Last Band Standing: Madness of March

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Janos Marton

I’ve been boosting music tournaments since 1994, but even earlier than that I was a big fan of the Weather Channel.  It’s part of waking up, Folgers in your cup and all.  That’s why I was delighted to see that the Weather Channel is hosting its own weather-themed March Madness Music Tournament!

Voting’s been light at LBS over the last few days, so get your peeps involved as head into the mid-week hump.   Listen to the next set of matches here, and vote by commenting below by 10pm EST on Thursday.

Results

The River (Bruce Springsteen) def. Straight to Hell (Clash),  77-73.5.  Bruce now leads the series 2-1.  Check out this fantastic letter from Joe Strummer about why he loves Bruce Springsteen’s music.  The respect level is clearly mutual.

The Ocean (Led Zeppelin) def.  Hang on to Yourself (David Bowie), 71-61.  Thematically, the water and desperation invoked by the song titles in these first two match-ups is uncanny.  Led Zeppelin now leads 2-1.

Late in the Evening (Paul Simon) def. You Make Loving Fun (live) (Fleetwood Mac), 72-65.5.    Paul Simon takes a decisive 3-1 series lead, requiring Mark B. to summon Landslide.

Everlong (acoustic) (Foo Fighters) def.  Pastime Paradise (Stevie Wonder), 92-76.5.  I’d venture that most people were unaware of the origin for Coolio’s mid 90s anthem, but the FFs still prevailed and live to see another day.  Stevie Wonder leads the series 3-1.   Continue reading →

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HCS (I, 7): Tarp Crew

Posted on March 12, 2012 by g-mo

Tarp Crew

“Now you’re initiated.”
-Ryan Quinnelly, 11/05

While my adventure at LSU was juvenile, reckless, and irresponsible, it did not deviate too far from my weekend life in general. Mississippi was a mess. And many, many people looked at that mess, worked in that mess, and then made a mess of their own selves by night. Good beer after a good day of work. I’ve matured a bit since then, but at that point in time it was a simple stretch of my old existence at the premiere work hard, play hard school in this country, Dartmouth College.

So that aside, the moment I got back from LSU was the start of my wild and tumultuous friendship of the edge with one Charles Ryan Quinnelly. Ryan had arrived at Hands On in mid-September, and left on a road trip a few days after I got there. I had met him momentarily on the streets of New Orleans my first weekend, dodging between Hurricane drinks in the French Quarter. However, I hadn’t known him seriously until Continue reading →

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Last Band Standing: Turning Points

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Janos Marton

Paul Simon on SNL with Lorne Michaels. Classic skit.

Right now all of the matches are in the Game 3-4-5 stretch where the underdogs have to nominate their songs first.    Coaches on both sides have to start going to their big songs to survive, and second-round songs have to look at what they have left in the tank.  Listen here, and vote by commenting before 9pm (EST) on Tuesday.   And now, results: Continue reading →

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Last Band Standing: Down to the Wire Action

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Janos Marton

Some real nail-biters tonight.  Check out the scores below.  Also, we’re putting another call for coaches.   In case folks are wondering what the endgame is here, I’d like to run about five waves of artists through the system before calling it quits for Last Band Standing.  That leaves plenty of slots for new folks, or even people who get eliminated in these first few weeks.

On to our current match-ups.  For Game 2 of the Semi-finals and Game 3 of the Undercard, listen here and vote by commenting before midnight on Saturday.

Results

I Fought The Law (Clash) edged out Prove It All Night (Bruce Springsteen), 84.5-76.5.   The Clash take a 1-0 series lead, but used up a big gun in the process.  Now Gmo trots out one of his big guns for Game 2, and Cristina ducks for cover.

Oh! You Pretty Things (David Bowie) takes out Communication Breakdown (Led Zeppelin),  74.1-64.4, and leads the series 1-0.   Adrock is yet to use a top tier Led Zeppelin song, but seems ready to start rolling them out.  Continue reading →

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Last Band Standing: The Next Generation

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Janos Marton

Tonight we bid adieu to two terrific artists that battled through seven game series, and forge ahead into a new round of voting.

Listen to all the new match-ups here, and vote by commenting below before 10pm (EST) on Thursday.

Game 7 Results

Safe European Home (Clash) edges out Sympathy for the Devil (Rolling Stones), 165.8-154.6.  Though this was always going to be a close Game 7, you could probably categorize the Clash’s series win over the Rolling Stones as an upset.   The Clash will go on to face Bruce Springsteen.   Much thanks to Midnight Mike for his Stones coaching.  The key stat Mike probably didn’t expect: after scoring above an “8” with four out of the first five voters, Sympathy got an “8” from only one of the remaining seventeen voters. Continue reading →

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Last Band Standing: Game 7 and a new generation of contenders

Posted on March 4, 2012 by Janos Marton

Two dramatic series come to an end as we enter Game 7.  Major props to Midnight Mike, Cristina, Grant and Lindsay for their coaching thus far.   It’s a shame only two will advance to the next round.   Meanwhile, tonight features the beginning of our undercard- the artist that emerges from the bottom four will become the #1 contender.   Listen to all of the tracks here except for Helden by David Bowie, and vote by commenting below before 10pm (EST) Tuesday.

Game 7 Match-ups

Sympathy for the Devil (Rolling Stones) vs.  Safe European Home (Clash)

Helden (David Bowie) vs.  God Bless the Child (Sam Cooke)

Undercard

Monday Morning (Fleetwood Mac) vs.  Kodachrome (Paul Simon)

Arlandria (Foo Fighters)   vs.   I Wish (Stevie Wonder)

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Last Band Standing: Game 6 Results

Posted on March 3, 2012 by Janos Marton

Three artists faced elimination coming into tonight, and two of them survived.  Unfortunately for the Super Furry Animals, they went down swinging against Bruce Springsteen, as Because the Night topped Down a Different River, 120-87 .  Bruce takes the series 4-2.

People have asked me how the Super Furry Animals wound up in a tournament with all of these legendary bands.   When I first explained the concept behind this tournament to Dem Adam, he was hooked instantly, and immediately suggested the Super Furry Animals.   It was a gutsy move, and we salute Dem Adam for introducing us to some cool music.    Coach Gmo will now be preparing his playbook for a battle against either the Stones or the Clash.

Police On My Back (Clash) def. Rocks Off (Rolling Stones), 114-99 .    The Clash staved off elimination as Cristina pulled out her first Sandinista! track to fend off the Exile on Main Street opener.     Continue reading →

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HCS (I, 6): LSU Homecoming Part 2: Tigers and Rage

Posted on March 3, 2012 by g-mo

“You a terrorist, boy?”
“No sir, I’m just an LSU fan.”

-Dialogue between Halliburton employee and Janos Marton, 10/05 

Alex got into Crystal’s car with Ronnie, while Josh, Janos, and I rode in Subi. I pulled the car onto the on-ramp and almost immediately lost Crystal in construction traffic. This was unfortunate because we didn’t know anything about LSU and had neither Ronnie nor Alex’s phone numbers. However, we were versatile and in road trip mode, so I pulled off an exit to a gas station to survey the alcohol situation with Janos. We had three-quarters of a handle of Smirnoff Razz. To complement, we purchased six bottles of Boone’s Farm (I wistfully thought of Come As You Are and Derby parties from yesteryear) and an eighteen-pack of Bud Light. It turned out campus was a mile away from the gas station, so twenty minutes later Continue reading →

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Last Band Standing: Game 6 Match-ups (and Game 5 Results)

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Janos Marton

Stuff just got real.  One band eliminated, more to follow.  They will be replaced, however, in the days ahead by Stevie Wonder (coached by Jacob), Paul Simon (Ilya), Fleetwood Mac (Mark) and the Foo Fighters (Astrid).  More details on how that’s gonna work on Saturday.   Listen to Game 6 match-ups here, and vote by commenting before 9pm on Saturday.   And now, Game 5 Results:

Rosalita (Bruce Springsteen) crushes It’s Not the End of the World? (Super Furry Animals), 141-107.  Rosalita was pretty universally liked, and cruised to give the Boss a 3-2 lead in the series, and a chance to close things out.

Rock the Casbah (Clash) edged out Brown Sugar (Rolling Stones), 145.8-143.2.  Another close ones for the British rock legends.  This is a good time to remind people to vote responsibly, and not cast large discrepancies with your votes without justification. Meanwhile, look ahead to a sizzling Game 6, with the Stones still leading the series, 3-2.

Young Americans (David Bowie) takes a hard-fought win over Somebody’s Gonna Miss Me (Sam Cooke), 157-143.  I just love this series, which Bowie now leads 3-2.  Both coaches are leaving everything on the table.  That’s how you get Space Oddity vs. Change Is Gonna Come for Game 6.   Can’t wait.

Misty Mountain Hop (Led Zeppelin) defeats One Way or Another (Blondie), 158.4-157.2.    Brutal.  It’s been an uphill battle for Blondie, as folks didn’t really gravitate towards their lesser known work early in the part of the series.  Then tonight it looked like Zep had it in the bag, but Blondie supporters rallied furiously into the evening, cutting a 7-point lead to 1 in the final hours.   With a 4-1 series win, Led Zeppelin advances to the semi-finals, where it will play the winner of Cooke vs. Bowie.

Game 6 Match-ups

Because the Night (live) (Bruce Springsteen) vs. Down a Different River (Super Furry Animals)

Rocks Off (Rolling Stones) vs. Police On My Back (Clash)

Space Oddity (David Bowie) vs. Change Is Gonna Come (Sam Cooke

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Last Band Standing: Game 5 Match-ups (and Game 4 Results)

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Janos Marton

Note (1:40 am/Thursday): Grooveshark is back up, but that was a scary few hours. The Shark’s days seem potentially numbered, and we’ll continue figuring out what service we should use instead (Spotify, PlayIt, YouTube.)

Calling all coaches!   We’re on the verge of a big announcement about how Last Band Standing will play out in the weeks ahead, but first I need someone to step up and coach- perhaps one of our regular voters, like Megan, Eileen or Joe.  Mull it over while you’re listening to Game 5 match-ups.

As always, vote by commenting below before 11:59pm (EST) on Thursday.   We’ve extended it a few hours to make up for last night’s Grooveshark problems. And now, Game 4 Results:

I’m On Fire (Bruce Springsteen) cruises past The Man Don’t Give A Fuck (Super Furry Animals), 106-73.  This was an easy one for the Boss, who nets the series 2-2.   The next SFA pick is huge, as Dem Adam would really like a 3-2 lead given the Boss’s powerful catalogue.

Street Fighting Man (Rolling Stones) squeaks past Wrong ‘Em Boyo (Clash), 96-92.5, to take a 3-1 series lead.  This was a tough one for Cristina to lose, and it forces her to go call in her ace, Rock the Casbah.  Meanwhile, Mike comes back with his 2nd #1 hit of the round, Brown Sugar. Continue reading →

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