Votes due Thursday, October 20th at 11 PM EST: Alright friends- as usual, I’m going a little country on my day. However, that said we have seen some pretty low voter turnouts in recent days, so hopefully having some familiar radio hits mixed in with some guitar picking gems will get people back on board. Grooveshark link is here, best of luck to all songs.
Jeffrey Foucault and Rodney Parker match guitars on classic rock tracks fifteen years removed to kick us off. Go to it- here’s some Wikipedia narrative fun:
1) “Lodi” describes the plight of a down-and-out musician whose career has landed him playing a gig in a small town named Lodi. After playing in local bars, he finds himself stranded and unable to raise bus or train fare to leave.
2) The song depicts a young couple’s romantic escape to the New Jersey city Atlantic City, but also wrestles with the inevitability of death as the man in the relationship intends to take a job in organized crime once arriving in the city.
Next up, these songs have little in common. But I thought it was a good match- hopefully you do too. “Give A Little Bit” (Goo Goo Dolls covering Supertramp) takes on “Do You Remember Rock And Roll Radio” (KISS covering The Ramones.)
Remember our soundtrack? It had "New Slang"? Well it also had this. No, not the Whitney Houston song.
Moving on, these songs also have little in common. But again, I thought it was a good match. I don’t know, we are running out of songs, give us some slack 🙂 “I Will Always Love You” (Whitney Houston covering Dolly Parton) vs. “Such Great Heights” (Iron & Wine covering Postal Service.)
Dixie Chicks vs. Mindy Smith round this out. “Travelin’ Soldier” takes on “Jolene” in the War of Northern Aggression, Part Deux.
Pasteable:
“Lodi” by Jeffrey Foucault
“Atlantic City” by Rodney Parker
“Give A Little Bit” by Goo Goo Dolls
“Do You Remember Rock And Roll Radio” by KISS
“I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston
“Such Great Heights” by Iron and Wine
“Travelin’ Soldier” by Dixie Chicks
“Jolene” by Mindy Smith
Living the Dream 
maybe there’s been low turnout on voters b/c lots of rounds (including this one) have been really boring. Please no more adelle, i can’t take it anymore!
“Lodi” by Jeffrey Foucault
“Atlantic City” by Rodney Parker – 6/5.5
“Give A Little Bit” by Goo Goo Dolls
“Do You Remember Rock And Roll Radio” by KISS – 4/3
“I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston – SERIOUSLY?!?! someone actually nominated this?
“Such Great Heights” by Iron and Wine – 1/2
“Travelin’ Soldier” by Dixie Chicks
“Jolene” by Mindy Smith – 4.5/4
Hey Dane- first thanks for being such a consistent voter and getting involved with the tourney!
I hear you, and as the list for the next round builds out I think things are going to kick it up a notch in a big way. As it is now, we’re just trying to finish up on a strong note and give everyone’s nominations a genre-specific shot. Check the updated rankings for a preview on things to come (I’ve been trying to update this every morning):
https://livingthedream.org/music-and-music-tournaments/fall-2011-covers-tournament/round-of-64-seeding/
I love this playlist…. More country, please! 🙂
“Lodi” by Jeffrey Foucault – 7.5
“Atlantic City” by Rodney Parker – 6
“Give A Little Bit” by Goo Goo Dolls – 6.5
“Do You Remember Rock And Roll Radio” by KISS – 4
“I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston – 6
“Such Great Heights” by Iron and Wine – 9
“Travelin’ Soldier” by Dixie Chicks – 10
“Jolene” by Mindy Smith – 5
**In my next life, I want to come back as a Dixie Chick. Natalie Manes can do no wrong.** 🙂
“Lodi” by Jeffrey Foucault 4.5
“Atlantic City” by Rodney Parker 7.5
“Give A Little Bit” by Goo Goo Dolls 5
“Do You Remember Rock And Roll Radio” by KISS 6.5
“I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston 7
“Such Great Heights” by Iron and Wine 3
I love singing along to Whitney. This cover of Such Great Heights is such a snooze fest.
“Travelin’ Soldier” by Dixie Chicks 8
“Jolene” by Mindy Smith 7.5
Really liked both of these…
“Lodi” by Jeffrey Foucault 4
“Atlantic City” by Rodney Parker 3
“Give A Little Bit” by Goo Goo Dolls 2
“Do You Remember Rock And Roll Radio” by KISS 5
“I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston 4
“Such Great Heights” by Iron and Wine 3
“Travelin’ Soldier” by Dixie Chicks 3
“Jolene” by Mindy Smith 5
“Lodi” by Jeffrey Foucault 3
“Atlantic City” by Rodney Parker 4
“Give A Little Bit” by Goo Goo Dolls 6.5
“Do You Remember Rock And Roll Radio” by KISS 5
“I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston 1
“Such Great Heights” by Iron and Wine 2. Worst matchup ever?
“Travelin’ Soldier” by Dixie Chicks 3
“Jolene” by Mindy Smith 7
“Lodi” by Jeffrey Foucault-7.0
“Atlantic City” by Rodney Parker-7.8
“Give A Little Bit” by Goo Goo Dolls-6.5
“Do You Remember Rock And Roll Radio” by KISS-2.9
“I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston-2.0
“Such Great Heights” by Iron and Wine-3.0
Problem with the first one of this pair, didn’t bother to try to work through it. I am quite familiar with both versions of this, and both are a bit much.
“Travelin’ Soldier” by Dixie Chicks-9.0
“Jolene” by Mindy Smith-2.5
I am another listener that thinks the Dixie Chicks are stellar musicians. Good job.
Mostly enjoyed this round. Thanks guys.
Lodi” by Jeffrey Foucault 4.0
“Atlantic City” by Rodney Parker 5.0
“Give A Little Bit” by Goo Goo Dolls 6.5
“Do You Remember Rock And Roll Radio” by KISS 5.0
“I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston 7.0
“Such Great Heights” by Iron and Wine 4.0
“Travelin’ Soldier” by Dixie Chicks 6.0
“Jolene” by Mindy Smith 8.0
Lodi” by Jeffrey Foucault 4.0
“Atlantic City” by Rodney Parker 5.0
“Give A Little Bit” by Goo Goo Dolls 6.0
“Do You Remember Rock And Roll Radio” by KISS 4.0
“I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston 6.5
“Such Great Heights” by Iron and Wine 4.0
“Travelin’ Soldier” by Dixie Chicks 6.5
“Jolene” by Mindy Smith 7.5
Guillermo the obvious match up is I will Always Love you vs. Jolene! But I understand not wanting to pit a Dolly song against a Dolly song after the last round.
“Lodi” by Jeffrey Foucault 9
“Atlantic City” by Rodney Parker 6
This is definitely a good match up. Jeffrey Foucault adds a lot of soul to a song I otherwise barely notice. On first blush this seems like an okay score for Atlantic City, but the original is a reliable 10. Soooo.
“Give A Little Bit” by Goo Goo Dolls 4
“Do You Remember Rock And Roll Radio” by KISS 6
KISS doesn’t really do much special but this is such solid source material.
“I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston 7.5
“Such Great Heights” by Iron and Wine 6
Iron & Wine is really hilarious to see live. I bet you wouldn’t guess that. He tells good stories.
“Travelin’ Soldier” by Dixie Chicks 8
“Jolene” by Mindy Smith 7.4
“Lodi” by Jeffrey Foucault 7 [made me realize this is actually a good song. Good reappropriation.]
“Atlantic City” by Rodney Parker 2 [hate. 2 points for doing this song though, b/c it reminds people of the original.]
“Give A Little Bit” by Goo Goo Dolls 1.5 [come on…what is this uninspired bullshit of a song?]
“Do You Remember Rock And Roll Radio” by KISS 8.0 This is as strange an artifact as the Superbowl Shuffle…. the Saxophones? Um….but it’s amazing. 6 Music points and 2 points for whoever dug up this odd little gem.
“I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston 4.6 [dislike this genre, but Whitney does an amazing delivery…and it reminds me of Karoke in East Timor…. so there’s that.]
“Such Great Heights” by Iron and Wine 5.5
“Travelin’ Soldier” by Dixie Chicks 7
“Jolene” by Mindy Smith 8
Lodi” by Jeffrey Foucault 4.0
“Atlantic City” by Rodney Parker 5.5
“Give A Little Bit” by Goo Goo Dolls 6.5
“Do You Remember Rock And Roll Radio” by KISS 3.5
I’ve been a loyal Goo Goo Dolls fan since I was 11 and found out they were from Buffalo. Kiss just all sounds alike to me and I can do without it.
“I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston 7.5
“Such Great Heights” by Iron and Wine 4
I didn’t nominate it, I’m not even the biggest Whitney fan, but I think a soundtrack that’s only beat out by Pink Floyd, AC/DC, and Michael Jackson on the all time best-sellers list (I got bored while listening to iron and wine) deserves a certain amount of respect.
“Travelin’ Soldier” by Dixie Chicks 9
“Jolene” by Mindy Smith 3
I really only listened to this round tonight because I love Travelin Soldier and the Dixie Chicks.
Lodi 7.5
Atlantic City 6.2
Give A Little Bit 2.9
Rock And Roll Radio 7
I’ve lost track of my scoring rubric. The Supertramp GALB is not that compelling as is. This just copies that. RARR hits the spot.
I Will Always Love You 6.4
Such Great Heights 3
Those PIPES. I’m having deja vu, did we have a pipes joke at some point in the past? During the ill-fated One Moment In Time vs. From A Distance? That happened when I was still in school. Where are my 20s going.
Travelin’ Soldier 8.4
Jolene 7.1
Whoa, the Dixie Chicks kinda kill it a bit. This score surprises me. I split the Dolly covers up because I kinda thought they’d both end up powerhouses. Clearly I should not have doubted the “Goodbye Earl” girls.
haven’t had my shit together enough to vote yet, but here i go (thanks, janos for the kick(:
“Lodi” by Jeffrey Foucault = 4
“Atlantic City” by Rodney Parker = 6.5
“Give A Little Bit” by Goo Goo Dolls = 6 (wow… gotta admit, decent job on a song i really like by a band i kinda really do not like)
“Do You Remember Rock And Roll Radio” by KISS = 9 (song i love covered and energized by a band i respect and like a lot. if you don’t like it, no problem… just fuck off and die somewhere without making a mess)
“I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston = 7 (we covered this in my 4th grade chorus. legendary, but ya know… not actually fantastic. amazing pipes, though, for a crackhead. you’d expect this from heroin-lungs)
“Such Great Heights” by Iron and Wine = 2 (killyourself)
“Travelin’ Soldier” by Dixie Chicks = 3
“Jolene” by Mindy Smith = 3.5 (great song ruined.)
“Lodi” by Jeffrey Foucault 5
“Atlantic City” by Rodney Parker 7
I remember not liking AC that much in a previous tourny, but it appears to have grown on me.
“Give A Little Bit” by Goo Goo Dolls 6
“Do You Remember Rock And Roll Radio” by KISS 5
“I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston 3
“Such Great Heights” by Iron and Wine 8
“Travelin’ Soldier” by Dixie Chicks 5.5
“Jolene” by Mindy Smith 4
“Lodi” by Jeffrey Foucault 6.4
“Atlantic City” by Rodney Parker 5.2
This may sound like a weird nitpick, but Lodi is a lonely song, so the duet took some of the edge off. Similarly, Atlantic City lacks the desperation of Bruce’s version, but by a lot more.
“Give A Little Bit” by Goo Goo Dolls: 6.6
“Do You Remember Rock And Roll Radio” by KISS: 10
Give a Little Bit was surprisingly good. KISS is my nomination. I unabashedly love this cover. The highlight of Tribute to the Ramones, which was one of my favorite CDs from 2002-2004. the original version is great too, but KISS adds even more energy, especially the thundering drums and guitar right before the chorus. Gene Simmons vocals are also a great tribute to one of his contemporaries.
“I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston: 6
“Such Great Heights” by Iron and Wine: 3
What was Iron & Wine thinking? They must have been on some pretty strong downer to think this was good music. Whitney is super cheesy, but she can def sing.
“Travelin’ Soldier” by Dixie Chicks: 8.6
“Jolene” by Mindy Smith: 6.1
Jolene is ok, but Travelin’ Soldier was surprisingly powerful. I guess my problem with Jolene is that if Jolene doesn’t really like him, they’ll probably break up at some point anyway, at which point Dolly/Mindy can have another shot. I scored the cover about how I’d score the original.
“Lodi” by Jeffrey Foucault – 3.5
“Atlantic City” by Rodney Parker 8
Amazing… you remove the Boss’s voice, and I really like Atlantic City.
“Give A Little Bit” by Goo Goo Dolls 6.3
“Do You Remember Rock And Roll Radio” by KISS 5.5
“I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston 7
“Such Great Heights” by Iron and Wine 4
“Travelin’ Soldier” by Dixie Chicks 2.5
“Jolene” by Mindy Smith 7.5
Really liked that version of Jolene! Thanks nominator!
“Lodi” by Jeffrey Foucault – 9.5
“Atlantic City” by Rodney Parker – 6.5
Lodi is my last nomination and, as expected, I love it. This song is off the album Stripping Cane, and if you like this song, you should totally check out the whole album. It felt like Rodney was kind of bored with Atlantic City. Still a good song, but not great.
“Give A Little Bit” by Goo Goo Dolls – 6
“Do You Remember Rock And Roll Radio” by KISS – 4
This GALB cover will always remind me of a kind of awesome video shown during my team leader training for AmeriCorps. Despite my love of AmeriCorps, this song is only okay. But still better than KISS.
“I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston – 5.5
“Such Great Heights” by Iron and Wine – 6.5
I do know all the words to IWALY, and miiiiiiiight have just sang this whole song out loud. Ha, sorry neighbors! However, it really isn’t that good. I am only okay with this version of Such Great Heights. However, it is a cold, rainy, windy day in Chicago, and this song just feels extra appropriate today.
“Travelin’ Soldier” by Dixie Chicks – 7
“Jolene” by Mindy Smith – 8
Jolene is amazing.
“Lodi” by Jeffrey Foucault: 6
“Atlantic City” by Rodney Parker: 8.8
“Give A Little Bit” by Goo Goo Dolls: 8
“Do You Remember Rock And Roll Radio” by KISS: 6
“I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston: 4.5 (this hasn’t aged well)
“Such Great Heights” by Iron and Wine: 5.5 (I’m sure this is somebody’s type of song. It sounds nice, but it’s not really for me).
“Travelin’ Soldier” by Dixie Chicks: 7
“Jolene” by Mindy Smith: 5
“Lodi” by Jeffrey Foucault 5
“Atlantic City” by Rodney Parker 4.9
“Give A Little Bit” by Goo Goo Dolls: 6.8
“Do You Remember Rock And Roll Radio” by KISS: 9.8
“I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston: 9.9
“Such Great Heights” by Iron and Wine: 9.4
IWALY is a classic. Beyond cheesy but so beautiful. And wow, what a great Such Great Heights cover! Great round.
“Travelin’ Soldier” by Dixie Chicks: 6.4
“Jolene” by Mindy Smith: 2
Votses are for ChrisB and Carolyn, respecitively.
“Lodi” by Jeffrey Foucault = 5, 7
“Atlantic City” by Rodney Parker = 7.8, 6
“Give A Little Bit” by Goo Goo Dolls = 6, 7
“Do You Remember Rock And Roll Radio” by KISS = 3, 5
“I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston = 4, 9.3
“Such Great Heights” by Iron and Wine = 7, 8
“Travelin’ Soldier” by Dixie Chicks = 4, 5
“Jolene” by Mindy Smith = 7, 5.5
And just as I hit send, I notice that I can’t spell respectively.