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

Sunday, March 13, 2016

The Second Round: NINE INCH NAILS vs RADIOHEAD

Here two of the big 90s heavy-hitters meet up in the second round, with a trip to the sweet sixteen on the line.

First, you may want to familiarize yourself with our earlier coverage of "Hurt" and of "Fake Plastic Trees."

Unlike a lot of the pairings in this bracket, these two songs are contemporaries. In fact, they're old rivals. The albums they appeared on were released a year and five days apart; the singles were released less than a month apart in April and May 1995: it was a great month for sad, bleak songs.

Well, how to compare these two sadnesses? "Hurt" is obviously working on the wounded-withdrawal axis of sadness, articulating a purely and intensely self-destructive personal malaise (in the direction of Swans, Elliott Smith, Replacements, and Joy Division). It's the darker, sonically, of the two, with the goth leanings, and it's apparently the angrier, too, so if that's if how you want your hurt, then this is your jam. It's also the more varied of the two, sonically, in terms of how it builds toward that loud distorted moment at around 4:40. Its ugliness is sonic, angry, and explosive, but the thing we've always admired about Reznor is how even among the industrial sonics, he's always had an excellent ear for the melodic. (In fact, he sings backup on "Past the Mission," a song from Tori Amos's second album Under the Pink, and if both Amos and NIN advance they could meet in the elite eight, which would be a lovely pairing to consider.)

The melodic is where we begin "Fake Plastic Trees," and the song never lets go of it. Identifiable from the first chord, it's a slow burn to a brilliant climax, even if it's a little less dramatic than "Hurt." It never loses control in the way that "Hurt" does (or seems to, rather). It's much more clearly a disconnected lament than Nine Inch Nails' entry, and it becomes unexpectedly personal at the end.

Both are big, sweeping dramatic songs. To my ears, "Fake Plastic Trees" has more of the feeling of a generational anthem than "Hurt" does, and that's why it's got a 2 seed, though that impression may be a function of the video's shots at consumer emptiness. That critique's a little clunky by modern standards, though no less relevant. Hard to pick your poison here: do you want your sad sensitive and withdrawn or really sensitive and withdrawing? Odds favor Radiohead, especially given their strong showing in the first round, but this is anyone's game.

*

(7) Nine Inch Nails, "Hurt" (oddly for the time and the cultural saturation of the song, there was never an official video)



vs

(2) Radiohead, "Fake Plastic Trees" (official video)





Which song's sadder, better? Vote by 9am 3/14

Hurt
Fake Plastic Trees
Quiz Maker

2 comments:

  1. My vote hinges on a few factors sorting out these two monoliths of depression (which I have loved since I first heard them). Both feel so sad, but as the commentary points out they're distinct even though they're both about giving up in different ways. I usually feel that more songs more in the traditional rock vein are less sad, but Radiohead undoes that norm here. They are a rare beast that can do the whole guitar build and still feel totally bleak. Next, I have always found that last line in "Hurt" a glimmer (very faint, but nonetheless) of hope. Reznor will find a way out of the junk (and he has). Of course, you could make a valid argument that those parting words are completely drowned out by the sonic storm that erupts in those final notes, perhaps showing that hope gets obliterated by the chaos that can surround a person... but that's not how I take the end of the song, for what it's worth. The other thing that sticks out in my mind is that Yorke really really doesn't like performing "Fake Plastic Trees" live. The time I saw them was an exception, but he talked then (and has in various interviews) about how it's such a defeating and draining experience and he can't take it often. Gotta respect when an artist makes a song that's so sad they almost can't stand it.

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  2. Every time I listen to "Fake Plastic Trees" I expect they lyrics (which are dated, I think) to keep me at arm's length; they do, I guess, but the melody is just so strong, and Greenwood's guitar work is just so right on, that I end up feeling 19 again.

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