“You guys are just too darn loud.” -Huey Lewis
The results for Day 12 are below, and notes on the next set of matches are due ***EXTENSION: Friday, October 18th at 2 PM PST/5 PM EST. Vote! *** Enjoy! The next set brings us back to some mob vignette classics, a little north-south/black-white/American-British soul battle, some straightforward guitar-vocal pieces from the mid 70s, and an 80s MTV pop battle wherein among others, the Revolution battles the News.
Click here to open up the voting window to rank the match-ups!
Day 12 Results
Motown Records, 1965-1966
“I Can’t Help Myself” by The Four Tops- 75
“Ain’t Too Proud To Beg” by The Temptations- 74
“Uptight (Everything’s Alright)” by Stevie Wonder- 59
“Nowhere To Run” by Martha and The Vandellas- 58
This was a pretty tough grouping, with two songs breaking the 8 average barrier. The Four Tops pull out the close win in what I think could almost be safely called “Battle of the Big Chill soundtrack.”
Easy Listening Rock, 1972-1973
“Take It Easy” by The Eagles- 64
“Listen To The Music” by The Doobie Brothers- 60
“Reeling In The Years” by Steely Dan- 60
“Doctor My Eyes” by Jackson Browne-57
Another solid round- The Eagles go to 1-1 with a smattering of songs left to compete. This set made me want to drive a motorcycle through West Virginia.
Sting’s “watching you” glasses
Popular 80s Slow Songs, 1983-1984
“Every Breath You Take” by The Police- 69
“Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper- 66
“I Want To Know What Love Is” by Foreigner- 63
“Careless Whisper” by George Michael- 52
1983’s favorite stalker song takes this group. There was some commentary love for Careless Whisper, but it becomes the first song of the day to not break 6 in average score. Sergio Flores wishes he had voted.
Girl Power, 1995-1996
“Just A Girl” by No Doubt- 58
“Good Things” by Sleater-Kinney- 50
“Wannabe” by The Spice Girls- 50
“You Oughta Know” by Alanis Morissette- 44
Boom.
Gwen Stefani’s huge single debut from Tragic Kingdom takes this one without too many problems, but great showings from Sleater-Kinney and the Brits (if you think back to when The Spice Girls debuted, they were on alt rock stations before moving to variety. Definitely remember “Wannabe” as a consistent mainstay on the Top 11 at 11. Rest in peace, WHFS.) Canada falls flat here, but we’ve got three more Alanis songs from Jagged Little Pill in our future.
Living the Dream 
One of the best all around nights of music yet. Not a clunker in the bunch.
Mob Group was a bit of a mixed bag with instrumental vs vocals and one old chestnut but really liked the Basie with the Andrews sisters a close second.
Soul All Around was an out of sight group though I think the Young Rascals were outclassed in this one. Couldn’t pick between Otis and Percy so just gave them both 9’s. They are that good.
Singer Songwriters are usually my thing but maybe the mid-70’s was an off year. Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan have to let someone else do the singing to enjoy them. Harry Chapin has to be the most prolific dead songwriter ever but he gets the nod. Simon – this was one of the better ones so a 7 because I am not a huge fan.
MTV Pop – this was not my genre or era but I really liked Raspbery Beret and Power of Love still reminds me of Ghostbusters (even if that is illegal) not Back to the Future.