Living the Dream

Our third and final day at Division A comes to an end- we’ll be checking in with all these cats at the Round of 256.   The first two days have featured mostly very close battles, and I expect no less from these face-offs.  Check ’em on Grooveshark.

Africa (Toto) vs. Changes (David Bowie)  Africa is a major sleeper- a former satellite tournament winner that people either love or think is patently ridiculous (or both).

You Can’t Always Get What You Want (Rolling Stones) vs. Whipping Post (Allman Brothers).  You’ll remember Whipping Post from its play-in round victory, but tonight it’s up against one of the most formidable Stones tracks of all-time.

Don’t Think Twice (Bob Dylan) vs. Feelin’ Alright (Traffic).  Choosing Dylan songs was tough, but a few people lobbied me heavily to include this one.  Traffic, meanwhile, is quite underrated.

Juicy (Notorious B.I.G) vs. Forever Young (Jay-Z).  I like this Jay-Z song, but expect to see him get his ass kicked by a song that could conceivably win the tournament.  

House of the Rising Sun (Animals) vs. Don’t Worry Baby (Beach Boys).  Contemporaneous songs come at you from different directions.

The Message (Grandmaster Flash) vs. Sweet Home Alabama (Lynyrd Skynyrd).  These songs have nothing in common except that they are both classics.  May the best classic prevail.

Vote by commenting below or emailing LTDdotorg@gmail.com.

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Day 2 here at Division A. Check out the songs on Grooveshark, and vote by commenting below or emailing LTDdotorg@gmail.com.

Gouge Away (Pixies) vs. Paranoid (Black Sabboth)

One (U2) vs. Common People (Pulp)

99 Red Balloons (Nena) vs. Call Me (Blondie)

Sounds of Silence (Simon and Garfunkel) vs. The River (Bruce Springsteen)

I’m So Tired of Being Alone (Al Green) vs. Love Train (O Jays)

Thank you, Mark Orsini.  As Guillermo has pointed out in the comment section, one of the joys of music tournaments is being exposed to new tunes by our music-loving peers.  I don’t think most of us were familiar with Arrested Development’s Tennessee, but it put up some sweet scores, knocking Give up the Funk (Parliament),71-64.

Further congrats to Shilpa, Matt and Margot for their successful nominations.

Train in Vain (Clash) def. Sleeping Aides and Razorblades (Exploding Hearts),64-58.

Helter Skelter (Beatles) def. Personal Jesus (Depeche Mode),59-41.

Let’s Get It On (Marvin Gaye) def. White Rabbit (Jefferson Airplane), 78-66 . Everyone loved Marvin- I don’t think he got lower than an “8” today.  It was probably a mistake not to automatically qualify this song, but in my defense, I Heard it Through the Grapevine and What’s Goin’ On are both in there already.  Looks like Marvin will be a force in the weeks ahead.

What I Like About You (Romantics) def. Don’t Bring Me Down (ELO),76.5-75 . This was the closest battle of the weekend.

Roll Away Your Stone (Mumford and Sons) def. Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe (Okervil River), 58-51.

Now is your chance to one-up Isiah Thomas.  There are over 300 artists and bands represented in the music tournament, and you can coach one of them to victory.  It’s simple- email LTDdotorg@gmail.com with your artist of choice.  First come first serve, though if I’m aware of a super-fan (like Jordan Ballard: Bruce Springsteen) then that will take priority.

As coach you have four main roles:

1) Rallying people to vote for your artist on days he or she is competing;

2) Choosing the right version of his or her songs;

3) Choosing whether a song goes first or second in a match-up;

4) Basking in the glory when your artist wins the tournament.

One more after this one.   Colin, Orce, Guillermo and Russ all should be pleased to see their tunes advance.

The Impression That I Get (Mighty Mighty Bosstones) def. Break Away (Irma Thomas), 87-83.

Daughter (Pearl Jam) def. This Machine is Dying (Kittens Ablaze), 101-94.  Admirable f’in performance by KA.  They were a Dan Anderson vote away from possibly winning this match-up.

Carolina Drama (Raconteurs) def. My Hero (Foo Fighters), 98-95.  People were real split on this one- don’t see Carolina Drama going too far though.

Sweet Thing (Van Morrison) def. Mix Tape (Butch Walker), called early.  Sorry Astrid, this just wasn’t happenin…

Voodoo Chile (Jimi Hendrix) def. I Wanna Rock n Roll All Night (Kiss).  Can someone tell Nick to stop complaining about good songs being pitted against each other?  Songs have to go through either nine or ten rounds to win this thing, so showdowns like this one are pretty inevitable.  That said, I put the catchy Kiss song in the “Satisfaction” category- it’s good, but no tears on its departure.

We’ve come a long way together, through the hard times and the good.  This is the last set of match-ups in the play-in round.  On Sunday we’ll begin the Round of 512, so voting on these runs through Sunday morning, 11am.   Thank you to Kate Gage, Margot Albert, Shilpa Narayan, Matt Oliver, Grant Rafter, Jenny Bress and Mark Orsini for today’s songs.

In addition to specific requests from the folks above, today’s match-ups also address concerns that Parliament, Depeche Mode and ELO had no songs in the tournament. Finally, someone noted that “Train in Vain” should be in there.  The Clash are my favorite band of all-time (though other than Rock the Casbah their songs aren’t very tournament-friendly), so I’ve worked hard not to let that bias show, but let’s give Train a chance.

Here’s today’s Grooveshark link.  Oddly, Helter Skelter is not available.

Roll Away Your Stone (Mumford and Sons) vs. Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe (Okervil River)

White Rabbit (Jefferson Airplane) v. Let’s Get It On (Marvin Gaye)

Depeche Mode (Personal Jesus)  v. Helter Skelter (Beatles)

What I Like About You (Romantics) v. Don’t Bring Me Down (ELO)

Give Up The Funk (Parliament) v. Tennessee (Arrested Development)

Sleeping Aides and Razorblades (Exploding Hearts) v. Train in Vain (Clash)

As always, vote by commenting below or emailing LTDdotorg@gmail.com.