BSE? Round 1 Part 4

Sweet, we are through the first round and this also marks the halfway point! I'm excited to keep moving and start talking about second round songs, but I might also do an intermission of sorts here.

EDIT: Here's the updated bracket

http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=143649&tclass=Best%20Songs%20Ever%3F

Match 52

Victor: Disarm – Smashing Pumpkins

Defeated: The Way We get By - Spoon

Why did this song deserve to be here?

One time my calculus teacher asked us to bring in CDs to listen to while we do our homework. I had a mix CD in the car with The Way We Get By on it. I gave Mr. Foster the CD and he looked apprehensive as he had never really liked me. When this song came on he heard the first line “We get high in the backseat of cars” and quickly hit stop on the Player. I was terribly annoyed by that. I get that this school, but you can’t deal with the allusion of drugs in a song? Earlier one of his favorites had played Semi-Charmed Life, hmmmmm. My dislike of one of the most popular high school teachers in our school aside, this song is a good account of just skating through life. The title really says it all.

Why did it lose?

Disarm was a snap pick and there’s a lot of reasons for that, though I’m sad to see spoon go. I think I Turn My Camera On might have fared better, but probably still would have lost. Spoon’s best quality was always being a consistently solid band. Unfortunately that doesn’t make for blow-out singles too often.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-S4nM5m_Kg

Match 53

Victor: I Am the Resurrection – Stone Roses

Defeated: What I got - Sublime

Why did this song deserve to be here?

This is one of my favorite songs to play on the guitar. It’s also a good one to whip out if you’re trying to show off a bit since it’s easier than it looks (and, yes, all guitarists like to show off once in a while, that’s why we’re not playing the bass.) What I Got sticks out from a band that mostly sings about smoking weed and living in California. Don’t worry, he still talks about getting high at least a couple times in this song and he does mention Long Beach. But this song does have a bit more reach than your average Sublime song.

Why did it lose?

Resurrection has some awesome guitar parts, especially at the end, and cooler lyrics.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Uc3ZrmhDN4

Match 54

Victor: Chicago – Sufjan Stevens

Defeated: Give a Little Bit - Supertramp

Why did this song deserve to be here?

This has to be one of the most covered songs ever. The lyrics don’t really have much depth but they’re still effective. The instrumentation is much cooler. The bright guitars help convey the message he’s singing and the change-up in parts at the end is pretty sweet. Also there’s a sax solo in the middle of the song which is pretty sweet.

Why did it lose?

There’s more to Chicago I think.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jfhl8JWzBfU

Match 55

Victor: Greener – Tally Hall

Defeated: Once in a Lifetime – Talking Heads

Why did this song deserve to be here?

This song does all those cool things that you would expect a talking heads song to do. Everything sounds a little goofy, he does some funny things with his voice and the various instruments provide an odd atmosphere. I wouldn’t expect anything less of course. To this day I’m still unsure what all the talk about water is in this song. “There is water at the bottom of the ocean!” umm ok. The rest of song sounds like a midlife crisis. I think it’s interesting that all of the song is in the second person. Does this mean that Byrne has already been through this, or is he in denial?

Why did it lose?

There are an awful lot of reasons why I like Greener. It’s such a standout from Tally Hall’s catalogue.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1wg1DNHbNU

Match 56

Victor: Wolf Like Me – TV on the Radio

Defeated: Drops of Jupiter - Train

Why did this song deserve to be here?

This one would probably win the Best Guilty Pleasure Song Ever? Contest (though I’m sure it would have a tough match in the Finals with This is how You Remind Me.) Apparently the lyrics were inspired by the death of the lead singer’s mother. This seems odd to me because it’s obviously a love song. The instrumentation is classically cheesy but really I wouldn’t want anything from Train.

Why did it lose?

Usually it’s because the other song is too much but this time I think Train does themselves in. It’s just too much. Besides, I can only listen to them rhyme Milky Way with Milky Way in that last chorus so many times.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xf-Lesrkuc

Match 57

Victor: Cold Days from the Birdhouse – The Twilight Sad

Defeated: One – U2

Why did this song deserve to be here?

Let’s have a little talk about U2. Somehow in the pretentious music world U2 has gotten one of the worst reputations out there. I think most of this came about the same time that U2 released How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. Now to be fair that was a really, really terrible album but almost all bands have low moments (Well except maybe spoon.) U2 has these moments more often than other bands but they can hit high too. The Joshua Tree is renown as a great album, and there’s other good stuff scattered around their discography too, such as One.

Why did it lose?

I like Cold Days better.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftjEcrrf7r0

Match 58

Victor: Pale Blue Eyes – The Velvet Underground

Defeated: Astral Weeks - Van Morrison

Why did this song deserve to be here?

Picking a song for “The Van Man” proved to be a little difficult. I imagine most people would snap pick brown-eyed girl but then I would feel like traitor to my father and Morrison himself. Van Morrison is my dad’s favorite artist by leaps and bounds but he doesn’t particularly like BEG very much. Van himself tends to hate it also, probably in part due to how famous it made him. So who am I to betray the Morrison expert and Van himself. That’s ok BEG probably isn’t as good as this song anyways. Of course Morrison is really a full album kind of guy. There aren’t really any singles here, so you know what that means for the next section.

Why did it lose?

This isn’t an album contest. Bam!

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ech6pZoBJ4

Match 59

Victor: The Start of Something – The Voxtrot

Defeated: The Drugs Don’t Work – The Verve

Why did this song deserve to be here?

It’s hard to let go of the bands you loved when you were young (Doesn’t look a thing like jesus…) Verve is definitely one of those bands for me, all that Brit-pop is. It’s hard to look back and realize all your favorite bands weren’t as good as you remember. Of course I still think that they’re very good albums, but they used to be the end all be all of musicality. Now I realize Oasis did only have 2 good albums, Pulp has a few skippable tracks on Different Class, and the Verve ripped off The Rolling Stones in Bittersweet Symphony.

Drugs Don’t Work isn’t hiding its meaning in metaphors or clever wordplay. It’s right in the title.

“Now the drugs don't work
They just make you worse”

The guitar is slow and melodic. There’s some violins playing in the background as the verve is apt to do. It’s a pleasant listen.

Why did it lose?

This was hard. But it all comes down to lyrics here.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR8XH3R95xE

Match 60

Victor: The Rat – The Walkmen

Defeated: Tired of Sex - Weezer

Why did this song deserve to be here?

It’s the start of an album full of goodies. Weezer only ever came out with two great albums, one being Blue Album and the other Pinkerton. The rest of there discography has been a spiral to mediocrity. Tired of Sex begins Pinkerton and sets up the sentiment for the rest of the album. Our narrator is tired of meaningless relationships; in particular this song refers to meaningless sex.

Why did it lose?

The Rat has a lot of raw emotion in it. It’s pretty fantastic.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu2Dsnvk6M0

Match 61

Victor: Baba O’Riley – The Who

Defeated: Seven Nation Army – The White Stripes

Why did this song deserve to be here?

That riff is really one that sticks in heads. It’s quite a toe tapper. Of course now it’ll probably forever be associated with college football for me. Penn State’s monopoly on the song has been loosening though and I have to admit going “Oooooh, oh oh oh oh oooooh, oooooooooh” is pretty fun. This song is very white stripes with fuzzy guitars and poor drumming.

Why did it lose?

Baba O’Riley is such an epic song

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0J2QdDbelmY

Match 62

Victor: I am Trying to Break your Heart - Wilco

Defeated: Fatalist Palmistry – Why?

Why did this song deserve to be here?

I love the lyrics to this song, there’s so much vivid imagery here to be interpreted. I think my favorite line is probably “out there thrashing like a pet bird caught in a jet stream, that's me.” This line has hopelessness, desperation and feeling trapped all in one sentence. The pace is constant throughout the song and it adds to the overall catchiness of the song. I wish they had played it when we saw them.

Why did it lose?

Words v. Words I’m giving it to Wilco here.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5BQfC78Q4g

Match 63

Victor: Maps – Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Defeated: I'll Believe in Anything – Wolf Parade

Why did this song deserve to be here?

The riff is sweet and the guitar in general is very addictive. The words are about wanting to live together with someone and all in all it comes down to a love song. The lyrics are pretty bombastic but they feel genuine so it’s all alright.

Why did it lose?

“You want some Maaaaps?! I got some Maps for you” - Mike

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZgwW-RzD30

Match 64

Victor: Changes – 2pac

Defeated: Ce Jeu - Yelle

Why did this song deserve to be here?

Hah, I can thank Ssssara for this one. We’re back in the realm of super catchy pop music again. I have no idea what they’re saying (This time from language barrier, not word slurring) Despite that I can’t imagine this being anything but a silly love song, so I’m going to go with that.

Why did it lose?

Oh I could go on and on about Changes

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxFa9HLdhIY