Votes due by Sunday, June 19th at 8 pm EST. New voters, click here to understand what it is we do here.
The right side of Division F comes at us like an episode from season 5 of Lost. That is, you never know which decade you are in. The 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and 00s (which I’ve recently learned are called the “noughties”) are all represented in today’s matchups. Fear not dear readers, Living the Dream is your constant.
Get Off of My Cloud
#2 Get Off My Cloud (Rolling Stones) vs. #15 Sweetness (Jimmy Eat World) Jumping Jack Flash advanced to the next round, but the Stones reach for the skies one more time with their second and final entry in the People’s Choice Tournament. Also, Jimmy Eat World makes their Living the Dream debut.
#7 Home Sweet Home (Motley Crue) vs. #10 Corduroy (Pearl Jam) This may be kind of a slow jam from 80s metal band Motley Crue, but don’t be fooled. Drummer Tommy Lee drums UPSIDE DOWN. It doesn’t get any more metal than that. They face off against 90s grunge rockers, Pearl Jam. If you are upset at the loser of this matchup, perhaps it will console you to know that BOTH bands are touring the US in 2011.
Traffic
#3 Alex Chilton (The Replacements) vs. #14 Kiss and Say Goodbye (The Manhattans) This matchup starts with an homage to Alex Chilton, lead singer of The Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton himself contributed to a separate track on this same album. This matchup is a Thunderdome of sorts. Both bands have only one song in the tournament, and only one can leave alive.
#6 The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys (Traffic) vs. #11 Make You Feel That Way (Blackalicious) This should be an interesting matchup. On one hand, longer songs haven’t been rubbing many voters the right way so far in the PCT. On the other, hip-hop songs rarely escape the mighty hammer of mama and papa Adrock…this one is anyone’s game folks.
Votes due by Sunday, June 19th at 8 pm EST.
Living the Dream 
This was a nice set of songs that I would never ordinarily listen to, with the exceptions of the Stones.
For some reason in this tournament, there seems to be a greater disparity between scores and a lack of consistency. (While the system is completely arbitrary, it’s good to remember that a 4-5 point spread could cancel out lots of people who just thought a song was marginally or somewhat better.) So if it’s any help, here’s rubric I use to help keep my scores reigned in. I try saying the ratings to myself while listening and as high as I get is what usually sticks. I start at a 4.
1 = hate, like “cut off my ears” seriously hate. beyond awful.
2= Actively Dislike
3 = Dislike
4= Average [Factors include: For its genre /time period/ and usually less, my temperament and personal disposition to this genre/ etc.]
5 = Yeah/OK/Good
6= Pretty Good
7= Really Good (Great)
8 = Fantastic (Really Great)
9 = Exceptional
10 = Perfect [right now, in this time and place, obviously since this is all subjective anyway.]
Get Off My Cloud (Rolling Stones) 8.5
Sweetness (Jimmy Eat World) 4.5
Home Sweet Home (Motley Crue) 7.0 [At first, I couldn’t tell if it was Elton John or Guns & Roses, then I remembered it was Motley Crue, which is just another way of saying that Motley Crue’s sound is exactly halfway between Elton John and Guns & Roses. There’s worse places to be.]
Corduroy (Pearl Jam) 8.5 [forgot that I really like this song]
Alex Chilton (The Replacements) – 6.5
Kiss and Say Goodbye (The Manhattans) 5.5 [Love soul and this climbed up to a six at one point, but lost .5 in the ending.]
The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys (Traffic) 6.5 [Pleasant, summery, interesting, and long without seeming long in that “want it to end” kind of way, mostly for the aforementioned reasons. Nice.]
Make You Feel That Way (Blackalicious) 5.5 [This will win and it’s a fine song. But the flow style of the late 90s mainstream (this came out around 2000, right?) isn’t holding up for me right now . Still, very pleasant throwback.]
Whoops. Jimmy should have been a 5.5
My rubric is a little less defined than Grant’s, but it does seem like there have been a lot of low scores that don’t seem to be based on any sort of standard, so I think it’s worth talking about them. Even though any standards for this tournament are, of course, subjective and arbitrary, it’s worth having some. (This is a good rule of thumb in life in general).
My standard is 5 = “Average.” My thinking is that with this music tournament, most songs should be above average, because they were (for the most part) thoughtfully nominated by someone who, for one reason for another, thinks it’s a great song. And with that…
#2 Get Off My Cloud (Rolling Stones) 8
#15 Sweetness (Jimmy Eat World) 2.5
This is standards-based. I just can’t get behind this Jimmy Eat World song as great. I consider it considerably below average.
#7 Home Sweet Home (Motley Crue) 7
#10 Corduroy (Pearl Jam) 8
Normally I am not a Pearl Jam fan, and Eddie Veddar’s voice bothers me in any context (even a ukelele cannot redeem it), but this is such a well constructed song.
#3 Alex Chilton (The Replacements) 6.5
#14 Kiss and Say Goodbye (The Manhattans) 4.5
#6 The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys (Traffic) 5
#11 Make You Feel That Way (Blackalicious) 7.5
Two things about Traffic: 1) I have not heard this Traffic song since high school, when I used to listen to this record fairly frequently trying to figure out if I liked it, and (unrelatedly, I swear) 2) this man has the most haunting bulge in all of pop music, include David Bowie’s in Labyrinth:
Okay, the image didn’t show up. Here’s a link:
Wow. That bulge is the stuff that dreams are made of. Thanks for sharing!
WHOOPS I just realized I reversed my votes on this. It should be Traffic 7.5, Blackalicious 5.
Lindsey I am glad I could share The Bulge with you. I hadn’t thought of it in years. But as soon as the song started it came roaring back…
Rolling Stones v. Jimmy Eat World 4.5/7
I am shocked that I’m doing this. BUT Cloud isn’t one of my favorite Stones songs and I had totally forgotten about this Jimmy Eat World song. I really like Sweetness and I’m glad to have it back in my life. Thanks nominator!
Motley Crue v. Pearl Jam 4/7.75
Yay Pearl Jam! My inner 90s grunge girl loves Pearl Jam!
The Replacements v. The Manhattans 7.5/4.5
I hadn’t heard either of these before. The Replacements are really solid — I’ll definitely be downloading this one. And after the first minute and a half, I liked The Manhattans. But I hate that creepy deep voiced talking at the beginning of songs — half a point off for that.
Traffic v. Blackalicious 7/4
I liked this Traffic song, despite the length. Sometimes I find myself zoning out in the longer tunes but this one held my attention the whole time. Perhaps it was the narrative nature of the lyrics — I wanted to stick around to see what happened next. Blackalicious is a nice sentiment, but I don’t really like the song.
You’re welcome Lindsay! I’m glad you were happy to hear it 🙂
#2 Get Off My Cloud (Rolling Stones) = 6
vs. #15 Sweetness (Jimmy Eat World) = 3
#7 Home Sweet Home (Motley Crue) = 5
vs. #10 Corduroy (Pearl Jam) = 8
#3 Alex Chilton (The Replacements) = 9
vs. #14 Kiss and Say Goodbye (The Manhattans) =7
#6 The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys (Traffic) = 6
vs. #11 Make You Feel That Way (Blackalicious) =5.5
Get Off My Cloud (Rolling Stones) = 7
vs. Sweetness (Jimmy Eat World) = 4
Home Sweet Home (Motley Crue) = 7.5
vs. Corduroy (Pearl Jam) = 7.5
Alex Chilton (The Replacements) = 4
vs. Kiss and Say Goodbye (The Manhattans) = 4.5
The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys (Traffic) = 5.5
vs. Make You Feel That Way (Blackalicious) = 5
Get Off My Cloud – 8.0 vs Sweetness – 6.0
Home Sweet Home – 7.0 vs Corduroy – 4.0
Alex Chilton – 6.0 vs Kiss and Say – 8.5
Low Spark (This was great!) – 9.0 vs Make You Feel That Way – 5.0
#2 Get Off My Cloud (Rolling Stones) = 4
vs. #15 Sweetness (Jimmy Eat World) = 6.8
Never really been much of a Stones fan. Not my favorite Jimmy song, but I like it.
#7 Home Sweet Home (Motley Crue) = 5
vs. #10 Corduroy (Pearl Jam) = 6.5
I really wanted to rate Motley Crew higher, but this song felt like a poor man’s “Mama I’m Coming Home” to me.
#3 Alex Chilton (The Replacements) = 6
vs. #14 Kiss and Say Goodbye (The Manhattans) = 5.2
Didn’t really like the deep voice speaking part at the beginning, but once the singing got going I liked it a lot. Very chill.
#6 The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys (Traffic) = 7
vs. #11 Make You Feel That Way (Blackalicious) = 4
Really love the chorus in high-heeled boys. Chill enough that 11 minutes flies right by. Great pick.
totally agree on Home Sweet Home – Crue did it first, in 1985 and Ozzy made it significantly better in ’91. Tommy Lee was really the only advantage the Crue had against even that poor man’s version of the Blizzard’s band
#2 Get Off My Cloud (Rolling Stones) = 7.5
vs. #15 Sweetness (Jimmy Eat World) = 6.4
#7 Home Sweet Home (Motley Crue) = 7
vs. #10 Corduroy (Pearl Jam) = 5
#3 Alex Chilton (The Replacements) = 6.5
vs. #14 Kiss and Say Goodbye (The Manhattans) = 7
#6 The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys (Traffic) = 3
vs. #11 Make You Feel That Way (Blackalicious) = 5
1-3: Hate – Mediocre. No song should get a 0 – that’s just rude.
4: OK
5: Good
6-7: Very good – Very very good
8: I really, really like this
9: I really, really love this
10: Genius
#2 Get Off My Cloud (Rolling Stones): 5
#15 Sweetness (Jimmy Eat World): 8.5
Oh dear. This move could mean i get my British passport revoked. I’ve never been their biggest fan though, and I do have a massive pop-emo-punk-nerd crush on Jimmy Eat World. They are clearly in no way the cool choice and most will probably go the other way on this just on band name alone but Sweetness holds many a fun bounce-around memory for me and is a really energetic song and I love it. There, I said it. Sorry England.
#7 Home Sweet Home (Motley Crue): 7.5
#10 Corduroy (Pearl Jam): 5
Home Sweet Home –> YES. Like. A lot. To me, Corduroy is Jeremy but just not as good.
#3 Alex Chilton (The Replacements): 6
#14 Kiss and Say Goodbye (The Manhattans): 2
Kind of into Alex Chilton tonight. From the moment Kiss and Say Goodbye started, I really disliked it. The spoken but really narks me off. The singing portion actualy did nothing for me either. I wouldn’t listen to this again because I could never make it through the first minute again.
#6 The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys (Traffic): 4
#11 Make You Feel That Way (Blackalicious): 3
I find super long songs really difficult to judge and compare. If you’re going to take up almost 12 minutes of my time though, it’s going to have to be much much better than this Traffic track. It’s got some really nice parts but that’s not enough for me. Didn’t like the Blackalicious track.
Get Off My Cloud (Rolling Stones) = 5
Sweetness (Jimmy Eat World) = 3.5
Home Sweet Home (Motley Crue) = 4
Corduroy (Pearl Jam) = 4.5
Alex Chilton (The Replacements) = 6.5
Kiss and Say Goodbye (The Manhattans) = 4
The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys (Traffic) = 3
Make You Feel That Way (Blackalicious) = 2.5
#2 Get Off My Cloud (Rolling Stones) = 7 This is a solid early stones song. Glad someone nominated it.
vs. #15 Sweetness (Jimmy Eat World) = 3 Is this what the kids are listening to these days? It’s loud and not interesting.
#7 Home Sweet Home (Motley Crue) = 8 I love this song because it shows that even a bunch of shameless punks like Motley Crue aren’t too cool to emote now and then.
vs. #10 Corduroy (Pearl Jam) = 6 I’d forgotten about this song- glad to hear it after all these years.
#3 Alex Chilton (The Replacements) = 6
vs. #14 Kiss and Say Goodbye (The Manhattans) = 6 great intro, decent song, but not the best offering from the 1970s Philly R&B scene.
#6 The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys (Traffic) = 8
vs. #11 Make You Feel That Way (Blackalicious) =6
Get Off My Cloud (Rolling Stones) 6
Sweetness (Jimmy Eat World) 8.5
Home Sweet Home (Motley Crue) 5
Corduroy (Pearl Jam) 6
Alex Chilton (The Replacements) 7
Kiss and Say Goodbye (The Manhattans) 8.5
I liked both of these songs, but Kiss and Say Goodbye was really good.
The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys (Traffic) 6.75
Make You Feel That Way (Blackalicious) 6
This was tough. The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys was really long but I liked it. I also liked Make You Feel that Way but in the end I think I’d rather hear Traffic again in this tournament over Blackalicious.
Get Off My Cloud – 8.0 vs Sweetness – 6.0 – Cloud brought a smile. Sweetness was OK +. Must be the w/e brings higher tolerance levels for background noise.
Home Sweet Home – 7.0 vs Corduroy – 4.0 – Crue is not so motley on this one and my tolerance levels must really be up. Would definitely prefer a different flavor of jam. Maybe toe jam?
Alex Chilton 5.0 vs Kiss and Say Goodbye – 7.5 – The Replacements were just blah! Did nothing for me. The Manhattans were definite chill material but would have been better without the long intro.
Low Spark – 8.0 vs Make You Feel That Way – 4.5 – More relaxation time with Traffic. Could have been even longer and I wouldn’t have minded. Blackalicious – I’d rather feel a different way.
I continue to try and behave, but, Danno, beware – the hammer is silver.
Are you sure it’s not tasteless pink?
Told you he wouldn’t get it.
No maxwells silver hammer…I got it. Just a little out of place, decided to take it in a new direction
#2 Get Off My Cloud (Rolling Stones) = 7.5
vs. #15 Sweetness (Jimmy Eat World) = 4.5 Neither are a favorite, but Cloud brings back youthful memories, and that counts for something.
#7 Home Sweet Home (Motley Crue) = 8.0
vs. #10 Corduroy (Pearl Jam) = 3.0 Much prefer the sound of Home Sweet Home
#3 Alex Chilton (The Replacements) = 4.o
vs. #14 Kiss and Say Goodbye (The Manhattans) =4.0 Ugh.
#6 The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys (Traffic) = 4.5
vs. #11 Make You Feel That Way (Blackalicious) =7.0 Makes a person want to move around.
Get Off My Cloud (Rolling Stones) = 8.7
Sweetness (Jimmy Eat World) = 5.3
Home Sweet Home (Motley Crue) = 10
Corduroy (Pearl Jam) = 1 In my version of hell, there would be a continuous loop of Eddie Vedder songs playing in the background.
Alex Chilton (The Replacements) = 9.2
Kiss and Say Goodbye (The Manhattans) = 7
The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys (Traffic) = 5
Make You Feel That Way (Blackalicious) = 5
get off my cloud – 6.5
sweetness – 2.5
home sweet home – 3
corduroy – 7
alex chilton – 6
kiss & say goodbye – 2.5
the low spark of high-heeled boys – 7
make you feel that way – 5.5
Get Off My Cloud (Rolling Stones) = 6.5
Sweetness (Jimmy Eat World) = 5.8
Home Sweet Home (Motley Crue) = 7.1
Corduroy (Pearl Jam) = 4
Alex Chilton (The Replacements) = 7.3 – Solid all the way through, but really liked the ending, getting a .5 point boost
Kiss and Say Goodbye (The Manhattans) = 7.5
The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys (Traffic) = 7
Make You Feel That Way (Blackalicious) = 5.5
Me and Cristina
Get Off My Cloud (Rolling Stones) = 8.6 / 9.5
Sweetness (Jimmy Eat World) = 5 / 4
I’m a fan of “The Middle”, but “Sweetness” doesn’t bring much to the table.
Home Sweet Home (Motley Crue) = 7.2 / 4.5
Corduroy (Pearl Jam) = 7.7 / 6.9
Motley Crue was better than I remember (Janos).
Alex Chilton (The Replacements) = 7.1 / 6
Kiss and Say Goodbye (The Manhattans) = 8.2 / 7.5
The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys (Traffic) =9 / 7
Make You Feel That Way (Blackalicious) = 5 / 7.2
get off my cloud – 6
sweetness – 7
home sweet home – 3
corduroy – 9
I would have nominated Corduroy if it hadn’t already been nominated.
alex chilton – 4
kiss & say goodbye – 4
Meh.
the low spark of high-heeled boys – 6.5
make you feel that way – 3
I liked the low spark of high-heeled boys much more than I thought I would for an 11 minute song.
Alex Chilton was supposed to be a 5, oops!
Cloud-6.5
Sweetness-8
Home-6
Corduroy-9
Alex Chilton-4
Kiss-3
Low Spark-2 This is the kind of song that would constantly be skipped on my Ipod because I can’t get into it right away.
Make you Feel-6
#2 Get Off My Cloud (Rolling Stones) 7.5
#15 Sweetness (Jimmy Eat World) 4.5
#7 Home Sweet Home (Motley Crue) 5
#10 Corduroy (Pearl Jam) 8
#3 Alex Chilton (The Replacements) 6.5
#14 Kiss and Say Goodbye (The Manhattans) 4.5
#6 The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys (Traffic) 6.25
#11 Make You Feel That Way (Blackalicious) 4.75
This vote comes courtesy of Dr.J, who was having trouble posting a comment on her Ipad.
Get Off My Cloud–8.3
Sweetness–3.5
Home Sweet Home–8
Corduroy–6
Alex Chilton-5
Kiss and Say Goodbye-4
Low Spark Of High-Heeled Boys–9.5
Make You Feel That Way–3
*Low Spark by Traffic is her nomination
Rolling Stones – 7 –
Jimmy Eat World – 6.5 –
Motley Crue – 5 –
Pearl Jam – 6 –
did both of these songs morph into new songs near the end?
The Replacements – 5.5 –
The Manhattans – 4.5 –
Traffic – 6 –
Blackalicious – 4 –
I’m at home celebrating Father’s Day, so I’ve got my family’s votes too. Turns out most of them don’t like music.
Order of votes: Chris/ Stace/ Bex/ Babs / Papa Rock / Me
Get off my cloud (Rolling Stones): 5/ 4/ 2/ 7/ 5/ 6
Sweetness (Jimmy Eat World): 9/ 7/ 9/ 7/ 1/ 5
Papa Rock: How am I supposed to rate this song if I hate it?” Me: “You give it a 1.” Papa Rock: “Give it a 1 then.”
Home Sweet Home (Motley Crue): 7/7/3/5/6/6
Cordoroy (Pearl Jam): 6/5/2/2/3/5
Alex Chilton (Replacements): 8/1/1/4/3/6
Kiss and Say Goodbye (Manhattans): 3/1/0/1/2/3
The Low Spark (Traffic): 3/ 2/ 0/ 2/6/5.5
Make You Feel That way (Blackalicious): 6/4/2/5/3/5
There was a lot of great commentary, but I got overwhelmed trying to record it. This wasn’t our favorite round of songs, but the next one was better.