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

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Second Round Action: (7) BOB MOULD vs (2) CONCRETE BLONDE

This is the last of the second round matchups, and it may be that we're feeling some fatigue at this point. That's a lot of voting, listening, commenting, and thinking we've done so far. Are you still with us? Can yoouuuuuuu dig it? Okay, we got to hunker down and power through this last game before we get to a day to return to our lives. How have we been changed so far? Have we thought through our criteria any better beyond like and not? I have, I think, and when I'm voting I'm also voting on whether I think the remaining bracket is better with the band in it or not. I mean, I think it's better with all of them in it, but sometimes you begin to note redundancies or overlaps, and the similarities between the songs begin to become more obvious.

With that in mind, if you've been listening or paid attention to our first round coverage of "Joey" and "I Can't Fight It", you know that both of these songs are about the dissolution of romantic relationships. In "I Can't Fight It," it's over and we've "divvied up the friendships that we used to share," and while we can't fight it, we can still mourn the end, right? In "Joey," too, the relationship is over: she just doesn't know it yet. Or she can't admit it to herself. She's still sending signals his way: "But if it's love you're looking for / Then I can give a little more" but runs into the probable—nay, the inevitable: "And if you're somewhere drunk and / Passed out on the floor."

Lyrically both are relatively transparent, and, as far as we know, both songs are autobiographical or present as such. "Joey's" about alcohol in particular, and Mould offers no damning, particular lament. The real distinction between these sad songs is in the music: Johnette Napolitano's vocals and the way the bass drives "Joey" are pretty distinctive, and not obviously related to anything else playing on the radio or on MTV at the time, at least not that I remember. Mould's more distinctive perhaps when held in the distorted crunch of Sugar or Husker Dü, though here he's stripped remarkably bare. It's mostly just guitar (though the percussion shows up late with the synth-horns).

Let us not forget that "I Can't Fight It" appears only on No Alternative, the AIDS-relief compilation album that included many of the alternative rock gods and goddesses of the 1990s. This was the committee's Mould song choice from the get-go, but tracking it down was more difficult, as (you may have noticed) it's not streaming on any service. You also can't buy the track from any digital music service. The committee was reduced to trying to remember what happened to our CD—oh, we sold it, back when you could still get money for your CDs—and we had to face up to either ordering a used copy from Amazon or trying to luck into one at Bookman's, until the committee's friend Allison hooked us up with a copy from her husband's collection down somewhere in storage crates. When we were relating this story to another friend Paul, he said, oh, do you need it? I have it right over here. And then we remembered that at one point (1993) everyone we knew seemed to have the album. And you know what? A lot of people still do have it. That says something for what it meant—means—what all of this means, we suppose—to us.

Having said that, the Committee is leaning toward Concrete Blonde on this one largely because "Joey" seems to us a whole lot more distinctive musically, especially when compared to what else is in the bracket. We can't see "I Can't Fight It" fighting off Concrete Blonde here, much less a possible matchup down the line with Joy Division, say, or Elliott Smith. But Napolitano's crew we can see just maybe cutting down the nets at the end of this thing.

*

(7) Bob Mould, "I Can't Fight It"



vs

(2) Concrete Blonde, "Joey"





If the poll below doesn't work properly try this link instead.



Which is sadder, better? Vote by 9am 3/17

Joey
I Can't Fight It
Do Quizzes

6 comments:

  1. Oh... This is such a painful decision. I mean, I Can't Fight It is a quintessential melancholy jam, but Joey. Ugh, Joey... How can you even respond to her pained wailing that she's not angry anymore?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know! This is my favorite Bob Mould song . . . but I think I still have to go with Joey.

      Delete
  2. No Alternative was one of the best compilation albums of the decade. And Bob Mould is Minnesota music royalty. But...still have to go with Joey--a song whose sadness is even more steeped now knowing that it was a love offering to a doomed man.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm inclined to agree with you. I feel like Joey is more timeless and also a multipurpose track. Can't Fight It is definitely more specific.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Agree with everyone. Kills me to vote against Bob, but Joey is sadder. How bout next year the committee considers Husker Du: "Too Far Down"?

    ReplyDelete