Acclaimed Music Forums

Week One is in the books. Erik Satie, Roy Harper, Passion Pit, and Rivers Cuomo all saw their songs advance last week. This week, we determine who will face them with these groupings.

Remember, the songs were arranged at random through a web app. There was no pattern.

Rank them first to last, with four points to the winner, one to the loser. Top Two advance. Ties are broken by total first-place votes.

No erratic scheduling this time! Poll ends Sunday, 24 August at 11:59 UTC!! We are Seven-Day basis from now on!


BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN GROUP
2) Verlaines-Joed Out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EJEm4QYndw
11) Rusted Root-Send me on my Way
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuV2agQPgps
39) Box Tops-I Shall be Released
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLz985ozQ3M
48) The Tallest Man on Earth - The Gardener
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIjbuVvAX9Q

KURT COBAIN GROUP
16) Aesop Rock-9-5er's Anthem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWOQHj_o6eo
38) Capital Cities-Safe and Sound
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIXt2xpc9Cw
54) Pointer Sisters-Going down Slowly
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wovz9dKG7JE
57) Leon Russell-Stranger in a Strange Land
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQbk2C4ZmsE
And let me know if any links are incorrect or broken, please.

If you want your song to win, then VOTE!! Let's go!

Next Sunday is the 24th, not the 27th

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN GROUP
39) Box Tops-I Shall be Released
2) Verlaines-Joed Out
11) Rusted Root-Send me on my Way
48) The Tallest Man on Earth - The Gardener

KURT COBAIN GROUP
54) Pointer Sisters-Going down Slowly
57) Leon Russell-Stranger in a Strange Land
38) Capital Cities-Safe and Sound
16) Aesop Rock-9-5er's Anthem

Listyguy wrote:Next Sunday is the 24th, not the 27th

My Bad. The Date is correct now.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN GROUP
Rusted Root-Send me on my Way
Verlaines-Joed Out
Tallest Man on Earth-The Gardener
Box Tops-I Shall Be Released

I tried really hard not to let nostalgia take this group. Growing up, "Send me on my Way" was on nearly every commercial and film soundtrak. But after hearing it in comparison with the other songs here, I still feel it is the one I like best.

Verlaines had a song in 1.0, "Death and the Maiden". They're a good band, and this song is pretty solid.

The Gardener would have advanced in most of the other groups, but unfortunately got a bad draw here.

The Box Tops song just didn't move me. I didn't hate it, but it wasn't anything special either.


KURT COBAIN GROUP
Pointer Sisters-Going Down Slowly
Capital Cities-Safe and Sound
Leon Russell-Stranger in a Strange Land
Aesop Rock-9-5er's Anthem

Like the Springsteen Group, there was one song I REALLY liked here. But unlike before, I could safely conede Pointer Sisters was better.

It was still a tough draw, though. I will be disappointed if Capital Cities don't advance, but ould totally understand why. Leon Russell is just as good as the Top Two.

Aesop Rock didn't impress me. Has a bit of clever wordplay, but a heavy-handed message and droning beat.


And if anyone's curious, I grouped the songs BEFORE the tournament even began! I already know what all the groups look like and what they are called. This round is going to be very competitive indeed!

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN GROUP
2) Verlaines-Joed Out
39) Box Tops-I Shall be Released
11) Rusted Root-Send me on my Way
48) The Tallest Man on Earth - The Gardener


KURT COBAIN GROUP
54) Pointer Sisters-Going down Slowly
57) Leon Russell-Stranger in a Strange Land
16) Aesop Rock-9-5er's Anthem
38) Capital Cities-Safe and Sound


Pointer Sisters is, by a large marging, the best song of this week for me.

Box Tops - I Shall Be Released
The Tallest Man on Earth - The Gardener
Verlaines - Joed Out
Rusted Root - Send Me on My Way

Pointer Sisters - Going Down Slowly
Aesop Rock - 9-5er's Anthem
Leon Russell - Stranger in a Strange Land
Capital Cities - Safe and Sound

I missed the nomination thread of this game (sorry, whuntva), but I looked in my list of favourite songs which ones are the two highly placed songs that meet the criteria for the game and these were the songs:
Frank Sinatra & Count Basie - Fly Me to the Moon (1964)
Nino Rota - The Godfather Waltz (1972)
I can't believe that these two songs got no acclaim at all, especially when these songs (apart of their greatness, at least in my opinion) are extremely popular.

Honorio wrote: I missed the nomination thread of this game (sorry, whuntva), but I looked in my list of favourite songs which ones are the two highly placed songs that meet the criteria for the game and these were the songs:
Frank Sinatra & Count Basie - Fly Me to the Moon (1964)
Nino Rota - The Godfather Waltz (1972)

You added The Godfather Waltz the last time this game was played, so it wouldn't have been eligible anyway.

Oops, sorry, you're right, I didn't remember that.
So the second one could have been Sergey Prokofiev “Romeo and Juliet, Suite No. 2 for orchestra, No. 1 Montagues and Capulets” (1936)
But, excluding classical music (the nomination of Satie's "Gymnopédie nº 1" has raised some -educated- controversy) it would have been Jacques Brel's “Les paumés du petit matin” (1962)

I'm gonna bump this. Sorry for this, but vote count has been disappointingly low.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN GROUP
11) Rusted Root-Send me on my Way
39) Box Tops-I Shall be Released
2) Verlaines-Joed Out
48) The Tallest Man on Earth - The Gardener

KURT COBAIN GROUP
38) Capital Cities-Safe and Sound
54) Pointer Sisters-Going down Slowly
16) Aesop Rock-9-5er's Anthem
57) Leon Russell-Stranger in a Strange Land

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN GROUP
48) The Tallest Man on Earth - The Gardener
39) Box Tops-I Shall be Released
11) Rusted Root-Send me on my Way
2) Verlaines-Joed Out

All good but nothing extraordinary, just like Bruce. Although it would have been interesting if this was called the Bob Dylan group.

KURT COBAIN GROUP
54) Pointer Sisters-Going down Slowly
16) Aesop Rock-9-5er's Anthem
57) Leon Russell-Stranger in a Strange Land
38) Capital Cities-Safe and Sound

I sense a runaway victory here. I enjoyed the Aesop Rock too, that was good because I haven't listened to them before.

whuntva wrote:I'm gonna bump this. Sorry for this, but vote count has been disappointingly low.

I can email Bruce and try and get his votes if you want

Hymie wrote:

whuntva wrote:I'm gonna bump this. Sorry for this, but vote count has been disappointingly low.

I can email Bruce and try and get his votes if you want

No, thanks.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN GROUP
Rusted Root-Send me on my Way
The Tallest Man on Earth - The Gardener
The Verlaines - Joed Out
Box Tops-I Shall be Released

"Send Me On My Way" is just ridiculously catchy. I'm usually not keen on folk (hence my shooting down of Roy Harper last round) but "The Gardener" has everything I'm expecting from it, bright melody, good lyrics. Not much to say about the Verlaines, and I don't think the Box Tops bring anything to "I Shall Be Released", I still prefer the Band's version.

KURT COBAIN GROUP
Pointer Sisters-Going down Slowly
Capital Cities-Safe and Sound
Aesop Rock-9-5er's Anthem
Leon Russell-Stranger in a Strange Land

The key words of this group are lack of subtlety, except for the Pointer Sisters who pretty much assassinate the competition here. "Safe and Sound" is a cheerful song, even though I find the arrangement too heavy. Aesop Rock's track is not bad, but the message is hammy and not as efficiently conveyed as it could, while Leon Russell's song did nothing for me.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN GROUP
1. Rusted Root-Send me on my Way
2. Verlaines-Joed Out
3. The Tallest Man on Earth - The Gardener
4. Box Tops-I Shall be Released

KURT COBAIN GROUP
1. Pointer Sisters-Going down Slowly
2. Aesop Rock-9-5er's Anthem
3. Leon Russell-Stranger in a Strange Land
4. Capital Cities-Safe and Sound

Two of my nominations this week, which obviously take the top spot in their groups, but I wasn't too impressed by the rest. Can't believe no one is enjoying Leon! Oh, and second week in a row where my artist preference matches my group preference.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN GROUP
1) The Tallest Man on Earth - The Gardener
2) Box Tops - I Shall be Released
3) Rusted Root - Send Me On My Way
4) Verlaines - Joed Out

KURT COBAIN GROUP
1) Leon Russell-Stranger in a Strange Land
2) Pointer Sisters - Going down Slowly
3) Capital Cities - Safe and Sound
4) Aesop Rock - 9-5er's Anthem

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN GROUP
2) Verlaines-Joed Out
48) The Tallest Man on Earth - The Gardener
39) Box Tops-I Shall be Released
11) Rusted Root-Send me on my Way

"Joed Out" easily stands out in this competition. I like "The Gardener" a little better than the Box Tops version of "I Shall Be Released," which probably suffers in my estimation because I'm aware of several covers of the same song that I find preferable. The Rusted Root track had zero interest for me.

KURT COBAIN GROUP
57) Leon Russell-Stranger in a Strange Land
38) Capital Cities-Safe and Sound
54) Pointer Sisters-Going down Slowly
16) Aesop Rock-9-5er's Anthem

A much closer group overall, but Leon gets a nod here. Pointer Sisters may have won this for me if the track was only 4 minutes long - definitely dragged on and the constant repetition turned from danceable to turnitoffable. Still narrowly beats Aesop Rock.

Here is a spotify playlist with all songs from the group phase (so far, and Roy Harper is missing):



BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN GROUP
1. The Tallest Man On Earth - The Gardener
2. Verlaines - Joed Out
3. Box Tops - I Shall Be Released
4. Rusted Root - Send Me On My Way

KURT COBAIN GROUP
1. Leon Russell - Stranger In A Strange Land
2. Pointer Sisters - Going Down Slowly
3. Capital Cities - Safe And Sound
4. Aesop Rock - 9-5er's Anthem

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN GROUP
Rusted Root - Send Me On My Way
Box Tops - I Shall Be Released
The Tallest Man On Earth - The Gardener
Verlaines - Joed Out

KURT COBAIN GROUP
Leon Russell - Stranger In A Strange Land
Pointer Sisters - Going Down Slowly
Aesop Rock - 9-5er's Anthem
Capital Cities - Safe And Sound

The E-Street Bunch

48) The Tallest Man on Earth - The Gardener
2) Verlaines-Joed Out
11) Rusted Root-Send me on my Way
39) Box Tops-I Shall be Released


This Group's Nirvana

57) Leon Russell-Stranger in a Strange Land
38) Capital Cities-Safe and Sound
16) Aesop Rock-9-5er's Anthem
54) Pointer Sisters-Going down Slowly Shoulda played the Allen Touissant version.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN GROUP
Box Tops-I Shall be Released
Rusted Root-Send me on my Way
The Tallest Man on Earth - The Gardener
Verlaines-Joed Out

KURT COBAIN GROUP
Capital Cities-Safe and Sound
Pointer Sisters-Going down Slowly
Aesop Rock-9-5er's Anthem
Leon Russell-Stranger in a Strange Land

Last week, I thought the second bracket was much stronger than the first. This week, it seems even more so, since any song from the Cobain group would've won the Springsteen bracket for me. (Though I would vote for the artist Springsteen over Cobain.)

By the way, listening to Aesop Rock, I just kept wondering: Does anyone actually work 9-5 anymore? When I worked in a factory, I worked 5 am to 3 pm. Now I work in an office and I work 7:30 to 5. Maybe I've just had really crappy jobs...

jamieW wrote: Last week, I thought the second bracket was much stronger than the first. This week, it seems even more so, since any song from the Cobain group would've won the Springsteen bracket for me. (Though I would vote for the artist Springsteen over Cobain.)

For me it's the opposite: Cobain group weak, Springsteen group stronger.

jamieW wrote: By the way, listening to Aesop Rock, I just kept wondering: Does anyone actually work 9-5 anymore? When I worked in a factory, I worked 5 am to 3 pm. Now I work in an office and I work 7:30 to 5. Maybe I've just had really crappy jobs...

I work as manager at least 50 hours per week and I even like my crappy job

Andre wrote:

jamieW wrote: Last week, I thought the second bracket was much stronger than the first. This week, it seems even more so, since any song from the Cobain group would've won the Springsteen bracket for me. (Though I would vote for the artist Springsteen over Cobain.)

For me it's the opposite: Cobain group weak, Springsteen group stronger.

That seems to be the case here. The way I see it, groups which are stronger all-around, rather than have one or two good songs, seem to be close, with no clear dominance.

At this point, four vote points, or one first-place, separate the leader from last place.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN GROUP

What a boring group, white dudes with gee-tars...

1. Box Tops-I Shall be Released (wins since it is such a great song, not my favorite version though)
2. The Tallest Man on Earth - The Gardener
3. Verlaines-Joed Out
4. Rusted Root-Send me on my Way

KURT COBAIN GROUP

1. Pointer Sisters-Going down Slowly (I voted for this one, just a great groove)
2. Aesop Rock-9-5er's Anthem (would've easily won the Bruce group, besides the rapidfire rapping there is some very interesting production here)
3. Leon Russell-Stranger in a Strange Land
4. Capital Cities-Safe and Sound

Bruce Springsteen Group
1) The Verlaines - Joed Out
2) The Box Tops - I Shall Be Released
3) The Tallest Man on Earth - The Gardener
4) Rusted Root - Send Me on My Way

All of these songs were uninspiring. The Verlaines' jangly guitars beat out the serviceable cover by The Box Tops. The Tallest Man on Earth's aping of Bob Dylan is less grating than Rusted Root's mom-rock.

Kurt Cobain Group
1) Pointer Sisters - Going Down Slowly
2) Aesop Rock - 9-5er's Anthem
3) Leon Russell - Stranger in a Strange Land
4) Capital Cities - Safe and Sound

A much better group, with the only underwhelming song coming from Capital Cities. Like sonofsamiam said, the first two songs would easily come out on top in the other group. Leon Russell is fun and pleasant. Capital Cities is derivative of MGMT, a band I am not fond of in the first place.

48-hour warning. We got overshadowed by a few other polls, so I felt like coming back. If anyone hasn't voted yet, how's your chance!

Verlaines - Joed Out: 6.5
Box Tops - I Shall be Released: 5.5
Rusted Root - Send Me on My Way: 3
The Tallest Man on Earth - The Gardener: 1.5

..... Yikes. I was excited for "Joed Out" having quite enjoyed "Death in the Maiden" from the last game, but it came as a disappointment. Little did I know that such a disappointment would easily win this group! The Box Tops track left very little impression, but that's far better than the "so 90s it hurts" Rusted Root track, which reminds me of the reasons why I totally tuned out during that decade, and the less I say about "The Gardener", the better.

Pointer Sisters - Going Down Slowly: 8.5
Capital Cities - Safe and Sound: 7.5
Aesop Rock - 9-5er's Anthem: 7
Leon Russell - Stranger in a Strange Land: 7

Every song in this bracket is preferable to the songs in the previous bracket.

There's no stopping The Pointer Sisters here. Their sass and groove only grow over the course of 8 delicious minutes! The Capital Cities song is right up my alley, though not a particular standout within that genre. The Aesop Rock track is one of the more interesting hip hop songs I've heard recently, with that spooky background proving a real treat, and the Leon Russell track is another example of a song I prefer far more than I'd expect given its genre. Can't we shuffle the brackets?

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN GROUP
2. Box Tops-I Shall be Released
4. Verlaines-Joed Out
7. The Tallest Man on Earth - The Gardener
8. Rusted Root-Send me on my Way

KURT COBAIN GROUP
1. Aesop Rock-9-5er's Anthem
3. Pointer Sisters-Going down Slowly
5. Leon Russell-Stranger in a Strange Land
6. Capital Cities-Safe and Sound

Goblin + Andre3000 = 9-5er's Anthem
Otherwise a close group. "Going down Slowly" managed to go from a really good to annoying in 8 minutes. However, I found out that there's also a 3 minutes' single version, and this puts it back to second place.

SPRINGSTEEN:
1. Send Me On My Way
2. I Shall Be Released
3. The Gardener
4. Joed Out

COBAIN:
1. Going Down Slowly
2. Stranger In A Strange Land
3. 9-5ers Anthem
4. Safe And Sound

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN GROUP
1) Rusted Root-Send me on my Way
2) Verlaines-Joed Out
5) The Tallest Man on Earth - The Gardener
7) Box Tops-I Shall be Released

My favorite group of this week, although both groups are great. The Rusted Root song takes the cake as it was one of my nominations. It's so uplifting and makes me smile every time I hear it. I like how the singer eschewed actual words at times in favor of gibberish. The next two songs were great discoveries, though the obvious copying of Dylan on the latter wore on me a bit. The Box Tops number was good, but not really my style.

KURT COBAIN GROUP
3) Pointer Sisters-Going down Slowly
4) Aesop Rock-9-5er's Anthem
6) Leon Russell-Stranger in a Strange Land
8) Capital Cities-Safe and Sound

Again, a nice group. I loved the funk sound of "Going Down Slowly," but Aesop Rock's song really challenged it. I just love his smart lyrics. The Leon Russell song was pretty good, but falls into the same category as the Box Tops: just not my style. And as for "Safe and Sound," I haven't been a fan of it at all the past year.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN GROUP
39) Box Tops-I Shall be Released
48) The Tallest Man on Earth - The Gardener
2) Verlaines-Joed Out
11) Rusted Root-Send me on my Way

KURT COBAIN GROUP
54) Pointer Sisters-Going down Slowly
57) Leon Russell-Stranger in a Strange Land
38) Capital Cities-Safe and Sound
16) Aesop Rock-9-5er's Anthem

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN GROUP
3) Rusted Root-Send me on my Way
4) The Tallest Man on Earth - The Gardener
7) Box Tops-I Shall be Released
8) Verlaines-Joed Out


KURT COBAIN GROUP
1) Pointer Sisters-Going down Slowly
2) Aesop Rock-9-5er's Anthem
5) Capital Cities-Safe and Sound
6) Leon Russell-Stranger in a Strange Land

This weeks selections mostly made me say "good", but nothing more. Going Down Slowly is a very clear victor here. An amazing song. Nothing comes close, those Aesop Rock are quite captivating and Rusted Root definitely deliver a catchy pop song that's a lot of fun. The rest is the rest. Perhaps The Box Tops would have scored better if I didn't already know so many versions of I Shall Be Released. This one doesn't add much to the group.

Bruce's Band
11) Rusted Root-Send me on my Way
2) Verlaines-Joed Out
39) Box Tops-I Shall be Released
48) The Tallest Man on Earth - The Gardener
It would've been lovely if the Rust Root tune actually went somewhere meaningful as was hinted in the early part of the song, but it still is enough to top this relatively bland group. The Verlaines' effort made for a rather good listen, but unfortunately not particularly memorable, which is also a problem that befalls "I Shall Be Released". Even though I've beaten up a lot on the top 3, they were an enjoyable experience more often than not. "The Gardener", however, just didn't do much for me.

The Cobain Collective
54) Pointer Sisters-Going down Slowly
16) Aesop Rock-9-5er's Anthem
57) Leon Russell-Stranger in a Strange Land
38) Capital Cities-Safe and Sound
"Going Down Slowly" started out slowly, but when it got going, it certainly got going... An easy victory over the rest of this group. Normally Aesop Rock would be an easy second, but it is a little to cerebral for me at the moment, giving Leon's more easily digestible track a slight advantage, but upon further recollection not enough for the runner-up slot. I managed to avoid 'Safe and Sound" while it was popular around here, and although it is definitely better than I expected, it still is a little drab at times.

Overall, this weeks and last weeks brackets were pretty similar quality-wise, but only the Pointer Sisters get anywhere near "Gymnopedie 1" and "I Hate the White Man''s level

Poll is now closed!

Here are the results. Remember, this is not Bracketology, so TWO songs per group advance.

And since Springsteen was so close, please let me know if there was an error in my count.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN GROUP
Box Tops-I Shall Be Released (62, 6)
Rusted Root-Send me on my Way (58, 9)
---
Verlaines-Joed Out (56, 4)
Tallest Man on Earth-The Gardener (55, 4)

The closest bracket by far. Even closer than McCartney Group. Each song led for at least a little while, and until the weekend, the lead was never higher than two. Box Tops did eventually pull ahead earlier today.

Rusted Root was in an interesting predicament. That song got the most first-place votes, yet still didn't win the group. In fact, were it not for the final two votes, it would have only advanced via tiebreaker!

Box Tops take on "Longtime Sunshine", which also barely escaped its group, while Rusted Root gets the honor of facing Passion Pit next round.

KURT COBAIN GROUP
Pointer Sisters-Going Down Slowly (80, 15)
Leon Russell-Stranger in a Strange Land (56, 5)
---
Aesop Rock-9-5er's Anthem (51, 1)
Capital Cities-Safe and Sound (44, 2)

This wasn't even close. Pointer Sisters took four of the first five top-votes and crushed the competition. Only "Gymnopedie 1" had more first-place votes in the entire tournament!

Despite not finishing last, Aesop Rock had fewer first-place votes than any song thus far.

The Pointer Sisters take on Roy Harper next round, while Leon Russell gets the juggernaut himself, Erik Satie.

Great Game this week. Next one shall arrive in due time.