – 8
#2 Hang with Me (Robyn) 8
#15 Marquee Moon (Television) 4
#7 Stuck in the Middle with You (Stealer’s Wheel) 7.5
#10 That Girl (City & Colours) 5
#3 Jolene (Ray LaMontagne) 6
#14 Dog Days are Over (Florence & the Machine) 8.25
#6 Spirit in the Sky (Norman Greenbaum) 7
#11 Home (Marc Broussard) 7.5
#2 Hang with Me (Robyn) – 4.2
#15 Marquee Moon (Television) – 8.9
#7 Stuck in the Middle with You (Stealer’s Wheel) – 8.3
#10 That Girl (City & Colours) – 8.1
#3 Jolene (Ray LaMontagne) – 9.1
#14 Dog Days are Over (Florence & the Machine) – 7.8
#6 Spirit in the Sky (Norman Greenbaum) – 6.5
#11 Home (Marc Broussard) – 8.2
#2 Hang with Me (Robyn) 8.1
#15 Marquee Moon (Television) 3
#7 Stuck in the Middle with You (Stealer’s Wheel) 5
#10 That Girl (City & Colours) 5
#3 Jolene (Ray LaMontagne) 6.5
#14 Dog Days are Over (Florence & the Machine) 7.3
#6 Spirit in the Sky (Norman Greenbaum) 6.8
#11 Home (Marc Broussard) 8.5
#2 Hang with Me (Robyn) 5.3
#15 Marquee Moon (Television) 6
Hang with Me kind of faded into the background a little bit on me. It was fun, but not quite what I wanted to start the morning. Marquee Moon is a little too long, and I just wasn’t getting engaged in the first half. BUt the really cool riffing and some fun musical work in the back half brought me back in. In the end, Marquee Moon had more upside for me, so it gets the nod here.
#7 Stuck in the Middle with You (Stealer’s Wheel) 6.3
#10 That Girl (City & Colours) 5.5
I love Stuck in Reservoir Dogs – one of my all time favorite movie scenes – but listening to the full song leaves something lacking. It’s still good, I still like, but I just don’t love it any more. Of 2 minds about That Girl. Was not a fan of the opening 2:30 or so, but after it sped up and the back half was much much better and probably would have won this one. I more or less split the difference.
#3 Jolene (Ray LaMontagne) 5.8
#14 Dog Days are Over (Florence & the Machine) 4
Jolene was really pleasant, but just didn’t quite grab me to get a higher score. Not much to say about Dog Days… it sort of passed me by.
#6 Spirit in the Sky (Norman Greenbaum) 7.8
#11 Home (Marc Broussard) 9.5
Ahhh, finally a great matchup! Always been a fan of Spirit – little more rocking and a little edgier on the guitar riffs, welcome change. I haven’t been a huge fan of the few Marc Broussard tunes I’ve heard (which is going to sound weird about 10 words from now), but this one was baaaaad ass this AM. Wasn’t happy about Little Milton going down, but I’ll gladly see this blues rocker move on. Kudos to Danno for adding this one to the tournament.
Hang with Me (Robyn) 6.5 over Marquee Moon (Television) 2
I actually really like Hang with Me and would have given it a higher score, but because I’m still 12, I can’t stop giggling when I hear the lyrics “If you do me right”. Marquee Moon? You’re not good enough for me to pay attention for 5 mins, much less 10 mins.
Stuck in the Middle with You (Stealer’s Wheel) 6.5 over That Girl (City & Colours) 6
I liked both songs (though I thought That Girl had one too many transitions), but SitMwY’s clapping won me over.
Dog Days are Over (Florence & the Machine) 8 over Jolene (Ray LaMontagne) 4
Never got into Jolene, but I liked the haunting vocals and the temp of Dog Days.
Home (Marc Broussard) 9 over Spirit in the Sky (Norman Greenbaum) 6
Danno has taste in music! I though the music and vocals really went well together, which was not the case for Spirit in the Sky. I thought Spirit had great bluesy guitar riffs, but the vocals just didn’t seem to mesh wit the instruments.
Voting for 2 people today….
#2 Hang with Me (Robyn) – 4/5
#15 Marquee Moon (Television) – 6/5
Hang with me felt like standard disco music.
Marquee Moon had some great percussion moments. The music overpowered the vocals in this song.
#7 Stuck in the Middle with You (Stealer’s Wheel) – 8/7.5
#10 That Girl (City & Colours) – 7/7
Stuck in the middle with you is groovy. enough said.
That girl was a nice dedication at the beginning, but I very much enjoyed the more energetic second half!
#3 Jolene (Ray LaMontagne) – 7.5/8
#14 Dog Days are Over (Florence & the Machine) – 8/8.5
Jolene is a great song. For me, it doesn’t get much better than Ray. He’s been on my list for 6 yrs and I’m happy to share we’ll see him on Tuesday when he plays Chicago’s Pritzker Pavilion.
Dog Days is fun, pure fun. She has a very powerful voice and I like the tempo changes during the song.
#6 Spirit in the Sky (Norman Greenbaum) – 7/6.5
#11 Home (Marc Broussard) – 6/7
Spirit in the sky makes me think of Apollo 13… excellent song.
Home has a very cool church hymnal to it for me. Like Marc’s southern feel.
#2 Hang with Me (Robyn) 6.5
#15 Marquee Moon (Television) 5
#7 Stuck in the Middle with You (Stealer’s Wheel) 7.5
#10 That Girl (City & Colours) 5
I think I liked the different parts of That Girl but not all together.
#3 Jolene (Ray LaMontagne) 4
#14 Dog Days are Over (Florence & the Machine) 8
Jolene put me to sleep. Love Dog Days and definitely not making me sleepy.
#6 Spirit in the Sky (Norman Greenbaum) 6.5
#11 Home (Marc Broussard) 7
I like Spirit but I find myself really liking Home so it gets the nod here.
Hang with Me (Robyn) v. Marquee Moon (Television) = 4 to 8.5
I think Robyn may be over my head, but I do like that she’s doing her thing after all this time. But yes, the payoff in Marquee Moon is topped by little else.
Stuck in the Middle with You (Stealer’s Wheel) v. That Girl (City & Colours) = 5 to 5.5
Jolene (Ray LaMontagne) v. Dog Days are Over (Florence & the Machine) = 3 to 6
Spirit in the Sky (Norman Greenbaum) v. Home (Marc Broussard) = 4.5 to 3
#2 Hang with Me (Robyn) – 5.5
#15 Marquee Moon (Television)- 2.5
Hang with me is like the guilty pleasure of Swedish pop/dance/whatever, and that’s hard for me to resist. Marquee Moon, I tried so hard to like you, and even gave the benefit of a second listen. I appreciate what was going on in the middle parts, but I really hated the beginning and the end.
#7 Stuck in the Middle with You (Stealer’s Wheel) – 5
#10 That Girl (City & Colours)- 7.5
Loved 2:35 onwards of That Girl. Stuck in the Middle is one of those fun songs to catch on the radio during a road trip, but not much more for me.
#3 Jolene (Ray LaMontagne) -6.5
#14 Dog Days are Over (Florence & the Machine) – 7
Ray LaMontagne is great for mellowing out, love his sound. Dog Days I gave a bonus half-point to for the fact I am not sick of it yet.
#6 Spirit in the Sky (Norman Greenbaum) – 4.5
#11 Home (Marc Broussard) – 8.5
I have some fond memories associated with Spirit in the Sky, but it turns out I like the memories more than the song. Every time I listen to Home I like it more.
Hang with me (4)
Marquee (2.5)
Stuck in the middle with you (6.5)
That Girl (4)
Jolene (7.5)
Dog days are over (7)
Spirit in the Sky (5)
Home (4.5)
Hang with Me: 3
Marque: 2
Stuck in the middle: 7
That Girl: 6
Jolene: 2
Flo & the Machine: 6
Spirit in the sky: 7
Home: 5
Alas I couldn’t vote on this one. I’ve been camping all weekend and groveshark doesn’t work with my phone. Grant made a valiant last minute effort and emailed me links to the YouTube videos, but I didnt have time. Next round.
Sad I’m too late to vote on this group – some quality picks!