A lot of our coaches dumped their ho-hum stuff over the weekend, but we have some great tunes going tonight. Listen here, and vote by commenting below before midnight on Wednesday. Also, just wanted to note that my indoor soccer team pulled off a huge upset, toppling the #1 seed in the Lawyers League soccer play-offs.
Game 3 Results
When the Levee Breaks (Led Zeppelin) def. Born in the USA (Bruce Springsteen), 122.9-122.7. Thanks to Gmo for catching my tabulation error- my spreadsheet is at the office, and my mental math skills have declined since their glory days of the early 90s. Led Zeppelin now leads 2-1 in the series after a fierce Monday evening comeback.
Graceland (Paul Simon) def. Big Brother (Stevie Wonder), 110-90.5. Stevie Wonder still leads the series 2-1. For inquiring minds, Simon & Garfunkel tracks are not permitted, but Paul Simon is entitled to cover songs he wrote for the duo per tournament rules, which explains the Game 4 nomination.
What’s Next to the Moon (AC/DC) def. My Generation (Who), 105-100. Salem knows he’s in trouble, and goes to a big gun for Game 4.
5-8-6 (New Order) def. Murder Mystery (Velvet Underground), 73-64.5. Both artists actually did much better on Monday than they did over the weekend. Velvet finds itself down 2-1, and turns to Sweet Jane, its most well-known radio song.
Game 4 Matchups
Badlands (live) (Bruce Springsteen) vs. Black Dog (Led Zeppelin)
* Gmo has identified this as being a better quality recording of the same song, so please use it instead.
Isn’t She Lovely (Stevie Wonder) vs. Mrs. Robinson (live) (Paul Simon)
Won’t Get Fooled Again (Who) vs. Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution (AC DC)
Sweet Jane (Velvet Underground) vs. Shadowplay (Joy Division)
Bonus quote of the day: “Once introducing himself to Bob Dylan at an L.A. party, Peter Grant offered a warm handshake. ‘I’m Peter Grant, manager of Led Zeppelin,’ he said. Dylan replied, ‘I don’t come to you with my problems, do I?’ It was the only time I’d ever seen Grant at a loss for words.”
Living the Dream 
Championship
Badlands (Bruce Springsteen) 9.1
Black Dog (Led Zeppelin) 9.0
I kinda don’t like either of you guys for making me pick which one of these songs is better. I’d have both in my playlist. “I don’t know what I been told. Big legged woman ain’t got no soul”, or “talk about a dream; try to make it real, You wake up in the night with a fear so real. You spend your life waiting for a moment that just don’t come. Well don’t waste your time waiting… Badlands”.
9 days out of 10 Zeppelin, but damn if motivational music just hit me where I needed it.
Challenger
Isn’t She Lovely (Stevie Wonder) 7
Mrs. Robinson (Paul Simon) 8.5
I’m normally deep in the Stevie camp, but Mrs Robinson is a beautiful song.
Undercards
Won’t Get Fooled Again (The Who) XX
Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution (AC/DC) XX
Sweet Jane (Velvet Underground) 8
Shadowplay (Joy Division) 7
I like learning something new. Joy Division was actually more punk, and someone played pretty good blues rock licks, but Sweet Jane just swings.
uhoh, i’m in trouble….
Badlands (live) (Bruce Springsteen) 7
vs. Black Dog (Led Zeppelin) 7 One of my goals in life was to sing Black Dog at karaoke. I accomplished this a couple years ago, mortifying my work colleagues in the process, and now I can die happy.
Isn’t She Lovely (Stevie Wonder) vs. Mrs. Robinson (live) (Paul Simon)
Won’t Get Fooled Again (Who) 5
vs. Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution (AC DC) 6
Sweet Jane (Velvet Underground) 9
vs. Shadowplay (Joy Division) 6
Badlands (live) (Bruce Springsteen) vs. Black Dog (Led Zeppelin)
8.8 : 7.2
Isn’t She Lovely (Stevie Wonder) vs. Mrs. Robinson (live) (Paul Simon)
7 : 9.2
Won’t Get Fooled Again (Who) vs. Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution (AC DC)
8.5 : 4.5
I’ve enjoyed the AC DC offerings until this one…
Sweet Jane (Velvet Underground) vs. Shadowplay (Joy Division)
9.4 : 7
Badlands (live) (Bruce Springsteen) vs. Black Dog (Led Zeppelin)
7.2 vs. 6.5
Behind only Backstreets and Thunder Road on my all-time Springsteen tracklist, I was ready to surrender it all for Badlands. But if you’re picking a live version of this track, why pull from the past-his-prime Rising tour, instead of the version from the Boss’s excellent concert album, Live 1975-1985? While I enjoyed Black Dog, my appreciation for the Led Zeppelin catalogue has certainly dwindled since my high school years–they seem almost too baroque.
Isn’t She Lovely (Stevie Wonder) vs. Mrs. Robinson (live) (Paul Simon)
5.8 vs. 4.3
Again, I think the live choice reveals the weaknesses of an artist past his prime. To me Mrs. Robinson loses its urgency in this tamped down live version. Stevie descends into cheese again here, but it’s a cheese that works. Stevie, for the win.
Won’t Get Fooled Again (Who) vs. Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution (AC DC)
8.3 v. 5.0
Maybe I missed these in prior rounds, but I am a sucker for earlier Who tracks (i.e. Substitute) and their rough-around-the-edges feel. That said, Townsend kills it on this one while AC DC, for me, just relies on their standard rock shtick here.
Sweet Jane (Velvet Underground) vs. Shadowplay (Joy Division)
## v. ##
I listened to the album version, the Live 75-85, Hyde Park, Live in New York, and this one, all of them at least five times in the last month trying to choose one to nominate when I finally pulled the Badlands trigger. This one won out for me in the end mostly for the audible chanting- I literally Youtubed to MP3′d the video just so I could upload it to Grooveshark and have it compete. I firmly believe that part of the Springsteen magic is the live stuff. I don’t want to bias the voters but if you google this show and watch the video (Barcelona 2002 Rising Tour,) you’ll see what I mean.
Badlands (live) (Bruce Springsteen) vs. Black Dog (Led Zeppelin) = 8 to 9
Badlands is surprisingly rockin. The drums sounds great. Unfortunately, speaking of drums, Black Dog has such a funky badass confusing rhythm. oh man.
Isn’t She Lovely (Stevie Wonder) vs. Mrs. Robinson (live) (Paul Simon) = 6.5 to 4.5
Unfortunately, I was always a bigger fan of the Lemonheads version over the original.
Won’t Get Fooled Again (Who) vs. Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution (AC DC) =7 to 8.5
I heard a live version of ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ with just Pete Townsend and an acoustic guitar. It made me listen to the lyrics, which I really hadn’t done before, and it was great. But oh man AC/DC was just right on today.
Sweet Jane (Velvet Underground) vs. Shadowplay (Joy Division) = 4.5 to 7
Angry and weird beats borderline-hippy and weird.
Badlands (live) (Bruce Springsteen) vs. Black Dog (Led Zeppelin) 8 – 8
Tough call here, so I’ll cop out. I agree with Jenn that this isn’t the top recording of Badlands, but I’d never heard this version before and very much enjoyed it.
Isn’t She Lovely (Stevie Wonder) vs. Mrs. Robinson (live) (Paul Simon) XX-XX
Won’t Get Fooled Again (Who) vs. Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution (AC DC) 6 – 4
Sweet Jane (Velvet Underground) vs. Shadowplay (Joy Division) 7 – 5.5
Badlands (live) (Bruce Springsteen) vs. Black Dog (Led Zeppelin)
7.3 : 7.6
Isn’t She Lovely (Stevie Wonder) vs. Mrs. Robinson (live) (Paul Simon)
4.8 : 5.4
I don’t like the non S&G version of this nearly as much.
Won’t Get Fooled Again (Who) vs. Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution (AC DC)
7.7 vs 7.2
Damn- this isn’t the version I created for Grooveshark, I recorded it from YouTube so I wouldn’t lose the intro…well, if you want to, use this- with intro and better sound quality:
+.35
+ .2
Badlands (live) (Bruce Springsteen) 7
vs. Black Dog (Led Zeppelin) 7.5
Alas, I am a big fan of both The Bruce and The Gmo but I think this live version of Badlands is a little distracting from the song itself.
Isn’t She Lovely (Stevie Wonder) 8
vs. Mrs. Robinson (live) (Paul Simon) 9
Won’t Get Fooled Again (Who) 5.5
vs. Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution (AC DC) 5
Sweet Jane (Velvet Underground) 6
vs. Shadowplay (Joy Division) 6
Had to listen to both of these twice. Weird one: I kinda sorta like them both but probably wouldn’t choose to listen to either again
Badlands (live) (Bruce Springsteen) 9
vs.
Black Dog (Led Zeppelin) 9.5
Isn’t She Lovely (Stevie Wonder) 6
vs.
Mrs. Robinson (live) (Paul Simon) 5.5
Won’t Get Fooled Again (Who) 6
vs.
Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution (AC DC) 7
Sweet Jane (Velvet Underground) 5
vs.
Shadowplay (Joy Division) 3.5
Badlands (Bruce Springsteen) 9.5
Black Dog (Led Zeppelin) 8
This Springsteen song went right to my heart.
Isn’t She Lovely (Stevie Wonder) 8.5
Mrs. Robinson (Paul Simon) 7.5
Stevie has groove.
Won’t Get Fooled Again (The Who) 7
Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution (AC/DC) 8
Sweet Jane (Velvet Underground) 6.5
Shadowplay (Joy Division) 6
Game 4 Matchups
Badlands (live) (Bruce Springsteen) x
Black Dog (Led Zeppelin) x
Isn’t She Lovely (Stevie Wonder) 8.2
Mrs. Robinson (live) (Paul Simon) 7
Stevie Wonder writes songs that make you want to be in love in the sun. Bruce/Zepp in deep trouble either way.
Won’t Get Fooled Again (Who) 7.5
Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution (AC DC) 7.5
Copping out on this one. Sorry boys, well-played.
Sweet Jane (Velvet Underground) 8
Shadowplay (Joy Division) 6.8
Bring on Sister Ray vs. Sister Ray before it’s too late. I mean as long as everyone has 30 minutes to spare. (I mean those statements to be an indication of my deep appreciation of this match-up.)
ehh I don’t think either of us stands to gain from 12min+ experimental rock songs with possibly the worst scores in LtD tournament history after Murder Mystery vs. 5-8-6 but we’ll see what happens after this round.
Come on Pete–isn’t the goal here to alienate as many listeners as possible?
Badlands (live) (Bruce Springsteen): 9
Black Dog (Led Zeppelin): 8.9
Now this is a live Bruce song I can get behind. You can feel the energy behind his music – Fantastic. I love Black Dog as well, this is a hard choice blues-rock near it’s apex.
Isn’t She Lovely (Stevie Wonder): 8
Mrs. Robinson (live) (Paul Simon): 5.5
Not one of Stevie’s best song’s, but even one of Stevie’s lesser showings is still bounds better than half the detritus out there. Plus, the song is an ode to his newly born daughter. How many kids can say that their father created a near masterpiece just for them and was an extremely popular song to match. I’m going to be petty here and dock a few points for Paul Simon even though I love the song. He has enough great solo material that there is no need to go into the Simon and Garfunkel catalog.
Won’t Get Fooled Again (Who): 6.5
Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution (AC DC): 9
The musicianship behind the song is great, it’s a shame I just can never really get into The Who. There is some pretty sweet guitar playing going on here and who can deny the greatness of anyone getting funky on an organ. It’s possible if this wasn’t against Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution I would give it a much higher score. But it’s up against one of AC/DC’s great rock anthems, who can’t get excited hearing this song. I want to go back to high school and roll down my windows and blast this in the parking lot every time I listen to it. For Christ’s sake I have it as one of my ringtones, I might be a little biased. I mean you can hear Brian Johnson light and take a drag of a cigarette at the beginning of the song, that is dirty and rock to it’s core.
Sweet Jane (Velvet Underground): 7
Shadowplay (Joy Division): 8
I actually liked Shadowplay a bit more than Sweet Jane. I’m with Joe there are some pretty sweet sounds coming from the guitar. I’m not a big fan of Ian Curtis’ voice though. The lyrics in Sweet Jane are pretty wild, can’t say I know too many songs dealing with transvestites. Of the few rounds with Velvet Underground and Joy Division/New Order these are the two best songs so far.
Badlands – 9.25
Black Dog – 6
Isn’t She Lovely – 8
Mrs. Robinson – 6.75
Won’t Get Fooled Again – 6.5
Rock & Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution – 5.5
Sweet Jane – 5
Shadow Play – 4
Badlands (live) (Bruce Springsteen) 4
vs. Black Dog (Led Zeppelin) 9
Isn’t She Lovely (Stevie Wonder) 7.5
vs. Mrs. Robinson (live) (Paul Simon) 8.5
no time for the rest!
Badlands (live) (Bruce Springsteen) *
Black Dog (Led Zeppelin) *
So I’d still back Black Dog, which might be consistently my favorite Zeppelin tune, but that particular recording of Badlands is awesome. The crowd reaction is stellar – would love to have been there, even though I’m not a huge Boss fan. Props Gmo.
Isn’t She Lovely (Stevie Wonder) 6.3
Mrs. Robinson (live) (Paul Simon) 6.5
I’m not sure what to do with this version of Mrs. Robinson. When it started I was loving the different sound… was in the 9ish range…then it plummeted not sure I can explain why. I’m trying to bridge the gap. All I can say is, he really was better with Garfunkel.
Won’t Get Fooled Again (Who) 8
Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution (AC DC) 9.5
Won’t Get Fooled Again is terrific, top notch rock, and loving the guitar/keyboard interplay early and late . It’s just missing a little extra edge for me. AC/DC? Razor’s Edge, no doubt.
Sweet Jane (Velvet Underground) 6
Shadowplay (Joy Division) 7
Really liking Shadowplay. Great call there, never heard before, going on the list.
Badlands (live) (Bruce Springsteen) vs. Black Dog (Led Zeppelin) 5.5 to 6.5
Isn’t She Lovely (Stevie Wonder) vs. Mrs. Robinson (live) (Paul Simon) 7.5 to 8.0
Won’t Get Fooled Again (Who) vs. Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution (AC DC) 7.0 to 5.0
Sweet Jane (Velvet Underground) vs. Shadowplay (Joy Division) 5.5 to 4.5
Badlands (live) (Bruce Springsteen) vs. Black Dog (Led Zeppelin) 4.0 to 7.5
Isn’t She Lovely (Stevie Wonder) vs. Mrs. Robinson (live) (Paul Simon) 7.5 to 8.0
Won’t Get Fooled Again (Who) vs. Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution (AC DC) 6.5 to 5.0
Sweet Jane (Velvet Underground) vs. Shadowplay (Joy Division) 5.0 to 5.0
Badlands – 7
Black Dog – 8.5
Classic Zep, but musically I don’t think Bruce translates well live when you aren’t in the midst of one of his three hour onstage benders.
Isn’t She Lovely – 6.5
Mrs. Robinson – 7.5
Solid Stevie loses to a classic that I would have rated higher with a studio version (which I understand isn’t available with the rules).
We Won’t Get Fooled Again – 6
Rock & Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution – 8.5
I dunno. Not a big Who fan so I spun the Daltrey arm and that’s where it came to rest. One of my fav AC/DC songs though.
Sweet Jane – 9
Shadow Play – 6
Sweet Jane is a classic to me as long as Metallica isn’t fucking it up and, while I’m not into Joy Division, Shadow Play was better than I thought it would be.
Badlands (live) (Bruce Springsteen) vs. Black Dog (Led Zeppelin)
9 : 7
Isn’t She Lovely (Stevie Wonder) vs. Mrs. Robinson (live) (Paul Simon)
6 : 9
ISL freaks me out. I think it was in my sister’s professional bat mitzvah video, but there’s no avenue I want to pursue that would allow me to factcheck that before this round is over.
Won’t Get Fooled Again (Who) vs. Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution (AC DC)
8.5 : 3
Sweet Jane (Velvet Underground) vs. Shadowplay (Joy Division)
9.5 : 5
I’ve always loved this track. Plus the mickey mouse JD controversy is still preying on my understanding of the world.
Badlands vs Black Dog
8:9
Isn’t She Lovely vs. Mrs. Robinson
7:6.5
We Won’t Get Fooled Again vs. Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution
4:9
Sweet Jane vs Shadowplay
8:6
Vote for AC DC
Badlands (live) (Bruce Springsteen) vs. Black Dog (Led Zeppelin)
8.5 to 8
Isn’t She Lovely (Stevie Wonder) vs. Mrs. Robinson (live) (Paul Simon)
4 to 5.5
Won’t Get Fooled Again (Who) vs. Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution (AC DC)
6 to 8.5
Sweet Jane (Velvet Underground) vs. Shadowplay (Joy Division)
8 to 6
Badlands (live) (Bruce Springsteen) 7
vs. Black Dog (Led Zeppelin) 6
Isn’t She Lovely (Stevie Wonder) 7
vs. Mrs. Robinson (live) (Paul Simon) 4
Won’t Get Fooled Again (Who) 2
vs. Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution (AC DC) 3
Sweet Jane (Velvet Underground) 10
vs. Shadowplay (Joy Division) 8
So I did this yesterday and lost the post. I attempted to relisten and Grooveshark is trying to get me to pay/subscribe, so these are from memory.
Badlands (live) (Bruce Springsteen) 6.5
Black Dog (Led Zeppelin) 9
I’ve seen Bruce live and he’s awesome. I just don’t really do well with recordings of live versions. Maybe if it was one I had been at, I would score it better.
Isn’t She Lovely (Stevie Wonder) 5.5
Mrs. Robinson (live) (Paul Simon) 6
Won’t Get Fooled Again (Who) 8
Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution (AC DC) 9
Sweet Jane (Velvet Underground) 7
Shadowplay (Joy Division) 5
I’m voting from an impatient place tonight, which I’m compensating for by typing a lot.
Badlands (live) (Bruce Springsteen) vs. Black Dog (Led Zeppelin) 7.5 to 4.5
Bruce is still a handsome, handsome man. But I actually liked the version on Grooveshark more, the youtube version sounded kind of washed out, even though it’s the same recording I think. I didn’t finish listening to the Zeppelin song. Not in the mood (am I ever?).
Isn’t She Lovely (Stevie Wonder) vs. Mrs. Robinson (live) (Paul Simon) 3.5 to 6
Isn’t She Lovely sounds too much like a theme song. Obviously Mrs. Robinson is a great song, but this version is kind of annoying and also would it be considered a cover? Is it like when Morrissey performs Smiths songs? (“There is a Light That Never Goes Out” when I saw him, fuck YEAH). Anyway, I know covers are in-bounds, but it’s more a philosophical question.
Won’t Get Fooled Again (Who) vs. Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution (AC DC) 7.5 to 5
SQUEEZE BOX please put squeeze box in please. Actually this song’s pretty good but let’s get a little deeper in the catalog shall we?? I’m not a huge Who fan per se but I’ve known every single song and that’s boring.
Sweet Jane (Velvet Underground) vs. Shadowplay (Joy Division) 10 to 7.2
I love the opening to Sweet Jane… I am not always in the mood for the Velvet Underground, but this felt like the perfect springtime song. I’m just not in the mood for mucky rock and roll, which is where I feel a lot of this tourney is stuck right now. This was a pallet cleanser.
Love the commentary tonight. Yes, I would consider Simon’s cover of his own song a cover, which is kind of neat.