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.