Round of 256: Division G, Left Side

A lot of heavy hitters are lining up to bid for Division G.   In fact, the lineup looks like it could be an LTD Tournament (best rock song of all time) playlist.  Listen to it here, and vote by commenting below by Monday at 8pm (EST).

#1 Up Around the Bend (CCR) vs. #16 Master of Puppets (Metallica).  Metallica got rocked in its only LTD Tournament appearance, while CCR had one of the better runs of the tournament with “Lookin’ Out My Back Door” and “Fortunate Son.”  Let’s see if those trends continue.

#8 Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk (Rufus Wainwright) vs. #9 Atlantic City (Bruce Springsteen).  Here comes the Boss, in one of his darker songs.  He’s run up against another gentleman who knows how to tell a good story.

#4 After the Gold Rush (Neil Young) vs. #13 Sprawl II (Arcade Fire).  For all the Bruce chatter, Arcade Fire may have actually been the most polarizing band of the LTD Tournament.

#5 Handlebar (Flobots) vs. #12 You Are the Best Thing (Ray LaMontagne).   Ole’ Ray looks for redemption after “Jolene” went down in Division A.

Questions about voting? Email LTDdotorg@gmail.com.

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About Janos Marton

Janos Marton is a lawyer, advocate and writer.
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34 Responses to Round of 256: Division G, Left Side

  1. janos marton's avatar janos marton says:

    After the Coney Island Mermaid Parade almost caused me to miss voting, I’m taking no chances on this fine Saturday evening, which I will spend researching obscure venue law (shout out to the lawyers out there).

    #1 Up Around the Bend (CCR): 8.7
    vs. #16 Master of Puppets (Metallica): 5.5
    How many artists had as good a run as Forgerty in 1969-1970, when CCR released FIVE hit albums and seven great singles, including this one? In other random hypothetical stats, I don’t know how many artists have more songs that would reliably get an “8” from me than CCR. Maybe the Stones, Clash, Paul Simon and Bruce Springsteen. As for Metallica, this song was ok, but then the last three minutes happened.
    The “Danno Long Song Theory” was artfully explained a few days ago: If you already have doubts or problems with a song, hearing it for longer than five minutes only exacerbates those problems.

    #8 Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk (Rufus Wainwright): 5
    vs. #9 Atlantic City (Bruce Springsteen): 7.9

    #4 After the Gold Rush (Neil Young): 8
    vs. #13 Sprawl II (Arcade Fire): 9.4
    Brutal choice. Sprawl II is one of my nominees, but I didn’t ask for it to go against the great Neil Young. Last year I saw Regine do a magical performance of this from the second row at Madison Square Garden that I’ll remember forever.

    #5 Handlebar (Flobots): 6.9
    vs. #12 You Are the Best Thing (Ray LaMontagne): 8.5
    Handlebar was pretty clever. Kind of reminded me of “Short skirt, long jacket.” Not sure how many times I want to hear it this tournament. Ray, on the other hand, just kicked ass.

  2. Wiggs's avatar Wiggs says:

    #1 Up Around the Bend (CCR): 6.5…would have been higher if I weren’t aware of other, more awesome CCR songs. Also, this is one of those songs where it comes on and everyone yells OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! and then turns it up super loud, tries to sing along, and realizes they don’t actually know any of the lyrics. Awkkkkward…
    #16 Master of Puppets (Metallica): 4.5. Sigh. There are some awesome parts, but then it’s been 8 minutes and I realize I haven’t been on the musical journey I would expect from such a long song.

    #8 Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk (Rufus Wainwright): 10. Danno told me not to throw out too many 10’s. Is this a faux pas? I didn’t nominate the song but I love LOVE it and always have. It’s amazing. I love how weird and yet classic it is. And so many genre references…but one question: is this a different version? The background sounds a little different
    #9 Atlantic City (Bruce Springsteen): 5.5.

    #4 After the Gold Rush (Neil Young): 4. And I’m a HUGE CSNY fan, but for me his voice can’t hold a whole song by itself. Springsteen and Young are two great artists I just don’t get. Much to my father’s dismay.
    #13 Sprawl II (Arcade Fire): 5.

    #5 Handlebar (Flobots): 7.5. What a great example of how to build to an awesome climax. In a song. Ahem.
    #12 You Are the Best Thing (Ray LaMontagne): 8.

    • Danno's avatar Danno says:

      I just meant don’t throw out many 10’s with 1’s on the other side of the matchup 🙂 You can LOVE songs as much as you want.

  3. Danno's avatar Danno says:

    #1 Up Around the Bend (CCR): 6
    vs. #16 Master of Puppets (Metallica): 10
    Once again, metal is under-represented…so I have to try (don’t get me wrong though, it really is a 10 in my book)

    #8 Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk (Rufus Wainwright): 6.5
    vs. #9 Atlantic City (Bruce Springsteen): 5

    #4 After the Gold Rush (Neil Young): 4.5
    vs. #13 Sprawl II (Arcade Fire): 6
    Mark this day Janos…I didn’t give Arcade Fire a 1 🙂

    #5 Handlebar (Flobots): 7.5
    vs. #12 You Are the Best Thing (Ray LaMontagne): 6.5
    Flobots is mine, but I love the Ray song! Tough matchup for me.

  4. Meghan's avatar Meghan says:

    #1 Up Around the Bend (CCR): 7.5
    vs. #16 Master of Puppets (Metallica): 6.5

    I actually liked Metallica more than I was expecting but I was feeling CCR this morning.

    #8 Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk (Rufus Wainwright): 6.5
    vs. #9 Atlantic City (Bruce Springsteen): 8

    This was a tough one, I liked both songs even more on the second listen. Overall, I have to give the nudge to Bruce, the whole song went nicer than Wainwright’s, which annoyed me slightly towards the end.

    #4 After the Gold Rush (Neil Young): 5
    vs. #13 Sprawl II (Arcade Fire): 6.5

    I hated on Arcade Fire last tournament (sorry Janos!) but Neil Young sounded whiny and bugged me so, even surprising myself, I’m voting for Arcade Fire here.

    #5 Handlebar (Flobots): 6
    vs. #12 You Are the Best Thing (Ray LaMontagne): 7

  5. Mark B's avatar Mark B says:

    #1 Up Around the Bend (CCR): 2.5
    #16 Master of Puppets (Metallica): 5.5
    Wow, I think I totally miss the CCR connection…I honestly find this painful to listen to, even though it’s ❤ mins. Ah, sweet variety…give me Metallica over CCR any day.

    #8 Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk (Rufus Wainwright): 6
    #9 Atlantic City (Bruce Springsteen): 9
    Man, I LOVE Atlantic City…another of my Dad's hand-me-downs. I could listen to it over and over. I'm a big Rufus fan too, but this just ain't one of my favourites. Give me 'Go Or Go Ahead' and then we'd have a matchup here. Kinda wish I'd thought to nominate that now I think about it.

    #4 After the Gold Rush (Neil Young): 8
    #13 Sprawl II (Arcade Fire): 8
    Here's my Arcade Fire dilemma. Spectacular live (I was at the MSG show too, Janos – amazing and showed how they can easily fill an arena while support act Spoon got completely buried by it) and great to have in your ears but I don't think this song – as much as I love it, for example – will be thought of as a classic. I really like it and I really really like the album but it doesn't feel right giving this track the type of monster score that the album deserves. Love After the Gold Rush too and I can't pull these two songs apart right now. Lame, I know.

    #5 Handlebar (Flobots): 2
    #12 You Are the Best Thing (Ray LaMontagne): 8.5
    I don't know what the deal is with Handlebar but I really don't like it. More than a 1 only because it gets a whole lot better towards the end. I found the beginning almost prohibitively horrible though. This LaMontagne song – on the other hand – sounded like aural gloopy chocolate deliciousness to me just now.

  6. Adrock's avatar Adrock says:

    1 Up Around the Bend (CCR) 7
    #16 Master of Puppets (Metallica) 10

    Damnit. I didn’t even put it in, but was so looking forward to Metallica, my all-time favorite band (pretending for the moment that St. Anger never happened). But there’s no way its beating CCR. Rough draw, but I’ll be happy looking back knowing it had a lead at some point. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but i can’t possibly not lose my mind with joy hearing the solo around 5:45 and remembering crowds of 50,000+ screaming “Now I Rule You Too!!!”… guaranteed elation.

    #8 Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk (Rufus Wainwright) 7.5
    #9 Atlantic City (Bruce Springsteen) 5

    Not sure what I even like about Rufus… but i was really happy listening to it. I feel like he took the concept of Starfish and Coffee by Prince (which made no sense but was awesome) and translated genres perfectly.

    #4 After the Gold Rush (Neil Young) 6
    #13 Sprawl II (Arcade Fire) 6.5

    #5 Handlebar (Flobots) 7.1
    #12 You Are the Best Thing (Ray LaMontagne) 9.3

    Like the way Janos put it – Handlebar is different and was clever.. and Ray did kick ass. Sad that they can’t both advance.

  7. G's avatar G says:

    Looks like I voted for the underdog in every match-up today:

    Up Around the Bend (CCR): 7
    Master of Puppets (Metallica): 9

    Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk (Rufus Wainwright): 3.5 [I liked the OC, maybe even more than the next person, but this song makes me cringe. I can’t quite place why– I like his voice on other songs, the music’s fine…is the progression? Anyone else have this reaction and can pin it down?]
    Atlantic City (Bruce Springsteen): 9 [This is in no relation to Wainright song. I don’t think the spread should be that big, but sometimes, that’s how scores work out. I just spent weeks on ebay trying to find a reasonably priced version of this record. Snagged one, but it appears Nebraska is becoming a rarity].

    After the Gold Rush (Neil Young): 4.5 [This match up are two artists I really like and two songs I’m not fans of. Niel gets a 4.5 because I don’t like the melody line at all.]
    Sprawl II (Arcade Fire): 7 [ Heart of Glass. ]

    #5 Handlebar (Flobots): 5.0
    vs. #12 You Are the Best Thing (Ray LaMontagne): 8.8 [I found his voice too pretty on Jolene, but I think it works really well here, and this song was great morning music.]

  8. aiko's avatar aiko says:

    Up Around the Bend (CCR): 8
    Master of Puppets (Metallica): 6.5
    Metal is one of the few genres where instrumental tracks trump anything with vocals. I wish most metal singers would just keep their mouths shut. I love all parts of this when there are no vocals.

    Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk (Rufus Wainwright): 7.5
    Atlantic City (Bruce Springsteen): 10
    I was singing along with Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk and that made me realize he does not stop singing the entire time. This is a song I love from college. I think some days it would score higher, but I wasn’t feeling it the most this morning. Atlantic City, on the other hand, is on of those songs that takes control of your emotions from the inside and works them like a puppet. Bruce is the true Master of Puppets in this round.

    After the Gold Rush (Neil Young): 4.5
    Sprawl II (Arcade Fire): 7
    I don’t really know Neil Young very well but if this song is representative then I don’t really want to.

    Handlebar (Flobots): 1.5
    You Are the Best Thing (Ray LaMontagne): 6
    To explain my dislike of Handlebar, I’ll just say that I think this is a better executed song, both in terms of content (which is similar) and flow (which is superior):

  9. Astrid's avatar Astrid says:

    #1 Up Around the Bend (CCR): 7
    vs. #16 Master of Puppets (Metallica): 8

    #8 Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk (Rufus Wainwright): 5.2
    vs. #9 Atlantic City (Bruce Springsteen): 10 LOVE LOVE LOVE If this wasn’t already nominated, I would have nominated it.

    #4 After the Gold Rush (Neil Young): 5.6
    vs. #13 Sprawl II (Arcade Fire): 6.9

    #5 Handlebar (Flobots): 5
    vs. #12 You Are the Best Thing (Ray LaMontagne): 6

  10. dj roomba's avatar dj roomba says:

    Including scores for my family… Order of votes: Chris/Stace/Bex/Babs/Papa Rock/Me

    Up around the bend: 8/ 7/ 2/ 8/ 8/ 6.5
    Master of Puppets: 5/ 1/ 1/ 1/ 1/ 2.5 *We are not Metallica fans.

    Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk: 7/3/2/7/7/7.5 *Papa Rock: One of the best songs you’ve played, I better give it an 8. Wait, no, a 7.”
    Atlantic City: 7/7/3/6/5/3

    After the Gold Rush: 5/ 5/ 3/ 10/ 9/ 6.5 *My parents loved this one, my mom got a little misty eyed. My sister said: “His voice is too high for me. Is it a man?”
    Sprawl II: 6/ 6/ 6/ 8/ 7/ 8

    Handlebars: 10/ 7/ 10/ 6/ 7/ 7
    You are the best thing: 10/ 10/ 5/ 7/ 5/ 8

  11. Eileen's avatar Eileen says:

    Up Around the Bend – 6.5 vs Master of Puppets – 2.0

    Cigarettes & Chocolate – 9.0 vs Atlantic City – 5.5

    After the Gold Rush – 5.0 vs Sprawl II – 6.0

    Handlebars – 5.0 vs You Are the Best Thing – 9.5

  12. The Progenitor's avatar The Progenitor says:

    Up Around the Bend – 7.0 vs Master of Puppets – 5.5 – Not my favorite CCR but it will take Metallica on this one. Not my favorite Metallica either and though I am not a fan, generally, I’ve grown accustomed to their sound from numerous college road trips with the Progeny.

    Cigarettes and Chocolate – 8.75 vs Atlantic City – 4.5 – This Wainwright number was great and continued to grow on me with multiple listens. Not a Springsteen fan at the best of times and this was too much of a downer for a great day like this.

    After the Gold Rush – 4.0 vs Sprawl II – 6.25 – After the Gold Rush is a great song but Neil sounds worse than a castrati in heat. I’d much rather listen to k. d. lang on this one. Sprawl was a very pleasant surprise for the first 3.5 minutes then started to tail off but a big improvement over Neil.

    Handlebars – 3.5 vs You Are the Best Thing – 10.0 – Flobot should take out some of those tools and use them on this track. The novelty factor wore off very quickly. Ray is Ray and the Hammer has spoken.

    I just knew I couldn’t keep things under control for long. Too much fun to be had.

  13. Lolly's avatar Lolly says:

    Up Around the Bend = 8
    vs Master of Puppets = 4

    Cigarettes & Chocolate = 6
    vs. Atlantic City = 7

    After the Gold Rush = 6
    vs Sprawl II = 6.5

    Handlebars = 6
    vs You Are the Best Thing = 9.5
    How does this song not make someone happy? A friend randomly surprised me with a mixed CD the other day and this was the first song. I smile every time I hear it.

  14. lindsay's avatar lindsay says:

    CCR v. Metallica 6/4.5
    And Metallica got a point for nostalgia, reminding me of a high school friend who was a Metallica devotee and who left this world too soon. Not my cup of tea.

    Rufus v. Bruce 5/9
    I LOVE Atlantic City. I’m so glad someone nominated it — it was #9 on my list, so it didn’t make the cut for my nominations. I’m generally not a huge Bruce fan, either. I just love this song. (and also the Hold Steady cover of it is pretty great)

    Neil v. Arcade Fire 2.5/6.5
    Neil, STOP WHINING. Please. I think in anyone else’s voice, this song would be lovely, but I just want to make him wash his face and blow his nose. And Arcade Fire is pretty good.

    Flobots v. Ray Ray 3.75/9.995
    The Flobots song is just odd, plus somehow it reminds me of Eminem which is NOT good. I think everyone knows how I feel about Ray. I love him. I think he has the best voice. And the best beard. I kind of want to have a hundred of his babies. Ray, I think that discovering your music is the best thing that has happened to me in awhile. Swoon swoon.

  15. Anne S.'s avatar Anne S. says:

    Up Around the Bend – 6.5 Hit the spot
    Master of Puppets – 4.5

    Cigarettes & Chocolate – 7
    Atlantic City – 8.5
    Both just plain great songs.

    After the Gold Rush -3.5
    Sprawl II – 9
    I always try really hard to like Neil Young….but was so relieved when arcade fire finally came on.

    Handlebars – 6.0
    You Are the Best Thing – 10 I forgot just how much I love this song

  16. Troch's avatar Troch says:

    Now that I am done crying over George Michaels being robbed of the title, this is the part of the program when I stop being polite… and start getting real.

    Up Around the Bend- 5.5 great song. Not as good as Bad Moon Rising.
    Master of Puppets – 10 Danno and my brother got me into Metallica at a young age. I cant go against the family. Plus I am a solo guy and MOP gives me what I want face melting solos

    Cigarettes & Chocolate- 2.5 not much to say about this one. I hear a guy trying hard to be Robert Zimmerman.
    Atlantic City- 5 I am feeling generous with this one. Not the best Bruce song, but with Clarence passing I think the Boss takes this one.

    After the Gold Rush- 2.5 I love Neil Young, but even this song hurt to listen to. Even my heart of gold couldn’t give this one a great score
    Sprawl II- 1 most overrated band I have ever heard. That is all.

    Handlebars- 4 Love the song, but Rays crisp sand paper voice just makes me feel good.
    You Are the Best Thing- 9. Makes you feel good even on your worst day.

  17. The Chicken Man's avatar The Chicken Man says:

    Up Around the Bend = 7 Solid
    Master of Puppets = 6 This song is kind of strange: it proceeds along the typical metal trajectory for a while, but then at the four minute mark they hand over their instruments to Jethro Tull. For thirty seconds, Tull takes us to the Renaissance fair, but then, inexplicably, Metalica swipes their instruments back and, just to show that they’re back in control, proceeds to drag the song out for another four minutes. Extra point though because the band gave therapy a chance and came out stronger for it (for the full story see the documentary Some Kind of Monster).

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx9WuGGb9h8

    Cigarettes & Chocolate = 0 This is the first zero I have given in either of the music tournaments, but even zero feels like it’s too good for this whiney, sniveling purveyor of sappy drivel. I find Rufus Wainwright’s voice so insufferable that I have included him on a very short list of people who I would kick down the stairs if ever given the opportunity.

    Atlantic City = 7

    After the Gold Rush = 9 I’d always wondered what it must have felt like to live through the social upheaval of the late sixties and then wake up one day to find that, despite everything, Nixon was still the president. . Then I heard this song and I kind of understood.
    Sprawl II = 6 Wow, this is better than I was hoping it would be. The tune is great, but even this former urban planning student finds the sprawl metaphor a little much. I wonder if they have a happier song about transit oriented development.

    Handlebars = 3 Not good. Not good at all. No one gives a shit whether these guys can ride a bike with or without handlebars.
    You Are the Best Thing = 4 I don’t get Ray LaMontaigne. If he wasn’t from a city with a rich musical tradition that’s recovering from a horrible natural disaster, people would be comparing him to Michael Bolton.

    • It’s true, Maine has had a really tough time recovering from the lobster drought of 2008.

      • Tommy Lee's avatar Tommy Lee says:

        he’s from Maine? someone told me he’s from New Orleans. Anyway, he sounds like Michael Bolton to me. Maybe he should collaborate with Stephen King on some spooky material.

  18. I missed a round of voting this weekend, bummer.

    #1 Up Around the Bend (CCR) 7
    #16 Master of Puppets (Metallica) 4.5

    When I was 20 and traveling around Europe, I watched an all CCR marionette show run by gypsies in an alley in Venice. This song was definitely involved, and I think they were making fun of Americans.

    #8 Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk (Rufus Wainwright) 6.2
    #9 Atlantic City (Bruce Springsteen) 10

    To me, this song is perfect. It is absolutely, absolutely perfect. I don’t know if it can go all the way, sad songs tend to stumble after a few rounds. But I’ll go into more detail on Atlantic City and the Nebraska album in general next round.

    #4 After the Gold Rush (Neil Young) 7.5
    #13 Sprawl II (Arcade Fire) 7.5

    Tough draw. Not my contest to decide, I’d be happy with either of these going forward

    #5 Handlebar (Flobots) 4
    #12 You Are the Best Thing (Ray LaMontagne) 8

    You guys know my feelings on Ray. Nice to see something off Gossip In The Grain, if you dig on this song, check out Let It Be Me too. And a sick live version of “Empty” too.

  19. bday's avatar bday says:

    Up Around the Bend: 8
    Master of Puppets: 1 (Danno’s long song theory at work)

    Cigs: 5
    Atlantic City: 7

    Gold Rush: 2
    Sprawl: 4

    Handlebars: 9
    Best Thing: 3

  20. Mark O's avatar Mark O says:

    #1 Up Around the Bend (CCR) [9]
    #16 Master of Puppets (Metallica) [5.5]

    #8 Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk (Rufus Wainwright) [5]
    #9 Atlantic City (Bruce Springsteen) [8.25]

    #4 After the Gold Rush (Neil Young) [6]
    #13 Sprawl II (Arcade Fire) [7]

    #5 Handlebar (Flobots) [3]
    #12 You Are the Best Thing (Ray LaMontagne) [6.75]

  21. colincolinhunt's avatar colincolinhunt says:

    #1 Up Around the Bend (CCR): 9.5
    vs. #16 Master of Puppets (Metallica): 7.5
    I can’t listen to this song anymore without being reminded of Spanish getting tackled into the fountain in Old School. Metal is underrepresented, but John Fogarty is better than you. Well, I can’t speak for you, but he is certainly better than I am.

    #8 Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk (Rufus Wainwright): 6.5
    vs. #9 Atlantic City (Bruce Springsteen): 7

    #4 After the Gold Rush (Neil Young): 3
    vs. #13 Sprawl II (Arcade Fire): 8.5
    Neil Young and I are like oil and water.

    #5 Handlebar (Flobots): 4.5
    vs. #12 You Are the Best Thing (Ray LaMontagne): 6.5
    I’m gonna call shenanigans on Flobots and their claim of being able to ride a bike with no handlebars. Gonna have to see that before I believe it.

  22. sarita's avatar sarita says:

    #1 Up Around the Bend (CCR) – 6 –
    vs. #16 Master of Puppets (Metallica) – 3 – I don’t hate it, but I wouldn’t choose to listen to it. I think this is a fair vote.

    #8 Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk (Rufus Wainwright) – 8 – Sentimental Valium indeed. It always surprised me that the kind of blase whine of Rufus’ voice doesn’t turn off more people. In this song in particular it’s appropriate for the lyrics — somewhat silly lyrics but so extremely relatable that they make a replay-worthy musical ballad.
    vs. #9 Atlantic City (Bruce Springsteen) – 4 – Generally I’m a fan of the boss but I’m disappointed this was the song chosen. Perhaps the others were part of the last tournament.

    #4 After the Gold Rush (Neil Young) – 4 – Whinier than I remember…
    vs. #13 Sprawl II (Arcade Fire) – 8 – big fan! loved this voice over the sort of 80s/synth/video game music.

    #5 Handlebar (Flobots) – 7 – clever, entertaining, and invigorating
    vs. #12 You Are the Best Thing (Ray LaMontagne) – 9.5 – It’s unfortunate for Flobots to be up against this song. This just makes me want to dance with or hug people…apologies in advance to whatever unsuspecting man may be near me when this comes on next.

  23. kristintracz's avatar kristintracz says:

    really brutal choices.
    #1 CCR — 7.2 vs. #16 Metallica 4.2 — Not my fave by either group, but each have its place. Metallica’s is on a long sprint where you might punch someone in the face if they get in your way.

    #8 Rufus–i dont smoke and i’m lactarded so this jam just doesn’t resonate like its supposed to. i like the concept, and its dece as far as rufus goes but not his best work: 7.2 vs. #9 Boss — are you joking? 9.9 and only because there are other boss songs i like better and that feature clarence more prominently. but its still dope.

    #4 Neil Young — 9.1. this was my favorite song when i was 2 years old. i still love it. vs. #13 sprawl 2 — 7.9. At least it wasn’t half life II which is by far the best song on that album, IMHO.

    #5 Flobots 8.1 — i like it and it gets stuck in my head so i’m afraid to listen to it here. vs. #12 ray lamontagne — if jack johnson hadn’t already been christened ‘mellow man’ by SNL, ray would be in the running. i’d like this song a lot more if i didnt think of horrid first dances at weddings when i hear it now. also i like jolene better. so, 7.5

  24. Carrie's avatar Carrie says:

    Up Around the Bend (CCR): 7.5
    Master of Puppets (Metallica): 2

    Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk (Rufus Wainwright): 5.5
    Atlantic City (Bruce Springsteen): 8.5

    After the Gold Rush (Neil Young): 4.5
    Sprawl II (Arcade Fire): 9

    Handlebar (Flobots): 7
    You Are the Best Thing (Ray LaMontagne): 7.5

  25. natalie's avatar natalie says:

    up around the bend – 7
    master of puppets – 2.5

    cigarettes & chocolate milk – 6.5
    atlantic city – 6.8 (hey look, i’m not bruce-hating! though maybe i still am relative to everyone else…)

    after the gold rush – 4 (just wasn’t feeling all the falsetto today)
    sprawl II – 6.5

    handlebars – 5 (liked it more than expected)
    you are the best thing – 8 (this also)

  26. Maureen's avatar Maureen says:

    Up Around the Bend (CCR): 7
    Master of Puppets (Metallica): 2
    I totally got tricked at like 3 and a half minutes with the Metallica song, and thought that for a metal song, it didn’t really bother me…but then it kept going and made me bothered. CCR is always going to work for me – but I might never love it.

    Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk (Rufus Wainwright): 5.5
    Atlantic City (Bruce Springsteen): 9
    I have been falling deeper in love with The Boss lately – and I always enjoy Atlantic City.

    After the Gold Rush (Neil Young): 6
    Sprawl II (Arcade Fire): 8.5
    I love Neil – but After the Gold Rush is not one of my favorites. Sprawl II is one of my faves by Arcade Fire – and feels so good to sing along with!

    Handlebar (Flobots): 5.5
    You Are the Best Thing (Ray LaMontagne): 9.5
    Oh Ray. I love you.

  27. Casey's avatar Casey says:

    This is me and mom (Lori) my vote is first followed by hers

    Up Around the Bend-7/8.5
    Master of Puppets-4/6

    Cigarettes & Chocolate Milk-3/3
    Atlantic City-4/7

    After the Gold Rush-4/4
    Sprawl II-5/5

    Handlebars-8/5
    You are the Best Thing-4/7

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