RESULTS
“Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” becomes the second song to average above an 8 (“Hallelujah” having averaged an 8.2). The only upset in this round is in our 4th seed, where Arcade Fire beat out Doobie Brothers. Female vocalists and country continue to do poorly as Brandi Carlie and Chris Stapleton are knocked out, as the prevailing opinion runs contrary to my forever-take about Dylan’s mediocrity. But what is the fun of being a music fan if you can’t stake out a few contrarian opinions? Just don’t say you don’t like the Beatles; we all know you’re just trying to get attention.
Jackie Wilson got the rawest match-up of the tournament so far, and in another division would have easily moved on.
“(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay” (Otis Redding) defeats “Broken Halos” (Chris Stapleton) 167.6 to 99.6 (8 to 4.7 average)
“Shelter from the Storm” (Bob Dylan) defeats “Wherever is Your Heart” (Brandi Carlile) 159.8 to 123.4 (7.6 to 5.9 average)
“Romeo and Juliet” (Dire Straits) defeats “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” (Jackie Wilson) 163.5 to 157.6 (7.8 to 7.5 average)
“Wake Up” (Arcade Fire) defeats “Black Water” (Doobie Brothers) 128.6 to 150.9 (7.2 to 6.1 average)
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Sorry that this post is going up a bit late — coordinating this music tournament amidst full-blown adult lives is its own kind of nostalgia for the focus and energy Guillermo brought to all those tournaments for all those years.
This division brings some real heart-wrenchers and possibly polarizing match-ups. It’ll be interesting to see how individual scores shake out. The Division F Match-ups are:
“(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay” (Otis Redding) vs. “Broken Halos” (Chris Stapleton)
“Shelter from the Storm” (Bob Dylan) vs. “Wherever is Your Heart” (Brandi Carlile)
“Romeo and Juliet” (Dire Straits) vs. “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” (Jackie Wilson)
“Black Water” (Doobie Brothers) vs. “Wake Up” (Arcade Fire)
Listen to the match-ups on the Division F Spotify Playlist. You will have until Thursday at Midnight to vote (but let’s be real, I’ll be tallying on Friday morning and I’m on West Coast time, so don’t fret if you need some wiggle room).
Stories from the vault:
“Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” by Elizabeth: My first interaction with Guillermo was him asking me to help him come up with songs for the 90’s music tournament in Fall 2006. We checked in with each other constantly over a couple days with ideas. Guillermo asked me to go to the pub soon after and when I walked in he was already parked at the jukebox and immediately put on Otis Redding’s “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay.” Otis Redding became a soundtrack we shared for years after.
“Broken Halos” by Dan S.: I didn’t speak with G-Mo about this song, however, I just feel it in my heart that it would be one that would have him slowly fist pumping with his eyes closed.
“Shelter from the Storm”: We sang it once by the campfire, but only once. Twas in another lifetime // One of toil and blood // When blackness was a virtue // The road was full of mud // I came in from the wilderness // A creature void of form // Come in, she said, I’ll give you // Shelter from the storm…
“Wherever is Your Heart” by Brittany T.: In 2018 we put together a map with pins and strings representing all the roadtrips we ever went on. Anyone who knows Guillermo knows how much he loves the sentiment in maps and road trips! The entire time we worked on the project we listened to a live Brandi Carlile concert on YouTube. This was the song that inspired it all.
“Romeo and Juliet” — This was one of Gmo’s nominees to the “Peoples Choice” tournament in 2011
“(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” by Ben: Another throwback to the early tourney days, this was my best performing offering ultimately making it to a quarter-finals. Let’s see if it’s still got legs. Also, just a very uplifting song.
“Black Water” — “Oh Mississippi, she’s calling my name” / Pub jukebox memories
“Wake Up” by Cristina: Just eternal.
Living the Dream 
“(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay” (Otis Redding) vs. “Broken Halos” (Chris Stapleton) 7 – 3
“Shelter from the Storm” (Bob Dylan) vs. “Wherever is Your Heart” (Brandi Carlile) 8.5 – 3
“Romeo and Juliet” (Dire Straits) vs. “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” (Jackie Wilson) 8.5 – 6
“Black Water” (Doobie Brothers) vs. “Wake Up” (Arcade Fire) 7.5 – 6
“(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay” (Otis Redding): 7.8
“Broken Halos” (Chris Stapleton): 4.5
“Shelter from the Storm” (Bob Dylan): 7.8
“Wherever is Your Heart” (Brandi Carlile): 7.5
“Romeo and Juliet” (Dire Straits): 10
“(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” (Jackie Wilson): 6.7
“Black Water” (Doobie Brothers): 5
“Wake Up” (Arcade Fire): 6.8
“(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay” (Otis Redding): 5
“Broken Halos” (Chris Stapleton): 1 – i was just not feeling this song
“Shelter from the Storm” (Bob Dylan): 8.5 – great, great song even if my most vivid association is jerry maguire…
“Wherever is Your Heart” (Brandi Carlile): 2 – also was not feeling this song
“Romeo and Juliet” (Dire Straits): 10 – featured in TWO ethan embry classic watches (can’t hardly wait, empire records) YES PLEASE
“(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” (Jackie Wilson): 8 – ghostbusters 2! (a lot of kitsch movie memories for me this round, what can i say?)
“Black Water” (Doobie Brothers): 2
“Wake Up” (Arcade Fire): 6.5 – meh typically a favorite of mine but not totally up for it this pandemic
“(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay” (Otis Redding) 8 vs. “Broken Halos” (Chris Stapleton) 4
“Shelter from the Storm” (Bob Dylan) 7 vs. “Wherever is Your Heart” (Brandi Carlile) 5
“Romeo and Juliet” (Dire Straits) 7vs. “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” (Jackie Wilson) 7
“Black Water” (Doobie Brothers) 5 vs. “Wake Up” (Arcade Fire) 7
Otis Redding 8.5 vs Chris Stapleton 6-I heard this song new and it really hit me-it’s so good but Otis Redding is always my top spot
Bob Dylan 8 and Brandi Carlile 7.25 I almost said tied but knew Shelter from the storm had the edge here
Romeo and Juliet 8.25 vs Higher and Higher 5.75
Romeo and Juliet reminds me so much of nearly every soundtrack G was part of-so good
Doobie Brothers 7 vs Arcade Fire 5- oh Mississippi
Time has truly lost all meaning; here I am thinking I’m barely squeaking in and then I realized it’s Wednesday. Even though not fifteen minutes before starting this listen, I wrote down somewhere else that is was Tuesday.
8.5 – “(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay” (Otis Redding)
5.5 – “Broken Halos” (Chris Stapleton)
Dock of the Bay is one of those songs that, growing up in California and especially the Bay Area, you just get overexposed to. There have been times I’ve been thoroughly sick of it. But I hadn’t heard it for quite awhile, and it hit me right tonight. I went to San Francisco in early March; living in a rural area and having a toddler, the grocery store is normally about as urban as it gets for me these days. It felt so damn good to be in a city, and to see my friends, and my family… and then the lockdowns happened and here we are. It feels like a stolen moment from Before Times. So yeah, this song is right for the times. Not sure how it’ll stand up to repeats.
4.8 – “Shelter from the Storm” (Bob Dylan) I kept waiting for this song to go somewhere, and it didn’t. Dylan is a good poet, but as a songwriter he’s always left me flat. Minus points for refusing to pick up his Nobel in person.
9.2 – “Wherever is Your Heart” (Brandi Carlile) I’d totally forgotten about Brandi Carlile, so this was a great reminder. See, now THIS is how you structure a pop song. What a great voice. Also a slight bonus for that great memory associated with this song from Brittany.
9.5 – “Romeo and Juliet” (Dire Straits)
8 – “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” (Jackie Wilson)
Tough match up for Jackie Wilson! Definitely was feeling that song tonight, but Romeo and Juliet is going to be tough to beat.
2 – “Black Water” (Doobie Brothers) I hate to say it but I didn’t finish listening to this.
5.5 “Wake Up” (Arcade Fire) I love Arcade Fire but this isn’t my favorite from them.
“(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay” (Otis Redding): 7
“Broken Halos” (Chris Stapleton): 4
“Shelter from the Storm” (Bob Dylan): 7
“Wherever is Your Heart” (Brandi Carlile): 8
“Romeo and Juliet” (Dire Straits): 9
“(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” (Jackie Wilson): 6
“Black Water” (Doobie Brothers): 6.5
“Wake Up” (Arcade Fire): 5
Sarah’s scores:
“(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay” (Otis Redding): 8.5
“Broken Halos” (Chris Stapleton): 4
“Shelter from the Storm” (Bob Dylan): 6.5
“Wherever is Your Heart” (Brandi Carlile): 2
“Romeo and Juliet” (Dire Straits): 6.5
“(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” (Jackie Wilson): 7.5
“Black Water” (Doobie Brothers): 5
“Wake Up” (Arcade Fire): 7
Danny’s scores:
“(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay” (Otis Redding): 8
“Broken Halos” (Chris Stapleton): 5.5
“Shelter from the Storm” (Bob Dylan): 7
“Wherever is Your Heart” (Brandi Carlile): 4.5
“Romeo and Juliet” (Dire Straits): 6
“(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” (Jackie Wilson): 8.5
“Black Water” (Doobie Brothers): 6
“Wake Up” (Arcade Fire): 7.5
“(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay” (Otis Redding) vs. “Broken Halos” (Chris Stapleton)
Janos: 8 : 5
Allison: 6 : 3
Back story – Otis Redding heard Sgt Pepper and it blew his mind. He decided to up his songwriting craft and this was the product. He died in a plane crash a few weeks later.
“Shelter from the Storm” (Bob Dylan) vs. “Wherever is Your Heart” (Brandi Carlile)
Janos: 8.5 : 6.5
Allison: 7 : 4
“Romeo and Juliet” (Dire Straits) vs. “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” (Jackie Wilson)
Janos: 9.5 : 7.5
Allison 8 : 7
Between Gmo nominating this song back in 2011 and it reminding me of Hopeless Romantic Gmo, I knew this was gonna get a high score from me this round. Let’s see how long the momentum lasts in this strong division.
“Black Water” (Doobie Brothers) vs. “Wake Up” (Arcade Fire)
Janos 8.5 : 8
Allison 9 : 9
“(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay” (Otis Redding) vs. “Broken Halos” (Chris Stapleton)
Cristina 8.8 – 3.5
Ahmed 9.2 – 5.3
“Shelter from the Storm” (Bob Dylan) vs. “Wherever is Your Heart” (Brandi Carlile)
Cristina 8.3 – 5.9
Ahmed 7.1 – 5.8
“Romeo and Juliet” (Dire Straits) vs. “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” (Jackie Wilson)
Cristina 6.5 – 8.9
Ahmed 4.2 – 8.6
“Black Water” (Doobie Brothers) vs. “Wake Up” (Arcade Fire)
Cristina 5 – 10
Ahmed 5.1 – 8.1
“(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay” (Otis Redding): 7.8
“Broken Halos” (Chris Stapleton): 5
“Shelter from the Storm” (Bob Dylan): 7.8
“Wherever is Your Heart” (Brandi Carlile): 7.8 (I liked this a lot and Dylan is a classic- I’ll call it a tie and abdicate my responsibilities to the crowd)
“Romeo and Juliet” (Dire Straits): 8.5
“(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” (Jackie Wilson): 7.8
“Black Water” (Doobie Brothers): 5
“Wake Up” (Arcade Fire): 9
“(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay” (Otis Redding) vs. “Broken Halos” (Chris Stapleton) 7-6.5
“Shelter from the Storm” (Bob Dylan) vs. “Wherever is Your Heart” (Brandi Carlile) 8.5-7
“Romeo and Juliet” (Dire Straits) vs. “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” (Jackie Wilson) 8.5 – 6
“Black Water” (Doobie Brothers) vs. “Wake Up” (Arcade Fire) 6-7.5
“(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay” (Otis Redding) vs. “Broken Halos” (Chris Stapleton)
r: 9 / 7.5
n: 8 / 5
i really liked stapleton in the steeldrivers and wanted to like this song. it just sounds too formulaic.
“Shelter from the Storm” (Bob Dylan) vs. “Wherever is Your Heart” (Brandi Carlile)
r: 6 / 7
n: 7.5 / 5
this brandi carlile song really bothers me for some reason, but after reading brittany’s story about it, i had to give it 1 more point than i would have otherwise.
“Romeo and Juliet” (Dire Straits) vs. “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” (Jackie Wilson)
r: 6 / 7.5
n: 7 / 8
ryan prefers the killers cover of R&J.
“Black Water” (Doobie Brothers) vs. “Wake Up” (Arcade Fire)
r: 6.5 / 5
n: 7 / 6.5
interesting matchup. both these songs have distinct sections/movements, and depending on which section i’m listening to, i love it (and think “this song is definitely the winner!”) or i’m just not feeling it. i love the instrumental breaks in “black water”, not as big a fan of the “hear some funky dixieland” parts, or at least not how they flow with the rest of the song. i love the energy and fullness of the sound of “wake up” and how it builds, but lost interest during some of the parts toward the end. if it were a minute shorter, it’d be a tie, if not a win.
“(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay” (Otis Redding) vs. “Broken Halos” (Chris Stapleton)
Brynna: 9/5
Bob: 10/3
Patti: 9/6
A classic! This Bay Area family loves this one ❤
“Shelter from the Storm” (Bob Dylan) vs. “Wherever is Your Heart” (Brandi Carlile)
Brynna: 8.5/6
Bob: 9/6
Patti: 8/7
“Romeo and Juliet” (Dire Straits) vs. “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” (Jackie Wilson)
Brynna: 7/8
Bob: 7.5/8
Patti: 7/8
This one was really tough!
“Black Water” (Doobie Brothers) vs. “Wake Up” (Arcade Fire)
Brynna: 7/9
One of my favorite songs. I ended up at an Arcade Fire concert by myself in 2010 and somehow made my way to the very front for this song. Completely forgot I was by myself as people crowdsurfed by me. A magical moment.
Bob: 8/7
Patti: 7/8
“Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay” (Otis Redding) vs. “Broken Halos” (Chris Stapleton)
7.5/7.25
“Shelter from the Storm” (Bob Dylan) vs. “Wherever is Your Heart” (Brandi Carlile)
8.5/7
“Romeo and Juliet” (Dire Straits) vs. “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” (Jackie Wilson)
9/8.8
Why are both of these songs so different and yet SO GOOD!? I’m listening with AirPods while doing boring Thursday night chores, so R&J has the right feel tonight but I could listen to these songs and it would be a toss up every time.
“Black Water” (Doobie Brothers) vs. “Wake Up” (Arcade Fire)
8.5/7.5
I love Black Water. Every time I hear “and if it rains, I don’t care…”, I would give anything to be sitting on the balcony of the New Orleans apartment I lived in back in 2007-2009. So much nostalgia packed into one song.
I think I’m a traitor to my generation in that I’m not a huge Arcade Fire fan, but I do always enjoy this song!