Well, a slow-pitch softball tournament distracted me from the ol’ music tournament for a bit, but I am now prepared to present the scores and announce the division finalists. Ready?
Actually, the match-ups were impressively not close. Higher & Higher destroyed People C’mon 178.3 to 140.4. Delta Spirit never had much of a chance, but as soon as Team Maureen cast their votes, it was game over.
Sunny Afternoon blew away Son of a Preacherman 164.8 to 134.6.
Home wiped out A Boy Named Sue 185.5 to 162.5, though Mr. Cash received the most perfect scores in this set, with three 10s. Sharpe/Zeros also earned a spot on the Wall of 10s with two 10s.
The final match was the closest and the one upset – Let Me Go defeated Fisherman’s Blues 142.25 to 135.20. The Waterboys also depart in style with two 10s, earning them a place on the Wall.
High score of the night went to “Home”, averaging 7.73.
So, the division finals look like this:
Division C – Higher & Higher (Jackie Wilson) vs Sunny Afternoon (The Kinks)
Division D – Home (Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros) vs Let Me Go (Cake)
The #1 seeds in each appear to have a solid advantage based on scoring history, but who knows how the mood will strike when it’s time to place those votes.
Living the Dream 
I was having delicious Ethiopian food with a voter last night and I was talking about how frustrating it is when you really love a song and you can’t figure out how other people don’t. She very astutely reminded me that it is equally frustrating to think a song is terrible and look flabbergasted at high scores for it (i.e., my experience with “A Day In The Life” last tournament.) These cruel, cruel tournaments- I feel like emoting my version of Catholic/Jacob frustration for a moment. Janos, Carrie, and Ryan: The Waterboys needed you, and I suspect that you three would have combined for at least a +8. Who knows for sure, and that’s the way the cookie crumbles.
So maybe appropriately, this song sails off into some sunset where the ocean meets the train tracks in a brilliant fading of tangerine smoke. Or even more appropriately given its opponent, like a golden bird that flies away, a candle’s fickle flame. And ultimately, it wasn’t destined to win, but I am happy to have this in my life now. Fare thee well, lads- you’ll still make my “This Was 2011” CD. You’ve got Track 4 written all over you.
Wait, Cristina and I did vote on all these match-ups! Maybe our internet failed us and it didn’t go through! For the record, I voted for Fisherman’s Blues 9-8.5 or something, but Cristina went -2.5 the other way, so Let Me Go still would have advanced. It’s my fault for not checking…
ahhhh gotcha. i thought that was weird, i should have mentioned something to you yesterday. tricky submit button…