PCT II: Round of 128, Day 16 (End of the road, baby!)

Posted on September 19, 2012 by Janos Marton

Nice Expos hat, Big Boi.

Although we’ve come…

Folks, Round 1 has been a pleasure.  Honestly, it feels like the quality and energy of the songs is stronger than a year ago, when I have memories of dishing out “2s” and “3s” left and right.  We’re also ending on a very strong note.   I have a feeling a major contender will emerge from this group.  And the best part is that it only gets better from here.

To bring the first round home, listen to the Day 16 match-ups here, and vote by commenting before 8pm (EST) Friday.   At that time I’ll be at a wedding in the Poconos.  For those who know her, big shout out to Maia!

Magic Carpet Ride (Steppenwolf) vs. I Belong In Your Arms (Chairlift)

Just Like Heaven (Cure)  vs. We OK (The Very Best feat. K’Naan)

Shine Blockas (Big Boi) vs. Holland, 1945 (Neutral Milk Hotel)

Somebody That I Used To Know (Gotye) vs. Foundations (Kate Nash)

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PCT II: Round of 128, Day 14 Results

Posted on September 19, 2012 by Janos Marton

The cover of the UK 7″.

Congratulations, Day 14!  The numbers don’t lie- this has been one of the strongest days of the tournament.  As a result, all four of our matches went down to the wire.

Johnny Come Lately (Steve Earle) def. Vomit (Girls),  89-88.3.    The closest match of the day, came down to the final voter.

Someone Great (LCD Soundsystem) def. Bellbottoms (Jon Spencer Blues Explosion),  91.8-85.  Hipster face-off victory for LCD.

American Skin (Bruce Springsteen) def. All For You (Sister Hazel), 91.4-87.1.  How ’bout that catalogue?  I can’t think of many artists who have cycled more songs through these tournament formats than Bruce, but he keeps on keepin’ on.

Your Love (The Outfield) def. Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want (Smiths),  99.5-95.   A win, and a loss, for the 80s.

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PCT II: Round of 128, Day 13 Results

Posted on September 18, 2012 by g-mo

…except in this case.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new Living The Dream record. I remember a year back seeing a 3 for Cribcaged, but sub-3 is a new territory for this site. To say people did not like “Morte Et Dabo” by Asking Alexandria would be kind- the song ends up with 46.5 points and an average score of 2.583. It also received an amazing tally of six (yes, six) scores of 1 point, so if there were a Wall of 1’s we’d put it up there (for the record, there isn’t and there never will be.) Suffice to say, “Big Pimpin'” takes this by a margin of 113.8-46.5.

Other scores- Timbaland gave it a good fight, but “What’s My Name” takes the match 108.5-99.1, setting up an interesting Snoop Dogg-Jay-Z fight for the Round of 64.

“Fucked Up” comes out on top of the barn burner against the effeminate robot from the video game Portal, 92.05-87.7. Invisible Leader barely avoids the title of “Lowest Average Score To Advance” with a 5.114. Will need to catch some more fans to compete with the high flying Mr. Bon Iver next round, whose “Skinny Love” trounces Les Friction’s “Torture” 125.5-88.5.

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PCT II: Round of 128, Day 15

Posted on September 18, 2012 by g-mo

City and Colour makes a People’s Choice appearance two years in a row

Penultimate is one of those words that I think you should use at every possible opportunity. That said, may I present the penultimate day of match-ups in the Round of 128. Playlist is here except for “Fleeting Like The Days” (will link below as well) and votes due by Thursday, September 20th at 8:00 PM EST.

Thinkin’ Bout Something (Hanson) vs. Four Night Rider (Rural Alberta Advantage)

Sleeping Sickness (City and Colour) vs. Babylon (David Grey)

Machu Picchu (The Strokes) vs. Classy Girls (The Lumineers)

Little Bit of Everything (Dawes) vs. Fleeting Like The Days (Cahalen Morrision and Eli West)

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PCT II: Round of 128, Day 14

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Janos Marton

The game is the game.

After Day 13 really took us out there, Day 14 is mostly a return to rock and roll, from indie favorites to radio songs of days past.  You can listen here and vote by commenting below before 8pm EST on Wednesday.

Vomit (Girls) vs. Johnny Come Lately (Steve Earle)

Bellbottoms (Jon Spencer Blues Explosion) vs. Someone Great (LCD Soundsystem)

All For You (Sister Hazel) vs. American Skin (Bruce Springsteen)

Your Love (The Outfield) vs. Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want (Smiths)

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PCT II: Round of 128, Day 13

Posted on September 16, 2012 by g-mo

Timbaland- ready to compete.

Alright voters- hope that the weekend was relaxing and that you are ready to get back into voting! A warning about this Day of voting- this is definitely going to be a Monday morning wake-up. In this day we have featured 3 hip hop songs from radio-strong artists, a song that took the gaming community by storm (thank you as always, Crispus,) a metalcore band with roots in Dubai, and a guy named Bon Iver. We’ll let the scores speak for themselves. Playlist is here, votes due by Tuesday, September 18th at 8:00 PM EST.

Time (Timberland feat. She Wants Revenge) vs. Who Am I (Snoop Dogg)

Morte Et Dabo (Asking Alexandria) vs. Big Pimpin’ (Jay-Z feat. UGK)

Still Alive (Glaydos/Jonathan Coulton) vs. Invisible Leader (Fucked Up)

Torture (Les Friction) vs. Skinny Love (Bon Iver)

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Round of 128: Days 9-12 Weekly Roundup

Posted on September 16, 2012 by g-mo

Short version, got work to do. The yellow cones above are from the last week. Strong week overall for establishing leaders. New high profile potential R32 match-up now goes to “Baby Drugs” vs. “Hang Fire” if they get there- however, neither has a walk-over R64 match (Penny & The Quarters and St. Lucia) so we’ll see. Enjoy football Sunday!

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PCT II: Round of 128, Day 12 Results

Posted on September 15, 2012 by Janos Marton

Smile dudes- you have a less than imposing match-up against Justin Townes Earle scheduled for next round!

The dust has almost settled, folks.  With 48 songs eliminated, we are now a week away from the end of Round 1.  As we re-learn every tournament, the subsequent rounds just fly by.   A month from today we’ll be in the Sweet 16- which will feature one of the songs below! (Probably Sir Duke, from the look of things…)

First Light (My Morning Jacket) def. See My Eyes (DWNTWN),  87-71.25.  After a tough loss yesterday, MMJ bounces back.

Mama’s Eyes (Justin Townes Earle) def. Boyfriend/Girlfriend (Justin Bieber/N’Sync),  80-68.5.  Bieber fever didn’t last long in these parts.  Actually, the popsters hung tough (hangin’ tough…NKOTB?) through the first 10 voters or so, before fading.

Sir Duke (Stevie Wonder) def. Dashboard (Modest Mouse),  111-99.85.  Modest Mouse wins today’s “Bad Luck in the First Round” award, posting the second-highest score of the day.  We feel bad for a second, but remember, this tournament only has one winner.  All but one song will be vanquished eventually.  From Stevie’s track record with “Superstition” in the LTD tournament and Press’s coaching job in Last Band Standing, we know that Sir Duke is likely a force to be reckoned with.

Shine a Light (Wolf Parade) def. Thoughtless (Poor Old Lou), 83.7-72.5.  Nice win for Wolf Parade, which lost in the first round a year ago with “I’ll Believe in Anything”.

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PCT II: Round of 128, Day 11 Results

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Janos Marton

Bringing a Nashville sound to LTD

In what some might characterize as a major upset, Baby Drugs (Tristen) def. Promised Land (Bruce Springsteen), 125-121.5.   Tristen Gaspadarek didn’t release her debut album until she was 28, the same age as the Boss when he released Darkness on the Edge of Town, which features “Promised Land.”    “Baby Drugs” scored one of the highest averages of Round 1, and until Adrock’s vote, had not scored below 6.

You and Me (Penny and the Quarters) def. Curl of the Burl (Mastadon), 103.2-94.1.   “You and Me” was recorded as a demo in the early 1970s, and was only discovered in 2009 when the studio owner passed away.  The song was released in 2010.  When Ryan Gosling heard the song he was floored, and lobbied for it to be used in his rom-com, Blue Valentine.  Once the song hit it big, the record label searched far and wide for the artists, finally tracking down the three singers.  Unfortunately, the song writer, Jay Robinson passed away in 2009, never knowing he hit it big.

All Eyes on You (St. Lucia) def. Dreams (Passion Pit),  109.8-91.6.    St. Lucia cruised over Passion Pit’s Cranberries cover.

Hang Fire (Rolling Stones) def. The Only Place (The Best Coast), 120-108.  Admirable showing by the Best Coast, and kudos to Mike Corbett for finding a Stones song that we aren’t burnt out from.

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PCT II: Round of 128, Day 12

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Janos Marton

How will the heartthrob play among an older, more disgruntled crowd?

Ladies and gentleman, this is a landmark moment at livingthedream.org.  Here in our fifth music tournament, we witness the LTD debut for Mr. Justin Bieber.   Just the other day I was remarking how incongruous his megafame is with how many memorable songs he has.  Invariably, when I say this, the best my friends can do is hum a line or two from “Baby.”   I’ll approach this match-up with an open mind, and I hope you do too.  Lot’s of other goodies below.  Listen here (except Boyfriend/Girlfriend) and vote by commenting below before 11:59pm EST Friday.

See My Eyes (DWNTWN) vs. First Light (My Morning Jacket)

Mama’s Eyes (Justin Earle Townes) vs. Boyfriend/Girlfriend (Justin Bieber/ N’Sync mash-up)

Sir Duke (Stevie Wonder) vs. Dashboard (Modest Mouse)

Shine a Light (Wolf Parade) vs. Thoughtless (Poor Old Lu)

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