SCORES & UPCOMING GAMES



CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL SCORE: (2) JEFF BUCKLEY 168, (7) Tracy Chapman 159 .......... FINAL FOUR FINAL SCORES: (7) TRACY CHAPMAN 154, (1) Joy Division 90 ..... (2) JEFF BUCKLEY 137, (1) The Cure 89 .......... ELITE EIGHT FINAL SCORES: (1) JOY DIVISION 74, (14) Low 60 ..... (7) TRACY CHAPMAN 85, (1) Elliott Smith 69 ..... THE CURE 65, (2) Radiohead 58 ..... (2) JEFF BUCKLEY 74, (1) Neutral Milk Hotel 44 ..... FINAL SWEET SIXTEEN SCORES: (1) JOY DIVISION 75, (5) PJ Harvey & Nick Cave 24 ..... (14) LOW 73, (2) Concrete Blonde (64) ..... (1) ELLIOTT SMITH 78, (4) Gary Jules 44 ..... (7) TRACY CHAPMAN 74, (6) Kate Bush 53 ..... (1) NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL 54, (13) The Church 49 ..... (2) JEFF BUCKLEY 73, (3) Sinead O’Connor 35 ..... (1) THE CURE 109, (3) Tori Amos 86 ..... (2) RADIOHEAD 76, (6) This Mortal Coil 50 ..... (1) JOY DIVISION 96, (9) Mazzy Star 91 ..... (2) CONCRETE BLONDE 76, (7) Bob Mould 28 ..... (14) LOW 60, (6) Crowded House 51 ..... (5) PJ HARVEY & NICK CAVE 65, (4) Alphaville 38 ..... (1) ELLIOTT SMITH 113, (8) Replacements 88 ..... (6) KATE BUSH 87, (3) Nirvana 64 ..... (7) TRACY CHAPMAN 99, (2) The Eels 62 ..... (3) GARY JULES 103, (12) Morrissey 63 ..... (6) Kate Bush 72, (3) Nirvana 53 ..... (3) SINEAD O'CONNOR 66, (11) Ride 27 ..... (13) THE CHURCH 106, (5) James 44 ..... (2) JEFF BUCKLEY 95, (10) Smashing Pumpkins 40 ..... (1) NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL 80, (9) New Order 56 ..... (2) RADIOHEAD 102, (7) Nine Inch Nails 99 ..... (6) THIS MORTAL COIL 61, (3) Indigo Girls 60 ..... (4) TORI AMOS 89, (5) Swans 40 ..... (1) CURE 82, (8) Tom Waits 68 ............... FINAL 1ST ROUND SCORES: (5) PJ HARVEY & NICK CAVE 93, (12) Midnight Oil 38 ..... (7) BOB MOULD 63, (10) Peter Murphy 47 ..... (1) JOY DIVISION 117, (16) Erasure 19 ..... (6) CROWDED HOUSE 98, (11) Leonard Cohen 54 ..... (7) TRACY CHAPMAN 199, (10) The Smiths 162 ..... (5) MORRISSEY 115, (12) Morphine 83 ..... (3) NIRVANA 137, (14) Slowdive 102 ..... (8) THE REPLACEMENTS 128, (9) Dream Academy 82 ..... (13) THE CHURCH 262, (4) Magnetic Fields 193 ..... (10) SMASHING PUMPKINS 165, (7) Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds 155 ..... (9) NEW ORDER 160, (8) Sarah McLachlan 78 ..... (1) JEFF BUCKLEY 204, (16) Bjork 92 ..... (4) TORI AMOS 78, (13) Echo & the Bunnymen 22 ..... (8) TOM WAITS 72, (9) The Pretenders 22 ..... (6) THIS MORTAL COIL 51, (11) Yaz 31 ..... (3) INDIGO GIRLS 71, (14) Pavement 26 ..... (9) MAZZY STAR 132, (8) REM 46 ..... (2) CONCRETE BLONDE 88, (15) Psychedelic Furs 34 ..... (4) ALPHAVILLE 71, (13) Dead Can Dance 36 ..... (14) LOW 120, (3) U2 65 ..... (1) ELLIOTT SMITH 63, (16) 10,000 Maniacs 24 ..... (2) EELS 50, (15) Counting Crows 46 ..... (4) GARY JULES 62, (13) Depeche Mode 19 ..... (6) KATE BUSH 59, (11) Sisters of Mercy 20 ..... (1) NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL 42, (16) Violent Femmes 12 ..... (11) RIDE 25 (6) Peter Gabriel 24 ..... (3) SINEAD O'CONNOR 37, (14) Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark 17, ..... (5) JAMES 24, (12) Red House Painters 23 ..... (7) NINE INCH NAILS 46, (10) Wilco 31, (5) SWANS 31, (12) Pet Shop Boys 18 ..... (1) THE CURE 50, (16) Gear Daddies 10 ..... (2) RADIOHEAD 40, (15) Liz Phair 35


CURRENT GAMES BELOW — PAST GAMES ARCHIVED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE

Monday, March 14, 2016

Second Round: (11) RIDE vs (3) SINEAD O'CONNOR

As Kenneth pointed out in the comments on our previous coverage of "Vapour Trail," the band Trespassers William did a lovely cover of the song in 2002 that, while it's not explicitly on the table, might be useful to listen to for comparison against the original. What does it reveal?

Thinking about this second-round matchup against Sinead O'Connor's "Three Babies," I was pretty sure that no one would be insane enough to cover Sinead, but then I found a not-real-revelatory live version from 2014 by fellow March Sadnesser Tori Amos, included here for your consideration. Perhaps it's because "Three Babies" is so apparently autobiographical that it seems nearly uncoverable, but then that never stopped Tori, who is fearless in her covers, and besides, since Tori has also miscarried, she's got better access to the song than some. It's also because Sinead's just got that un-fuck-with-able voice: I could see a riot grrl kind of cover being the only way to transform the song and find out what else is inside it.

So these two songs offer a number of contrasts: "Three Babies" is pretty far along the autobiographical/confessional axis of sadness (see also our first-round coverage of "Three Babies"), and so much of our appreciation for Sinead's work is in the passion, how hot it feels, that she's appeared to hold very little back, which sometimes has worked against her in terms of her career. Is this the only song explicitly about miscarriage or parenting in the bracket? Is this the only sort-of maternal (or even parental?) song here? Does that mean that the easier sadnesses to talk or sing about or share are the more universal, like romantic devastation?

"Vapour Trail" is much less obviously about a specific autobiographical situation. Its few lyrics tell us what we need to know: "First you look so strong then you fade away / The sun will blind my eyes, I love you anyway / Thirsty for your smile, I watch you for a while / You are a vapour trail in a deep blue sky." Is this about romance? Friendship? Artistic admiration? We're hazy, as is the image it suggests.

This matchup seems to be about not just which voice is more evocative (if that's the decision, then Sinead's your choice) but about whether a more apparently confessional, intense sadness is sadder than a more abstract one. Or whether this more more apparently confessional sadness is sadder than Ride's.

Maybe because it's an easier sadness to imagine ourselves inside of, "Vapour Trail" offers us, the listeners, a way to participate in that song, culminating in the "la-la-la-la"s that end it? We'd be surprised, though, if the game goes their way. They'll have to go to the zone defense, which they're good at, to stick around. If Sinead breaks it down and forces them to switch to man-to-man, it's over.

The odds are, as they almost always are, with the apparently autobiographical song, plus the undeniable emotion when Sinead's voice surges—"No longer mad like a horse / I'm still wild but not lost"—is nearly impossible to defend against. Can she keep that level of intensity up the whole game? If so, this is where Ride's tournament ends.

*

(11) Ride, "Vapour Trail"

>

vs

(3) Sinead O'Connor, "Three Babies"





Note: today, some folks are reporting an error when voting in our polls below. We're working on it, but note that it IS counting your votes, even if the error shows up; the software also filters out multiple votes, so you can't accidentally vote too many times. Anyhow, if it doesn't work for you either click HERE to vote (and HERE for results) or do it on twitter below:




Which sadder is better? Vote by 9am 3/15

Three Babies
Vapour Trail
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