And we're here with the sweet 16 going into the top 8. Sorry it took longer than I thought, spring break is very distracting. Later updates should be quicker since I'll have less songs to comment on. Another tough round I saw a lot of my favorites go. Well, I knew there'd be lots of heartbreakers in these late rounds. Hope your picks came out well!
Match 4.1
Victor: A Day in the Life – The Beatles
Defeated: Brian Wilson - BNL
Why does this song deserve to be here?
Ah BNL, you’ve been my problem child this tournament with your come back from the dead stunt and your continued success against songs that probably weren’t good enough for the round they were in. You’re probably the weakest player of all the songs left in, save possibly for one candidate, and it’s honestly about time to for you to exit.
This song’s match-up’s have been interesting, The Weight could have beaten BNL on most days but I felt really sick of the song when I took it back, having played it about 30 times the previous week. Roam is a straight up loser to BW but Peacebone was much closer.
Caitlin said in a comment “I also don't understand what's so great about Brian Wilson. It just sounds like BNL.” Well put, this is probably the greatest factor the song has going against it with some dumb lyrics like “I had a dream that I was 300 pounds[…] and I floated until I couldn’t see the ground.” These humor lyrics tend to work against the song in the way someone’s bad jokes rub against you the wrong way.
But enough of the negative, the song did make it here of its own merit. Much of that stems in catchy guitar strum patterns and uptempo choruses. This is all good for a casual listen but I like to think there’s something a little deeper going on. The use of minor chords gives us that this-is-a-sad-song vibe during the verse but switches it around during the chorus. In the end we’re left feeling somewhat middle of the road emotion wise and really that’s what I feel the whole song is about. There’s a lot of sleeping, listening to music, doing nothing and the highlight of the day is going out to the record shop like it’s an accomplishment. I love when musical themes match up with lyrical ones like this and the whole piece conveys this feeling of extreme mildness very well.
Also, it’s hella fun to sing/play along with this song
Why did it lose?
Beatles Etc. as well previously mentioned dumb BNL lyrics and bad attempts at humor.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch84fmOa414
Match 4.2
Victor: No Woman No Cry – Bob Marley
Defeated: Lost in the Supermarket – The Clash
Why does this song deserve to be here?
This is another one of those Steven-really-likes-lyrics kind of songs. Of course, it’s more than that too. The guitar is complex and interesting and the intro is a really cool little riff. There are lots of good licks that are peppered throughout the song too that keeps everything flowing well. The solo is catchy too.
But let’s get to the meat here. The words are about the rapid commercialization of the world. The main point of the song is summarized well in the chorus.
“I'm all lost in the supermarket
I can no longer shop happily
I came in here for that special offer
A guaranteed personality”
The special offer can refer to any product that’s ever projected a happier life through advertising, basically everything. Products are shown to make the consumer more interesting, more attractive and more human. In other words, ads are made to sell the “personality.”
The verses describe the emptiness and loneliness that our mystery shopper is trying to cure. These verse have some of my favorite lyrics ever.
“I wasn't born so much as I fell out”
“The kids in the halls and the pipes in the walls
Make me noises for company”
“I empty a bottle and I feel a bit free”
Let’s think about that first line for a second. That’s nine words. It’s truly amazing to me how much meaning can be packed into a nine word sentence.
Why did it lose?
In the email Ian sent me for his entry: “I feel sorry for you. [these songs] are all so fucking good at this point your job is practically hopeless.” This match-up I felt that particularly so. Most of the rest of this round I already have a winner picked out in my head but this one required many repeated listens to both. Now at the end where I’ve picked a song I’m still unsure about it. Sometimes you just have to pick one.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA8LWKiOTGI
Match 4.3
Victor: Heroes – David Bowie
Defeated: Boys of Summer – Don Henley
Why does this song deserve to be here?
How is it that every song from the eighties is instantly recognizable as such? I guess every thing is just a little more synthesized. Maybe people will say about the same thing about this generation’s music “Everything is so auto-tuned.”
Boys of Summer definitely has that going for and against it. The eightiesness increases its capabilities as a sing along as you’re driving song but hurts it in not being so damn eighties (I can’t even describe it any other way, it was this way for Time After Time too.) I know there’s really good lyrics in there too but I don’t really care about them. I just want to crank it up and jam.
Let’s talk about the one line that matters. “Out on the road today I saw a deadhead sticker on a Cadillac” It sticks out amongst the rest of the song because of its placement in the song as well as its sound devices. Conveniently it wraps up the entire motif of the song as well. The times are a changing and what was previously seen as a sign of rebellion (Deadhead (Grateful Dead) sticker) can now be seen on the high class trophy car.
“Don’t look back you can never look back”
Why did it lose?
A variety of reasons. I always felt like this was somebody else’s song. Like it could hold a lot of nostalgia, memories and meaning for someone, but I only just downloaded it sometime in 2008 or 2009.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhaGE7RlMrY
Match 4.4
Victor: The Modern Leper – Frightened Rabbit
Defeated: The Message – Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
Why does this song deserve to be here?
Looking at the Wikipedia it appears that Grandmaster Flash himself had very little to do with the song. It was written by a member of the Furious Five and recorded solely by him after Flash and the rest of the Five showed no interest in recording it. It seems like every band that names itself after a sole member of the group is doomed to break-up at this point because of scuffles like this. How many times have I credited this song to Flash only? I’d say at least 95% of the time.
The song itself is one of the top hip-hop songs ever. The song has a real focus on the lyrics as the music is rather simplistic. Of course as a hip-hop song this is where it excels. It’s a song about the tragedies of living in the ghetto. Our rapper slowly goes from a light-hearted tone to a solemn voice and then to an almost crazed frustrated tone. It’s here that the chorus has really come to reality (“Don’t push me I’m close to the edge”) The whole song is a bombardment of awesome lyrics.
Why did it lose?
I’ll admit that partially this is a preference in song style. I’m more partial to guitar heavy pop/rock/alternative/whatever songs then early hip-hop. The Message is undoubtedly the top of its game though, despite what anyone might say about Rapper’s Delight.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4o8TeqKhgY
Match 4.5
Victor: All My Friends – LCD Soundsystem
Defeated: Waterloo Sunset – The Kinks
Why does this song deserve to be here?
Some songs need to be danced to, some songs need to be analyzed and other songs need to be sung along with. Waterloo Sunset’s in a different sort of vein in that when I listen to the song I want to be doing something extraordinarily relaxing like laying on a couch with a blanket over my head, floating in a pool on a summer day or just falling asleep at night.
Waterloo Sunset provides an atmosphere that encourages this sort of relaxation coma. Everything about this song sends out the easy going happy vibe. The lyrics encourage forgetting about your troubles and letting the beauty of the little things take a hold on you.
“But I don't feel afraid
As long as I gaze on Waterloo sunset
I am in paradise”
Why did it lose?
That’s all well and good, but an active song will almost always beat a passive one. But when you’re in the right mood for Waterloo Sunset it’s all you want to hear.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5J3gX47rHGg
Match 4.6
Victor: Losing My Religion – R.E.M.
Defeated: Gold Soundz - Pavement
Why does this song deserve to be here?
Gold Soundz always had a magical quality about it. A lot of that stems from the melodic guitars that come in right at the start and continue through the rest of the song. Stephen sings some pretty words alongside of them and his usually cracking voice stays on target but is so close to the. In “Range Life” Stephen uses a cracked voice to represent vulnerability but Gold Soundz hides that, like someone who is trying not to cry.
Gold Soundz is a short one coming in at 2:40 but it packs a lot into those 3 minutes. The chorus is 2 short lines and Malkmus announces when we’re approaching it “And we’re coming to the chorus now.” But what’s best about the chorus is how it changes from “I keep my address to yourself because we need secrets” to “I keep my address to myself because it’s secret” There’s an implied loss of trust here and maybe even a break-up. The song is very obfuscated in its meaning.
Best line: “You’re the kind of girl I like because you’re empty/and I’m empty./And we can never quarantine the past.”
Why did it lose?
This match and the Clash vs. Marley are definitely the most difficult of this round. I had to spend a bit of time listening to each song, rereading the lyrics, and watching the music videos (The video for R.E.M. by the way is dynamite.) Going into this match, I would have given Pavement the win on gut. If I had done seeding Gold Soundz might have been #1 too. I guess you never know
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rj6QilYg5VA
Match 4.7
Victor: Greener – Tally Hall
Defeated: Sympathy for the Devil – The Rolling Stones
Why does this song deserve to be here?
I like talking about the lesser known songs a bit more because really, what can you say about Sympathy for the Devil that everyone hasn’t already heard. The bongos are infectious, the piano is awesome and everyone loves the “Wooo, Wooo.”
The theme is my favorite part of it. It partially implies a devil acting to produce some of the lowest points of human history. But all in all these are human performed actions and the stones remind us to take a look at ourselves “Because after all it was you and me”
Why did it lose?
Over saturation hurts a lot. Sorry Stones, but you’re in far too many commercials
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je8MXiwmNIk
Match 4.8
Victor: Changes – 2pac
Defeated: The Rat – The Walkmen
Why does this song deserve to be here?
A lot of angry music is directed at some sort of institution. Sometimes it’s the police, the government, or even just your parents. It’s much less frequent that we get an angry song that is much more personal than that. In The Rat our lead singer is definitely mad at one figure. We don’t find out much about this person but that’s ok, anger doesn’t need to explain itself. We can probably infer that it was an Ex but even that’s not for sure. What we do know is that our singer is pissed to be hearing from this person, asking a favor no less. What’s also interesting is the line “I know we've been through this before” seems to lead me to think that he’ll give in to her yet again.
“When I used to go out I'd know everyone I saw/Now I go out alone if I go out at all” This line is repeated 3 times during the break and it’s difficult to tell if it’s related to the rest of the theme or just a mourning of the good times. I like to think he’s referring to how hard it is to meet someone new at his age.
The drums are the best part of this song. They give so much atmosphere to the song and it would be a very different song without the intensity they provide.
Why did it lose?
I just like Changes a lot.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipehdaDw7v4
