Past tournament participants will recall that we usually have a results post and match-ups post, but since I’m flying solo we’re going to combine the two.
When you’re trying to win a best of seven series, it’s poison to fall behind 2-0. You can definitely come back, but your margin for error drops to razor thin. It’s interesting to see what songs Day 1 losers brought out in their attempts to even the score.
Day 2 match-ups are posted below. You can listen to them here, and vote by commenting below before 9pm on Friday. Squeeze em’ in before the weekend. And now, here are the results of Day 1:
10th Avenue Freeze-Out (Bruce Springsteen) tops Keep the Cosmic Trigger Happy (Super Furry Animals), 96.5-85.5. Bruce Springsteen leads 1-0. Gmo looks to be playing it confident with a rather obscure track off The River for his second pick. Then again, Dem Adam’s entire band’s catalog is obscure. And I apparently had no idea how to spell ‘catalog.’ Thought there was a ‘ue’ at the end. What? Both spellings are correct. Damn you, WordPress.
Rudie Can’t Fail (Clash) crushes Loving Cup (Rolling Stones), 130.7-112.1. The Clash lead 1-0. Gimme Shelter v. Card Cheat is a second straight intense match-up.
That’s It, I Quit, I’m Moving On (Sam Cooke) eeks out Janine (David Bowie), 98.4-91.6. Sam Cooke leads 1-0. Lindsay follows up with a slow, bluesy tune, while Grant amps up the energy.
Heartbreaker (Led Zeppelin) rips Rip Her to Shreds (Blondie) to shreds, 105.45-83.15. Led Zeppelin leads 1-0. The contrast between Song Remains the Same and Fade Away might be even greater than the Bowie/Cooke pairing. The people will have to make a choice.
Day 2 Match-Ups
Out in the Street (Bruce Springsteen) vs. Hello Sunshine (Super Furry Animals)
Gimme Shelter (Rolling Stones) vs. Card Cheat (Clash)
Suffragette City (David Bowie) vs. Driftin’ Blues (Sam Cooke)
Song Remains the Same (Led Zeppelin) vs. Fade Away and Radiate (Blondie)
Living the Dream 
Out in the Street (Bruce Springsteen) 5.5
Hello Sunshine (Super Furry Animals) 5
Not really loving out on the street on its merits,but damn the energy is infectious. Energy wins this one.
Gimme Shelter (Rolling Stones) 9.5
Card Cheat (Clash) 6
Damn, that’s what i’m talking about. I have no idea how people are going to play their big guns, but when you’ve got a gun like Gimme Shelter, it’s one heck of a weapon. I don’t know what to do with Card Cheat. I think I like it more like a 7/7.5, but somehow, I always want it to feel more like a Clash song than it does, and it never ceases to bug me. I’d feel worse about it if it had a shot here, but against Gimme Shelter, no worries.
Suffragette City (David Bowie) 7
Driftin’ Blues (Sam Cooke) 6.5
More like it from Bowie – that song’s always fun. Cooke suffered from listening at night – definitely liked this enough to go download it myself, but shy of Bowie for midnight plus on a Wednesday.
Song Remains the Same (Led Zeppelin) #
Fade Away and Radiate (Blondie) #
p.s. I had trouble with the Card Cheat link. I listened to it on my own, rather than grooveshark, but I think this one works: http://grooveshark.com/s/The+Card+Cheat/3o6vVr?src=5
Out in the Street (Bruce Springsteen) vs. Hello Sunshine (Super Furry Animals)
I’m not a huge Bruce lover anyway, but Out in the Street really didn’t do anything for me. On the other hand, Hello Sunshine was perfect to listen to at the end of the day.
4.5/7.5
Gimme Shelter (Rolling Stones) vs. Card Cheat (Clash)
Gimme Shelter is one of my favorite songs. Love it. I don’t think I’d ever heard Card Cheat before. I like it, but I love Gimme Shelter.
I also had problems with the Card Cheat link — thank you Adrock for posting a new one!
8/6.5
Suffragette City (David Bowie) vs. Driftin’ Blues (Sam Cooke)
Can’t vote here, but kudos on the great pick, Grant. Suffragette City is awesome.
Song Remains the Same (Led Zeppelin) vs. Fade Away and Radiate (Blondie)
Neither of these are my favorites, but a slight edge to Zeppelin because this Blondie song feels so dated. I feel like if I looked out my window right now, it would be 1983 out there and I’m not prepared for that.
5/4.5
Out in the Street (Bruce Springsteen) 9
I love this song and am surprised it’s as obscure as it is. If you want new found respect for Adam Sandler as something other than a juvenile comedian, check out his cover of Out in the Street from an HBO special he did back in the 1990s.
vs. Hello Sunshine (Super Furry Animals) 6
Gimme Shelter (Rolling Stones) 7 aka the Martin Scorcese song.
vs. Card Cheat (Clash) 8
Suffragette City (David Bowie) 6
vs. Driftin’ Blues (Sam Cooke) 6
Song Remains the Same (Led Zeppelin) 6 This song has always reminded me of video game music.
vs. Fade Away and Radiate (Blondie) 4 Love Blondie, but this song has always baffled me. Debbie Harry uses the line fade away and radiate in a bunch of her songs, so it must have some importance to her, but I don’t get it.
This Sandler cover blew my mind. I wish I had known about this for (a) my Jewish artists project last December, and (b) my Springsteen covers project I finished a week ago. Thanks for this, Press!
Out in the Street (Bruce Springsteen) 6
Hello Sunshine (Super Furry Animals) 8
So excited to see Hello Sunshine here. Oh, man – surely SFAs’ best? I’ve actually never heard this version with the intro before but, nonetheless, I love this song but it is very British (allow me to introduce the word ‘minger’ – one of my peoples’ finest derogatory smackdowns, if not the finest). It’s very sweet in a very unconventional way. Anyone else remember it from ‘The OC’ when Seth and Summer first get jiggy? No? Yeah, that’s probably just me after having been continuously likened to Seth Cohen on a daily basis in my last two years of college. At least it wasn’t Dawson Leery, I guess. Turned out this eventually did wonders for my dating life but it definitely took a while. Anyway…I digress. Not a giant fan of this Bruce track – I find the lyrical repetition niggles me a little.
Gimme Shelter (Rolling Stones) 8.5
Card Cheat (Clash) 9.5
I think Card Cheat is brilliant. I love it. Tough match-up though – well played 🙂
Suffragette City (David Bowie) 7.5
Driftin’ Blues (Sam Cooke) 4
You guys…I just don’t think I’m a Sam Cooke kinda guy.
Song Remains the Same (Led Zeppelin) 7
Fade Away and Radiate (Blondie) 8
I think Fade Away is understated Debbie Harry at her most brilliant.
Maybe your soul is broken? Kidding, kind of. 🙂
Out in the Street (Bruce Springsteen) 6
Hello Sunshine (Super Furry Animals) 9
This is a solid Bruce song, but WOW I didn’t expect such a powerful song from SFA. Maybe it’s the beautiful weather today here in College Park, I can’t explain my thoughts other than Hello Sunshine just resonated with me stronger.
Gimme Shelter (The Rolling Stones) 9
Card Cheat (The Clash) 6
I don’t care if Martin Scorsese made it so a Stones song can never be used in a film ever again, this song is a candidate of mine for what some friends and I call a band’s “anthem”- the song that defines the group. Not their most popular song, but their strongest, most artistic endeavor, since the Stones have a ton of killer songs it’s a tough choice, but Gimme Shelter is to me on the short list.
Suffragette City (David Bowie) 6
Driftin’ Blues (Sam Cooke) 8
I love me some Bowie, but I can’t shake how Sam can move me. That man knew some heartache (well as much as a philanderer could- maybe he’s just a good fake). I still love Sam
Song Remains the Same (Led Zeppelin) 6
Fade Away and Radiate (Blondie)4
Not the strongest Zeppelin choice, but I prefer it over Blondie’s song.
Out in the Street (Bruce Springsteen) vs. Hello Sunshine (Super Furry Animals) = x vs. #
Gimme Shelter (Rolling Stones) vs. Card Cheat (Clash) = 6 vs. 9
Gimmie Shelter is of course a classic, with a unique groove, but unfortunately upon this listen it sounded more like an extended jam where the Card Cheat is such a cool, weird song with great lyrics. I love that a band that could write a song like “White Riot” could also write a song like this.
Suffragette City (David Bowie) vs. Driftin’ Blues (Sam Cooke) = 7 .5 to 8
Whoa, I’ve never heard this Sam Cooke song before and didn’t know he did tunes like this. Nice to hear.
Song Remains the Same (Led Zeppelin) vs. Fade Away and Radiate (Blondie) = 7 to 7
I realized I’ve never listened to ‘the Song Remains the Same’ in its entirety before. Its definitely unlike any other Led Zepplin song. I dig a soaring 70s jam a la Rush – bordering on Prog but ultimately radio friendly, though when I think Led Zepplin I want some double bass action groove – like a fucking mastadon destroying everything in its path. When did Rush start in relation to this song? There’s quite a few similarities in the first minute, even in the notes chosen in the lead at the beginning. It sounds exactly like Fly by NIght, or visaversa. Not a bad thing. The verses are totally different though. The Blondie song is also unlike any Blondie song I’ve heard and I liked it more as it went on. I had to listen to these songs twice to get the full impact. I totally would’ve partied w/ Debbie back in the day. Has anyone ever seen “Videodrome”? Pretty cool movie actually.
Unfortunately, not to cop-out, but these are two radically different songs with completely different goals in mind. I liked them both.
Song Remains the Same was first released in 1973 on Houses of the Holy, I believe. Rush formed in August ’68, but their first album isn’t until ’74 and Fly By Night is released some time in ’75. Honestly hadn’t thought about it, but a cool point on the similarity.
Out in the Street (Bruce Springsteen) vs. Hello Sunshine (Super Furry Animals)6/7
Gimme Shelter (Rolling Stones) vs. Card Cheat (Clash)7/5
Suffragette City (David Bowie) vs. Driftin’ Blues (Sam Cooke)5/7.5
Song Remains the Same (Led Zeppelin) vs. Fade Away and Radiate (Blondie)6/5
Great picks today, guys.
Out in the Street (Bruce Springsteen) vs. Hello Sunshine (Super Furry Animals)
7.2: 8
Gimme Shelter (Rolling Stones) vs. Card Cheat (Clash)
8 : 8.4
Suffragette City (David Bowie) vs. Driftin’ Blues (Sam Cooke)
9: 6
I love Suffragette City. So much good energy.
Song Remains the Same (Led Zeppelin) vs. Fade Away and Radiate (Blondie)
7: 6.7
Out in the Street(Bruce Springsteen) vs Hello Sunshine (Super Furry Animals) 6: 7
Gimme Shelter (Rolling Stones) vs. Card Cheat (Clash) 8: 7.5
Suffragette City (David Bowie) vs. Driftin’ Blues (Sam Cooke) 7.5 : 8
Song Remains the Same (Led Zeppelin) vs. Fade Away and Radiate (Blondie) 9 :4
Out in the Street (Bruce Springsteen): 6.5
Hello Sunshine (Super Furry Animals): 8
Out in the Street is a solid song by the Boss, just not my flavor of the day. Hello Sunshine has put me in a happier mood. Both solid picks, but the nod goes to Super Furry Animals.
Gimme Shelter (Rolling Stones): 7
Card Cheat (Clash): 8.5
The Card Cheat got me pumped for some London Calling. I’ve heard Gimme Shelter a bit too much over the past few decades.
Suffragette City (David Bowie): 5
Driftin’ Blues (Sam Cooke): 9
Sam Cooke always wins, I’m biased, that man could do no wrong (singing wise).
Song Remains the Same (Led Zeppelin): 6.5
Fade Away and Radiate (Blondie): 7
I can’t believe I’d vote for Blondie over Led Zepplin, but Debbie Harry got it going on here. I must have bumped my head pretty hard today.
Out in the Street (Bruce Springsteen) vs. Hello Sunshine (Super Furry Animals) 6/6
Gimme Shelter (Rolling Stones) vs. Card Cheat (Clash) 4.8/7
It’s always been my opinion that Gimme Shelter is too long. I haven’t heard this Clash song much, and it’s not their most innovating offering but it captures their sound nicely.
Suffragette City (David Bowie) vs. Driftin’ Blues (Sam Cooke) 9/4
Suffragette City took some time to grow on me, but it just gets better the more you hear it. This Sam Cooke ditty isn’t bad but there’s nothing much that distinguishes it.
Song Remains the Same (Led Zeppelin) vs. Fade Away and Radiate (Blondie) # #
I don’t always love “Fade Away.” It’s taken me a long time to come around to it, so I’m not surprised it’s a little polarizing, but I’m glad some people are feeling it. I like it because it’s sultry and a little spooky. I’m not really getting the strategy for this tournament, so I think it’s been a mistake trying to go (a little) deep into the catalog rather than just pulling out the hits first. Also, I really don’t understand the appeal of approximately 97% of Led Zeppelin songs (my dad’s a huge fan but I didn’t inherit that–although he’s also the reason I like Blondie), so when I listen to the song I’m up against, I pretty much figure anything could beat it. This, however, is not a widely held opinion, and Zeppelin inspires some fierce loyalty that I just don’t know how to compete with (head injuries, apparently?).
Out in the Street (Bruce Springsteen) vs. Hello Sunshine (Super Furry Animals): 6-4
Gimme Shelter (Rolling Stones) vs. Card Cheat (Clash) 8 -6
Suffragette City (David Bowie) vs. Driftin’ Blues (Sam Cooke) 7.5 – 4
Song Remains the Same (Led Zeppelin) vs. Fade Away and Radiate (Blondie) 7 – 4
Out in the Street (Bruce Springsteen) #
Hello Sunshine (Super Furry Animals) #
Thought I’d go with something even more upbeat than Tenth Avenue Freezeout this time around. I like this Hello Sunshine song though, never heard it before. Makes me wish I was sitting on a dock with my legs hanging down with some good friends drinking a cold pibber while watching the sun set.
Gimme Shelter (Rolling Stones) 8.2
Card Cheat (Clash) 6.8
Hey, here’s something crazy: “At about 2:59 into the song, Clayton’s voice cracks twice from the strain of her powerful singing; once during the second refrain, on the word “shot” from the last line, and then again during the first line of the third and final refrain, on the word “murder”, after which Jagger can be heard saying “Whoo!” in response to Clayton’s emotional delivery. She suffered a miscarriage upon returning home, apparently due to the strain involved in reaching the highest notes.” (Wikipedia)
Suffragette City (David Bowie) 6.2
Driftin’ Blues (Sam Cooke) 7
Hey Sam, this works.
Song Remains the Same (Led Zeppelin) 5
Fade Away and Radiate (Blondie) 6.9
Zepp kinda faded into same old, but liked this Blondie a bit.
Out in the Street (Bruce Springsteen) 5.0
‘ello Sunshine (Super Furry Animals) 7.5
Gimme Shelter (Rolling Stones) 8.8
Card Cheat (Clash) 6
Suffragette City (David Bowie) ##
Driftin’ Blues (Sam Cooke) ##
Song Remains the Same (Led Zeppelin) 6.0
Fade Away and Radiate (Blondie) 9.3 (I thought this song was amazing. It’s complex and odd but never loses where it’s going. It reminds me of recent PJ Harvey, except..you know… Blondie (everyone should listen to “Let England Shake”– amazing record.) Get’s an extra point for being a deep cut that I’ve never heard before. Zepplin was sitting at a 7.5, then Robert Plant came in and just dated the hell out of it. As aforementioned, I’m a Song Remains the Same guy.
Out in the Street (Bruce Springsteen) 8.8 (deep cut? really? clearly you weren’t at any bruce shows from 2008-2009. Or 80-81, for that matter) vs. Hello Sunshine (Super Furry Animals) 4 (I’m pretty sure this was a little boring… aren’t these guys supposed to be experimental or something? Or was that what the chick at the beginning’s job was?)
Gimme Shelter (Rolling Stones) 9.6 (I mean really) vs. Card Cheat (Clash) 6.5
Suffragette City (David Bowie) 7 vs. Driftin’ Blues (Sam Cooke) 6.5
Song Remains the Same (Led Zeppelin) 7.3 vs. Fade Away and Radiate (Blondie) 6 (is this secretly the long form version of the buffy the vampire slayer theme song?)
Out in the Street (Bruce Springsteen) – 4.5
Hello Sunshine (Super Furry Animals) – 4
Gimme Shelter (Rolling Stones) – 6.5
Card Cheat (Clash) – 6
Suffragette City (David Bowie) – 5
Driftin’ Blues (Sam Cooke) – 7
Song Remains the Same (Led Zeppelin) – 7
Fade Away and Radiate (Blondie) – 6
Out in the Street (Bruce Springsteen) vs. Hello Sunshine (Super Furry Animals) 5.0 to 3.0
Gimme Shelter (Rolling Stones) vs. Card Cheat (Clash) 6.0 to 4.5
Suffragette City (David Bowie) vs. Driftin’ Blues (Sam Cooke) 4.0 to 7.0
Song Remains the Same (Led Zeppelin) vs. Fade Away and Radiate (Blondie) 4.5 to 6.0
Out in the Street (Bruce Springsteen) vs. Hello Sunshine (Super Furry Animals) 3.0 to 4.0 No, I’m not a Springsteen fan but this was bad even for him. Don’t understand the appeal.
Gimme Shelter (Rolling Stones) vs. Card Cheat (Clash) 5.0 to 5.0 Toss up. No feelings for either.
Suffragette City (David Bowie) vs. Driftin’ Blues (Sam Cooke) 4.0 to 6.5 Never was a fan of Bowie, especially after I saw him fall to earth. Cooke’s blues is much more listenable.
Song Remains the Same (Led Zeppelin) vs. Fade Away and Radiate (Blondie) 6.0 to 5.9 Zepp was OK and the Rock knows I’m not a great fan but Blondie took too long to catch my ear and then faded to early.