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: (9) MAZZY STAR vs (1) JOY DIVISION

After watching Mazzy Star topple the plaintive giant R.E.M. in the first round, we'd be wise to take them more seriously as a contender here in this matchup against Joy Division. I should admit that tonight I was listening to "Fade Into You" on repeat in my car after dark with the windows down for some time. I then poured myself some tequila which seemed like the appropriate accompaniment. As some of the commenters in our first-round coverage noted here and on Twitter, this is an ethereal, even spectral song. It occurs to me now, listening to it—being stuck in its almost narcotic slowness— that it's the closest thing to shoegaze we have remaining in the bracket—and also maybe the closest thing to country (that slide guitar!). I'm not sure it's possible to ignore the video, but I prefer to, as it oversexualizes Hope Sandoval and puts a face and a body only too clearly to the voice. I suppose most people want that (how else to explain the music video as a phenomenon?), and I admit to some curiosity as to who is actually singing the sad songs I love, but I'd rather listen to the song any day, as I did, drinking, tonight.

"Atmosphere" doesn't have that problem, since it was filmed well after lead singer Ian Curtis had died, but it mythologizes him in absentia nearly as much as "Fade Into You" does Sandoval.

Aside from Low, who's also playing today, these are the two most consistent bands still playing in the tournament at this point: neither has ever wavered much from their core sound. Joy Division disbanded after two brilliant albums after its singer's suicide. It's perhaps more impressive for Mazzy Star to have maintained the sound by choice. They arrived at the sound you hear here on their second album (though you can also hear them getting close to it on the first one), and stayed there through the third, and then paused...for fifteen years...and suddenly put out a fourth album after those silent years. It was eerie to hear how it sounded: exactly how Mazzy Star has always sounded. One admires that sort of restraint: it speaks of commitment to the one beautiful idea.

It's hard to otherwise compare these songs so as to prognosticate for you. "Fade Into You" finds its transcendence in and from the personal to the mythological. "Atmosphere" seems to speak more directly to an audience beyond the you ("people like you"), and it seems to us to have more to say about the human condition, which is one pretentious phrase. Maybe we'll edit it out in revision—ha ha, nope! "Atmosphere" is the legacy program here so we wouldn't pick against them, but then we also thought R.E.M. would win it in a romp. Mazzy Star seems to resonate with a lot more people in deeper ways than we expected when the month began. How about you?

*

(9) Mazzy Star, "Fade Into You"



vs

(1) Joy Division, "Atmosphere"

>



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


Which is sadder, better? Vote by 9am 3/17
Atmosphere
Fade Into You
Do Quizzes

8 comments:

  1. Oof. There is a right choice here and I don't think we're going to make it.

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  2. Yeah I hear that. I mean, I dig Mazzy Star, and want to listen to them more often than I do Joy Division, but that's because they ask so much less of me. At least I'm assuming we're on the same page here. Early lead to Mazzy. I wonder if Joy Division's imprint on the culture of sad is fading? Or if, as Rick Moody says, "the best instrument for the music of loss, which is the best of all music, is a woman's voice"?

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  3. Ugh, I cannot believe that Mazzy Star is winning. Your failure to bang Hope Sandoval back in the 90s is not actually sad, fan boys. Nor is this song.

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    1. That's the thing! I've loved this Mazzy Star song ever since I first heard it, but I've never once thought of it as sad--only sexy. Not that the two are mutually exclusive, but in terms of setting the mood I've only ever seen it employed in service of the latter, not the former.

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  4. To me, it's no contest. Joy Division forever saddest.

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    1. I'm with Lynn and Tara here: great song, but not even close to Joy Division. But clearly I'm missing something in terms of the love for Mazzy, since it came down to the very last minute.

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  5. I'm late to this second-round party, but I'll weigh in anyway: I'm glad Joy Division advanced, and I'll save my bullets for them in the next round against PJ Harvey. But here goes my defense of Mazzy.

    I missed the the opportunity to bang Hope Sandoval in the 1990s. Long story short, I had made this promising arrangement to hook up with her through an AOL chatroom, “Alone at Home.” I remember her username was “-=xXxMazzy_HopeXx=-”—a fashionable moniker at the time. She said she'd been pining hard for someone like me. If only we could meet... That was all I needed. I searched AltaVista for two hours to find an affordable flight to LAX before NetZero just dropped. Probably my sister picking up the phone to call her Canadian boyfriend, Brice. The guy was a real a-hole, and nearly 20 years her elder besides. Anyhow, by the time I could dial back up, of course Hope was gone, presumably stricken with grief at my abrupt disconnection. I idled in Alone at Home for weeks after that, but never saw -=xXxMazzy_HopeXx=- again. My throat still tightens when I hear that AOL guy announce his smug, matter-of-fact “Goodbye.” Just too painful knowing what could have been.

    So, “Fade Into You” is what I'm left with. If that's a crime, haul me away to jail.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. While you're too late to affect the outcome of the vote, you're not too late to disambiguate some qualities of the matchup and the vote. This is art, y'all, and thus we shall discuss it using the literary present tense, because I think (or perhaps just hope) that this news stays news.

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