Living the Dream

Day 3 results are in:

Waiting for My Man (Velvet Underground) def Sweet Avenue (Jets to Brazil), called early.  Hidden gems can be sleepers in music tournaments, but we haven’t seen any yet.

Touch Me (Doors) def. I’ll Believe In Anything (Wolf Parade), 87-66.   The Wolf Parade song was highly touted by some friends of mine, but the Doors brought them down easily.

Gravel Pit (Wu-tang Clan) def. Peruvian Cocaine (Immortal Technique), 83-72.  Can’t stop the Wu. This song could be a force in future rounds too.

Don’t Fear the Reaper (Blue Oyster Cult) def. Margaritaville (Jimmy Buffett) =85-69.  There were some Buffett fans out there, but you always need more cowbell.

Higher Ground (Stevie Wonder) def. Scarlet Begonias (Grateful Dead), called for Stevie Wonder.  Stevie should be a force throughout the tournament- scores for Higher Ground were very high.

Other than Higher Ground, you guys weren’t feeling most of these songs very much.  Keep in mind that the Play-in Round involves a lot of recommendations from people like yourselves, so next time you push for a song’s inclusion, think for a moment about how it would fare before the populace.  That said, I think you’ll like Day 5’s match-ups (just posted) a lot better.

Day 5 match-ups posted below, and available for streaming at Grooveshark.

Last Night (Strokes) vs. Australia (Shins)

Gangster’s Paradise (Coolio) vs. Feel Good Inc., (Gorillaz)              *(There’s been a problem with Feel Good Inc. If you’re not getting a good version on Grooveshark, this youtube version works)

Tracks of My Tears (Smokey Robinson) vs. Heartbreak Hotel (Elvis)

Karma Police (Radiohead) vs. This Time, This Year (Defiance Ohio)

Don’t Worry Baby (Beach Boys)  vs. More Than a Woman (Tavares)

You can vote until 6pm, Wednesday, by commenting below, on Facebook, or by emailing LTDdotorg@gmail.com

Day 2 featured three incredibly tight battles and two blow-outs.

Little Birds (Bob Marley) def. In the Summertime (Mongo Jerry), 100-96.  In the battle of chillaxing, these songs see-sawed till the end.

Basket Case (Green Day) def. Boys on the Docks (Dropkick Murphys), 105-102.  Nostalgia triumphed over traditional punk in this narrow contest.

Stop in the Name of Love (Supremes) def. Big Yellow Taxi (Joni Mitchell), 94-93.  People went pretty partisan on this battle of two of music’s top ladies, Diana and Joni.

Crazy (Gnarls Barkely) def. Optimistic (Radiohead), called early.  Radiohead fans complained I picked an unworthy track from the Kid A era, but they will have more chances.

Unchained Melody (Righteous Brothers) def. Catch the Wind (Donovan), called early.  I agree with many of you that Unchained Melody is a great song- but going into it I was worried that some of you would be cheesed out by it.  Not the case.

We are off and running!  Below are the first five match-ups of the play-in round.

1.   The Rising (Bruce Springsteen) vs. Gone Away (Offspring)

2.  Cannonball (Breeders) vs. Sliver (Nirvana)

3. Call Me (Blondie) vs. Man in the Mirror (Michael Jackson)

4. Sexx Laws (Beck) vs. Long Tall Sally (Little Richard)

5. Son of a Preacherman (Dusty Springfield) vs. Angie (Rolling Stones)

You can cast your vote via comment on this page, on Facebook, or, for the more anonymity inclined, by emailing ltddotorg@gmail.com. The rules are simple:

1. Listen to the songs back to back, at the same volume.

2. Cast your vote on a scale of 1-10 (ties are permitted).

3.  Submit your vote by 6pm on Friday.

If you don’t have any of these songs, and can’t download them, they are all available on Youtube.  Today I’ve provided links to all the songs.  For The Rising I had to use GrooveShark. You’re welcome, and enjoy!