Opening Tracks and Radio Songs: Day 5

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Janos Marton
Seeing the Pixies perform "Doolittle" live from start to finish was one of the great concert experiences of my life. But ditto to Arcade Fire at MSG...

Seeing the Pixies perform “Doolittle” live from start to finish was one of the great concert experiences of my life. But ditto to Arcade Fire at MSG…

Today’s playlist is just fantastic.  Arcade Fire vs. Pixies is going to be like choosing between the children I don’t have, Rumours vs. Blue Album is an epic generational battle, and  music tournament legends Queen and Van Morrison make their debuts on the radio side of the bracket. 

For our next set of matches, votes are due by Friday, March 1 at 8:00 PM PCT. Playlist is here, full rules and philosophy here, and the tournament bracket is here. See you in the comments!Best Track One, Side One

“Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)” (Arcade Fire, Funeral) vs. “Debaser” (Pixies, Doolittle)

“Secondhand News” (Fleetwood Mac, Rumours) vs. “My Name is Jonas” (Weezer, Blue Album)

Best Song About The Radio

“Radio Gaga” (Queen) vs. “You Turn Me On, I’m a Radio” (Joni Mitchell)

“Caravan” (Van Morrison & the Band) vs. “Around the Dial” (Kinks)

Results from Day 4 are on the way, and will be posted here shortly. Update from G-Mo: Results from Day 4, short and sweet.

“Wouldn’t It Be Nice” over “Sure Shot,” 85.2-74.3.
“Modern Love” upsets “Down On The Corner,” 85.95-80.3.
“On The Radio” over “Are You Out There,” 72.6-60.3.
“Radio, Radio” over “Baby’s In Love With The Radio,” 72.4-62.4.

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Opening Tracks and Radio Songs: Day 4

Posted on February 25, 2013 by g-mo

Welcome to the tournament, Johnny “Guitar” Watson.

This is a really fun set, as evidenced by the presence of one of the kings of funk in the match-ups. Combine that with some mainstays and we’ve got ourselves a good set of songs. But first, the results of Day 3.

On the left side of the bracket, we still anxiously await an upset- so far so good on our Top 16 songs. “Thunder Road” outlasts “My Cherie Amour,” 69.5-62.1. “Wanna Be Startin’ Something” shows “Folsom Prison Blues” the door, 69.6-66.6. The right side of the bracket wasn’t as straightforward. A pretty unimpressive come from behind win for Thievery Corporation’s “Radio Retaliation” which eliminates “Roadrunner” 44.8-43.4 but can’t break a 5.0 average in the process. And in the rap battle, Eazy E’s “Radio” eliminates LL Cool J’s “I Can’t Live Without My Radio.” 50.6-48.5.

Alright, moving forward. Votes are due by Wednesday, February 27th at 8:00 PM EST. So vote tonight or tomorrow night, West Coasters. Playlist is here, full rules and philosophy here, and the tournament bracket is here. . See you in the comments!

Best Track One, Side One

“Wouldn’t It Be Nice” (Beach Boys, Pet Sounds) vs. “Sure Shot (Beastie Boys, Ill Communication)

“Down On The Corner” (Creedence Clearwater Revival, Willy and the Poor Boys) vs. “Modern Love” (David Bowie, Let’s Dance)

Best Song About The Radio

“On The Radio” (Regina Spektor) vs. “Are You Out There” (Dar Williams)

“Radio, Radio” (Elvis Costello) vs. “Baby’s In Love With The Radio” (Johnny Watson)

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Track One Side One and Radio Songs: Day 3

Posted on February 22, 2013 by g-mo

Magical things happen at MTV Music Awards…in 1991.

Alright, Guillermo here back in the driver’s seat for the next two. Having fun yet? I actually really like the set up of this tournament- it’s the equivalent of having A sides and B sides to a record (no offense to the radio songs, but you know what I mean.)

When we do switches we may have to do separate results and new tourney posts so bear with us. Today’s set of songs is fun- Janos pre-determined a bit what we’d do for the weekend match-ups, but he knew what I was going to go to as the lead off when I had my turn (for those of you that know my taste, not rocket science.) Plus we’ve got the 16 seed-17 seed battle in this set and a battle of big deal rap icons. Great weekend music here, take advantage!

Update: Results From Day 2. Nothing close on the radio side- “Video Killed The Radio Star” trounces “Make Me Lose Control” 56.06-38.5, while “Spirit of the Radio” does a similar job on “Turn Up The Radio” 61.85-44.4. The Side Ones were a little closer, but no upsets to report. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” eliminates “Handle With Care” 66.5-62.4. Jay-Z almost pulls a sneaker on “Purple Haze” but falls short as Jimi Hendrix takes it 64.1-63.5.

For newcomers, full rules and philosophy here, and the tournament bracket is here.  Listen to the songs here and vote by Monday, February 25th at 8 PM EST.

Track Ones
Thunder Road (Bruce Springsteen- Born To Run) vs. My Cherie Amour (Stevie Wonder- My Cherie Amour)
Wanna Be Startin’ Something (Michael Jackson- Thriller) vs. Folsom Prison Blues (Johnny Cash- At Folsom Prison)

Radio Songs
Roadrunner (The Modern Lovers) vs. Radio Retaliation (Thievery Corporation)

I Can’t Live Without My Radio (LL Cool J) vs. Radio (Eazy E)

Coming up soon: Battle of the B____ Boys, Regina Spektor explains how it works, and more…

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Greatest Radio Song / Greatest Opening Track Tourney: Day 2

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Janos Marton
Charles Barkley turns 50 today.

Charles Barkley turns 50 today.

The Greatest Radio Song/Greatest Opening Track Tourney got off to a great start, with four convincing wins.

Black Dog (Led Zeppelin) def. Boy in the Bubble (Paul Simon), 85-76.

Where the Streets Have No Name (U2) def.  Lust for Life (Iggy Pop), 92-75.

Do You Remember Rock ‘n Roll Radio (Ramones) def. Mexican Radio (Wall of Voodoo), 81-52.

Radio Free Europe (R.E.M) def. Last DJ (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers), 71-62.

Today’s match-ups have something for everyone- hip-hop, classic rock, even hair metal.  We’ve got a Nirvana classic on what would have been Kurt’s 46th birthday and the first song ever played on MTV, signalling the end of the Radio Era.

For newcomers, full rules and philosophy here, and the tournament bracket is here.  Listen to all the songs here and vote by Friday at midnight (EST).

Track Ones

Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana- Nevermind) vs. Handle Me With Care (Traveling Wilburys- Traveling Wilburys Volume 1)

Purple Haze (Jimi Hendrix- Are You Experienced?) vs.  Hard Knock Life (Jay-Z – Vol. 2)

Radio Songs

Video Killed the Radio Star (Buggles) vs. Make Me Lose Control (Eric Carmen)

Spirit of the Radio (Rush) vs. Turn Up The Radio (Autograph)

Coming up Friday…The Modern Lovers, LL Cool J vs. Eazy E , “Thunder Road” and more…

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Greatest Radio Song / Greatest Opening Track Tourney Underway!

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Janos Marton

rfe-1The time has come, the time has come today.  We’ve put together 32 songs about the radio and 32 of the finest opening tracks of all time, and now we need you to pick a winner.

Click here to soak in the full bracket, and here to view the full list of participating songs.*

For those who have participated in our past music tournaments, you know the drill.  For newcomers, here is the gist: we’ll be posting four match-ups three times a week.  Two match-ups will be “Radio Songs”, two match-ups will “Track Ones”.   Vote by commenting below this post, giving each song a score from 1-10 (the higher the better).  The song with the most points advances to the next round.  Single elimination.  Good times for all.  Full rules and philosophy here.

And off we go.  Listen to all the songs here and vote by Wednesday, 8pm (EST).

Track Ones

Black Dog (Led Zeppelin- Led Zeppelin IV) vs. Boy in the Bubble (Paul Simon- Graceland)

Where the Streets Have No Name (U2- Joshua Tree) vs.  Lust for Life (Iggy Pop- Lust for Life)

Radio Songs

Do You Remember Rock ‘n Roll Radio (Ramones) vs. Mexican Radio (Wall of Voodoo)

Radio Free Europe (R.E.M) vs. Last DJ (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)

Coming up Wednesday…Rush, Hendrix vs. Jay-Z, “Video Killed the Radio Star” and more…

*We decided to limit the tournament to one song per artist, which is why you don’t see “Radio Nowhere” by Bruce Springsteen, “Radio Song” by R.E.M, or “Radio Head” by the Talking Heads, to cite a few examples.   Similarly, bands like the Beatles and Stones have a number of strong opening tracks- we went with the ones we thought would do best.

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HCS (V, 3): Barbie Skin Calluses

Posted on February 17, 2013 by g-mo

Barbie Skin Calluses

“To call for hands of above to lean on, wouldn’t be good enough for me, no.”
-The Knife, “Heartbeats”

I pulled Astro out of the Waffle House parking lot. Soon my grandfather and I had left behind the grits, the smoke, and the beachside booth with the blue ocean view. He and my father had come down to visit for a weekend— it was the first time anyone in my family had come to the Coast. Spring had finally arrived, and the wind blew gently into the frame of the van. I paused as I had before, stretching my hips up for a desperate cigarette, and began to speak again as we drove east on 90 in my 96 Chevy.

“You know, it’s funny.” I looked straight ahead, lighting a Camel and resting my arm on the window, twirling the cigarette almost subconsciously in my fingers. “You know what I told you this morning, about Evelyn and her webpage.”

Pipa nodded. I continued.

“I mean, like I said before, it makes you step back for a moment and think about what’s important. I mean, of course you hear about something like that and it hurts. That’s human, right? But then you sort of step back, outside of that id instinct for a second, and think about why it hurts.”

“And then, forgive the misuse of vocabulary here, but then, given that, I step even further back, outside of Continue reading →

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Play-In Is Done-zo! Day 4 Results

Posted on February 16, 2013 by g-mo

Mr. Carter is sticking around

Thanks for your votes and your patience, all. Proud to announce that we have our final 4 members of the field of 32! But before we talk big, let’s talk results.

We’ll have to acknowledge Mr. Johnny Cash here, who destroys his competition and picks up a blistering 7.96 average score in the process. “Folsom Prison Blues” eliminates Patti Smith’s “Gloria,” 119.4-95.3. The next closest winner was James Brown’s “Get Up (Feel Like A Sex Machine),” which eliminates Bob Marley’s “Get Up Stand Up” 109.9-104.6. Strong match, but only one Get Up could advance.

Our generation (well mine as a late Gen Y at least) got a few wins from our young adulthood to round this out. “Hard Knock Life” bests “Let’s Go Crazy,” 105.3-100.4. And fan favorite “Neighborhood 1 (Tunnels)” outlasts “King of Carrot Flowers (Part 1)” by a score of 105.31-95.1.

With this last round of scores, I can now release the seedings for the Round of 32 for the play-ins. As play-ins they’ll take spots #17 to #32. We’ll release the whole bracket including Janos’s exciting launch of the “best songs about the radio” half of the tourney over the weekend, but for now a review of where our survivors land going forward:

Seed Song Artist Album
17 Folsom Prison Blues Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison
18 My Name Is Jonas Weezer The Blue Album
19 Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine James Brown Sex Machine
20 It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Want To Rock And Roll) AC/DC TNT
21 Blue Suede Shoes Elvis Presley Elvis Presley
22 Sure Shot Beastie Boys Ill Communication
23 Rehab Amy Winehouse Back To Black
24 Modern Love David Bowie Let’s Dance
25 Tunnels Arcade Fire Funeral
26 Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem) Jay-Z Hard Knock Life
27 Welcome To The Jungle Guns N Roses Appetite For Destruction
28 My Cherie Amour Stevie Wonder My Cherie Amour
29 Handle With Care Traveling Wilburys Volume I
30 Boy In The Bubble Paul Simon Graceland
31 Lust For Life Iggy Pop Lust For Life
32 Tamacun Rodrigo y Gabriela Rodrigo y Gabriela

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Best Track One: Day Three Results, Last Day Of Play-In!

Posted on February 13, 2013 by g-mo

Gotta step up the voter numbers! Although there are still 3 1/2 hours left to vote on this round we are definitely a little low right now- tell your neighbors and tell your friends we want their votes!

The big winner of the day was “My Name Is Jonas”- we don’t have a Wall of 10’s yet, but maybe we should so we can put Weezer up there. “Loser” never had a chance and falls 79-70.5. Similarly the Traveling Wilbury’s didn’t have too much trouble with “Talking About A Revolution,” and “Handle With Care” takes that one 68.3-57.2. The other matches were too close to call at 5:00 PM…

….but 8 pm brings us home. An impressive comeback by “Tamacun” who outlasts The Flaming Lips 63.2-58.5. Last but not least- oof. Closest match yet, but “Welcome To The Jungle” ekes it out 70.1-69.8.

We’ve gotten from 48 songs down to 36 still alive- one last round of play-in before we’ve got our Round of 32 Best Track Ones. Playlist is here and votes are due by Friday, February 15th at Midnight. Good luck to all songs!

“Get Up (I Feel Like Being A Sex Machine,)” James Brown, Sex Machine (1970) vs.
“Get Up, Stand Up,” Bob Marley, Burnin’ (1973)

“Folsom Prison Blues,” Johnny Cash, At Folsom Prison (1968) vs.
“Gloria,” Patti Smith, Horses (1975)

“Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem),” Jay-Z, Hard Knock Life (1998) vs.
“Let’s Go Crazy,” Prince, Purple Rain (1984)

“King of Carrot Flowers Part One,” Neutral Milk Hotel, In The Aeroplane Over The Sea (1998,) vs.
“Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels),” Arcade Fire, Funeral (2004)

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Best Track One: Day Two Results, Day Three Play-In Match-ups

Posted on February 11, 2013 by g-mo

Self-explanatory

The votes are in with some surprises in the bag. To start things off, the heavyweight fight of the group was most definitively the Beastie Boys versus NWA battle to cap the playlist. Indubitably two of the most important acts in the history of rap, but there could only be one in the end. “Sure Shot” takes it, 92.3-84.2.

“My Cherie Amour” built an early lead against “Ole Man Trouble” and Stevie never looked back. Otis Redding exits the tournament, 89-81.6. David Bowie successfully fights off a comeback by Sting and The Police- “Modern Love” defeats “Message In A Bottle,” 91.3-89.2. The same couldn’t be said for Buddy Holly and “I’m Gonna Love You Too,” which loses gas in the home stretch and is overtaken by “Blue Suede Shoes” 93.1-91.2. Elvis grabs high score in this round as well.

We’re halfway done with the play-ins- next match-ups due Wednesday, February 13th at 8:00 PM EST. Playlist is here, as always vote with your hearts.

“Welcome To The Jungle,” Guns N’ Roses, Appetite For Destruction (1986) vs.”Cherub Rock,” Smashing Pumpkins, Siamese Dream (1992)

“Talkin’ About A Revolution,” Tracy Chapman, Tracy Chapman (1988) vs.
“Handle With Care,” The Traveling Wilburys, Traveling Wilburys, Volume 1 (1988)

“Race For The Prize,” The Flaming Lips, Soft Bulletin (1999) vs.
“Tamacun,” Rodrigo y Gabriela, Rodrigo y Gabriela (2006)

“My Name Is Jonas,” Weezer, Weezer (1994) vs.
“Loser,” Beck, Mellow Gold (1994)

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HCS: Launchpad McQuack (V, 2)

Posted on February 10, 2013 by g-mo

Launchpad McQuack

“This is the way to burn,” the fuse seemed to say to the more docile, slow-witted candlewick. ‘Brilliantly, ecstatically, irrepressibly. This is the way to burn.’”
–Tom Robbins

Yes, that was me in February of 2007

About 20 minutes after I left the tattoo parlor, Eddie emerged onto the gently lit sidewalk. It was cold enough to think about shivering, but warm enough to get away with a jacket. I paused mid-smoke and turned to my friend.

“How does it feel?”

He shrugged.

“Good, man. It feels good.”

Karissa and Deubs followed shortly. I nodded and reached my hand up to feel the puffy bandage underneath my sleeve. Yeah, it felt good.

We’d gone on strike for a morning a few days before and I think we’d gotten our tattooes as a way to let out some of the pain. There had been rumbling for a little bit. Eddie didn’t have money for tools. Motivation was waning further and further as the mild Mississippi winter settled in and people got angrier and angrier about little things. Luc’s father Yvon was upset, Eddie was upset— it was all a big deal. One Monday morning instead of anyone going out on a crew, all of the long-termers sat under a tent in the field out back. Maybe thirty of us, but familiar faces. I sat on the periphery and watched as Caleb emerged from the building and walked over to the tent, Sara H at his side.

The conversation was muted but powerful in the way it was muted. It started with a lot of people looking at the ground, or looking away. Then Caleb demanded we all go to work. The volunteers expressed their dismay at how things were going, how the disconnect affected them, how this was their lives they gave, how everyone should be on the page. Caleb dodged and parried behind his glasses, explaining that he supported us but he had little control when it came to Atlanta. The big moment of the meeting was when Yvon spoke:

“Caleb, do you look in the mirror in the morning? Continue reading →

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