Welcome to the first post of 2007. To be honest I do not know what that means, and certainly I do not know if that means the posts get better or worse. I do not see into the future (unless it's at the 586, ask me about that talent though). Anywho, I apologize for the sheer laziness on my part, seems to be a common theme around these parts, but I guess my "new years resolution" even though I do not like the thought of them is to make sure I post more so the eight of you have enough reading material for every crap or wherever you read this garbage. Much love to you who read this though, it means a lot that you wanna know what goes on between my ears. On to the songs....

Round I

Can You Feel the Love Tonight – Elton John v. Calgone – Incubus – A song nearly worthy of status on the Workout Music playlist v. a song I learned how to sing in 7th grade. Hey, I taught myself how to read music and several other accomplishments I was really pleased with in that 7th grade class. Plus, girls started having boobies and remember: I heart boobies (shallow as that may be). So despite the relatively immasculate nature of the song, but bonus points for Lion King connection, Can You Feel the Love Tonight moves on.
California Dreamin – DJ Sammy v. Cancer – Filter – Filter is one of those interesting bands. I never really think of them when I want to tell people what kind of music I like. Yet I really do like them. Kind of a NIN sound with more rock base than electronics. Cancer is a solid entry from them. California Dreamin pales in comparison to the original, and if you aren’t even close to the original recording for your own song, you cannot move on in my tourney. Thanks for playing.
California Dreaming – The Mamas and the Papas v. Candy – Mandy Moore – I actually cannot stand the song Candy and California Dreaming is really a good song so this is a joke.
California – Phantom Planet v. Canon in D Major – Pachelbel – I was lucky enough to see Phantom Planet’s first arena show when they opened for Incubus and was very pleased to see the energy they brought to the show. I was already familiar with their music but this show made me a fan. As this was the first single that brought them success (and now immortality with the tie-in to this generations 90210, the OC, which I have to admit I did become a fan of) I think we owe it to them to move them on. Hard to say no to a traditional wedding march song, but while I am single I will appreciate the beauty but save the love affair with it for when I get closer to that point in my life, haha.
Californication – Red Hot Chili Peppers v. Captain – DMB – Of all the songs on the Lillywhite Sessions and/or Busted Stuff, Captain was never one that reasonated with me for some reason. Sorry Dave I Love so many of your great songs, but this one just kinda felt like a rainy day but not a good rainy day. Trust me there is a difference I do like quite a few rainy days and some just suck. Californication was a decent song off the album of the same title and moves on since I didn’t try to change the radio station every time it came on.
Call and Answer – Barenaked Ladies v. Captain Bleigh – Filter – It is actually mildly sad that there aren’t more songs with Captain in the title. You would think titles of respect would have a lot of merit around the music world. Apparently this only exists in my odd little world where I refer to many many people as “Boss” and you cannot talk about this without my affectionately named “el chiefo.” Yeah, that’s right, you wish you were as cool as me. By the way, in that rant it means that Captain Bleigh moves on, just cuz I said so.
Call Me a Dog – Temple of the Dog v. Caress Me Down – Sublime – Here we really get to see the brilliance of Sublime. It makes you wanna be on a beach, drunk as hell on tequila and beer, probably stoned, you know, whatever you want, its all good. As long as you speak a lil bit of Spanish and like women, apparently you fit the Sublime lifestyle very well. God Bless it.
Call Me a Fool – Live v. Carol of the Bells – TransSiberian Orchestra – Ladies and Gentlemen, I am a sucker for Christmas songs like that (especially at this time of year) so sorry Call Me a Fool, you are a victim of timing. Ain’t that a bitch.
Call Me On Your Way Back Home – Ryan Adams v. Carousel – Blink 182 – Wow, both songs are deceptively good, shit. Ryan Adams is brilliant and the song just absolutely levels me with its depth and really melancholy overall feeling. Not that that is how I feel at the moment but wow, what a hit in the face, its absolutely brilliant.
Cally – Ben Kweller v. Carry on My Wayward Son – Kansas – Anyone who does not see that Carry on My Wayward Son is an absolute anthem (and yes it is hard to reach anthem status) then you are completely wrong. It is because of anthem status that Carry On moves on.
Carrying Cathy – Ben Folds v. Calm Like a Bomb – Rage Against the Machine –I do appreciate the lovely wordplay of Calm Like a Bomb, which kind of reminds me of Dumb Like a Fox, but that’s a story for a different day I would think, or never, whichever I feel like. Unfortunately, yes folks, I am in fact a huge nerd (don’t tell anyone though it might ruin whatever “mojo” I may have had or will have in the future). It is for this reason that Mr. Folds gets to move on again. I have and always will be a piano fan and he is a gifted man and this song shows those talents well.
Can’t Help Falling In Love – U2 v. Come Sail Away – Covered by Eric Cartman – There is too much to talk about here, haha. Yes, I have on many occasions listened to the version of Come Sail Away as sung by the South Park character Eric Cartman, and it would be unjust not to include it. In fact, because of the sheer brilliance and emotion in the song, it moves on. Massive kudos to the voice of Cartman, how you can sing in a voice that is not your own like that and not break down coughing I applaud. Believe me I know this from personal experience. Remember back in the day when you were younger and would record radio “talk shows” because you thought it was one of the coolest things ever and that it was so easy that you could do it. Well yeah, I did that too, my bro and I would do it and he would be the host and I would be the cast of many voices. Of course as one of those voices, or several really, I would sing a song. Virtually every time that we tried it we had to stop because I would break out into some sort of coughing fit and then my mom would break it up thinking I was choking on something when in reality it was good clean fun. Perhaps this is why I am so into karaoke, and perhaps this is why people consider me to be delightfully insane. Ok so I added in the delightful part myself. Don’t forget the point though, singing in someone else’s voice is tough stuff.
Can’t Help Falling In Love – UB40 v. Come Sail Away – Styx – Does anyone take UB40 seriously? Did anyone ever? It is a cute novelty but come on. Styx is certainly unique themselves but Come Sail Away is a special song, why else would Cartman cover it?
Can’t Keep – Pearl Jam v. Cavanaugh Park – Something Corporate – My affection for the piano definitely plays a large role in my enjoyment of Something Corporate. Typically you would think that their fan base is mostly girls and overly emotional males (see: Dashboard Confessional, haha), yet there is something to say about young love and heartache. A bit too much on most of these bands cases but what the hell, who made me an authority on anything in this world. Also my affection for hanging out in parks gives Cavanaugh Park bonus points, whether it was picnics at Cantigny or North Side Park with some Popeye’s (LOVE that chicken from Popeye’s), or to more recent times sitting on the curb eating Quizno’s, special times abound. However, you cannot mess with the hammock time I had in Myrtle Beach. Can’t Keep was an anthem of those times, you cannot imagine how clear the night was and how significant everything felt (no I was not on any mind altering substances so shut up). Some people use aloe vera and time to cure sunburn, I toss in a little Pearl Jam.
Can’t Stop Loving You – Phil Collins v. Celebrate – Kool and the Gang – Phil Collins captures a feeling all too well in this one. Celebrate reminds me of that Simpsons episode when Lisa buys Al Gore’s book and he is notified by a sensor in the book to track his sales and to celebrate he puts on the record player, and when it says “celebrate good times come on!” he says, “I will.” Classic television moment there, but not quite like capturing a feeling that well.
Celtic Fiddle Fest – Chieftains v. Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You – Hey, Im Irish, the softspot takes it.
Centerfield – John Fogarty v. Cherub Rock – Smashing Pumpkins – Few things are more American than baseball, our national pastime, how you could possibly ignore Centerfield as a defining American song is a tragedy, so I will try to work some more recognition for it in here.
Centerfold – J Geils Band v. Chica Mi Tipo – Sublime – Sheer novelty and cheesy 80s sound wins out here. Maybe if I spoke Spanish I would have more of a soft spot for Chica Mi Tipo, call me insensitive or uncultured, I can handle it.
Cesaro Summability – TOOL v. Chop Suey! – System of a Down – Though I do not understand the song titles for either one of these songs, I enjoy both of these bands very very much. Chop Suey is more of a real song however and has a really fun video so its gotta be the one here.
Champagne Supernova – Oasis v. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) – U2 – Whats the Story Morning Glory is an epic album of our time and this song played a huge role in that. “Where were you while we were getting high?” One of the best easily quotable song lines of the 90s. As a sidenote, Ben Folds “covers” this song and plays it out as a country song, high comedy, makes you appreciate it all the more.
Change – Mest v. Christmas Song – DMB – Such a fascinating take on the life of Jesus, I would hope that it does not offend any particular persons religion, but I tend to be rather open-minded so I am not making any sort of religious statement. Christmas Song is a keeper.
Change the World – Eric Clapton v. Cigarette – Ben Folds Five – Two very special songs to me personally. Cigarette from the Lake in the Hills days of driving around for hours after work since there was really nowhere else to go. Yet it was fantastic and somehow always seemed like so much fun and excitement. Change the World gets the nod for a more powerful memory in my mind however. The concept of montage was one we wanted to introduce at the reorientation of all the kids who went on volunteer trips during my first year on ASB Board. This night was to bring everyone back together and remember the experience and then hopefully point each person in a direction that allowed them to truly become a more active citizen. One of the features we had planned was a montage of pictures that were captured from each trip to show what each site had been doing, quite a magical experience if you have never had the joy. As the self appointed music coordinator for presentations I wanted to find some good songs to fit alongside our presentation. Change the World was one of the songs. However the presentation didn’t work. It was truly magical though, unfortunately all anyone has to go by is a couple of guys words. That kinda sucks, but at least I know the truth.
Change Your Mind – Sister Hazel v. Cigarette – Yellowcard – Sister Hazel has kind of a nice light sound and is happy sounding. I like that, sometimes you don’t need the downer sound. Plus, cigarettes are bad for you.
Changes – David Bowie v. Circle of Friends – Better Than Ezra – Empire Records was one of those cult classic movies that you can go buy for $5 and think you are ripping off the store because you have found something special. Circle of Friends was a prominent song in this movie and it moves on because of the sheer awesomeness of Empire Records.
Changes – 2Pac v. Circle of Life – Elton John – Look, the only reason 2Pac moves on here is because it samples from Just the Way It Is by Bruce Hornsby, a song I very much enjoy and I think makes a very solid statement. Don’t worry, I am still one of the whitest people youll ever know.
Chariots of Fire – Vangelis v. Circles – Incubus – Circles is in the top two songs on the album Morning View, which is a powerhouse album in my mind. The raw power of the song just rocks. I am truly motivated by Chariots of Fire, but it just cant stand up to my love for Incubus.
Chatterbox – Tim Reynolds v. Circular Parade – A Beautiful Mistake – Oh Timmy you’ve done it again, my question now becomes how does one’s fingers move so fast??
Check It Out – John Mellencamp v. Circus Envy – REM – Two artists I was brought up with as a kid, so always a tough call. Check It Out is older, more time to build up classic status I guess.
Cheek to Cheek – Starting Line v. Cisco Kid – Sublime – Ok, so upon my entry into my sophomore year in college (the Allen Year), my musical taste was just about strictly rock and roll and mostly consisting of the harder stuff and then bands like U2, REM, and random one hit wonders or songs I liked just the one of from a specific artist. I did not add the emo/punk dimension until I started hangin out with the guys who would be my future roommates during the #19 era. Cheek to Cheek was the flaghip song so to speak, with the flagship band being New Found Glory, but Cheek to Cheek was always played before going out, and it tended to stick in my head. Again, it never hurts when the lead singer looks like my ferret. Milo rules, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise or Milo will come haunt your dreams.
Chelsea – Mest v. City Lights – Lucky Boys Confusion – Oh ska influenced, played at U of I approx one million times when I was there Lucky Boys. How can I say no to you when the songs are close? I cant.
Chemical Smile – Everclear v. City Love – John Mayer – There is something magical about cities. The idea of how amazing each and every person is and then putting so many of them in such a small area to coexist, its yet another thing that fascinates me greatly. John Mayer captures just a small aspect of that in City Love, and I gotta love it obviously.
Cherry Bomb – John Mellencamp v. City on Down – O.A.R. – Cherry Bomb was the only song I recognized on some pizza place’s jukebox when I was like 6 because it was John Cougar and I was so happy I knew even one of the songs. City on Down is a bit more special because of its lasting power. There was a good several month period where my group of friends and I pretty much only listened to O.A.R., definitely the golden age of that group. But if watching the OC quite a bit recently (hey, gotta catch up with season 3 finally) tells us anything, its that good, uncomplicated times are short-lived. These were, but I will never forget just the all around cumbaya good feelings of that time. City on Down is one hell of a song to boot.

Round II

Can You Feel the Love Tonight over Cancer
California over California Dreaming
Californication over Captain Bleigh
Caress Me Down over Carol of the Bells
Carry on My Wayward Son over Call Me On Your Way Back Home
Come Sail Away over Carrying Cathy – Yes, the Cartman version…
Can’t Keep over Come Sail Away – The Styx version…
Can’t Stop Loving You over Celtic Fiddle Fest – It is true though, sometimes you just cant stop.
Centerfield over Centerfold
Chop Suey! over Champagne Supernova (note: every time I have to spell champagne I spell it champaign first, anyone wanna guess where my loyalty to college lies??)
Change the World over Christmas Song
Change Your Mind over Circle of Friends
Circles over Changes
Check it Out over Chatterbox
Cheek to Cheek over City Lights
City on Down over City Love

Sweet Sixteen

California over Can You Feel the Love Tonight – I am actually kind of on the OC connection is a bad thing for California, but still a phenomenal song.
Caress Me Down over Californication
Come Sail Away – Cartman over Carry on My Wayward Son – Uh oh…..
Can’t Keep over Can’t Stop Loving You – Moments of Zen rule
Centerfield over Chop Suey!
Change the World over Change Your Mind – the world is bigger..
Circles over Check It Out
City On Down over Cheek to Cheek

Elite Eight

California over Caress Me Down – Sometimes those songs that I really belted out in the shower get special treatment…not that I sing in the shower or anything….dammit.
Come Sail Away – Cartman over Can’t Keep – so I totally predicted the Cartman thing as a joke in my first post, I really wasn’t sure how close to true it would come…
Centerfield over Change the World – the sound of the baseball bat cracking against the ball in Centerfield puts it over the top here.
City on Down over Circles – more personal connection to the City on Down song, more people, more times, just more everything, hard to beat really.

Final Four

Come Sail Away – Cartman over California – In the end though I just can’t get past the OC thing. That and Cartman really energizes this song!
City on Down over Centerfield – Though the song is amazing if I truly wanna feel baseball I will head on out to a game, major league, minor league, little league, it doesn’t matter, theres nothing quite like the feeling of a baseball game, at any level. City on Down is part of something bigger.

Final Two

City on Down over Come Sail Away – Cartman – damn, that woulda been creepy…

Well, since I was fortunate enough to have three days off work in a row, and did not spend them with some sort of mysterious flu, I figured I could be not lazy enough to complete another bracket. Leave it to me to procrastinate like crazy though, I think it is just becoming my trademark in life. Anywho, given the results of this round I got to thinking...isn't it interesting how every peer group has its generational definition. What I mean by this is that there are always a few movies or songs or characters that define the way things were or are during a certain time frame. I like to think of it in terms of a time capsule manner, my era was that of the TRL boom with boy bands and Britney Spears, the American Pie movies, the post-Nirvana grunge age, and many other things. What I realized about this is that when I watch other movies or listen to other music that could be considered part of the "generational definition" I laugh or get my interest piqued wondering if that is how it really was. From my vantage point I always though Fast Times at Ridgemont High was kinda silly in some respects, the same goes for Breakfast Club and any other movie of that sort that was supposed to depict "real life" for adolescents. Yet I am starting to think that maybe those are snapshots of what stereotypical life was like, though a lot of things have stayed the same thru the years and each generation has a lot in common, its nice to see these snapshots to see how far we have come or fallen. Think about that sometime when you see or hear something from an era that is decidedly not yours, it'll make you think, with any luck. It's either that or I am completely insane, but that's another issue for another time....lets get to the music....

Round I

Boast – Collective Soul v. Bouncing Off the Walls – Sugarcult – Well we have two very vivid memories in these two for me. Boast was the classic Sean drivin to Woodstock in the summers of working alone. Though it may sound rather, well, lonely, and mildly sad, to be honest those summers of working alone were really fantastic. All I really did was paint and clean out apartments, mucho manual labor and I had to work alone, yet I adored it. Well one of the destinations was Woodstock, IL, and they had just built a Popeye’s Chicken, and you know what, “I love that chicken from Popeye’s” so I ate there as much as possible. Boast was on the cd that I listened to on many of those hour each way drives and sticks in my head when I think of Woodstock and Popeye’s. Bouncin off the Walls is the track from Van Wilder that I passed out watching so many times in college. Who can forget seeing boobies in the menu part of that movie, sheer brilliance. Boast takes it here though for having more depth because life ain’t just all about boobies, but its close.
Bodyrock – Moby v. Boxing – Ben Folds Five – Ben Folds continues his reign as the Rodney Dangerfield of my tournament by being very unfortunate and not getting much respect as his songs always seem to be defeated in the first round. Here is no exception, because despite all of you echoing the Moby is a sellout chant, star-shaped sunglasses are awesome and should be here to stay. So back the fuck off…
Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen v. Boy Crazy – New Found Glory – New Found Glory makes sure we watch out for the beautiful and younger ones (believe me I know what they are talking about), but Bohemian Rhapsody is too awesome all around. Sure we young generation really started listening to it as a result of Wayne’s World, but whats wrong with that? Wayne’s World was an incredible movie and turned a whole new generation on to this fantastic anthem. Party on Wayne, and Party on Garth!
Bombs Over Baghdad – Outkast v. Boys Are Back In Town – Everclear – Listen, here is the time for a political statement by the one and only me (Vote for me for President in 2020, Sean Carroll: Providing 20/20 foresight for America in the year 2020). More on the campaign later, but in all seriousness I was very much against the decision to go to war with Iraq the 2nd time around. However, now that we have entered, the utterly moronic stance that we need to leave at once is just tragic. While I completely agree that the loss of even one life is absolutely horrible, this is not another Vietnam. We used to lose in one day in Vietnam what we have lost during the entire 2nd Iraq involvement so chill out on that comparison. It is not a pleasant situation but we got ourselves into it and now we have to bear the consequences of our actions. Hopefully this will make us think about what we do before we do it, but I am grasping at this faint hope. Anywho, I don’t like the fact that there are bombs over Baghdad, so what I am really hoping for is that the loss of life is very minimal from here on out so we can celebrate the day when our boys are back in town. (damn that was cheesy, yet I liked it)
Boys of Summer – Don Henley v. Bombtrack – Rage Against the Machine – Bombtrack is a solid yet uninspiring offer from Rage, certainly not up to par with some of their finer work. Boys of Summer has a certain Miami Vice vibe to it, and I find that amusing. A song that puts a smile on my face for that reason, it wins here.
Braveheart Theme v. Born as Ghosts – Rage Against the Machine – I have this thing for celtic music and bagpipes (I’m Irish, so I also like Guinness and kicking the crap out of you for disagreeing with me). Braveheart has it, Born as Ghosts doesn’t, makes the choice pretty simple.
Born in the U.S.A. – Bruce Springsteen v. Break on Through – The Doors – Wow, that’s no fun, another powerhouse matchup here in the early rounds. The Doors were quite the artistic genius band and should be recognized for their contributions for rock. As for my life, the Born in the USA video was very instrumental in my childhood as I would stand and hold up my “torch” doing my best Statue of Liberty impression. See, even at a young age I loved America and this song played a large part in searing red, white, and blue into my brain.
Born of a Broken Man – Rage v. Break Up Day – The Starting Line – I am much more willing to freely admit to being born of a broken man than I would reminisce about a break up day. Titles play the key role here, forget the music, neither song is that good, haha.
Born on the Bayou – CCR v. Breakdown – Tantric – Two very distinct voices in our lead singers here. John Fogarty and his raspy, almost Gilbert Gottfried like sound which is undeniably brilliant and Hugo Ferreira who has that deep almost goth-like creepiness. In this song it bears resemblance to a more melodic Alice in Chains and if you know me, you know I do enjoy my Alice in Chains. In a close one, Breakdown wins.
Born to Be Wild – Steppenwolf v. Breakdown – Tom Petty – Born to Be Wild is a classic and just cuts to the core of you from the beginning onward. Tom Petty’s Breakdown is not one of my favorite offerings of his. It is a very solid song, but Mr. Petty has so much deeper brilliance to offer that I do not feel so bad knocking this song out early.
Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen v. Breakfast at Tiffany’s – Deep Blue Something – The title track of a classic album up against a one hit wonder. This one hit wonder packs a punch though, but unfortunately is no match for the Boss.
Bosko Groove – Stepanian v. Breakfast for Two – Country Joe McDonald – This is a very interesting matchup as I really could not remember how I came across these two songs originally. It is like in my baseball card collection I had as a kid when you would buy those random assortments of cards and then not really look at them and then a few years later wonder how in the hell you have baseball cards from the early 80s when you started collecting in 1988. I assume Country Joe was from my Vietnam War Class when I got introduced to his music thru a video I watched in that class. Bosko Groove I really cannot explain, it’s a good driving song and reminds me of that cheap knock off chocolate syrup Bosco. Funny stuff, it moves on.
Boss DJ – Sublime v. Breaking Down – Mest – Breaking Down is just catchier, that’s all….and sometimes catchy is ok…
Bossman – Lucky Boys Confusion v. Breakout – Foo Fighters – Haha, another classic Mustang feat here. There was a time right after I graduated college that I was returning to Champaign approximately three times a week to visit and tie up loose ends at #19, of which the era had crumbled massively at this point (hey, if the Roman Empire can collapse, #19 was bound to at some point, the key is to always remember and live out the dreams of it). Well by this time the only thing that worked in my car was the radio, and on the drive to Champaign the radio stations are not stellar, so I would listen to my crazy old school pre-iPod MP3 player. Bossman was on this and I would sing it oh so loudly, it kept my sanity, and kept me occupied when I wasn’t on the phone while driving, since that is unsafe right?
Bottom – TOOL v. Breathe – Anna Nalick – My affection for female singer/songwriters going up against my strong inner urge to rock out. TOOL is incredible and tends to do well, this is no exception.
Bounce – System of a Down v. Breathe – Collective Soul – I want you all to listen to the song Bounce, and just feel the raw energy in the song, and then try to tell me what it is about. I love songs like that, although I think it mentions the term “pogo stick” a few too many times, but I can deal with that since the burst of energy is so great.
Breathing Deep – 504 Plan v. Bullet In the Head – Rage Against the Machine – Tom Morello does some wicked cool things on the guitar in a lot of Rage songs and this one is no exception. This I enjoy far too much I think, but for now, it moves on….
Brena – A Perfect Circle v. Bullet the Blue Sky – U2 – Another battle of heavyweights here with A Perfect Circle facing off against U2. Joshua Tree should and will be remembered as an icon album for all history to remember and enjoy, Bullet the Blue Sky is an underrated song on this album. The White Sox used it as a theme for one of their years, not the year they won the World Series but hey, can’t do everything right all the time I guess. Bullet the Blue Sky takes it here cuz it just feels right.
Bullet With Butterfly Wings – Smashing Pumpkins v. Brian Wilson – Barenaked Ladies – You know, when I first heard about BNL I was a little eyebrow-raisy, like wait a minute, is it a band of barenaked ladies, cuz what an amazing concept. When I found out it was a bunch of fat guys who were not only fat but pervs, I guess I was ok with it, but really upset at the misnomer. Couple that with the fact that Bullet With Butterfly Wings is a masterpiece and you know the choice here.
Brick – Ben Folds Five v. Bulls on Parade – Rage Against the Machine – Dammit all, we aren’t making it any easier for Mr. Folds. Bulls on Parade was the first song that turned me on to Rage. But Brick is an incredibly emotional song that isn’t often played in concerts anymore because it really takes an emotional toll on Ben Folds. For a song that received quite the airplay and a song that I am sure he has played a million times on tour and such must take a lot out of him. He will move on in a small effort to repay him for the brilliance that he has and has shared with us all. You should listen to Brick and tell me if you can feel the cold, crisp air like when you get in your car in winter and the entire landscape is white or gray. Everytime I hear this song I feel that and everytime the weather is like that I think of that song. It’s uncanny.
Brick House – Commodores v. Buried Myself Alive – The Used – I am sorry I just cannot take Lionel Richie seriously. That cheesy mustache? The way he treats his daughter Nicole? Dancing on the Ceiling? Lay off the paint thinner my friend. Buried Myself Alive was a theme of the #19 on wheels in C-loss, so it has a special place in my heart, and liver I would think…
Bring Me To Life – Evanescence v. Burndt Jamb – Weezer – Alright, since I have become secure in my self, let me paint you a picture. I drank a bit much one night and my roomies and I decided to blast music at a deafening level throughout our building. One of the songs on the playlist was Bring Me To Life, which we started to sing along with. I felt the need to stand on a milkcrate while singing it. I cannot imagine anything more masculine than that, thank god I was holding a beer in each hand or else I would have to turn in my Man Card…
Broadway – Goo Goo Dolls v. Burnin Both Ends of the Night – Garth Brooks – I can see why Garth was such a concert draw, he really tries to put on a show, at least in the videos he has of his live performances, since I do not think I would pay approx. $7 million dollars to go to one of his shows. However, you cannot mess with lyrical brilliance, which the Goo Goo Dolls hit here again with “it always rains like hell on the loser’s day parade” Because of this I am now offering to hold loser’s day parades whenever they ask, because hey, everyone deserves a parade, rain or shine.
Broken Home – Papa Roach v. Burning Bridges – Collective Soul – Well I dunno why I have this criticism for Papa Roach and not Everclear, but here goes: Dude, shut up about the rough childhood, yeah your parents are divorced, cue the waa-fest. Get over it, you are not in the minority and many of us go thru the same things you do. Burning Bridges sounds like one of those good soundtracks on a movie that has a character who gets all introspective and makes some massive change to his/her life, I have always enjoyed songs like that, somewhat inspiring with good and bad feelings to be taken from it. Depth is a good thing.
Brown Eyed Girl – Everclear v. Burning Down the House – Talking Heads – ARE YOU SERIOUS!!!! I remember when the video for Brown Eyed Girl came out and Art of Everclear told us about a special surprise at the end of the video and how it was a twist on the original. The twist was this dude was stalking this brown eyed girl AND IT WAS HIS SISTER. I literally thought about throwing up after seeing this, then I at least gave credit for choosing a stunning brown eyed girl at least in Marla Sokoloff. That coupled with the fact that Burning Down the House is a lovely 80s song made the choice easy here.
Brown Eyed Girl – Less Than Jake v. Bury Me – Smashing Pumpkins – Less Than Jake is always a band to bump up the energy a few notches in a song, but with Brown Eyed Girl its like they try too hard to make it hardcore and fast and it just doesn’t work for me. Bury Me is a straightforward Smashing Pumpkin sounding song. Good hard rockin and it doesn’t sound contrived.
Brown Eyed Girl – Van Morrison v. Bushleaguer – Pearl Jam – Despite referring to things as “Bush League” recently to demean or make fun of them, you can’t mess with the original Brown Eyed Girl which is obviously so important that so many bands feel the need to cover it. The original did it best though, so let’s just enjoy it and stop fucking with it please.
Bubbletoes – Jack Johnson v. Busted Stuff – DMB – See, if the would have gone with the name “She My Bitch” for this song maybe Dave would have a chance. Alas, Bubbletoes is the better song overall with the better title.
Butterfly – Weezer v. Buddy Holly – Weezer – Two phenomenal songs by a phenomenal band. The luck of the draw here huh. Well I have mentioned my preference for Pinkerton as the supreme Weezer album. That comes into play here. Buddy Holly has an amazing video that includes a Happy Days motif complete with the Fonz dancing. That comes into play here. Lyrical brilliance appears in both songs. Butterfly just feels more right to me here, more beautiful than just sheer sexy. That seems to be the way to go.
Buffalo Soldier – Bob Marley v. Buzzing – Howie Day – Hey, did you see the Behind the Music for Bob Marley, I remember when it came out a group of my friends talked about it for quite a while leading up to it. They smoked some serious stuff there though, I have never seen thicker smoke than the video clips from that show. If that’s what he had to do to create such amazing music then hey, you gotta do what you gotta do I guess, cuz the music is brilliant.
Build Me Up Buttercup – Temptations v. Cadillac – Mest – Look, if you want a sing-a-long you cannot argue with Build Me Up, but you want a more fun song to have as background music you cannot argue with Cadillac. Cadillac is more versatile, and moves on.
Bulimic – The Used v. Cailin – Unwritten Law – If you listened to this song when Unwritten Law had their commercial success of Elva, you would never imagine that Cailin had radio play 10 years earlier. Perseverance pays off boys, you get the nod here.

Round II

Bodyrock over Boast – Never underestimate the power of Star-shaped sunglasses
Bohemian Rhapsody over Boys Are Back in Town – Headbanging lives on…
Boys of Summer over Braveheart Theme – Vice City Vice City Vice City!!!
Born in the USA over Born of a Broken Man – I am standing holding my imaginary torch now
Born to Be Wild over Breakdown
Born to Run over Bosko Groove – I wonder if it was called Hershey’s Groove if that would have helped?
Bossman over Breaking Down – the Power of the Mustang is felt…
Bounce over Bottom
Bullet the Blue Sky over Bullet in the Head – Yeah, I would totally choose the blue sky as the destination for the bullet too
Bullet with Butterfly Wings over Brick – Ben Folds just runs into a wall again…damn…
Buried Myself Alive over Bring Me to Life – I wasn’t too attached to the milk crate..
Broadway over Burning Bridges – seriously call me if you want a parade, ill make it happen
Burning Down the House over Bury Me – Never Underestimate 80s brilliance
Bubbletoes over Brown Eyed Girl
Butterfly over Buffalo Soldier
Cailin over Cadillac

Sweet Sixteen

Bohemian Rhapsody over Bodyrock
Born in the USA over Boys of Summer
Born to Run over Born to Be Wild
Bossman over Bounce
Bullet With Butterfly Wings over Bullet The Blue Sky
Broadway over Buried Myself Alive
Bubbletoes over Burning Down the House
Butterfly over Cailin

Elite Eight

Born in the USA over Bohemian Rhapsody – Power bracket here, wow. I think I had to give extra points based on the longevity of my love affair with Born in the USA. Had I been aware of Queen and Bohemian Rhapsody earlier maybe things would have been different, but here we are, and here we go.
Bossman over Born to Run – Could we really have two Springsteen songs in the final four? No sorry, more emotional attachment and just a more fun song musically to listen to with Bossman
Bullet With Butterfly Wings over Broadway – No contest here, which is scary for an elite eight matchup
Butterfly over Bubbletoes – Butterfly is making quite a thunderous impact on this bracket for being such a mild sounding song.

Final Four

Born in the USA over Bossman – I will defer to the longevity factor and staying power of the impact Born in the USA still holds over me, and yes my arm is getting tired from raising the imaginary torch.
Bullet with Butterfly Wings over Butterfly – The interesting run Butterfly made thru the bracket comes to an end getting clobbered by the brilliance of Smashing Pumpkins.

Final Two

Bullet With Butterfly Wings over Born in the USA – I played the longevity card too many times, haha. Bullet With Butterfly Wings also came on the scene just about when music becomes the way of life for teenagers. To be able to grow up with great songs like Born in the USA is special, but to be able to claim rebellion and teenage angst songs like Bullet With Butterfly Wings as the songs of my generation, now that’s just magic, and you can’t argue with that.

As was demanded, I got off my ass and decided to get another posting goin here. I do apologize, I have been in mourning over the loss of my first car. Anyone who has lost their first car has got to feel for me. Keep in mind, I am 24 years old and I had my first car for over seven years, thats a ton of memories and so many stories. Needless to say I still get a little emotional about it. That coupled with the goodbye to Rolling Meadows and hello to Evanston for my working location and I have been an incredibly busy man. Not that any of you care since the only thing that matters is my musical taste, I feel like such a tool for your musical pleasure. And let's bear in mind that I am perfectly ok with this. Not that there are that many of you, so for the three people who will read this, here you go...

Round I

Beat It – Michael Jackson v. Best of Me – Starting Line – Well this one wasn’t too tough for me. The lead singer of The Starting Line kinda looks like Milo, my ferret, and I love Milo. Next…
Beautiful – Christina Aguilera v. Betrayal is a Sympton – Thrice – While Thrice was an interesting band I had the opportunity to see live at a Used concert I went to and got my interesting mosh pit experience, I am not sure it can compare to Beautiful. Ever seen the movie Mean Girls?? Yeah, I have too, and its awesome, and I don’t wanna hear anything otherwise dammit all. When the too gay to function guy sings it for the high school talent show and begins with the “Don’t look at me part,” this was absolute genius. Say what you want about Lindsay Lohan, but don’t fuck with Mean Girls. Beautiful gets the nod here.
Beautiful – Snoop Dogg f/Pharrell v. Better Days – Goo Goo Dolls – Right now I am very emotional about cars, seeing as how my first car has gone to car heaven. The Mustang is gone and I went through so so much with it. I will be creating a massive tribute to the Mustang at some point so stay tuned for it. Needless to say Better Days highlighted a lot of drives from my Schaumburg apartment out to Cary/Algonquin, which is quite a little drive. The Mustang will live on forever in my heart, and apparently has some bearing on what songs I like too.
Beautiful Day – U2 v. Better Man – Pearl Jam – You know, this is crap, I hate when two songs that are sooo good meet in the first round of one of these when you could see it as a potential final bracket matchup (which is shaping up to be the mother of all things in history). You have so much power in here, U2 and Pearl Jam are two of the greatest bands in the world. Say what you want about their aging processes and changes in musical style, each of these two will be remembered forever. Beautiful Day wins out here as it was one of the two songs I heard for at least 187 straight mornings during my freshman year in college waking up (the other was Hemorrhage by Fuel, which we will see later). Better Man also loses slight points because when I saw it live, one of the people I attended the concert with told me that the song reminded her of her current boyfriend, which made me throw up a little in my mouth, and that’s the kind of shit you just don’t do at a Pearl Jam concert where no alcohol is involved. Way to taint a phenomenal song.
Beautiful Disaster – 311 v. Better Now – Collective Soul – This song finally made me realize that Collective Soul is getting old. Usually as bands get older they get a more mature sound and everyone sees it as becoming road-hardened or more intelligent or less partying. Apparently Collective Soul lost this memo and decided to go with a younger and more energetic look. Ed Roland got his hair done with blond highlights, cue that same vomit a lil bit feeling. This coupled with the idea that Beautiful Disaster makes me feel cool for being white and it makes this battle not much of a contest.
Beautiful Girl – INXS v. Better Off Dead – New Found Glory – Damn you Michael Hutchence for leaving us so early, INXS was too phenomenal a band to be gone so early, because I refuse to allow the “new” version of INXS into my conception of reality. (“Dirty Vegas” sonofabitch what the hell was anyone thinking??) You want a simple song that implies real beauty, listen to “Beautiful Girl.”
Beautiful Life – Ace of Base v. Better Than Him – Back in the Day – It finally happened! My old college roomies band had their song up against a cupcake that I only downloaded as a joke. Not to take anything away from Swedish pop bands, but seriously my Ace of Base songs are really for only comedic purposes yet I am still not ashamed to own this and “The Sign.” And Better Than Him was on our college radio station on several occasions so some people must have liked it to not diss it to the trash forever after hearing it for the first time. So even though the band is dead, the music lives on. God Bless #19!!! (While the number of my college apartment with these boys, it emphasizes much more than that, it was a way of life, just ask around..)
Beautiful People (cover) – Smashing Pumpkins v. Between a Laugh and a Tear – John Mellencamp – Anything from the Scarecrow album has a special place in my heart because it was the first album I was chronically overexposed to as a young child. By the age of 6 I had heard this album at least 700 times, needless to say it played quite a role in my life then just from the sheer proportion of my life was spent listening to this album. Maybe it is why I like America so much, maybe it is why I wear white t-shirts a lot, maybe it is why I don’t think Indiana is the armpit of America, who knows, who cares.
Because the Night – 10000 Maniacs v. Between Angels and Insects – Papa Roach – The 10,000 Maniacs Unplugged really was quite the show and should be given credit as such. Before Natalie Merchant went all crazy and started listening to nature and whatever other fun things she did, she was really quite the talent but now I am turned off to her, that and I found that “Kind and Generous” video so creepy. However Between Angels and Insects uses profanity quite a great deal of times and when the lead singer flails around as he sings it, you feel how rough his parents divorce must have been. Not that I give a shit about that, I just like the swearing in the song, it makes you feel all “oh shit he said a bad word” and sometimes I like that feeling.
Beer Beer Beer – Irish Drinking Songs v. Beyond Barriers – Tim Reynolds – Timmy, this is a great song, but you know what would make it better??? That’s right, Beer Beer Beer. Moving on.
Beethoven’s 5th – Joe Satriani v. Big Apple Heartbreak – Yellowcard – Yellowcard started in Jacksonville Florida, so whatever Big Apple Heartbreak they had was with some whore groupie, so I really don’t wanna hear it. What I do wanna hear is Joe Satriani’s take on a fantastic classical piece, so let’s do that.
Being Your Walls – Armor for Sleep v. Big Bang Baby – STP – These songs are not either bands respective best so no one really cares who wins cuz we know they aren’t going very far in the tourney the rest of the way. I think Big Bang Baby is a fantastic title for the song though, so it wins out here.
Believe in What You Want – Jimmy Eat World v. Big Blast of Hot Air – Tim Reynolds – Geez, just listen to some of Tim Reynolds guitar work, at first it almost sounds like too much and just way too overbearing and like a jumble of guitar sounds at once. Listen to it further and you just find your jaw dropping lower and lower as it goes on. Really, just try this and I bet it works the same way for you. This is of course if you are musically enlightened, this is really the test, I asked (or made it up, either way, shut up.)
Bell Bottom Blues – Eric Clapton v. Big Cock – Fenix TX – Gee, I wonder who wins here, an absolute rock music and guitar god (Clapton) or some douchebag song about a bird but it’s a play on words talking about a weener. Look, if you wanna talk about weener, just do it, its not so bad, see look, weener weener weener. Done.
Belong – REM v. Big Eyed Fish – DMB – Belong is a very solid entry of the Out of Time album, which has a lot of underrated songs on it after the commercial success of “Losing My Religion” and “Shiny Happy People” which were very important to the success of REM as a band too (I still think Shiny Happy People occurred as a result of chugging too much Nyquil or something but whatever). However Big Eyed Fish tells a lovely story and is so simple. Check out the Lillywhite Session version too if you wanna listen to this puppy. I have loved every version of this song I can listen to and when they couple it with “Bartender” in concerts I get all giddy inside, and I don’t really ooze giddy on a normal day, so it’s a special thing.
Best Imitation of Myself – Ben Folds Five v. Big Machine – Goo Goo Dolls – I feel bad since it feels like every Ben Folds Five song loses right away when they are all very good songs. The luck of the draw can be the un-luck sometimes. Big Machine has quite the energy behind it and I am always a fan of solid lyrics and Big Machine has them with “I’m torn to pieces” and only a few lines later saying “God it’s good to be alive.” Life is beautiful in every instance, sometimes its harder to realize though, and they seem to feel the same way, very awesome.
Blackbird – Beatles v. Big Man with a Gun – NIN – Something with me and the simple ones, Blackbird takes it here.
Big Me – Foo Fighters v. Blackbird (cover) – Sarah McLachlan – Big Me gets major points for a very cool video on this one as well as being a catchy tune that turned me on to them in the first place. Though Nirvana was better Dave Grohl could have done much worse than Foo Fighters.
Big Pimpin – Jay-Z v. Blackdog – Led Zeppelin – Hmm….el Chiefo’s ringtone v. a rock classic. I am gonna get the Led out here. All aplogies to my big brown friend.
Big Rock Candy Mountain – O Brother Soundtrack v. Blame – Collective Soul – It seems the bluegrass guys of O Brother take another hit here as I go with Collective Soul. Despite what I said about “Better Now” please don’t take that as a shot at the band. I absolutely adore Collective Soul and could listen to nothing but them for months at a time to be sure. This song is a fair example of their music and sound, and moves on easily.
Bigger Than My Body – John Mayer v. Blame it on the Rain – Milli Vanilli – I have always liked to think that I am “bigger than my body” so I am right with you John Mayer. Blame it on the Rain always reminds me of my one year at Catholic school in Lombard. The only way I can describe it is as follows: remember in Forrest Gump when he talks about how he fit into the army like one of those little round pegs, well that was me in Catholic school, I could do no wrong and I enjoyed every second of it. Unfortunately I only got to be there for one year, but man, that was quite a year, I have millions of stories that I remember from that too, quite lucky am I. However, the music wins out here and I just like Bigger Than My Body more.
Billie Jean – Michael Jackson v. Bleed – Collective Soul – I am sorry, but if my steps could light up when I walked, I would probably proclaim myself the king of something other than Ramen Nation, which is totally legit by the way. Billie Jean gets the nod cuz that is just flat out awesome.
Binge – Papa Roach v. Bleed American – Jimmy Eat World – Jimmy Eat World is another underrated band not only in the world but as represented thus far in my tournament. Here’s to them and their Andy Kaufman-esque lead singer. And yes, I do in fact Bleed American so I guess theres a tie in there too.
Birmingham – Amanda Marshall v. Blew Away – Smashing Pumpkins – Ok, so when I was the newbie on the ASB board, our giant orientation meeting for everyone going on a trip got to have a “Hey, remember the 90s?” theme. One that my brother mentioned on a visit to Champaign and a theme that I totally championed from there on out. It was a definite hit and the soundtrack I created for that night was such a hit I had to make copies and give them out to each person on the board as an xmas present. The reason I tell this story is that when we had to introduce ourselves we had to mention what our favorite early 90s music band was. I chose Smashing Pumpkins, and Blew Away gets the nod here.
Bitch Please II – Eminem v. Blind – Korn – Ok, both of these songs are exercises in letting out aggression. Blind is on my Workout Music playlist, needless to say, Bitch Please II may be on my “I suck at life would you like to hear me whine about women and degrade them to a point that makes me seem like the worst human being on the planet” playlist. Since I don’t have that playlist, and I do love working out. Blind crushes here.
Bittersweet – Fuel v. Block Rockin Beats – Chemical Brothers – Bittersweet is a really great song but something about the energy created in Block Rockin Beats just gets me goin, I can’t explain it and I don’t have to, cuz its my tournament.
Bittersweet Symphony – The Verve v. Blood Brothers – Papa Roach – Has there ever been another song in a movie more perfect than when Bittersweet Symphony fades in during “Cruel Intentions?” This moment made that movie worth watching to me, not to say the rest didn’t as I did enjoy this movie for sure. It may just be a Reese Witherspoon thing, but I think it goes deeper than that.
Black – Pearl Jam v. Blood on the Ground – Incubus – Another matchup of heavyweight bands, but while Black is very high on my list of Pearl Jam songs that rule, Blood on the Ground is just an average Incubus song. Easy choice here.
Black Balloon – Goo Goo Dolls v. Blue – Smashing Pumpkins – Black Balloon reminds me of the movie “Meet Joe Black” which featured the lovely Claire Forlani who I find attractive, that never hurts a songs credibility. That and the version of Blue that I have is live and the sound isn’t so great so I may be underappreciating its gifts because the sound is crappy.
Black and Blue – New Found Glory v. Blue – VAST – Hmm…I could have Blue or Black AND Blue??? I go for the quantity here.
Black or White – Michael Jackson v. Blue Monday – Orgy – At this point I had lost all faith in Michael Jackson and couldn’t take him seriously anymore, so by default Orgy wins, although I do enjoy the “How Does It Feel” line in this song nearly as much as the original.
Black Rock – OAR v. Blue on Black – Kenny Wayne Sheperd – This was a really tough choice, goin with Black Rock because of the symbolism it holds. I am apparently very transcendental in thinking sometimes and I think Black Rock kind of goes along with that idea.

Round II

Best of Me over Beautiful – Milo beats out Mean Girls, Damn right I got my priorities straight.
Beautiful Day over Better Days
Beautiful Disaster over Beautiful Girl – Good thing the battles are not only over the titles
Better Than Him over Between a Laugh and a Tear – Let’s see, song I heard a million times at 6 vs. song I heard a million times at 19, recently takes precedence.
Between Angels and Insects over Beer Beer Beer
Beethoven’s 5th over Big Bang Baby
Bell Bottom Blues over Big Blast of Hot Air
Big Eyed Fish over Big Machine
Big Me over Blackbird
Blackdog over Blame
Bigger Than My Body over Billie Jean
Bleed American over Blew Away
Blind over Block Rockin Beats – Though both songs rev me up, Blind is on workout music, Block Rockin Beats was left on the cutting room floor, this made the decision easy.
Black over Bittersweet Symphony
Black and Blue over Black Balloon
Black Rock over Blue Monday

Sweet Sixteen

Beautiful Day over Best of Me
Beautiful Disaster over Better Than Him – Sorry, I can only let personal friends carry a song so far, then the music has to play some role
Between Angels and Insects over Beethoven’s 5th
Bell Bottom Blues over Big Eyed Fish
Big Me over Blackdog
Bigger than My Body over Bleed American
Black over Blind
Black Rock over Black and Blue

Elite Eight

Beautiful Disaster over Beautiful Day – Something about the magic in that song, 311 just makes it rock and I love it.
Bell Bottom Blues over Between Angels and Insects – I got turned onto Bell Bottom Blues by a girl who I had dated after we dated, that was certainly an interesting time in my life, and I always have this song that I really do love to look back on it with, that’s pretty cool, again lucky am I.
Bigger Than My Body over Big Me
Black over Black Rock

Final Four

Beautiful Disaster over Bell Bottom Blues – dammit we have one hell of a matchup here. I like the candor in the lyrics for Beautiful Disaster, and the snare roll during the song just is such a spark. The realism and raw energy of Beautiful Disaster make it a slightly more powerful masterpiece than Bell Bottom Blues.
Black over Bigger Than My Body – Black is another masterpiece of a song, lyrically, musically, energywise, and Bigger Than My Body is just a good song. Not a tough one here.

Final Two

Beautiful Disaster - 311 over Black – Pearl Jam - Ok, I literally listened to each song over a dozen times before making this decision. In the end I just really kept humming Beautiful Disaster and when in doubt go with the one that sticks with you the longest.

Well sorry that took so long to finally get another bracket up here. Apparently I feel like I have a life. Ok ok, so what really happened is that Cars and Season 7 of the West Wing came out and I have been watching them constantly and never changing out of my pajamas. That and work, you try to come up with a busier schedule. Anyways, you don't wanna hear about my life, you just wanna read about the awesome music, so here you are...

Round I

Annie Waits – Ben Folds v. Aqueous Transmission – Incubus – Each song is musically brilliant, and naturally I have a story for each one as well. The first time I heard Annie Waits was the first day I met Bert, my roommate from sophomore year in college. Bert is an incredibly interesting person and if you have had the pleasure of meeting or knowing him, you know what I mean. Anywho, upon hearing this song for the first time, he and another friend were ECSTATIC the entire time the song played, as if it was streaming down to them from the heavens, just phenomenal. To be honest I was a little scared at the time, but hey, unbridled passion is something we don’t often get to see these days, so it took a little getting used to. Aqueous Transmission is just one of those Incubus masterpieces, and I got to use it when I went on vacation for one of the more peaceful moments I think in the history of man. This past August I went on vacation to Myrtle Beach, SC with my mom and bro, one of the nights at the resort we were staying at my bro and I decided to go lay in the hammocks (hammocks rule!!) later on in the evening. Naturally we both took our iPods (being the ultimate in white suburban children) and I put this song on first, just laying in an incredibly comfortable hammock right by the ocean with nothing to look at but the night sky and palmetto trees. Unimaginably peaceful and the clarity of thinking that goes on at times like that is just mind-boggling. I would like to have that feeling more often, so Aqueous will move on here.

Another Brick in the Wall – Pink Floyd v. Arc – Pearl Jam – So we have an absolute classic by Pink Floyd vs. Eddie Vedder eerily chanting in a sort of masculine raspy yodeling manner. Not a tough choice here, Another Brick in the Wall movin on…

Another Day – Mest v. Are You In – Incubus – I fell in love with Morning View the first time I heard it, I think Are You In will ride the coattails of my love for the album over a very solid song from Mest, which is one of those fun sounding songs. Fun takes you a long way, but flat out awesomeness typically wins in the end.

Another Day in Paradise – Phil Collins v. Around the World – Red Hot Chili Peppers – We all have a soft spot for synthy sounding electric keyboard sounding machines, but when it’s a song like that going up against a funk laced rock song, it pales in comparison.

Answer the Phone – Sugar Ray v. Ashes in Fall – Rage Against the Machine – Ashes in fall has one of the coolest intros to any song I have ever heard, I am a large fan of Tom Morello, for his guitar exploits and creativity as well as some of his other projects. One of these was when he and several others were arrested for passing out free lunches in Oregon, because it is illegal to do such things in Oregon. Way to fulfill that band’s name, I have mucho respect because of that. Answer the Phone on the other hand, is shallow, simple, but catchy. Also, it gave everyone the silly idea to make it their ringtone on the phones cuz it says “answer the phone” get it?? Hahahaha….I am letting it win because of this.

Ask the Lonely – Journey v. Anthem for the Year 2000 – Silverchair – Dammit all! It is so hard to pick against Journey at any time, I have a major soft spot as you will read in later entries, the story is too brilliant to go into at this point. However, I graduated high school in the year 2000, and this should have been our senior song, but noooo we get “Graduation” by Vitamin C. If you have never heard of the song, I am not surprised, but it takes a long time to get used to a song like that having to have a special place in your heart. I feel this lil ditty by Silverchair represents the spirit of my graduating class far better and I make room in my heart for this song too.

Anthem of Our Dying Day – Story of the Year v. Asshole – Dennis Leary – We all have a little “Asshole” in us, so don’t pretend like you don’t enjoy or do some or all of what Mr. Leary says. It is in this spirit that this song moves on..

Ants Marching – DMB v. At the Stars – Better Than Ezra – The song that put DMB on the map v. the song that put Better Than Ezra on my radar of bands I like. The thing is, I really believe DMB introduced something so different and so interesting in so many facets and this song really shows a lot of those features. Also, I once wrote a parody of Ants Marching that may or may not have been the funniest thing ever on planet earth. I would tell you about it, but then I don’t know how worthwhile life will be for you knowing that something so awesome has already been done.

Any Man of Mine – Shania Twain v. At the Stars (cover) – Howie Day – Ok ok, laugh it up…..keep going…..ok SHUT UP! Anywho, Ms. Twain is a lovely woman and this was one of the songs that brought her to the national forefront, and although it’s cheesy, it energized country music very much. While certainly not a professed fan of country music, I do have sympathy for it in me from back during the days when my father lived in Grand Rapids, MI. I am convinced that unless you are in a college town or very urban area, 90% of radio stations are country, and GR was no different. Soft spot or not though, At the Stars is just awesome, and that’s that.

Any Way You Want It – Journey v. At Your Funeral – Save’s the Day – If the perfect concert were to ever exist, Any Way You want It would be on the very shortlist for songs to open with. At Your Funeral would not. Any Questions?

Anyone, Anyone – Dashboard Confessional v. ATWA – System of a Down – The raw energy of ATWA is just flat out phenomenal, it is not possible to listen to it and not be charged up afterwards. Anyone, Anyone just doesn’t have the “gravitas” (read: balls) if you will to compete.

Anything But Fine – Left Undone v. Authority Song – John Cougar Mellencamp – Music aside on this one, I am going with Authority Song for that fat guy in Charlottesville, VA. I have to give him credit, on New Year’s Eve he got up there and sung this song. The problem is this, Charlottesville is a college town and the hometown of Dave Matthews Band. No one in the small audience that was listening in at the karaoke tent had any clue what he was singing, and he was struggling with the words himself (Hey it was New Years Eve, you try singing in 20 degree weather after mainlining beer for the last 6 hours). This is for that guy, I knew the song, I like the song, and I congratulated him afterwards for the effort. This is just another piece of that congrats.

Anything For You – Gloria Estefan v. Awake – Finch – Ok, so people following this who would start betting on the outcomes of the matchups I am guessing would be wrong (and terribly pathetic as this would obviously be a sign of true gambling addiction) as this may be the upset of the entire tournament so far. I absolutely know how Gloria is feeling in this song, word for word, its insane. I feel like I should just turn in my man card (yes they exist, if you don’t have one you are clearly not a man) and call myself a sissy. Then I remind myself that Gloria is a tough lady, she broke her back before and still can dance around doing that conga thing from that other song of hers. Amen sista, this one’s for you.

Anywhere But Here – Yellowcard v. Awake – Godsmack – Yellowcard has many many better songs, and Awake was used in commercials for the Navy. Nothin says join the Navy and kick some ass like a little Godsmack. I love America.

April 29, 1992 – Sublime v. Azwethinkweiz – Incubus – Ok, though I would have come to the same decision anyways, April 29 gets disqualified in my mind. April 29th 1992 was the day that riots occurred in many cities as a result of the Rodney King beating that took place. Brad Nowell, the lead singer of Sublime, sings about how he took part in the riots but in fact did not. I am not cool with false advertising of this nature. Besides, the term “brain fart” appears in Azwethinkweiz.

Aqualung – Jethro Tull v. Baba O’Reilly – The Who – Aqualung has a great opening riff and then doesn’t really go anywhere. Baba O’Reilly has a great opening sequence and then blows that out of the water when the piano comes in. Good luck finding a song with such pure energy as Baba O’Reilly. And how can you argue with a song that yells out “We’re All Wasted!” Why this is not an anthem in bars across the country, at least the ones I have been to, is a tragedy. Anyone who knows a bar that plays this song often let me know, and I am there.

Baby Got Back – Sir Mix-a-Lot v. Ball and Chain – Social Distortion – Look, I can appreciate an ass as well as anyone, but this takes it to a new level of cheesiness. That coupled with the very interesting sound of Social Distortion lets Ball and Chain move on.

Baby Love – The Supremes v. Ball and Chain – Sublime – Baby Love gets the nod here for family reasons. I once heard from a childhood friend of my mother that she used to do a pretty good impression of the Supremes with a couple of her other friends. I used to do a pretty good impression of Journey with my college roommates. It’s amazing how much you have in common with family members. In honor of that, the ladies of Motown will move on…

Baby I Love Your Way – Peter Frampton v. Ball Tongue – Korn – Look Frampton, you made a good song here and I wish to give you the credit for that, I do enjoy it and listening to it. You will not win here. Ball Tongue was on the mysterious “workout music” cd that my friend Sal created for when he and I used to workout. Our workouts used to last anywhere from 2.5-3 hours and we typically did that 6 days a week, and we chose to do this. The ultimate goal was inspired by the movie American Beauty and its lead character Lester Burnham who states as his goal for exercising as: “I wanna look good naked.” I totally feel that this was a fantastic goal to have in working out. It also reminds me of some of the characters that were prevalent when we would work out…guys like Feel Me Up Goofy (who we almost got into a fight with once), NAKED GUY!!!, and Hella Ripped Man (most intimidating nice person EVER).

Babylon – David Gray v. Ballad for Lost Romantics – New Found Glory – I was always intrigued by this song from David Gray and eventually became a large fan of his but more because of other songs. Ballad for Lost Romantics is shallow, seems a lil whiny about what seems like not very serious romance, but I LOVE it. When the message of a song is to tip your glass to your friends (who happen to be fools that have no meaning) and forget about tomorrow. Fantastic. This would also make a great bar song, I can see complete strangers arm in arm singing this out loud and just living in the moment even if it is just for a moment. It is quite a beautiful thing, shallow as it is.

Babylon (cover) Howie Day v. Band on the Run – Wings – Paul McCartney did his greatest work with the Beatles (One of the Top Ten most obvious statements in music history, someone should hire me for a music magazine right away). Howie Day is the master of the cover song and explains that the reason he played this cover was because it made people happy. If only we all had such good intentions the world would be a much better place.

Babytalk – Everclear v. Bandages – Hot Hot Heat – I totally thought Bandages was some sort of weird song by the White Stripes and I didn’t get it for a while until I found out it was a completely different artist who really isn’t that similar at all. I finally allowed myself to listen objectively at that point and hey, aside from the repeating of the song title in the chorus, its pretty fun.

Back on the Chain Gang – The Pretenders v. Bang a Gong – TREX – I don’t really know if Chrissie Hynde or any of the Pretenders were ever in a chain gang, but I kinda believe it after listening to this song. So while I am a strong supporter of Banging a Gong and getting it on, I have to defer to artistic quality here and go with the Pretenders.

Back to You – Jeffrey Gaines v. Bang and Blame – REM – Monster is an incredible album and hopefully history will give it the credit it deserves. Bang and Blame is just one of many many good songs on this album, and it wins here.

Back to You – John Mayer v. Bartender – DMB – Yes John Mayer, I understand that your songs make girls “coo” if you will, and I find that very useful at times. Bartender is one of those songs that shows the real fallibility of people, defines reality, and does it in a way that you wouldn’t really ever think of. I particularly like the line “Bartender, the wine that’s drinking me….” Apparently control is an illusion, I like that thought and don’t at the same time. As the boys from Guinness would say, Brilliant!

Bad – U2 v. Basketcase – Green Day – Basketcase was the hit single that put Dookie on the map and made it become one of the “government issued albums” of that era. Yes I own it, and yes I like it. Bonus points for a cool video too.

Bad Day – Fuel v. Battery – Metallica – Both good songs here, tough choice as are most of these matchups. Win goes to Battery here for the reminders of the Metallica show I went to way back when. Watching my friend Mark bang his head faster than anyone I have ever seen bang their head (even funnier since his hair is not very long at all). My guess is that he lost at least 8-10 million brain cells just from that episode, which amazes me to this day seeing as how he is finished with grad school. Another highlight from that concert occurred during the tradition of the spotlight traveling around the crowd and upon stopping on a girl and then she flashes. Well Mark, Ophy, and I (the only ones not too cheap to pony up the dough to go to a Metallica concert, cheap bastards…) were lucky enough to have a few rather attractive young females in the row below us, and the spotlight definitely landed on them at one point. You want a funny snapshot, here you go: Ophy standing there with his jaw dropped and my jumping on the seat holding his shoulders so I don’t fall with the same jaw dropped look. Call me perverted if you would like, I can take it, but don’t mess with the beauty of that experience ok.

Bad Habit – Offspring v. Battle of Who Could Care Less – Ben Folds Five – Any true mix cd or tape that is for driving on long road trips or short road trips should include Bad Habit. It is the absolute pinnacle of road rage songs, maybe a bit too far, but we have all felt that way before.

Bad Magick – Godsmack v. Battleflag – Lo-Fidelity All-Stars – Bad Magick is a solid yet unspectacular song by Godsmack. Battleflag spurs quite a load of energy inside you and gives me the impression of “game on.” This would be a very good song to have as an entrance song if I were ever on a professional sports team and needed to attach a song to myself. It may not win the competition even for my entrance song, but would definitely be one I would use to pump up before a game to, just high energy, slightly angry but not too angry, good stuff.

Bad Religion – Godsmack v. Be Good to Yourself – Journey – I really wish Steve Perry wasn’t such a douchebag, cuz he really does have one of the most amazing voices ever in the history of rock and roll. That said, Journey is still amazing, do not question my faith in the band. I have spent way too many pelvic thrusts on this band for anyone to question my allegiance. Yeah, you might be saying, “pelvic thrusts have no bearing on faith in a band.” Well you know what?, have you seen my pelvic thrust?, that’s right, its magic. If I were a foreign diplomat, that is how we would come to peace agreements. My pelvic thrust is like Chuck Norris if I had to make an analogy, for more info, go here.. http://www.chucknorrisfacts.com/

Badfish – Sublime v. Be Like That – 3 Doors Down – The 80s had John Hughes movies, Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles. My generation gets things like the American Pie series. I will not complain at all, we get the hand we are dealt. Be Like That was a main song in the American Pie 2 movie. It gets appreciation for that.

Round 2

Aqueous Transmission over Another Brick in the Wall – I am telling you, that experience was truly powerful for me
Are You In over Around the World
Anthem for the Year 2000 over Answer the Phone
Ants Marching over Asshole
Any Way You Want it over At the Stars
ATWA over Authority Song
Awake over Anything for You
Baba O’Reilly over Azwethinkweiz – the novelty wears off and musical genius prevails…
Baby Love over Ball and Chain – Sometimes I do not need to explain myself and you just sit there and deal with it, you are free to argue with me…
Ballad for Lost Romantics over Ball Tongue – Working out is important, but so is performing entertaining toasts that involve beer
Babylon (cover) over Bandages
Bang and Blame over Back on the Chain Gang
Bartender over Basketcase
Battery over Bad Habit – Yeah, another thing I remember from that Metallica concert, two girls were totally making out for at least an hour and a half AND I lost my voice for a good two days afterwards. I know these two are totally unrelated, but come on, that’s quite the experience.
Bad Moon Rising over Battleflag
Be Like That over Be Good to Yourself

Sweet Sixteen

Are You In over Aqueous Transmission – Battle of two great songs from the same great album, the stuff dreams are made of…
Ants Marching over Anthem for the Year 2000
Any Way You Want It over ATWA – Does anyone know what ATWA stands for? Air Trees Water Animals, and did you know System of a Down is really into Charles Manson? I have a picture with a guy who sort of looks like Charlie Manson when I volunteered in Maine. (maybe Ill show it to you all later) It was truly awesome and scary, the only thing that scares me about Journey is Steve Augeri’s chunky nips in the Journey DVD I used to watch. Since Steve Perry is singing in this version, too easy my friends.
Baba O’Reilly over Awake
Ballad for Lost Romantics over Baby Love – The Madness stops….or continues on, a ballad in an elite eight???
Babylon (cover) over Bang and Blame
Battery over Bartender
Bad Moon Rising over Be Like That

Elite Eight

Ants Marching over Are You In
Baba O’Reilly over Any Way You Want It
Battery over Bad Moon Rising
Ballad for Lost Romantics over Babylon (cover)

Final Four

Baba O’Reilly over Ants Marching – Though I have heard nothing quite like when Dave closes a show with Ants Marching and the entire crowd is apoplectic over the whole thing, I was totally blown away during a Pearl Jam concert when they closed with Baba O’Reilly. If a band that isn’t even the original artist can blow me away, then the real thing must be even better.

Battery over Ballad for Lost Romantics – That image of Mark banging his head faster than a strobe light flashes, girls boobs, girls making out, the awesome guy from Sevendust, refusing to listen to the Kid Rock portion of the show and finding others who were doing the same, these are the kinds of things that make life great, and make songs great in our lives. I keep talking about the concert but that should take nothing away from the song itself, which is a high energy, Sean should not listen to it while driving song. When I listen to it while driving, I am usually driving around 70-75 on the highway, when its halfway done I am doing at least 100, it just mesmerizes you to do everything faster.

The Final Two

Baba O’Reilly over Battery – There really isn’t a whole lot to say here, The Who and Metallica are both phenomenal bands, in my opinion this is the best Who song, but not the best Metallica song. That certainly plays a role. Also, when I heard this song in the trailer for American Beauty I was fascinated by it, being associated with a movie as great as American Beauty can only make your stock rise, and it certainly rose high enough to win here.

So here we are for Bracket #2, first of all Happy Halloween to everyone, definitely one of the best holidays ever. ( I think any holiday that is highlighted by having and eating lots of candy is a big winner) There is no spooky or eerie theme for the bracket here, just business as usual...

Round I

Airbag – Radiohead v. All In The Suit You Wear – Stone Temple Pilots – Two completely weird dudes here in Thom Yorke and Scott Weiland. Airbag however is nothing spectacular, and All In the Suit You Wear is a simple rock song and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Alcohol and Oxygen – Anadivine v. All Mixed Up – 311 – I am slowly finding that 311 is better than I have ever given them credit for, and think about the staying power that they have accomplished recently as well. It is only because of that staying power that I will excuse them for that horrendous version of “Lovesong.” Stick to the laid back, loved by stoners unique style that made you great, which All Mixed Up is a very solid version of.

Alice Childress – Ben Folds Five v. All My Fault – Fenix TX – You Know What?, sometimes when you realize that everything is your fault, all you wanna do is flail around and check things into walls. Fenix TX provides a good soundtrack for that.

Alien’s Exist – Blink 182 v. All My Rowdy Friends – Hank Williams Jr. – You know, I made sure to get All My Rowdy Friends after a Monday Night Football game one year and I found out a very simple truth. The song is only good when 3 and a half hours of football come after it, apparently it is one of those association things. Alien’s Exist has its moments, I am always a fan of rants like “nice to know ya, paranoia”

Alive – Pearl Jam v. All Night Thing – Temple of the Dog – I went to a Pearl Jam concert, which ranked as one of the very best concerts I have ever been to. They didn’t play Alive during the regular set, and I was all like “What the Fuck?!?” Then the encore came and nothing….then the second came and BOOM! Black, Alive, and an incredible version of Baba O’Reilly…talk about everyone in the crowd erupting at the last possible minute, what a way to leave the show, and Alive was a big part of that.

All – Collective Soul v. All or None – Pearl Jam – Both songs certainly don’t jump out of the speakers and please you oh so well. Both songs show off each lead singers distinctive voice which is always nice in each band’s case. All or None has just slightly more listenability and that won’t take it far, but will take it past this matchup.

All About Her – New Found Glory v. All Right Now – Free – Great opening riff, great chorus that gets stuck in your head and you don’t mind. Yeah, that’s the ticket, All Right Now crushes All About Her.

All Along the Watchtower – DMB v. All She Wants to Do is Dance – Don Henley – Yes, I understand that Don Henley had a successful solo career. I want to remind everyone of that because there will not be much love any further in this rambling of mine. Watchtower is amazing really, and any of the artists who ever did it did it well. Dylan, Young, Hendrix, DMB, all the versions are very good. The DMB one has a special place in my heart not only for the different twist and more creepy/eerie vibe with it, but because of an idea I had when I was camping with friends. It was about 2 am or later sittin around the fire, already having drunk more things than I can recount and smoking more cigarettes than I have lived days in my life. We were listening to music and DMB’s version of Watchtower comes on and when it gets to the “wind begins to howl” part, I mention how funny it would be to have smoke spew out of Dave’s mouth when he yells HOWL!!! We all agreed and then spent the next few minutes trying to recreate this. That was one hell of a coughing fit, but dear lord was it worth it. Moral of the story is camping with friends rules, and this song played a role in that.

All Along the Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix v. All Star – Smashmouth – Anthem of the summer before my senior year in high school, or anthem of awesomeness that has been around for nearly 30 years? Yeah, flash in the pan is nice, but staying power, gotta love it. Hendrix wins.

All Apologies – Nirvana v. All the Small Things – Blink 182 – Credit is due to Blink 182 for creating a video making fun of boy bands, but they just pulled it off a little too well putting them in nearly a similar place in my state of mind for that song. All Apologies gets extra points as well for being a way for me to say I’m sorry without saying I’m sorry. It makes me sound English or Australian when I say “oh, all apologies ma’am” Hey, chicks dig foreign accents, so I’ll take whatever help I can get.

All Deliberate Speed – Mae v. All The Things She Said – TATU – Cultural Significance beats out music on this song. All Deliberate Speed is a better song, although could use a singer with slightly better range, as it seems our young friend in Mae is struggling with the high notes. No worries about that in the electronic sounds of TATU, whose voices are so doctored who even knows if it is them singing on any of their songs. Then again, they were Russian teenagers who behaved suspiciously like lesbians. For some reason the world loved them and was fascinated by them. Can’t argue with conventional wisdom there, haha.

All For You – Sister Hazel v. All You Need – Sublime – All For You for some reason was always on when I was playing this NASCAR game on my old computer, and those were fun times dammit all, and that’s all the explanation I need.

All Fucked Up – Everclear v. All You Need is Love – The Beatles – Most people I know make fun of me when I proclaim myself an Everclear fan, with the common criticism being “all of their songs sound the same.” Hey, if they get it right once and just slightly switch it up every now and again what’s wrong with that, they have families and themselves to feed. Extra credit given for using a swear in the title, it shows that they have “balls.” But let’s face reality, All You Need is Love is far better. It convinces us that we are only human despite the many times and situations we face that make us feel like we need to be something else. Of course it also rams into our head that all we need is love, so I guess people who are against love would hate this song. Sorry.

All I Need is a Miracle – Mike and the Mechanics v. All You Wanted – Michelle Branch – Ok, so the reason I have “Miracle” is because I remember one day looking through my mom’s cassette tapes in the car in like 1988 on the way to soccer practice and I found one from Mike and the Mechanics, and I thought it was a cool name. I literally didn’t realize they existed until maybe three years ago when I was like, hey I wonder what songs made Mike and the Mechanics famous during a project when I was looking for late 80s/early 90s music, and this was the song I checked out. I like it for sure, but I bet it sounded cooler back then, haha. Ms. Branch’s entry wins here however. I would like to point out that this was difficult because in this song she tells us “if you want to, I can save you” so my old roommate and I went to her concert at the Canopy in Champaign and she cancelled it because she “passed out” so we signed up to get free stuff that would get sent to us and it never did. So not only did she not save me, but she didn’t even give me free stuff for going to a concert that didn’t even happen. Bitch. This just proves that I don’t hold a grudge, either that or I still hold out hope that one day my mailbox will be filled with something from Michelle Branch.

All I Want – Offspring v. Alone This Holiday – The Used – Here’s why Alone This Holiday wins: Bert, the lead singer, sings about a breakup that happens before the holidays and how Christmas is your own then. Well he once dated Kelly Osbourne, and she sang quite possibly the worst song ever in “Shut Up” so I totally understand why he would want to be alone this holiday.

Always – Back in the Day v. All I Want Is You – U2 – Sorry Mikey and Jon (my college roommates who were in the band Back in the Day), I enjoyed your guys’ music but All I Want is You is just a phenomenal song. Maybe somewhere down the line a song will advance, not that it matters anymore, but we shall see.

Always Be – Jeffrey Gaines v. Amityville – Eminem – Always Be has talent in the song, music and solid lyrics. Amityville does not. This choice was not too hard, hopefully my explanation was easy enough to follow there.

Am I Wrong – Brand New v. Amphetamine – Everclear – Well it certainly is not because I am sore because Brand New cancelled a show of theirs that I was going to go to. Get this, because the guys were jumping across the beds in their hotel room and one of the band members smashed his head on the end table between the beds and was in the hospital. Wow, way to party like rockstars boys. Amphetamine wins here really because of the line “she’s perfect in a fucked up way.” I want you all to think about this, and go ahead and make the she a he if that’s the way you swing, whatever gender you prefer is fine by me, how often is someone you are interested in or date “perfect in a fucked up way.” Poetry in motion right there, and presented in a high energy way, I’m a fan.

AM Radio – Everclear v. Amsterdam – Coldplay – The prevailing image I have of AM Radio is of Art Alexakis in a Portland TrailBlazers jersey singing this song which steals from some older songs to make this one up. Because of this Amsterdam just has to be decent to take the win here. It paints a pretty picture in my head, of walking down a snowy street, being introspective. Quite a few songs can do that for me, but it’s an image I like, so we’ll go with it.

Amanda – Boston v. Amsterdam – Guster – Just a quick note about me here, typically when I first hear songs, I never like them, and it takes quite a few listens before I really start to appreciate them. On the rare case that I do like a song right away, I either learn to not like it very much, or its always “just ok.” In the case of Amsterdam, I liked it immediately and loved it further after listening to it more and more. Believe me I listened to it a lot during the summer and fall of 2003. I was fascinated with Boston during this time, and during the baseball playoffs that year, as a passionate Red Sox fan, kept with honoring superstition and listened to this album before and after every game in the playoffs. It didn’t work as Aaron Boone hit the homer to knock the Red Sox out of the playoffs. Even though it ended on a sour note, that summer/fall was an amazing time in my life, with many many stories that I haven’t included here simply because it might be one too many tangents, and Amsterdam was part of the soundtrack for it.

Amazed – Lonestar v. Amy – Ryan Adams – Each of these songs do not have special meaning to me really. I think Amy is a pretty name however, so I guess we will let that win.

Amber -311 v. Ana’s Song – Silverchair – Amber will always be one of the very few memories I have of “September,” which can best be described as approximately the one month I remember very little of, but needless to say was hilariously funny times where I ate an inordinate amount of junk food. A very positive set of memories (or lack thereof indeed), but I think I’ll go with Ana’s Song which is a powerful song from Silverchair that chronicles the singer’s difficulties with anorexia. The fact that a man can admit he has anorexia should be something we give credit to, not to mention the song is good.

America The Beautiful – Frank Sinatra v. And She Was – Talking Heads – Sinatra is an amazing singer obviously and has many songs that only a man of his talent could do. His version of America the Beautiful seems almost ordinary though, just a plain run through to show his patriotism. And She Was just is fun, it feels fun, sounds fun, and its corny being from the 80s. Recipe for success I think.

America The Beautiful – Ray Charles v. And So It Goes – Billy Joel – Let me get this out of the way. I think And So It Goes is a very beautiful song and I enjoy it very much. HOWEVER, you know the things I just mentioned about Frank Sinatra’s version of America the Beautiful simply being an exercise just to run though and hit the notes of essentially. Well Ray Charles version is about the exact opposite, it actually feels like he believes each and every word of the song, which is an accomplishment since the song was written a long long time ago. Also, this song is in the 4th of July scene of “The Sandlot” when the boys get to play their only night game of the year because the fireworks light up the sky just enough to play baseball. That scene and this song reek of Americana and the simple beauty of it, and I told you before and will many times in the future I think as well, I love America, and The Sandlot.

American Gigolo – Weezer v. Angel – DMB – The story of two great bands, in my opinion anyways, and two songs from two albums of each that really were not the best in each of their pantheons. Everyday by DMB at least grew on me, Maladroit did not grow as much. Angel is the winner here.

American Girl – Tom Petty v. Angel Band – O Brother Soundtrack – I really enjoyed the movie O Brother Where Art Thou, and I especially enjoyed the bluegrass/old-timey music they chose to focus on in the Coen brothers adaptation of the Odyssey. I am thinking that in my enjoyment though, I should have avoided mentioning this fascination at a family party on Thanksgiving. When we all got together again on Christmas, I received several copies of the DVD and VHS versions of the movie and several versions of the soundtrack. I decided at that point again I was never saying I really liked anything in front of them unless I wanted at least 5 of them by Christmas. Let’s just hope we never talk about me getting married at any point there. There will be no harem’s full of mail order brides for Sean. But back to reality, American Girl wins, cuz Tom Petty rules, and I’d be the Mad Hatter everyday, not just Halloween, if he hadn’t taken the idea first.

American Girls – Counting Crows v. Angel From Montgomery – DMB – It seems like Dave may have had the same dream I do of being in a gospel choir, Angel From Montgomery makes me feel like that, unfortunately it is no match for my love of American girls. Credit given to the Counting Crows for picking a song title that I would be such a fan of.

American Pie – Don McLean v. Angel of Harlem – U2 – American Pie is a good song in small doses, what sucks is that it is 8:34 long. Maybe if we cut out 6 or 7 verses and a few choruses in there it would be more bearable. Angel of Harlem checks in at 3:49 and I do not get sick of it during any second of that time. Easy winner here.

American Skin – Bruce Springsteen v. Angel of Mine – Monica – Ok, Angel of Mine seems to be far fetched given my musical taste right. Well, here is just a sample of what kind of music was popular when I was in high school. We all had to find some songs from the other genres that we could stand so we could talk like we were cool, or at least pretend (my way). This was my shot at it. American Skin is great all around though, making a political statement regarding the Amadou Diallo case, notably in the repetition of “41 Shots” over and over. If you don’t remember or know about Diallo, he was a man who lost his keys and was trying to get into his apartment building and was confronted by police and when reaching for his ID was shot 41 times by New York police officers. Obviously you can see why I and many many others would be outraged that an innocent unarmed man trying to get into his home apparently needed to be shot at 41 times. I could go on and on about how awful this tragedy was and I did in a paper I wrote about it, so ask me about it sometime. (An odd note here, one of the policemen who were the shooters names is Sean Carroll. Talk about a letdown when I Google my own name).

American Woman – The Guess Who v. Angels – Robbie Williams – Robbie, believe me, I would love to give you a sympathy win here because no one remembers you were the one to first put this song on the map, not Jessica Simpson. However, the original American Woman gets a sympathy win because of what Lenny Kravitz did to it. That and that scene in American Beauty when Lester is singing it in the minivan on the way to work in a suit and smoking pot. One of the coolest scenes in a movie and Kevin Spacey really pulled it off well. In addition to the sympathy, the raw energy of the song is very good and makes you want to listen to it.

Americana – Offspring v. Angels Would Fall – Melissa Etheridge – The title song of an incredible album going up against a song that is very good and underrated during the Lilith Fair era when lesbian semi-rock was all the rage. Believe it or not it was a tough choice, but Offspring takes it here because though I can respect the music, I am way closer to tainted youth than I am a lesbian.

Amish Paradise – Weird Al Yankovic v. Annabella’s Song – Everclear – Amish Paradise may be one of Weird Al’s best parodies, especially with the scene where he pretends to be the really fat guy who is sweating profusely from the original “Gangsta’s Paradise”, but is obviously amish in his version, too funny. Annabella’s Song is a very good song, I prefer the alternate version of the song that I have to the one on the album. The one on the album is just too slow and makes the song feel agonizing, my version feels more natural and I have no idea why the two are different and why they decided to go slower.

Round 2

All Mixed Up – 311 over All In the Suit You Wear – Stone Temple Pilots
All My Fault – Fenix TX over Alien’s Exist – Blink 182
Alive – Pearl Jam over All or None – Pearl Jam
All Along the Watchtower – DMB over All Right Now – Free
All Along the Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix over All Apologies – Nirvana
All the Things She Said – TATU over All For You – Sister Hazel – Never underestimate the power of Russian girls
All You Need Is Love – The Beatles over All You Wanted – Michelle Branch
All I Want Is You – U2 over Alone This Holiday – The Used
Amphetamine – Everclear over Always Be – Jeffrey Gaines
Amsterdam – Guster over Amsterdam – Coldplay – I totally forgot about another Guster – Amsterdam story that really makes it special to me. I went searching for a music video for this song, being that it was a single I thought there might be. When I found it, it featured a THREE WHEELED CAR, which I have been fascinated with ever since watching old Mr. Bean shows on channel 11 (those were the days). Although now I absolutely know what to talk about at Thanksgiving with my family….I can’t wait to have 5 Three Wheeled Car’s. Oh, but I can never have enough, so please, if you are thinking of a gift for me, Three Wheeled Car….I’m not joking.
Ana’s Song – Silverchair over Amy – Ryan Adams
America the Beautiful – Ray Charles over And She Was – Talking Heads
American Girl – Tom Petty over Angel – DMB
American Girls – Counting Crows over Angel of Harlem – U2
American Skin – Bruce Springsteen over American Woman – The Guess Who
Annabella’s Song – Everclear over Americana – Offspring

Sweet Sixteen

All Mixed Up – 311 over All My Fault – Fenix TX
All Along the Watchtower – DMB over Alive – Pearl Jam
All Along the Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix over All The Things She Said – TATU – Hey, at least I still have the things that matter right in my heart…
All You Need Is Love – The Beatles over All I Want Is You – U2
Amsterdam – Guster over Amphetamine – Everclear – Apparently the song about the town that is famous for drug use is superior to the song about the actual drug itself
America The Beautiful – Ray Charles over Ana’s Song – Silverchair – Silverchair is from Australia, showing my American pride here.
American Girl – Tom Petty over American Girls – Counting Crows – Apparently I am not a ménage a trois man choosing one over a group…
American Skin – Bruce Springsteen over Annabella’s Song – Everclear

Elite Eight

All Along the Watchtower – DMB over All Mixed Up – 311
All You Need Is Love – The Beatles over All Along the Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix
Amsterdam - Guster over America the Beautiful – Ray Charles
American Skin – Bruce Springsteen over American Girl – Tom Petty

Final Four

All You Need Is Love – the Beatles over All Along the Watchtower – DMB – My guess is that something in the simple nature of All You Need Is Love appeals to me. I have always been a person who attempts to simplify things as best I can. Watchtower has quite the drunken memory attached to it, but then again, I used to listen to all my Beatles songs in order to do my homework faster so I could hit up $1 bottle night on Wednesday nights in school. Like I said before, at least I have my priorities straight…
Amsterdam – Guster over American Skin – Bruce Springsteen – My complete adoration of three wheeled cars and happiness and fun win out over a truly special song that evokes sadness and the true ugliness society can have.

Final Two

Amsterdam – Guster over All You Need Is Love – the Beatles – Really both of these songs were very important to my life in my junior year in college. If I had to look back and pick a theme song for that specific time frame, Amsterdam gets the nod.