Not gonna lie- pretty amazing record cover
The third of our four groups for this week starts off at a pretty heavy clip, then just as quickly settles into some mood tunes that have been winning our votes these last few months. Playlist is here and votes are due by midnight on Thursday, October 11th.
Matchup 1: 1901 (Phoenix) vs. September (Earth, Wind, & Fire)
Waters nominated 1901 and is probably too busy celebrating the release of Midnight Spin’s newest video to throw us a defense. Similarly, Chelby’s nomination of September comes without words. My filler is that (a) 1901 is a great song for spontaneous dance offs, and (b) 2012 marks the third consecutive year I’ve regrettably forgotten to acknowledge the 21st night of September.
Matchup 2: I Wanna Be Your Lover (Prince) vs. Australia (The Shins)
Emmy nominated IWBYL, and I know she holds it in high regard- this was the song that got Prince Rogers Nelson onto the Minneapolis airwaves. Janos says about Australia: “A last minute addition to the 2010 Liberia Music Tournament, “Australia” has dazzled me ever since with its endless ebullience. Hard to feel down when this song is grooving. I finally got to see the Shins live, strung out at the tail end of a festival. This was the song that got my dehydrated body off of the grass, pumping my fists into the air.”
Matchup 3: Baby Drugs (Tristen) vs. All Eyes On You (St. Lucia)
Another Nos-nominated survivor; on “Baby Drugs”: “fun fact- the result of a Grooveshark recommendation.” Those music genome project people are onto something.
MarkB says this about “All Eyes On You”: I was intro’d to this song via a review that one of my team wrote. I’d never heard of St Lucia before I read it (http://www.mtvhive.com/2011/07/22/song-st-lucia-all-eyes-on-you/ ) and then played the track. I’ve loved it ever since. That image of the 80s smoke-ridden dancefloor and disco ball lights in a school hall has stuck with me and every time I hear it, that image is conjured up. It’s longing, upbeat yet hazy and a little bit moody-magical. The key for me was getting this song through the first rounds – it’s a grower; I hope it grows on you too.
Matchup 4: Mama’s Eyes (Justin Townes Earle) vs. Sir Duke (Stevie Wonder)
Ryan M nominated Mama’s Eyes, but no comment on this one. Of the two Earles that entered the tournament, it ends up being the younger to advance the farthest. On Sir Duke (from Salem): Before the tournament, I heard a guy on the 34th street 2/3 platform playing a version of this on steel drums. It was awesome. It inspired me to nominate this song, which is obviously one Stevie Wonder’s best.
Living the Dream 
Matchup 1: 1901 (Phoenix) vs. September (Earth, Wind, & Fire) 5.5 – 5.5
Matchup 2: I Wanna Be Your Lover (Prince) vs. Australia (The Shins) 4 – 5.5
Matchup 3: Baby Drugs (Tristen) vs. All Eyes On You (St. Lucia) 6 – 4.5
Matchup 4: Mama’s Eyes (Justin Townes Earle) vs. Sir Duke (Stevie Wonder) 4 – 9
Matchup 1: 1901 (Phoenix) 6
vs. September (Earth, Wind, & Fire) 6
Matchup 2: I Wanna Be Your Lover (Prince) 7
vs. Australia (The Shins) 6
Matchup 3: Baby Drugs (Tristen) 7
vs. All Eyes On You (St. Lucia) 5
Matchup 4: Mama’s Eyes (Justin Townes Earle) 4
vs. Sir Duke (Stevie Wonder) 8
1901 (Phoenix) – 7.75
September (Earth, Wind, & Fire) – 8.5
I Wanna Be Your Lover (Prince) – 8
Australia (The Shins) – 7.5
Baby Drugs (Tristen) – 7.5
All Eyes On You (St. Lucia) – 8
Mama’s Eyes (Justin Townes Earle) – 7
Sir Duke (Stevie Wonder) – 9
8- 1901 (Phoenix) vs.
7- September (Earth, Wind, & Fire)
Really liked both songs but 1901 gets the edge.
7- I Wanna Be Your Lover (Prince) vs.
8- Australia (The Shins)
Maybe to prove I’m not a complete homer, I have to give the edge to Australia. Great matchup.
5- Baby Drugs (Tristen) vs.
6- All Eyes On You (St. Lucia)
Didn’t love, but didn’t hate either. Just not that excited. Maybe I was anticipating more after the last matchup.
6- Mama’s Eyes (Justin Townes Earle) vs.
9- Sir Duke (Stevie Wonder)
Dear Sir Duke, You are awesome. I am sure that you will crush the winner of the previous matchup in the Sweet Sixteen. Love, James
1901 – 4.5
September – 6.0
EWF is very dated, but so what!
I Wanna Be Your Lover – 5.0
Australia – 7.0
The Shins actually provoked some enthusiasm here.
Baby Drugs – 5.0
All Eyes on You – 6.5
Eh! vs Eh+!
Mama’s Eyes – 5.5
Sir Duke – 6.5
Don’t generally care for Stevie but Mama’s Eyes had mine closing.
Me and C
Matchup 1: 1901 (Phoenix) vs. September (Earth, Wind, & Fire)
7.4 / 7.5 : 7 7
Matchup 2: I Wanna Be Your Lover (Prince) vs. Australia (The Shins)
8 / 8.1 : 9.3 / 8.5
I Wanna Be Your Lover is a great song, kind of reminds me of “Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough”
Matchup 3: Baby Drugs (Tristen) vs. All Eyes On You (St. Lucia)
8.5 / 9 : 5 / 3.5
We didn’t mean to hammer, we really weren’t feeling St. Lucia.
Updated: Just read Mark’s comment. Feel bad now. I’ve just been rocking out all night prior to this, so wasn’t in an 80s dance floor mood. We both upgraded a point.
Matchup 4: Mama’s Eyes (Justin Townes Earle) vs. Sir Duke (Stevie Wonder)
6 7.3 : 8.5 7.6
1901 (Phoenix) – 5.5
September (Earth, Wind, & Fire) – 6.5
I Wanna Be Your Lover (Prince) – 4.5
Australia (The Shins) – 4
Baby Drugs (Tristen) – 10
All Eyes On You (St. Lucia) – 8
Mama’s Eyes (Justin Townes Earle) – 2.5
Sir Duke (Stevie Wonder) – 5.5
awful. just awful pretty much all around. the best most of these songs could hope to achieve is the level of “inoffensive background music at a boring office party.”
1901 (Phoenix) 7.5
September (Earth, Wind, & Fire) 6.5
I can no longer hear “1901” without thinking of the below mix, which admittedly helps the score. Listening to GT is kinda like that. Really fun…but at what cost to your ability to disintegrate the songs? September lost some steam for me from earlier rounds.
I Wanna Be Your Lover (Prince) 7.6
Australia (The Shins) 7.2
Still into this Prince song, this is another one landing in the iTunes library.
Baby Drugs (Tristen) 6.2
All Eyes On You (St. Lucia) 7.2
The needle turns to St. Lucia, Mark’s explanation helped. I think a better Alphaville a bit.
Mama’s Eyes (Justin Townes Earle) 7
Sir Duke (Stevie Wonder) 7.2
I dig this girl talk mix. thanks. the joe jackson v. weezy part was good
Matchup 1: 1901 (Phoenix) vs. September (Earth, Wind, & Fire) = 8.5 to 8.5
Matchup 2: I Wanna Be Your Lover (Prince) vs. Australia (The Shins) = 7.5 to 5.5
Matchup 3: Baby Drugs (Tristen) vs. All Eyes On You (St. Lucia) = 6.5 to 3
Matchup 4: Mama’s Eyes (Justin Townes Earle) vs. Sir Duke (Stevie Wonder) = 3.5 to 9
1901 (Phoenix) – 7
September (Earth, Wind, & Fire) – 5
I Wanna Be Your Lover (Prince) – 7.2
Australia (The Shins) – 6.8
Baby Drugs (Tristen) – 5
All Eyes On You (St. Lucia) – 6.3
Mama’s Eyes (Justin Townes Earle) – 5
Sir Duke (Stevie Wonder) – 5.1
1901 (Phoenix) – 7
September (Earth, Wind, & Fire) – 8
I Wanna Be Your Lover (Prince) – 4
Australia (The Shins) – 6
Baby Drugs (Tristen) – 5
All Eyes On You (St. Lucia) – 5
Mama’s Eyes (Justin Townes Earle) – 5
Sir Duke (Stevie Wonder) – 6
1901 (Phoenix) – 9
September (Earth, Wind, & Fire) – 5
I Wanna Be Your Lover (Prince) – 6
Australia (The Shins) – 9
Baby Drugs (Tristen) – 5
All Eyes On You (St. Lucia) – 10
Mama’s Eyes (Justin Townes Earle) – 8
Sir Duke (Stevie Wonder) – 5.5
Matchup 1: 1901 (Phoenix) vs. September (Earth, Wind, & Fire) 9.5/7
Against Phoenix, EWF just sounds old and corny.
Matchup 2: I Wanna Be Your Lover (Prince) vs. Australia (The Shins) 4/8
Sorry kids, but I think Prince is creepy. Maybe a creepy ex ruined him for me. But I don’t dig.
Matchup 3: Baby Drugs (Tristen) vs. All Eyes On You (St. Lucia) 7/9
Matchup 4: Mama’s Eyes (Justin Townes Earle) vs. Sir Duke (Stevie Wonder) 6/8
1901 (Phoenix) – 6.5
September (Earth, Wind, & Fire) – 5
I Wanna Be Your Lover (Prince) – 4
Australia (The Shins) – 7
Baby Drugs (Tristen) – 7
All Eyes On You (St. Lucia) – 5
Mama’s Eyes (Justin Townes Earle) – 5
Sir Duke (Stevie Wonder) – 7