Two dramatic series come to an end as we enter Game 7. Major props to Midnight Mike, Cristina, Grant and Lindsay for their coaching thus far. It’s a shame only two will advance to the next round. Meanwhile, tonight features the beginning of our undercard- the artist that emerges from the bottom four will become the #1 contender. Listen to all of the tracks here except for Helden by David Bowie, and vote by commenting below before 10pm (EST) Tuesday.
Game 7 Match-ups
Sympathy for the Devil (Rolling Stones) vs. Safe European Home (Clash)
Helden (David Bowie) vs. God Bless the Child (Sam Cooke)
Undercard
Monday Morning (Fleetwood Mac) vs. Kodachrome (Paul Simon)
Arlandria (Foo Fighters) vs. I Wish (Stevie Wonder)
Living the Dream 
Game 7 Match-ups
Sympathy for the Devil (Rolling Stones) vs. Safe European Home (Clash) 9/7.5
Helden (David Bowie) vs. God Bless the Child (Sam Cooke) */*
Undercard
Monday Morning (Fleetwood Mac) vs. Kodachrome (Paul Simon) 7.5/8.75
I love Fleetwood Mac and Paul Simon. What a tough match-up! I can’t wait to hear Gold Dust Woman and Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes. I hope they aren’t both up on the same day, that would be like choosing between my children (if I had any).
Arlandria (Foo Fighters) vs. I Wish (Stevie Wonder) 4.5/9
Stevie Wonder is such a great note on which to end! I’m bouncing all over the law review office right now!
Sympathy for the Devil (Rolling Stones) vs. Safe European Home (Clash)
8.5 – 7.5 … two great songs.
Helden (David Bowie) vs. God Bless the Child (Sam Cooke)
6.5 – 7
Arlandria (Foo Fighters) vs. I Wish (Stevie Wonder)
6.5 – 9 … this going to be a tough round for the Foo Fighters, though I like them. Stevie’s catalogue is just so good and deep.
Scored for me and then Meghan
Game 7 Match-ups
Sympathy for the Devil (Rolling Stones) 9.5/7
Safe European Home (Clash) 6.5/6
A: Sad to see this matchup end. Not my favorite Clash tune, but this has been worth it anyway
Helden (David Bowie) 6/5
God Bless the Child (Sam Cooke) 5/4
A: Just can’t deal with the German from Bowie… still great musically. First miss for me on Sam Cooke.
Undercard
Monday Morning (Fleetwood Mac) 5/6
Kodachrome (Paul Simon) 6.5/6.5
Arlandria (Foo Fighters) 7.5/6.5
I Wish (Stevie Wonder) 9/7.5
A: Now this is a helluva matchup.. And what a way to start!
Scores for me and then Meghan
Game 7 Match-ups
Sympathy for the Devil (Rolling Stones) 9.5/7
Safe European Home (Clash) 6.5/6
A: Sad to see this matchup end. Not my favorite Clash tune, but this has been worth it anyway
Helden (David Bowie) 6/5
God Bless the Child (Sam Cooke) 5/4
A: Just can’t deal with the German from Bowie… still great musically. First miss for me on Sam Cooke.
Undercard
Monday Morning (Fleetwood Mac) 5/6
Kodachrome (Paul Simon) 6.5/6.5
Arlandria (Foo Fighters) 7.5/6.5
I Wish (Stevie Wonder) 9/7.5
A: Now this is a helluva matchup.. And what a way to start!
whoops, didn’t mean to post twice… sorry about that.
Game 7 Match-ups
Sympathy for the Devil (Rolling Stones) vs. Safe European Home (Clash) = 8.5:10
–this one was tough as hell, but Safe European Home, is my example of a perfect song.
Helden (David Bowie) vs. God Bless the Child (Sam Cooke) = 9:5
–first time I heard Helden (yesterday), i was blown away and it’s not just the “weird/novelty” factor (hi, Grant). somehow better than the english version. as for sam cooke – all 5 points are for his amazing voice. backup vocals are grating, instrumentals seem not part of the song and the lyrics shouldn’t annoy me as much as they do… but here we are.
—
Undercard
Monday Morning (Fleetwood Mac) vs. Kodachrome (Paul Simon) = 6.5:8
–normally not much of a fan of fleetwood mac, but this song was very good. evenly matched.
Arlandria (Foo Fighters) vs. I Wish (Stevie Wonder) = 5.5:7
–arlandria *reminds* me of a good song. it’s like a proto-version of a song that could be great with some work. something’s missing.
Sympathy for the Devil (Rolling Stones) vs. Safe European Home (Clash) 4.5/9.5
Minus one for every extra minute of “hoo hoo” past the 3 minute mark in Sympathy.
Helden (David Bowie) vs. God Bless the Child (Sam Cooke) 9.6/5
Monday Morning (Fleetwood Mac) vs. Kodachrome (Paul Simon) 7/9.2
I realized too late that Simon & Garfunkel is probably the band I could have done the most justice to as a coach. But I don’t know Paul Simon much, other than this song and having listened to Graceland a few times. Looking forward to getting to know Paul a little more.
Arlandria (Foo Fighters) vs. I Wish (Stevie Wonder) 3/9
I like Dave Grohl so much as an individual that I feel pretty bad for how I feel about his band. And even though I am generally no funk fan, this Stevie song has the one-two punch of personal nostalgia and excellent musicianship.
driving from the backseat tonight.
Game 7 Match-ups
Sympathy for the Devil (Rolling Stones) 7.8
Safe European Home (Clash) 7.8
I refuse to decide this. still would love to hear Love in the Supermarket and London Calling but I guess I sometimes “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”?…. eh… um… sorry.
Helden (David Bowie) ## My all-time favorite Bowie Song. The emotion in his vocals in the German passage is just incredible. Fortunately, Bowie’s work runs deep.
God Bless the Child (Sam Cooke) ## While I’ve been up against Sam this whole time, I have to say that he is one of my favorite artists and last A Change Is Gonna Come would have gotten a 10 from me as well had I been able to vote. That said, I’m really surprised that Twisting the Night Away was not the Game 7 nomination.
Undercard
Monday Morning (Fleetwood Mac) 6.5
Kodachrome (Paul Simon) 6.9
Arlandria (Foo Fighters) 2.0
I’m just gonna say that the ACTUAL LYRICS to this song include:
“Shame, shame go away,
Come again some other day.
Memories keep haunting me.
Help me chase them all away.
Hush, now settle down,
Button up, don’t make a sound.
Close your eyes, turn around.
Help me burn this to the ground.
Come now, take the blame, that’s okay, I’ll play the game.
I don’t care, it’s all the same, watch it all go up in flames.
Use me up, spit me out,
Let me be your hand-me-down.”
I Wish (Stevie Wonder) 8.5
I thought about Twistin’, but it isn’t one of my favorite Sam songs. God Bless the Child appealed to my Sunday-self. I think it is beautiful. (This may prove to be a mistake)
Could have slayed with What a Wonderful World too, Animal House memories and all! Thank you for a couple previously unknown (to me) Sam songs though… always good finds.
Sympathy for the Devil (Rolling Stones) 7 vs. Safe European Home (Clash) 5 I really want the Clash to move on, but this song is pretty disappointing for a game 7 match up. Hopefully everyone else disagrees with me.
Helden (David Bowie) 9 vs. God Bless the Child (Sam Cooke) 7
Love heroes, but why this version? I think the original album track is all english and the one on his greatest hits is only 3 or 4 minutes.
Undercard
Monday Morning (Fleetwood Mac) 5 vs. Kodachrome (Paul Simon) 8
Arlandria (Foo Fighters) X vs. I Wish (Stevie Wonder) X
Kudos to Dem Adam and the Super Furry Animals. Those nailbiter losses in Games 2 and 3 were a big wake-up call and injected some humility into my nominations going forward. Was worried “Fire In My Heart” was going to come out- that’d be my recommendation for people looking for more SFA, got that on a mix CD years ago. Well done though.
Game 7 Match-ups
Sympathy for the Devil (Rolling Stones) 7.6
Safe European Home (Clash) 7.5
Surprised Castro didn’t go with Train In Vain. And pleasantly surprised that I don’t have to worry about going against Sympathy next round if Stones go through.
Helden (David Bowie) 7.5
God Bless the Child (Sam Cooke) 5
What Grant said about “Twistin’ The Night Away.” Or “Wonderful World.” Also, I hope that Bowie going to 7 games increases the likelihood that we see this in the future:
Undercard
Monday Morning (Fleetwood Mac) 8.2
Kodachrome (Paul Simon) 7.3
This is a personally tough one. Kodachrome had a spot on “This Was 2009.” Monday Morning I’ve never heard before, and after one listen has now landed a spot on the “Potential This Was 2012” song board (there’s a Fleetwood Mac song on the majority of my “This was 20_ _” ‘s) One of the many great things about FM is their delivery of potentially contrived lines like “you know it’s true, you only want me when I get over you.” Honest and gritty, in a way that I don’t feel silly for acknowledging and personalizing.
Arlandria (Foo Fighters) 4
I Wish (Stevie Wonder) 8.2
Coach-to-Coach Water Cooler Thoughts: Stevie Wonder is no joke. But Dave Grohl is incredibly talented. I respect starting with a recent track, but I don’t think you can go this deep into the catalog to survive the Stevie. Hoping to see a kickback to the mid-90s, that should shake things up a bit.
Grant and I had some serious discussions about throwing that song in, but I think that there are a lot of people voting in this tourney that would just not appreciate it. That said…I sure hope it shows up in the next round if Bowie moves on.
Sympathy for the Devil (Rolling Stones) vs. Safe European Home (Clash) = 6 to 9.75
I agree with Orce, Safe European Home is nearly a perfect song. I didn’t give it a 10 as maybe it just hit me at the right time today. Having been the big dumb gringo in at least one altercation and a few other near-altercations, this song has particular resonance with me in terms of dealing with all the confused feelings of anger and self-doubt that goes along with sorting out your place in the world.
This is the second rolling stones song that i’ve realized i’ve never paid much attention to – i never really listened to the lyrics before to this and they’re great. Unfortunately Safe European Home has everything going for it.
Helden (David Bowie) vs. God Bless the Child (Sam Cooke) = 7 to 6
Boss tune from Bowie. This is some almost krautrock madness. Dig it. This is the song that Jacob Dylan’s band butchered in the 90s, right? They really really missed the vibe of this song. Terrible.
I enjoyed this version of the Sam Cooke tune, however I wasn’t so into the backing vocals. Unfortunately I have to give this to Bowie
Monday Morning (Fleetwood Mac) vs. Kodachrome (Paul Simon) 4.5 to 6
Arlandria (Foo Fighters) vs. I Wish (Stevie Wonder) = 5.5 to 8.5
Anyone involved with “Wild Wild West” should be put in jail. Along with a lot of other people.
Game 7 Match-ups
Sympathy for the Devil (Rolling Stones) 7.5
Safe European Home (Clash) 2.5
Helden (David Bowie) 3
God Bless the Child (Sam Cooke) 5.5
Undercard
Monday Morning (Fleetwood Mac)5
Kodachrome (Paul Simon) 5
Arlandria (Foo Fighters) 9
I Wish (Stevie Wonder) 9
Wow. I saw the Foo on this list and thought for sure they would take this handily. Stevie had me dancing in my seat from the first measure.
Sympathy for the Devil (Rolling Stones) 6
Safe European Home (Clash) 10
One of my fave Clash songs. Great choice. Sympathy for the Devils is an obvious classic but really dragged out for me this time.
Helden (David Bowie) 7
God Bless the Child (Sam Cooke) 6
Undercard
Monday Morning (Fleetwood Mac) 5
Kodachrome (Paul Simon) 5
Arlandria (Foo Fighters) 5
I Wish (Stevie Wonder) 7
Sympathy for the Devil (Rolling Stones) 6.5
Safe European Home (Clash) 8.5
While I’m with Aiko on the “hoo hoo” over-indulgence, I think Sympathy is a good song all the same. I’m not a big Clash fan but do understand that they paved the way for a lot of bands I love – you can hear that in some of their songs, this being a great example of exactly that (for example, listen to this then listen to Green Day’s ‘Kerplunk’ and/or ‘1039 Smoothed Out Slappy Hours’ albums)
Helden (David Bowie) 7.5
God Bless the Child (Sam Cooke) 4
It took me three runs through to ‘get’ this Bowie recording. Despite having grown up in Germany, I find it very hard to enjoy lyrics sung in German but I think the way he pushes his voice by that stage makes it fascinating. I’m not into SC’s GBTC but I knew I’d heard it sung by someone else before…took me a very long time for this to click but I can’t listen to it without being reminded of Lisa Simpson’s version which I think – given what is happening – is not actually that bad…
Monday Morning (Fleetwood Mac) #
Kodachrome (Paul Simon) #
I’m not allowed to vote on this but I want to very badly.
Arlandria (Foo Fighters) 5
I Wish (Stevie Wonder) 7
Love The Dave but I don’t know about this. My teenage self loves it but will I remember it in a few weeks? Probably not.
Game 7 Match-ups
Sympathy for the Devil (Rolling Stones): 7.2
Safe European Home (Clash): 9.7
I listen to the Stones enough that I’m likely to go for their deeper cuts, rather than tracks like this. But Mike might feel burned the way most voters scorned Loving Cup and Rocks Off.
Safe European Home is a delightful story capturing the Clash’s adventures recording their second album and almost getting killed in Jamaica. And man, what a guitar riff to open up. That’s just rock n roll.
Both these songs could have been 30 seconds shorter, at least, though the ‘ooh-oohs’ are pretty awesome live.
Helden (David Bowie) 7.7
God Bless the Child (Sam Cooke): 6.4
I would’ve given Bowie an 8.5 for either the German or English version, but this riff can’t sustain for 6 minutes at that level.
Undercard
Monday Morning (Fleetwood Mac) 8.0
Kodachrome (Paul Simon) 7.8
I have a feeling that Paul Simon and Fleetwood Mac have similar fan bases, so if the coaches play their cards right, this should be a tight series.
Arlandria (Foo Fighters) 5
I Wish (Stevie Wonder) 9.2
What Guillermo said. I Wish is pretty awesome.
Sympathy for the Devil (Rolling Stones) 8
Safe European Homes (The Clash) 7.5
Man two great songs, but my bias goes with the Stones here. Anyone who can throw in a WWII reference and satan has a leg up. Damn shame too this is a great thrashing Clash song.
God Bless the Child (Sam Cooke) 5.5
Helden (David Bowie) 5
This one was tough. Heroes is one of my favorite Bowie songs, and while the German version is interesting, it doesn’t resonate with me. Meanwhile I’ve been pulling for Sam all along, and this isn’t the strongest pick. His voice pulls it ahead. Just.
Undercard
Ariandria (The Foo Fighters) 5
I Wish (Stevie Wonder) 9
I’m such a rock boy. Honest, at heart I love rock more than any other genre of music, but I don’t “get” the Foo’s. Anything off of “Colour and the Shape” to me is amazing, and probably a no brainer as well. That said sorry this can’t compare with this Stevie song. I Wish is amazing. I’m mildly surprised this was the first choice, but I won’t argue against a musical masterpiece. On a side note I wish I could play this bass line. This joint swings to your soul.
Kodachrome (Paul Simon) 4
Monday Morning (Fleetwood Mac) 6
Paul Simons song didn’t do much for me in any way. Monday Morning is a solid Mac choice.
Sympathy for the Devil (Rolling Stones) vs. Safe European Home (Clash)6.5/5.0
Helden (David Bowie) vs. God Bless the Child (Sam Cooke)6.5/7.0
Undercard
Monday Morning (Fleetwood Mac) vs. Kodachrome (Paul Simon)6.4 /6.5
Arlandria (Foo Fighters) vs. I Wish (Stevie Wonder)5.0/7.0
Sympathy for the Devil (Rolling Stones) vs. Safe European Home (Clash) 6..8 to 6.0
Helden (David Bowie) vs. God Bless the Child (Sam Cooke) 7.0 to 6.0
Undercard
Monday Morning (Fleetwood Mac) vs. Kodachrome (Paul Simon) 6.5 to 9.2
Arlandria (Foo Fighters) vs. I Wish (Stevie Wonder) 7.0 to 7.5
Sympathy for the Devil (Rolling Stones) vs. Safe European Home (Clash) 5.0 to 5.0 Couldn’t get into either of these songs.
Helden (David Bowie) vs. God Bless the Child (Sam Cooke) 5.5 to 5.0 Could have lived without the German lyrics and DB’s voice or lack thereof but SC took a great song and did nothing with it and the recording/track was very dated and, therefore, unappealing.
Undercard
Monday Morning (Fleetwood Mac) vs. Kodachrome (Paul Simon) 6.0 to 7.5
Arlandria (Foo Fighters) vs. I Wish (Stevie Wonder) 6.5 to 6.5
Sympathy for the Devil (Rolling Stones) vs. Safe European Home (Clash) 6/ 9.8
Helden (David Bowie) vs. God Bless the Child (Sam Cooke) 7/ 6
Undercard
Monday Morning (Fleetwood Mac) vs. Kodachrome (Paul Simon) 9/ 7
Arlandria (Foo Fighters) vs. I Wish (Stevie Wonder) 7.8/ 7
Sympathy for the Devil (Rolling Stones) vs. Safe European Home (Clash) 7.8:9
Helden (David Bowie) vs. God Bless the Child (Sam Cooke) 8:7
Undercard
Monday Morning (Fleetwood Mac) vs. Kodachrome (Paul Simon) 8:6
Game 7 Match-ups
Sympathy for the Devil (Rolling Stones) vs. Safe European Home (Clash): 6/6
Helden (David Bowie) vs. God Bless the Child (Sam Cooke) – 6.67/5
Undercard
Monday Morning (Fleetwood Mac) vs. Kodachrome (Paul Simon): 7.5/10
I’ve finally found a Fleetwood Mac song I really like. Still, I love Kodachrome. LOVE IT.
Arlandria (Foo Fighters) vs. I Wish (Stevie Wonder): 7/7.1
What a great match-up. Both songs really hit. Still, Stevie Wonder makes me happier.
Clash 9.8
Stones 6.7
Bowie 7.2
Sam Cooke 6.5
Fleet wood 5
Paul Simon 5
Foo fighters 6
Stevie 8.7