Acclaimed Music Forums

The group stage has ended! Everything was just warmup. It is now time to think of the elimination round. The songs have been cut in half, and now it is win or go home.

This bracket was not structured as arbitrarily. I made it so no two songs from the same week would meet for two weeks, if at all.

Full Bracket viewable here: http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?e ... 73&tclass=

Since 32 is still a large number, I decided to give you only half the bracket this week. Next week comes the other half.

This round, just vote for the one song from each matchup you prefer, with each vote being one point. Ties are sudden-death tiebreak with one more vote allowed for that pairing only.

Voting Closes at its usual time: Sunday, 12 October at 11:59 UTC.

BRACKET PT. I:

Passion Pit-Carried Away vs. Rusted Root-Send me on my Way

The National-Exile (Vilify) vs. Wilhelmina Wiggins Fernandez-"La Wally" Aria

Erik Satie-Gymnopedie 1 vs. Leon Russell and the Shelter People-Stranger in a Strange Land

Tantra-Hills of Katmandu vs. Game Theory-Mammoth Gardens

Kashiwa Daisuke-Stella vs. Lady Lamb the Beekeeper-Bird Balloons

Tammi Terrell-All I Do is Think about You vs. Jean-Jacques Perrey-E.V.A.

Final Fantasy (Owen Pallett)-The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead vs. Kobiety-Marcello

Gnarls Barkley-Who's gonna Save my Soul vs. Nits-In the Dutch Mountains

Have fun and get voting! Because this time, there are no do-overs or runners-up!

I don't have hesitation in this set. And Stella clearly have the potential to win the game.

Passion Pit-Carried Away
The National-Exile (Vilify)
Erik Satie-Gymnopedie 1
Tantra-Hills of Katmandu
Kashiwa Daisuke-Stella
Jean-Jacques Perrey-E.V.A.
Final Fantasy (Owen Pallett)-The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead
Nits-In the Dutch Mountains

Romain wrote:And Stella clearly have the potential to win the game.

It's my favorite discovery, but sadly it is ranked to my own nomination and top 10 song Bird Balloons. Of course Lady Lamb isn't going to make it against Stella.

Passion Pit - Carried Away
The National - Exile (Vilify)
Leon Russell and the Shelter People - Stranger in a Strange Land (Shame he's facing Satie so soon)
Tantra - Hills of Katmandu
Lady Lamb the Beekeeper - Bird Balloons
Tammi Terrell - All I Do is Think about You
Final Fantasy (Owen Pallett) - The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead
Nits - In the Dutch Mountains

Leon Russell and the Shelter People-Stranger in a Strange Land

Tammi Terrell-All I Do is Think about You

Gnarls Barkley-Who's gonna Save my Soul

Abstain on the other matchups

Passion Pit-Carried Away (best of 2 evils, I didn't like either of these songs at all)

Wilhelmina Wiggins Fernandez-"La Wally" Aria

Erik Satie-Gymnopedie 1

Tantra-Hills of Katmandu

Kashiwa Daisuke-Stella

Tammi Terrell-All I Do is Think about You

Final Fantasy (Owen Pallett)-The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead

Gnarls Barkley-Who's gonna Save my Soul

No doubts:

Passion Pit - Carried Away
The National - Exile (Vilify)
Leon Russell And The Shelter People - Stranger In A Strange Land
Tantra - Hills Of Katmandu
Lady Lamb The Beekeeper - Bird Balloons
Tammi Terrell - All I Do Is Think About You
Final Fantasy (Owen Pallett) - The CN Tower Belongs To The Dead
The Nits - In The Dutch Mountains

Passion Pit-Carried Away
Wilhelmina Wiggins Fernandez-"La Wally" Aria
Erik Satie-Gymnopedie 1
Lady Lamb the Beekeeper-Bird Balloons
Tammi Terrell-All I Do is Think about You
Final Fantasy (Owen Pallett)-The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead
Gnarls Barkley-Who's gonna Save my Soul

I think I'm gonna play here too that one-line comments game:

Passion Pit - Carried Away (2012) vs. Rusted Root - Send Me on My Way (1994)
Two joyful and uplifting songs, both 70s neo-hippie and 10s indietronica are not my cup of tea but the clip is brilliant.

The National - Exile (Vilify) (2011) vs. Wilhelmina Wiggins Fernandez - Aria from "La Wally" (1981)
Solemnity after the joy, "La Wally" is breathtaking but the somber beauty of this National rare gem is no less remarkable.

Erik Satie - Gymnopédie No. 1 (1888) vs. Leon Russell and the Shelter People - Stranger in a Strange Land (1971)
Russell stepping firmly in the ground and Satie walking effortlessly in the clouds. And without safety net or even a wire.

Tantra - Hills of Katmandu (1979) vs. Game Theory - Mammoth Gardens (1987)
According to Moonbeam "the song grows and evolves into a real behemoth" that easily gobbles up that Lolita mammoth.

Kashiwa Daisuke - Stella (2007) vs. Lady Lamb the Beekeeper - Bird Balloons (2013)
Ever-changing and risky songs, hats off to that Lady Lamb but Stella is simply too great, too beautiful, it's simply TOO.

Tammi Terrell - All I Do Is Think About You (2002) vs. Jean-Jacques Perrey - E.V.A. (1970)
The (in)famous quality control meetings at Motown left some gems like this Tammi Terrell one unreleased for 36 years.

Final Fantasy [Owen Pallett] - The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead (2005) vs. Kobiety - Marcello (2000)
Kobiety's sound (and Russ Meyer's images) is pleasant, but the way Pallett displays his indie-classical palette is magic.

Gnarls Barkley - Who's Gonna Save My Soul (2008) vs. The Nits - In the Dutch Mountains (1987)
It's not Crazy enough, but Green/Mouse second assault is gonna save my soul. And ain't no Dutch mountain high enough.


I can see that I choosed the first song of every match-up!

Passion Pit-Carried Away
Wilhelmina Wiggins Fernandez-"La Wally" Aria
Erik Satie-Gymnopedie 1
Tantra-Hills of Katmandu
Kashiwa Daisuke-Stella
Tammi Terrell-All I Do is Think about You
Final Fantasy (Owen Pallett)-The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead
Nits-In the Dutch Mountains

Only The National and Fernandez were difficult for me. It might not have been difficult, but I sure love (and feel sorry for) “Bird Balloons”…

Passion Pit-Carried Away

I like the Rusted Root song mostly for nostalgic reasons, but Passion Pit was just better. Sorry.

The National-Exile (Vilify)

Can't go against my pick.

Erik Satie-Gymnopedie 1

I feel sorry for Leon Russell. He had to go against the two best songs in a row. No disrespect to him, but "Gymnopedie" is just...wow!

Tantra-Hills of Katmandu

I really misjudged this song at the beginning. I called it overlong, but upon relisten, I find it to be an epic track that really does get better every time you hear it. Fine effort from Game Theory, but they were not as moving or as grandiose as Tantra!

Kashiwa Daisuke-Stella

Two more songs noted for their length, at least for me. "Stella" manages to stay fresh and exciting despite its length, while "Bird Balloons" runs about two minutes long in my opinion.

Jean-Jacques Perrey-EVA

Both songs I gave one point in the first round. my disinterest in both has not changed, but "EVA" was more interesting at least. Point goes to "EVA"

Final Fantasy-The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead

No contest. Sweeping orchestration beats somewhat quirky Polish pop any day.

Nits-In the Dutch Mountains

This is why I let two songs through instead of one! Songs like this that survive a tough bracket (Nits) or win an easy one (Gnarls Barkley) could still use a bit of competition. Nits felt more epic and moving than Barkley, so they win my vote of confidence.

Rusted Root-Send me on my Way
The National-Exile (Vilify)
Leon Russell and the Shelter People-Stranger in a Strange Land
Tantra-Hills of Katmandu
*Kashiwa Daisuke-Stella
Jean-Jacques Perrey-E.V.A.
*Final Fantasy (Owen Pallett)-The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead
*Gnarls Barkley-Who's gonna Save my Soul

* Distinct favourites at this stage, and they were each new to me thanks to this game.

BRACKET PT. I:

Passion Pit - Carried Away
The National - Exile (Vilify)
Erik Satie - Gymnopedie 1
Game Theory - Mammoth Gardens
Kashiwa Daisuke - Stella
Tammi Terrell - All I Do is Think about You
PASS
Nits - In the Dutch Mountains

Hmm... I don't know what it is, but all of these match-ups seemed to come in pairs: There were the "this song is alright/pretty good, but the other one blows it out of the water" match-ups (The National vs Fernandez and Satie vs Russell), the "these songs seemed pretty close based on my memories, but upon re-evalution, one won by a decisive margin" match-ups (Passion Pit vs Rusted Root and Tantra vs Game Theory [though this one was much closer than the other one]), the "Shit... I don't actually remember how this other song goes/I didn't catch it the first time 'round, let me rectify that quickly before I make the obvious choice" match-ups (Terrell vs JJP and Gnarls vs the Nits [Gnarls Barkley sounded much much better this time around, but the Nits are still one of my favorites in the competition]), and finally the "Shit... I missed this week and I really don't have time to get caught up to date now, so I'll leave them undecided in the meantime" match-ups.

Edit: Ok, all caught up with the last 2 brackets now. Kashiwa vs Lady Lamb was an incredibly stacked competition, but there really was no way "Bird Balloons" could compete with a composition as breath-taking as "Stella". Neither Pallett nor Kobiety did much for me in the last unfinished Bracket, so they earn a pass from me.

Passion Pit-Carried Away vs. Rusted Root-Send me on my Way
Not exactly the two best songs of the week, but they are very upbeat, which makes them always nice to listen to. Rusted Root wins by a slim margin.

The National-Exile (Vilify) vs. Wilhelmina Wiggins Fernandez-"La Wally" Aria
Perhaps it's blasphemy in the ears of lovers of opera, but the Fernandez performance seems mostly a showcase for her voice. Since opera hasn't really registered with me yet and The National has, this is an easy choice.

Erik Satie-Gymnopedie 1 vs. Leon Russell and the Shelter People-Stranger in a Strange Land
I'm starting to appreciate Gymnopedie more and more, but it still isn't among my big favorites in the game. Neither is Stranger in a Strange Land, but it happens to fall in a genre I like a lot.

Tantra-Hills of Katmandu vs. Game Theory-Mammoth Gardens
The easiest choice. Mammoth Gardens is the weakest song of the week in my ears and I love Hills of Katmandu.

Kashiwa Daisuke-Stella vs. Lady Lamb the Beekeeper-Bird Balloons
This is just unfair. Like I said, my favorite personal entry in this game versus my favorite discovery. This was my ideal finale. I won't leave Lady Lamb hanging however.

Tammi Terrell-All I Do is Think about You vs. Jean-Jacques Perrey-E.V.A.
Easy. I don't get the hype around Terrell's song and E.V.A. is just lovely.

Final Fantasy (Owen Pallett)-The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead vs. Kobiety-Marcello
Marcello is pretty good, but this is really no competition.

Gnarls Barkley-Who's gonna Save my Soul vs. Nits-In the Dutch Mountains
My second nomination luckily hasn't as strong a contestant in my ears as Bird Balloons has. Gnarls Barkley deliver a good song, don't get me wrong, but they can't match The Nits.

Passion Pit - Carried Away
The National - Exile (Vilify)
Erik Satie - Gymnopedie 1
Tantra - Hills of Katmandu
Kashiwa Daisuke - Stella
Jean-Jacques Perrey - EVA
Final Fantasy - The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead
Gnarls Barkely - Who's Gonna Save My Soul

BRACKET PT. I:

Passion Pit-Carried Away vs. Rusted Root-Send me on my Way

The National-Exile (Vilify) vs. Wilhelmina Wiggins Fernandez-"La Wally" Aria

Erik Satie-Gymnopedie 1 vs. Leon Russell and the Shelter People-Stranger in a Strange Land -- PASS

Tantra-Hills of Katmandu vs. Game Theory-Mammoth Gardens

Kashiwa Daisuke-Stella vs. Lady Lamb the Beekeeper-Bird Balloons -- PASS

Tammi Terrell-All I Do is Think about You vs. Jean-Jacques Perrey-E.V.A.

Final Fantasy (Owen Pallett)-The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead vs. Kobiety-Marcello

Gnarls Barkley-Who's gonna Save my Soul vs. Nits-In the Dutch Mountains

Carried Away
Exile (Vilify)
Stranger In A Strange Land
Hills Of Katmandu
Bird Balloons
E.V.A.
The CN Tower Belongs To The Dead
In The Dutch Mountains

Passion Pit-Carried Away vs. Rusted Root-Send me on my Way

The National-Exile (Vilify) vs. Wilhelmina Wiggins Fernandez-"La Wally" Aria

Erik Satie-Gymnopedie 1 vs. Leon Russell and the Shelter People-Stranger in a Strange Land

Tantra-Hills of Katmandu vs. Game Theory-Mammoth Gardens

Kashiwa Daisuke-Stella vs. Lady Lamb the Beekeeper-Bird Balloons

Tammi Terrell-All I Do is Think about You vs. Jean-Jacques Perrey-E.V.A.

Final Fantasy (Owen Pallett)-The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead vs. Kobiety-Marcello

Gnarls Barkley-Who's gonna Save my Soul vs. Nits-In the Dutch Mountains

Rusted Root-Send me on my Way
Pass
Erik Satie-Gymnopedie 1
Tantra-Hills of Katmandu
Kashiwa Daisuke-Stella
Pass
Final Fantasy (Owen Pallett)-The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead
Gnarls Barkley-Who's gonna Save my Soul

BRACKET PT. I:
Passion Pit-Carried Away
Wilhelmina Wiggins Fernandez-"La Wally" Aria
Erik Satie-Gymnopedie 1
Tantra-Hills of Katmandu
Kashiwa Daisuke-Stella
Tammi Terrell-All I Do is Think about You
Kobiety-Marcello
Nits-In the Dutch Mountains

Thanks!

Haven't had a chance to listen to "Stella" yet.

Passion Pit - "Carried Away": Easy choice as I really don't like the Rusted Root track.

The National - "Exile (Vilify)": Fairly easy choice here, too. One of the most gorgeous National songs.

Erik Satie - "Gymnopedie 1": I like the Leon Russell track, but Satie's moving piece is too much for it.

Tantra - "The Hills of Katmandu": Make sure to remember this one for the 1979 poll!

Pass for now - Really like "Bird Balloons" so "Stella" would have to be pretty stellar to take it.

Jean-Jacques Perrey - "E.V.A.": I missed the round this was in the first time, but it's definitely a keeper! I like Terrell's track, too, so this is the most difficult vote so far.

Final Fantasy (Owen Pallett) - "The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead": Easy choice here with my favorite discovery of the game.

Gnarls Barkley - "Who's gonna Save my Soul": Pretty close, but those eerie backing vocals that GB do so well take it over the top.

Poll is closed!

The elimination round is off to a great start.

Passion Pit-Carried Away: 19
Rusted Root-Send me on my Way: 4

Rusted Root got some points at the end, but this was Passion Pit's game to win throughout.

The National-Exile (Vilify): 13
Wilhelmina Wiggins Fernandez-"La Wally" Aria: 4

The matchup I thought would be closest ended up being a blowout. The National continue their dominance. I know I made the right pick here!

Erik Satie-Gymnopedie 1: 12
Leon Russell and the Shelter People: Stranger in a Strange Land: 6

Erik Satie had both the most total points and most top votes in group stage. This didn't scare Leon off though. He kept the score close, even tying and leading for a brief period on Tuesday. Alas, Satie proved too strong and ultimately won.

Tantra-Hills of Katmandu: 15
Game Theory-Mammoth Gardens:2

Tantra rolled through this one, earning the second-largest point spread this week. The first is still to come.

Kashiwa Daisuke-Stella: 11
Lady Lamb the Beekeeper-Bird Balloons: 5

This was very close early on. "Stella" continues its winning ways, but it was not dominant. Lady Lamb again put up an impressive performance, but fell just short.

Tammi Terrell-All I do is Think about You: 10
Jean-Jacques Perrey-EVA: 8

No runner-up advanced unfortunately, but a few did keep it close. "EVA" came within two points, but had a one-point lead early.

Final Fantasy (Owen Pallett)-The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead: 16
Kobiety-Marcello: 1

No words. Score says it all here.

Gnarls Barkley-Who's Gonna Save my Soul: 10
Nits-In the Dutch Mountains: 9

I thought this would be the one to justify two songs instead of only the group winners. While disappointed, gotta commend the Nits for keeping it close. Moonbeam, you were the swing vote. I seriously thought we'd have to go to sudden death over this one.