Results:
No upsets in this strong-scoring division, but Hallelujah looks like the song to watch in the next round.
“Under Pressure” (Queen and David Bowie) defeats “Angel From Montgomery” (John Prine) 165.9 to 146.8 (7.9 to 7 average)
“Home” (Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros) defeats “Transdermal Celebration” (Ween) 156.4 to 111.2 (7.5 to 5.3 average)
“Hallelujah” (Jeff Buckley) defeats “End of the Line” (Traveling Wilburys) 172.1 to 153.4 (8.2 to 7.3 average)
“No Rain” (Blind Melon) defeats “Walking in Memphis” (Marc Cohn) 146.7 to 143.4 (7 to 6.8 average)
—
We’ve now arrived at our fifth matchup with some pretty strong contenders. This matchup sees John Prine, whom many are still grieving for since his recent passing. Yet still I wouldn’t sleep on his matchup against the Bowie/Queen classic “Under Pressure”. Looking now at this division it features many artists who sadly had very untimely passings; from Shannon Hoon, Tom Petty to Freddy Mercury and Jeff Buckley. With the exception of the Ween track I’m familiar with all the songs and personally a fan of each of them. Seems like it will be a tight set of matches…
Here is the Spotify Playlist Link (These are not in sequential order, but you shouldn’t need them to be for scoring purposes anyways) You will have until Monday at midnight to vote in the comment section below.
Round 1, Division E:
“Under Pressure” (Queen and David Bowie) vs. “Angel From Montgomery” (John Prine)
“Home” (Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros) vs. “Transdermal Celebration” (Ween)
“Hallelujah” (Jeff Buckley) vs. “End of the Line” (Traveling Wilburys)
“No Rain” (Blind Melon) vs. “Walking in Memphis” (Marc Cohn)
Stories from the vault…
“Under Pressure” by Jacob: Got to include the runner up in the 2011 finals. I listened to this and Stand By Me 20 times each to make my decision and remember listening to the official play with Guillermo and many others on the upstairs deck at the Red Derby in DC. Pretty thrilling finish.
“Angel from Montgomery” by Kristen: I can’t decide between the John Prine version of Bonnie Raitt. In a way, I feel like G may have preferred Bonnie’s version. Oh no! I forgot that the Tedeschi Trucks Band version was amazing as well. Well Shit.
“Home” by Committee: This was one of Gmo’s nominees to the “People’s Choice” tournament in 2011
“Transdermal Celebration” by Adam: My interactions with Guillermo were exclusively emailing about music during the tourneys, or talking about music during marathon days. I don’t know if he liked Ween, but I could see him getting into them as a general music fan. Ween’s music is by definition all over the place, but this is one of their more accessible tunes – I can imagine grooving to this at about 1130 AM at a bar in Staten Island 4 beers in and walking the streets in the sunshine.
“Hallelujah” by Committee, after recommendations from folks on Facebook.
“No Rain” by Natalie: Oddly enough, despite how important music is to both of us, I don’t have any memories of Gmo and I connecting over any music in particular beyond fleeting music tourney banter, which may just be that I have a terrible memory or that it’s been too long. The one memory that popped into my mind was us bonding over our childhood love of the Chipmunk Adventure movie and soundtrack, but I’ll spare you from listening to the Chipmunks in this tournament (but I still highly recommend checking out “Off to See the World” – it’s a legitimately great song.) Instead, I’ll throw in some Blind Melon. No idea if Gmo was a fan, but he definitely appreciated the classic sing-alongs and rock’n’roll anthems, and this is a 90s classic that you can really belt out to. It’s got that high energy with underlying darkness that just seems fitting for this occasion.
“Walking in Memphis” by Committee: Pub jukebox memories … From Ryan: **oddly enough, Elizabeth, Guillermo and I wound up roommates in a house only a few blocks from where Marc Cohn was shot following a concert in Denver. They said it was a robbery and he was only wounded. But this was front porch conversation with G once..
Living the Dream 
“Under Pressure” (Queen and David Bowie): 9
“Angel From Montgomery” (John Prine): 4
i’ve been to red derby! but i’d have voted this way if i hadn’t, too
“Home” (Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros): 9
“Transdermal Celebration” (Ween): 3
will had a penchant for being all about a particular song every while — home was one of those songs
“Hallelujah” (Jeff Buckley): 9.5
“End of the Line” (Traveling Wilburys): 8.5
toughest match-up this round for me — hallelujah is amazing, and i know it was an old favorite of his, but, as memory serves, he put the rufus/shrek version on the mix for me sophomore summer (so couldn’t give a 10 here)
i personally don’t know of him being into end of the line but i’d bet he was
“No Rain” (Blind Melon): 6
“Walking in Memphis” (Marc Cohn): 9.5
walking in memphis is classic will — i can still see him half-making fun of the line “do i really feel the way i feel” but still totally biting on his fist identifying with this whole song. so kind of an unfair matchup for blind melon, and i’m positive will would agree
Under Pressure” (Queen and David Bowie) vs. “Angel From Montgomery” (John Prine)
Cristina 9.2 – 5
Ahmed 9.2 – 6.1
“Home” (Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros) vs. “Transdermal Celebration” (Ween)
Cristina 9 – 2.99
Ahmed 6.1 – 3.1
“Hallelujah” (Jeff Buckley) vs. “End of the Line” (Traveling Wilburys)
Cristina 10 – 5.8
Ahmed 6.7 – 5.6
No Rain” (Blind Melon) vs. “Walking in Memphis” (Marc Cohn)
Cristina 9.2 – 5
Ahmed 7.5 – 4.4
Under Pressure” (Queen and David Bowie) vs. “Angel From Montgomery” (John Prine)
Me. 7.5 : 6
Allison 7.5 : 5.5
“Home” (Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros) vs. “Transdermal Celebration” (Ween)
Me 8.5 : 7
Allison 8 : 6
“Hallelujah” (Jeff Buckley) vs. “End of the Line” (Traveling Wilburys)
Me. 8.5 : 9.5
Allison 7 : 8
No Rain” (Blind Melon) vs. “Walking in Memphis” (Marc Cohn)
Me. 8.5 : 6
Allison 9 : 7
Listened to this one on my drive to Palisade, the place that inspired the song he wrote.. couldn’t quite get myself to get out of the car here yet, but the playlist hit home sitting in this parking lot on the north shore of Minnesota.
Under Pressure” (Queen and David Bowie) vs. “Angel From Montgomery” (John Prine)
6:5
“Home” (Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros) vs. “Transdermal Celebration” (Ween)
7.5 (we quoted and sang this song all the time): 5
“Hallelujah” (Jeff Buckley). “End of the Line” (Traveling Wilburys)
9 (hallelujah matched the mood): 7
No Rain” (Blind Melon) vs. “Walking in Memphis” (Marc Cohn)
7:9 (this song has always reminded me of Guillermo too)
“Under Pressure” (Queen and David Bowie) 8 vs. “Angel From Montgomery” (John Prine) 8. Wish these two songs didn’t have to go up against each other. John Prine could write some crushing lyrics. “How the hell can a person, go to work in the morning, and come home in the evening, and have nothing to say…”
“Home” (Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros) 6 vs. “Transdermal Celebration” (Ween) 7 Never heard this Ween song or any Ween song for that matter. It’s good.
“Hallelujah” (Jeff Buckley) 6 vs. “End of the Line” (Traveling Wilburys) 7 I know everyone loves the Jeff Buckley version, but I like the Leonard Cohen original because it’s kind of wry.
“No Rain” (Blind Melon) 6 vs. “Walking in Memphis” (Marc Cohn) 5 Fucking bee girl… wonder where she is now…
“Under Pressure” (Queen and David Bowie): 8 – Usually higher.
“Angel From Montgomery” (John Prine): 8.2 – Driving on a backroad listening to this and it edged out Under Pressure.
“Home” (Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros) 9.3 – So, when I saw it here, I had a 3.5-4 in my head as I generally don’t like this track. And yet, maybe since I haven’t heard it in at least 5 years, it felt more like the first time I heard the song. No idea how this will score if in future rounds.
“Transdermal Celebration” (Ween) 6.1 – Enjoyed the flanger.
“Hallelujah” (Jeff Buckley) 7.4 – Sunsetting was getting long when this came on and was nice and peaceful.
“End of the Line” (Traveling Wilburys) 9.8 – Pallet cleanser from Halleujah. I was super close to playing it twice. Good open air song.
“No Rain” (Blind Melon) 7.5 – Sang every word.
“Walking in Memphis” (Marc Cohn) 6.5 – Just couldn’t quite get past the cheese factor, but I definitely get the appeal and it had good moments today.
Strong contenders in this bracket.
8- “Under Pressure” (Queen and David Bowie) 8- “Angel From Montgomery” (John Prine)
8- “Home” (Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros)
6- “Transdermal Celebration” (Ween)
9- “Hallelujah” (Jeff Buckley)
7- “End of the Line” (Traveling Wilburys)
8- “No Rain” (Blind Melon)
4- “Walking in Memphis” (Marc Cohn)
“Under Pressure” (Queen and David Bowie) vs. “Angel From Montgomery” (John Prine)
9 v 6.5
I’ve never heard of John Prine and as a result do not know a single thing about him. Looking forward to learning more. But not a fair matchup.
“Home” (Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros) vs. “Transdermal Celebration” (Ween)
4 v 9
91 million views! damn.
I had a good conversation with Guillermo about a song I put in a tourney a while back that he liked a lot (‘Alex Chilton’ – the Replacements). I thought of re-submitting that (some of my favorite songs are songs about music), or putting in an actual Alex Chilton/ Big Star song. But he passed away a few years back, and his music always has a sad edge to it. It didn’t feel right.
This is Ween’s 90’s alternative rock song from the mid 2000s and has a big sexy strat guitar solo which always makes me feel good. Ween’s lyrics are rarely unclear – whether they’re stupid, fucked up, hilarious, or achingly beautiful, it’s usually understood what the song is about. This one is debated a lot though, and like all great 90’s alternative rock it’s hard to know what the hell he’s talking about. Acid trips and the zombie holocaust have been ruled out by many; the potential consensus and one that I like is that it’s a strange tale of a transformation from one state of being/ consciousness onto another. The lyrics are somewhat dark and dystopian, but the music to me is unabashedly uplifting and that works for me here.
“Hallelujah” (Jeff Buckley) vs. “End of the Line” (Traveling Wilburys)
6 to 9
Hallelujah is lovely but have heard it too many times unfortunately. This Traveling Wilburys song is their best and love it here
“No Rain” (Blind Melon) vs. “Walking in Memphis” (Marc Cohn)
6 to 8.5
No Rain is fun but I ain’t no goddamn hippy! I did like that song Change (I think that was the other single off this record) and Tones of Home. Strangely, my dad had this cd, i think he accidentally got it from BMG or Columbia House when he forgot to cancel that month’s shipment. So sad about Shannon Hoon though. Walking in Memphis is one of the strangest top 40 hits ever, but it works.
oops, i accidentally posted with a wrong email address…please ignore my first post
“Under Pressure” (Queen and David Bowie) vs. “Angel From Montgomery” (John Prine)
9 v 6.5
I’ve never heard of John Prine and as a result do not know a single thing about him. Looking forward to learning more. But not a fair matchup.
“Home” (Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros) vs. “Transdermal Celebration” (Ween)
4 v 9
91 million views! damn.
I had a good conversation with Guillermo about a song I put in a tourney a while back that he liked a lot (‘Alex Chilton’ – the Replacements). I thought of re-submitting that (some of my favorite songs are songs about music), or putting in an actual Alex Chilton/ Big Star song. But he passed away a few years back, and his music always has a sad edge to it. It didn’t feel right.
This is Ween’s 90’s alternative rock song from the mid 2000s and has a big sexy strat guitar solo which always makes me feel good. Ween’s lyrics are rarely unclear – whether they’re stupid, fucked up, hilarious, or achingly beautiful, it’s usually understood what the song is about. This one is debated a lot though, and like all great 90’s alternative rock it’s hard to know what the hell he’s talking about. Acid trips and the zombie holocaust have been ruled out by many; the potential consensus and one that I like is that it’s a strange tale of a transformation from one state of being/ consciousness onto another. The lyrics are somewhat dark and dystopian, but the music to me is unabashedly uplifting and that works for me here.
“Hallelujah” (Jeff Buckley) vs. “End of the Line” (Traveling Wilburys)
6 to 9
Hallelujah is lovely but have heard it too many times unfortunately. This Traveling Wilburys song is their best and love it here
“No Rain” (Blind Melon) vs. “Walking in Memphis” (Marc Cohn)
6 to 8.5
No Rain is fun but I ain’t no goddamn hippy! I did like that song Change (I think that was the other single off this record) and Tones of Home. Strangely, my dad had this cd, i think he accidentally got it from BMG or Columbia House when he forgot to cancel that month’s shipment. So sad about Shannon Hoon though. Walking in Memphis is one of the strangest top 40 hits ever, but it works.
“Under Pressure” (Queen and David Bowie): 9
“Angel From Montgomery” (John Prine): 7
“Home” (Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros): 7
“Transdermal Celebration” (Ween): 5
“Hallelujah” (Jeff Buckley): 9.5
“End of the Line” (Traveling Wilburys): 7.2
“No Rain” (Blind Melon): 7.5
“Walking in Memphis” (Marc Cohn): 7.5
really forgot how terrific the guitar noodling is in this Blind Melon song
9 – “Under Pressure” (Queen and David Bowie)
8 – “Angel From Montgomery” (John Prine)
I mean. Legends, all. Probably every John Prine song is between a 7 and 9: nothing perfect, but everything well above average. Unfortunately he’s up again this behemoth.
9 – “Home” (Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros)
3 – “Transdermal Celebration” (Ween)
I feel like Home could be pretty polarizing; it can rightly be accused of being overly precious late-aughts indie twang, but I’ve always loved it. It was a staple on my running playlists back when I was distance running, and its driving beat always hit, uh… home. I can see how one ~could~ get sick of it, but I never did. Never heard the Ween song but I thought it was the Foo Fighters, who I have never enjoyed. That type of 90s alt rock never did it for me.
9.5 – “Hallelujah” (Jeff Buckley)
5 – “End of the Line” (Traveling Wilburys)
Serena’s story about Hallelujah gives me cover to admit I like Rufus Wainwright’s version the best, though that is partly due to deep college memories.
3.5 “No Rain” (Blind Melon)
7 “Walking in Memphis” (Marc Cohn)
It sucks for Marc Cohn that he wrote this excellent song and did a pretty good job performing it, then Cher covered it and completely blew him out of the water. And then it was used to close out one of the all-time greatest X-Files episodes, in which love of Cher features heavily. This song reminded me about Cher’s awesomeness, which I somehow forget periodically, and I spent the rest of the afternoon listening to her. Sorry I had to take off 3 points for it not being Cher.
i have never heard this cher cover! thank you for this gift ❤
Cher IS a gift 😀
Under Pressure” (Queen and David Bowie) vs. “Angel From Montgomery” (John Prine) 7.5 – 4
“Home” (Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros) vs. “Transdermal Celebration” (Ween) 8 – 8
“Hallelujah” (Jeff Buckley) vs. “End of the Line” (Traveling Wilburys) 5 – 7. I will admit that I foolishly started singing the lyrics to “I’m Looking Through You” by the Beatles before I realized that it was actually “End of the Line”
“No Rain” (Blind Melon) vs. “Walking in Memphis” (Marc Cohn) 6 – 5
“Under Pressure” (Queen and David Bowie) vs. “Angel From Montgomery” (John Prine)
8/6
“Home” (Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros) vs. “Transdermal Celebration” (Ween)
7.5/7
Home lost half a point for the whistling. This song always gives me fond memories of music tournaments of the past.
“Hallelujah” (Jeff Buckley) vs. “End of the Line” (Traveling Wilburys)
9/8.5
I’ve been very into the Traveling Wilburys for the last couple of years, but Jeff Buckley is nearly perfect.
“No Rain” (Blind Melon) vs. “Walking in Memphis” (Marc Cohn)
8/7
“Under Pressure” (Queen and David Bowie) vs. “Angel From Montgomery” (John Prine)
Brynna: 8.5/9.5
Patti: 8/9
Bob: 8/9
“Home” (Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros) vs. “Transdermal Celebration” (Ween)
Brynna: 7/4
Patti: 6/2
Bob: 5/3
“Hallelujah” (Jeff Buckley) vs. “End of the Line” (Traveling Wilburys)
Brynna: 10/6.5
Patti: 9.5/6
Bob: 8.5/7
“No Rain” (Blind Melon) vs. “Walking in Memphis” (Marc Cohn)
Brynna: 7/6
Patti: 6.5/7
Bob: 5.5/6.5
“Under Pressure” (Queen and David Bowie) vs. “Angel From Montgomery” (John Prine)
natalie: 6.5 / 9
ryan: 4 / 8
i know there are a ton of good covers of “angel” (bonnie raitt’s being the classic), but i appreciate hearing john prine sing it, sparse and raw.
“Home” (Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros) vs. “Transdermal Celebration” (Ween)
natalie: 8 / 7
ryan: 6.5 / 6
“home” is a favorite, though that spoken word section always takes it down a notch. i’m not a ween person, but this song made it onto some mix of mine back in the day, having trouble placing it. i enjoyed listening to it after all these years.
“Hallelujah” (Jeff Buckley) vs. “End of the Line” (Traveling Wilburys)
natalie: 8.5 / 8.5
ryan: 8.5 / 8.5
i guess we were both pleased and indecisive listening to this pair! “hallelujah” is a beautiful piece of art. “end of the line” made me happy.
“No Rain” (Blind Melon) vs. “Walking in Memphis” (Marc Cohn)
natalie: 9.5 / 8
ryan: 5.5 / 9
i love blind melon, this album does not get old for me (apparently my dude does not agree.)
Under Pressure” (Queen and David Bowie) vs. “Angel From Montgomery” (John Prine)
Me. 9 : 6
Joe: 7: 9
“Home” (Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros) vs. “Transdermal Celebration” (Ween)
Me 8 : 5
Joe: 7 : 6
“Hallelujah” (Jeff Buckley) vs. “End of the Line” (Traveling Wilburys)
Me. 7 : 6
Joe: 8 : 6
“No Rain” (Blind Melon) vs. “Walking in Memphis” (Marc Cohn)
Me. 6 : 8
Joe: 7 : 7.5