Round of 256 Awards!!!!

Posted on March 15, 2011 by g-mo

Alright- awards. I’m going to limit these to 256-centric stats, but at the end we can have some Tournament wide awards. Also, I think we are far enough in and also on democratically equal footing in the competition to include Janos and I in these. The fact that neither of us won a Marathon medal straight up is a good indication of that.

Marathon Vote: The more you vote, the more you own it. These medals go to the voters that are steering the tournament more than anyone else.

Super Platinum Gold Medal: Jacob (voted on all 128 match-ups. That’s some f-ing commitment.)

Silver Medal (3-Way Tie): Adrock, The Catholic, Mark O (all missed one day of voting)

 

Rookies Of The Year: This is a sub-category of the Marathon award that goes to voters who dove into the tournament this round but didn’t vote so much last round (I defined that as their first vote ever was at least past the start of Division M in the Round of 512)

Gold Medal: Meghan (112 match-ups)

Silver Medal: marc (56 match-ups)

Bronze Medal: Dr J (44 match-ups)

 

Lover Of All Things Musical Award: This award goes to those voters who on average gave songs the highest scores. To qualify, you had to vote at least two different days. You love music! Yeah!

Gold Medal: Anna Z (8.244 average score. And just like that, she was off to the Marshall Islands, never to be heard from again)

Silver Medal: mike (7.925 average score)

Bronze Medal: Janos (7.839 average score)

Player Hater’s Ball Finalist Award: To every sunny yang there is a shadowy yin. This award goes to the voters who gave songs the lowest scores on average. Same rule for qualification.

Gold Medal: Meghan’s Dad (6.094 average score. Notable recorded scores included a 2 for “Hey Ya” and a 3 for “Tunnels”)

Silver Medal: Danno (6.501)

Bronze Medal: Jacob (6.504)

Game Changer Award: Are you smart enough to know that if you give one song a 9.9 and another song a 0.002 that you are probably trumping 6 other voters? Are you comfortable with that? I am definitely ok with this as long as you are following your heart and that’s really how you feel, but at the same time it goes without saying that such moves may be seen as…well, I guess the best phrase is “game-changing.” This award goes to the voters who on average had the greatest difference in scores between the two songs.

Gold Medal: Danno (+2.655 on average)

Silver Medal: Meghan’s Dad (+2.4375 on average)

Bronze Medal: Dr J (+2.253 on average)

You’re Both Winners! Award: Same logic, but reversed. This award goes to the voters who kept the song scores closest to each other on average.

Gold Medal:  Anna Z (+0.738 on average. Island life makes everyone happy!

Silver Medal: Janos (+1.277 on average)

Bronze Medal: Margot (+1.416 on average)

 

Superlatives

Most Likely To State His Opinion Through Use Of Pseudonym:  Jacob (giving Marconi/RIP Lou/blind boy grunt the first Triple Crown of LTDMT awards. Well-done.)

Most Responsible Voter: Mark O (who used the bracketology page to listen to match-ups ahead of time so he could submit votes that were happening while he was on a cruise one week.

Biggest Hater of Billy Corgan:  The Catholic (I mean, 9.9-1? Really? I know they can get whiny sometimes, but the Catholic and the rest of the Vatican had nothing but hatred for the Pumpkins. Oof.)

Most Likely To Include Some Completely Superfluous and Unrelated Story In His Voting Commentary: Guillermo (I’ll roast myself, it’s fine…I know I could do better at this.)

Most Likely To Have Much Better and More Amusing Commentary: I’m going to call this a three-way tie between sweetems, Aiko, and G. Biting comments, making us laugh. Good stuff.

Have You Seen Me? Last, I want to call out the following people for voting a lot a few months ago and then disappearing. Whether it’s law school, your band in Oakland, Capitol Hill, or this whole Japan thing, we miss you…come back soon Jim Rock, Lindsay, Carrie, Kate, Mark B.

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LTDMT 128 8 Disc Box Set!

Posted on March 15, 2011 by g-mo

Alright, another halftime is here where I will put up some innocuous posts about things that I did on the Excel sheet while I was bored. First up, yesterday I took the time to put all 128 songs in chronological order by release date to make a theoretical ultimate box set. It ended up pretty cool- for starters, check out this graph:

As you can see, the hot spots by year are definitively concentrated around 1968 (12 qualifiers) and flanked by ’67 (8) and ’69 (7)…no wonder Bryan Adams thought so highly of that summer. However, something should be said of what 1982 did for music (7 qualifiers, driven by MJ, supported among others by Grandmaster Flash and the release of Combat Rock) as well as 1994 (The Blue Album, Dookie, then Jeff Buckley and some others.)

One last cool fact: as Nos noted earlier, Cash is looking pretty f’ing unstoppable. One good reason why might be that he pretty much bookends the entire chronology (Folsom Prison Blues, Disc 1, Track 1 all the way to Hurt, Disc 8, Track 7.) Granted, there is a dearth of production in the 80s and 90s from that guy, but I mean, he did suffer a severe injury from getting kicked by an ostrich that got him back on painkillers. Could happen to anybody.

What follows is a chronological list, seeding removed, of what this box set would look like:

 

Disc 1: 1955-1966

 

Track Song Artist Year
1 Folsom Prison Blues Johnny Cash 1955
2 Wonderful World Sam Cooke 1960
3 Stand By Me Ben E. King 1961
4 Don’t Think Twice Bob Dylan 1963
5 Louie Louie Kingsmen 1963
6 Blowin in the Wind Bob Dylan 1963
7 Twist and Shout Beatles 1963
8 Ring of Fire Johnny Cash 1963
9 All Day and All of the Night Kinks 1964
10 My Girl Temptations 1964
11 Sounds of Silence Simon and Garfunkel 1965
12 Like a Rollin Stone Bob Dylan 1965
13 In My Life Beatles 1965
14 We Can Work It Out Beatles 1965
15 Wouldn’t It Be Nice Beach Boys 1966
16 Paint It Black Rolling Stones 1966

 Disc 2: 1967-1968

 

Track Song Artist Year
1 Purple Haze Jimi Hendrix 1967
2 Respect Aretha Franklin 1967
3 Let’s Spend the Night Together Rolling Stones 1967
4 For What It’s Worth Buffalo Springfield 1967
5 A Day In the Life Beatles 1967
6 The Wind Cries Mary Jimi Hendrix 1967
7 Brown Eyed Girl Van Morrison 1967
8 Somebody To Love Jefferson Airplane 1967
9 Hey Jude Beatles 1968
10 Sympathy for the Devil Rolling Stones 1968
11 Mrs. Robinson Simon and Garfunkel 1968
12 The Weight The Band 1968
13 All Along the Watchtower Jimi Hendrix 1968
14 I Heard It Through The Grapevine Marvin Gaye 1968
15 America Simon and Garfunkel 1968
16 Son of a Preacherman Dusty Springfield 1968

Disc 3: 1968-1971

 

Track Song Artist Year
1 Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay Otis Redding 1968
2 Piece of My Heart Janis Joplin 1968
3 Magic Carpet Ride Steppenwold 1968
4 Wonderful World Louis Armstrong 1968
5 You Can’t Always Get What You Want Rolling Stones 1969
6 Here Comes The Sun Beatles 1969
7 Suspicious Minds Elvis Presley 1969
8 The Boxer Simon and Garfunkel 1969
9 Golden Slumbers Medley Beatles 1969
10 Fortunate Son CCR 1969
11 Gimme Shelter Rolling Stones 1969
12 Wild World Cat Stevens 1970
13 Lookin out my back door CCR 1970
14 Layla Derek & The Dominoes 1970
15 Let It Be Beatles 1970
16 Changes  David Bowie 1971

Disc 4: 1971-1975

Track Song Artist Year
1 When the Levee Breaks Led Zeppelin 1971
2 Wont Get Fooled Again Who 1971
3 Stairway to Heaven Led Zeppelin 1971
4 Baba O’Reilly Who 1971
5 Man In Black Johnny Cash 1971
6 Superstition Stevie Wonder 1972
7 Rocket Man Elton John 1972
8 Tiny Dancer Elton John 1972
9 Over the Hills and Far Away Led Zeppelin 1973
10 Let’s Get It On Marvin Gaye 1973
11 Piano Man Billy Joel 1973
12 No Woman No Cry Bob Marley 1974
13 Born to Run Bruce Springsteen 1975
14 Bohemian Rhapsody Queen 1975
15 Thunder Road Bruce Springsteen 1975
16 Tangled Up In Blue Bob Dylan 1975

Disc 5: 1976-1980

Track Song Artist Year
1 Night Moves Bob Seger 1976
2 Go Your Own Way Fleetwood Mac 1976
3 Staying Alive Bee Gees 1977
4 American Girl Tom Petty 1977
5 Come Sail Away Styx 1977
6 Just What I Needed Cars 1978
7 Is This Love Bob Marley 1978
8 Sultans of Swing Dire Straits 1978
9 I Will Survive Gloria Gaynor 1978
10 Fool in the Rain Led Zeppelin 1979
11 Another Brick In The Wall Pink Floyd 1979
12 Rapper’s Delight Sugarhill Gang 1979
13 Call Me Blondie 1980
14 Train in Vain Clash 1980
15 Another One Bites The Dust Queen 1980
16 You Shook Me All night Long AC/DC 1980

Disc 6: 1981-1987

Track Song Artist Year
1 Don’t Stop Believing Journey 1981
2 Under Pressure Queen/David Bowie 1981
3 The Message Grandmaster Flash 1982
4 Beat It Michael Jackson 1982
5 Come on Eileen Dexy’s Midnight Runners 1982
6 Jack and Diane John Cougar Mellencamp 1982
7 Thriller Michael Jackson 1982
8 Rock the Casbah Clash 1982
9 Billie Jean Michael Jackson 1982
10 Modern Love David Bowie 1983
11 Born In The USA Bruce Springsteen 1984
12 We Built This City Jefferson Starship 1985
13 You Can Call Me Al Paul Simon 1986
14 Where The Streets Have No Name U2 1987
15 With or Without You U2 1987
16 Welcome to the Jungle Guns n Roses 1987

Disc 7: 1988-1996

 

Track Song Artist Year
1 We Didn’t Start the Fire Billy Joel 1989
2 Free Fallin’ Tom Petty 1989
3 Smells Like Teen Spirit Nirvana 1991
4 Creep Radiohead 1992
5 Under the Bridge Red Hot Chili Peppers 1992
6 All Apologies Nirvana 1993
7 Laid James 1993
8 Hallelujah Jeff Buckley 1994
9 Longview Green Day 1994
10 Basket Case Green Day 1994
11 Buddy Holly Weezer 1994
12 Zombie Cranberries 1994
13 Say It Ain’t So Weezer 1994
14 Sabotage  Beastie Boys 1994
15 Where Did You Sleep Last Night Nirvana 1994
16 One Headlight Wallflowers 1996

Disc 8: 1996-2011

Track Song Artist Year
1 Killing Me Softly Fugees 1996
2 Paranoid Android Radiohead 1997
3 Everlong Foo Fighters 1997
4 New Slang Shins 2001
5 Me Gustas Tu Manu Chao 2001
6 Johnny Appleseed Joe Strummer 2001
7 Hurt Johnny Cash 2002
8 Lose Yourself Eminem 2002
9 Such Great Heights Postal Service 2003
10 Hey Ya Outkast 2003
11 Seven Nation Army White Stripes 2003
12 Tunnels Arcade Fire 2004
13 Wagon Wheel Old Crow Medicine Show 2004
14 Holiday Green Day 2004
15 Wavin’ Flag K’Naan 2009
16 Roll Away Your Stone Mumford and Sons 2010
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Music Tournament Round of 256: Division P, Day 2 Results

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Janos Marton

This is going up about 40 minutes early- I’m heading out, and may not have internet until tomorrow due to an unforseen Time Warner problem.  Votes will be eligible till 8pm, and official scores will go up in the morning.

The voter base kind of limped home this round- what started as 15-20 regular voters dropped to about 12.  Hopefully taking the next couple days off will rejuvanate folks.  The story here, as we close out the Round of 256, is #6 No Woman No Cry (Bob Marley), which boosted its first round average in taking out a dogged #11 Karma Police (Radiohead),  109-100.  No one gave No Woman No Cry lower than a 6.75, and even that was a tie score. 

#2 Wavin’ Flag (K’Naan) easily dispatched of the #15 Love Shack (B-52s),  117-85. John Lennon said it was when he heard the B-52s on the radio for the first time that he knew the pop world was ready for Yoko Ono’s music. Hm…. B-52s are the 196th artists to bounce.

#3 I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor) def. #14 And She Was (Talking Heads),  108-94.  I have to apologize to Bee Gees fans, it turns out Stayin’ Alive is still around, leaving us with two disco songs in the Round of 128.

And good golly, miss molly, the Talking Heads have been eliminated from the tournament!  Both the Burning Down the House and Psycho Killer losses were more surprising than this one, but to go 0-3 is brutal.  (That happened to Ray Charles as well)  The Heads have been one of my favorite bands for years, and they were major contenders in my personal music tournaments during 2006 and 2007.   It will be sad to see them go, casualty #197.

#7 Sultans of Swing (Dire Straits) def.. #10 Where It’s At (Beck), 104-100.  Beck is the 198th artist to be eliminated.

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Music Tournament Round of 256: Division P, Day 1 Results

Posted on March 13, 2011 by Janos Marton

In anotherwise lackluster day of voting we closed out with a thriller.

#1 Piano Man (Billy Joel) def. #16 Evangeline (Emmylou Harris), 82-48.  People were not feeling Harris, who becomes the #194 artist eliminated.  The bigger story is that after a great Round of 512, Piano Man looked a little flat, with a tough matchup around the corner.

#8 Gimme Shelter (Rolling Stones) def. #9 Sunshine of Your Love (Cream), 78-72.

#4 Where Did You Sleep Last Night (Nirvana) def. #13 Debaser (Pixies), 73-65.  Nirvana will have two songs in strong position going forwards.   The Pixies are the 195th artists to get knocked out.

#12 Holiday (Green Day) def. #5 Pride in the Name of Love (U2), 74.45-.74.40 . An absolutely devastating loss for U2. Pride won’t be joining With or Without You and Where the Streets Have No Name in the Round of 128.  Green Day will have two songs (Longview and Basket Case) next round alongside Holiday.

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Music Tournament Round of 256: Division O, Day 2 Results

Posted on March 12, 2011 by Janos Marton

What a dramatic way to bring Division O to a close and get folks salivating for the Round of 128.  The four winners of today’s bracket were within five points of each other, which means a ticket to the Round of 32 is up for grabs.

First of all- major upset report: #15 Sabotage (Beastie Boys) stunned #2 Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd), 102.1-100.3.   This has been an absolutely disappointing tournament for Pink Floyd, which sent four songs into the competition, and is now completely eliminated.

[Note from G-mo: Another Brick In The Wall knocked off Mr. Jones back in Division I, so we haven’t seen the last of the PF]

Remember in the early weeks of the tournament, when Stevie Wonder looked invincible? He’s now lost his third in a row, as #7 Magic Carpet Ride (Steppenwolf) ices #10 Higher Ground, 102.8-98.5.   I am looking forward to Steppenwolf vs. Beastie Boys next round.

#3 Wonderful World (Louis Armstrong) def. #14 Werewolves of London (Warren Zevon), 103-84 .  The score is a little misleading- yeah, some of you hated the Werewolves, but of the 13 people who voted on these matchups, 6 voted for Zevon (so Guillermo wasn’t really “with the majority” until he created it.  It’s just that no one is so callous as to give Wonderful World anything less than a 6.   Warren Zevon is out of the tournament.

#6 Fortunate Son (CCR) def. #11 Mysterious Ways (U2), 106.5-83.8.  This one was never really close.

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Music Tournament Round of 256: Division P, Day 2 (The End of the Round of 256!!)

Posted on March 12, 2011 by Janos Marton

Thank you all for what has been an epic whirlwind through six decades of incredible music.  With the Round of 256 coming to a close, we are 75% of the way through the Music Tournament- more if you count the play-in rounds.  

In the next two days, Guillermo and I will post some fun facts about the tournament so far, and give people to time to recharge.   From here on in, the rounds will fly by faster.   While the Round of 512 took almost two months, the Round of 128 will last only 16 days.   The possibility of artists, even individual songs, starting to wear thin is going to become a reality.

That’s all in the future, however.  For now, savor the last matchups of this round.  As always, listen at Grooveshark and vote by commenting below or emailing LTDdotorg@gmail.com before 8pm Monday.

#2 Wavin’ Flag (K’Naan) vs. #15 Love Shack (B-52s).  K’Naan was all the rage in his first two rounds of the tournament.  Doesn’t look like a serious test here.

#7 Sultans of Swing (Dire Straits) vs. #10 Where It’s At (Beck).  What a classic.  These songs represent completely different eras and vibes, even though they are only about 10 years apart.

#3 I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor) vs. #14 And She Was (Talking Heads).  I’m scratching my head at Gaynor’s #3 seeding, but unless today’s voter base is into fun acid stories, this may be the only true disco song to advance to the Round of 128.

#6 No Woman No Cry (Bob Marley) vs. #11 Karma Police (Radiohead).  Two artists that have mixed levels of success this tournament go head to head to close out the round.

Bonus track: Wavin’ Flag Spanish Remix, presumably to compete in the shadow Spanish remix draw of the tournament.

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Music Tournament Round of 256: Division P, Day 1

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Janos Marton

Yo!  Pay attention right now.  This is the LAST division in the Round of 256.  If you’ve been  lurking and slacking, but not voting, this is the last chance to make your voice heard this round. Listen at Grooveshark and vote by commenting or emailing LTDdotorg@gmail.com before 9pm on Sunday.

Let’s start sentimental.

#1 Piano Man (Billy Joel) vs. #16 Evangeline (Emmylou Harris).  Emmylou faces elimination.

#8 Gimme Shelter (Rolling Stones) vs. #9 Sunshine of Your Love (Cream).  Wow. Bruising.

#4  Where Did You Sleep Last Night (Nirvana) – also called In the Pines or My Girl vs. #14 Debaser (Pixies).  Does it get better than this- the pupil who exceeded all expectations vs. the master.

#5  Pride in the Name of Love (U2) vs. #12 Holiday (Green Day).  Didn’t these guys do a post-Katrina collaboration called “The Saints Are Coming”?  For the NFL? The thin line between entertainment and war, right?

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Music Tournament Round of 256: Division O, Day 1 Results

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Janos Marton

Watercooler chatter has it that Division O is the best in the whole damn tournament.  A great place to put your money down, the proverbial 2011 Big East.

#1 Wagon Wheel (Old Crow Medicine Show) def. Jailhouse Rock (Elvis Presley), 103-93.  Yeah they got the win, but OCMS did not look all that impressive despite 10s from Guillermo and Nick.

#8 Ring of Fire (Johnny Cash) def. Dream On (Aerosmith), 107-100.  This felt like it could have gone either way, but Cash has been tough to beat this tournament.

#4 Piece of My Heart (Janis Joplin) def. #13 Mr. Brightside (Killers) 102.4-99.9.  A great fight from the Killers, but our hearts were with Janis after her devastating loss a few days ago.

#5 Say It Ain’t So (Weezer) def. #12 Proud Mary (CCR), 111-97.   Say It Ain’t So looks VERY strong.

Aerosmith and the Killers are out, costing the tournament some damn rock and roll.

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Music Tournament Round of 256: Division N, Day 2 Results

Posted on March 10, 2011 by Janos Marton

The Nirvana catalog struggled early on, but #2 Smells Like Teen Spirit looks like a bonafide contender, despite the gallant performance of #15 Solsbury Hill (Peter Gabriel), 102-98. Peter Gabriel, it’s time to take you home. (Artist #188)  Solsbury Hill also hits the Wall of 10s in defeat (Guillermo, Catholic).

#10 Laid (James) upsets #7 Instant Karma (John Lennon),  98-85 . This sends solo Lennon and Yoko Ono (Artist #189) out of the tournament, but Lennon lives on through the numerous Beatles tunes that remain.  The tie between Laid and Solsbury Hill confirms what a good matchup that would have been.

#3 Somebody to Love (Jefferson Airplane) held off a pesky #14 Straight to Hell (Clash), 98-85.

#6 Golden Slumbers (Beatles) makes the Wall of 10s (G and Danno) in defeating #11 Good Lovin’ (Young Rascals),  105-94.  The Young Rascals are artist #190 to bounce.

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Music Tournament Round of 256: Division O, Day 2

Posted on March 10, 2011 by Janos Marton

Closing out O with some wild and fun songs.  In prepping Grooveshark tonight I thought this might be one of the strongest brackets of the entire round- a riff-raff free zone.

Sabotage is definitely up there in the Awesome Music Video category, Magic Carpet Ride was the backdrop of the epic chase scene in Go!  and Werewolves of London…don’t get me started.  “I saw I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand. Walkin’ through the streets of Soho in the rain.”  Best opening line of all time? Time to head over to Grooveshark (except Wish You Were Here).  Vote by commenting below or emailing LTDdotorg@gmail.com by 9pm on Saturday.

Pink Floyd (surprisingly), Beastie Boys, Steppenwolf, Louis Armstrong and Warren Zevon all face elimination tonight.  There will be blood in at least two of the match-ups.

#2 Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd) vs. #15 Sabotage (Beastie Boys)

#7 Magic Carpet Ride (Steppenwolf) vs. #10 Higher Ground (Stevie Wonder)

#3 Wonderful World (Louis Armstrong) vs. #14 Werewolves of London (Warren Zevon)

#6 Fortunate Son (CCR) vs. #11 Mysterious Ways (U2)

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