REM song tournament: Lament Wins!

[stip]

I found my team from last tournament. The only song I took twice was Houston.

I'm a bit surprised. My team felt more familiar to me than that

apparently we only had 8 people last time, so the teams are also a little more stacked.

[philpritchard]

I found my team from last tournament. The only song I took twice was Houston.

I'm a bit surprised. My team felt more familiar to me than that

apparently we only had 8 people last time, so the teams are also a little more stacked.

Huh... that's kind of good to know. I thought I did worse this time around because there are a couple songs on my team I didn't really want whereas I remember feeling like I got everything I wanted last time. Turns out it was just harder to get what I wanted.

I'm guessing I have a bit of overlap.

[stip]

okay, round is closed

[stip]

Close matches

Stip 8, Chud 5

Phil 7, Kaius, 6

Phil and Stip advance.

Round 2 up shortly.

[stip]

Round 2
2. Lament vs. Stip
3. DcT vs. Chris H2
4. Darth_Vedder vs. PhilPritchard
5. PryTo vs. Platy

Spoiler: show

Lament
1. Country Feedback
2. At My Most Beautiful
3. Electron Blue
4. Fall on me
5. Electrolite
6. Talk About the Passion
7. We All Go Back to Where We Belong
8. Time After Time
9. Green Grow The Rushes
10. The One I Love
11. I Don't Sleep, I Dream
12. I'm Gonna DJ
13. Stand
14. Walk it Back
15. Beachball
16. Monty Got a Raw Deal

vs.

Stip
1. You Are the Everything
2. Uberlin
3. Losing My Religion
4. So. Central Rain
5. What if We Give it Away?
6. Leave
7. Try Not to Breathe
8. Finest Worksong
9. Life and How to Live It
10. I Wanted to be Wrong
11. Houston
12. Chorus and the Ring
13. Star 69
14. Crazy
15. Parakeet
16. West of the Fields

***

Chris_h_2
1. E-bow the Letter
2. Find the River
3. Half a World Away
4. Disturbance at the Heron House
5. Daysleeper
6. What's the Frequency, Kenneth
7. Feeling Gravity's Pull
8. The Flowers of Guatemala
9. Sitting Still
10. Pop Song 89
11. Beat a Drum
12. Hollow Man
13. Boy in the Well
14. Gardening at Night
15. Alligator/Aviator/Autopilot/Antimatter
16. Rockville (Don't Go Back To)

vs.

Durdencommatlyler
1. How the West Was Won and Where it Got Us
2. It's the End of the World as We Know It
3. Man on the Moon
4. These Days
5. Strange Currencies
6. Get Up
7. Lotus
8. Camera
9. She Just Wants To Be
10. Oh My Heart
11. Accelerate
12. Shinny Happy People
13. We Walk
14. Wanderlust
15. First We Take Manhattan
16. Auctioneer (Another Engine)

***

Darth_Vedder
1. Drive
2. Radio Free Europe
3. Begin the Begin
4. Driver 8
5. Circus Envy
6. Little America
7. Orange Crush
8. Binky the Doormat
9. Near Wild Heaven
10. Oddfellows Local 151
11. Bad Day
12. Sing for the Submarine
13. Why Not Smile
14. I'll Take the Rain
15. High Speed Train
16. All the Best

vs.


PhilPritchard
1. The Lifting
2. Me in Honey
3. Maps and Legends
4. Until the Day is Done
5. Bang and Blame
6. Blue
7. Letter Never Sent
8. So Fast, So Numb
9. Final Straw
10. Exhuming McCarthy
11. 9-9
12. Hallelujah
13. You're in the Air
14. The Wrong Child
15. Just a Touch
16. Ignoreland

***
ThePlatypus
1. The Great Beyond
2. Nightswimming
3. Perfect Circle
4. Imitation of Life
5. Cuyahoga
6. King of Birds
7. Walk Unafraid
8. Second Guessing
9. Leaving New York
10. Man Sized Wreath
11. Every Day is Yours to Win
12. Good Advices
13. I Took Your Name
14. I Remember California
15. Low
16. The Wake Up Bomb

vs.

Pryto
1. It Happened Today
2. Living Well is the Best Revenge
3. Welcome to the Occupation
4. Swan Swan H
5. Let Me In
6. Turn You Inside Out
7. Pretty Persuasion
8. Sad Professor
9. Wendell Gee
10. Endgame
11. Pilgrimage
12. All the Way to Reno
13. Star me Kitten
14. Carnival of Sorts (Boxcars)
15. New Test Leper
16. Aftermath

[stip]

Okay, lets do some voting!
Stip
1. You Are the Everything-5
2. Uberlin-4.5
3. Losing My Religion-5
4. So. Central Rain-5
5. What if We Give it Away?-4
6. Leave-5
7. Try Not to Breathe-5
8. Finest Worksong-5
9. Life and How to Live It-5
10. I Wanted to be Wrong-4.5
11. Houston-4.5
12. Chorus and the Ring-4
13. Star 69-4
14. Crazy-4
15. Parakeet-3.5
16. West of the Fields-4

Total: 72

Lament

1. Country Feedback-5
2. At My Most Beautiful-4
3. Electron Blue-3.5
4. Fall on me-4.5
5. Electrolite-5
6. Talk About the Passion-3
7. We All Go Back to Where We Belong-4.5
8. Time After Time-4
9. Green Grow The Rushes-4.5
10. The One I Love-5
11. I Don't Sleep, I Dream-3
12. I'm Gonna DJ-4.5
13. Stand-4
14. Walk it Back-3.5
15. Beachball-4.5
16. Monty Got a Raw Deal-4

Total 66.5

This is a rally strong team, with probably their best song plus Electrolite, a few songs I've been really into lately (Electron Blue, We All Go Back... and Green Grow the Rushes), and some personal favorite album closers that may not be classics but I really love (Beachball and I'm Gonna DJ). But I'm just not a fan of I Don't Sleep and talk about the Passion, though I suspect those choices are gonna do you more good than harm.


Now for the crucial album vs. album test

Murmur: Stip
Reckoning: Stip
Fables: Stip
Pageant: Lament
Document: Tie
Green: Stip
Out of Time: Lament
Automatic: Stip
Monster: Stip
Hi Fi: Lament (barely)
Up: Lament
Reveal: Lament
Around the Sun: Stip
Accelerate: Tie
Collapse: Stip
Non Album: Lament

Stip 8, Lament 6, Tie 2


I'm voting for me but this was close. If not for two songs I'm a big fan of just about everything here

[stip]

Chris vs. DcT

1. E-bow the Letter-5
2. Find the River-5
3. Half a World Away-5
4. Disturbance at the Heron House-4.5
5. Daysleeper-4.5
6. What's the Frequency, Kenneth-4.5
7. Feeling Gravity's Pull-3
8. The Flowers of Guatemala-3
9. Sitting Still-4.5
10. Pop Song 89-4
11. Beat a Drum-3.5
12. Hollow Man-3
13. Boy in the Well-3.5
14. Gardening at Night-4.5
15. Alligator/Aviator/Autopilot/Antimatter-4
16. Rockville (Don't Go Back To)-4

Chris has an outstanding team other than a few random picks. Really until 7-8 he may well have had my favorite team. But I'm not a big fan of Feeling Gravity's Pull or Flowers of Guatemala. Hollow Man is, in theory, everything REM does well, but for some reason has never stood out to me. I think it's the nasal quality to stipe's vocal. E-bow may be a top five. Find the River is probably a top 1.

65.5

vs.

Durdencommatlyler
1. How the West Was Won and Where it Got Us-4
2. It's the End of the World as We Know It-5
3. Man on the Moon-4.5
4. These Days-4.5
5. Strange Currencies-5
6. Get Up-3
7. Lotus-4.5
8. Camera-3
9. She Just Wants To Be-3
10. Oh My Heart-4.5
11. Accelerate-4
12. Shinny Happy People-4
13. We Walk-3.5
14. Wanderlust-3
15. First We Take Manhattan-4
16. Auctioneer (Another Engine)-4

End of the world is a top 5 song for me. There's a number of of other strong songs on here, but not many of my top top favorites. I love how the west was won, but that's a tough sell when E-bow and electrolite were still there

63.5

And album by album

Murmur: Chris
Reckoning: Chris
Fables: DcT (I love auctioneer)
Pageant: DcT
Document: DcT
Green: Chris
Out of Time: Chris
Automatic: Chris
Monster: DcT (very close)
Hi FI: Chris
Up: DcT (very close)
Reveal: Chris
Around the Sun: Chris
Accelerate: DcT
Collapse: DcT
Misc: Chris

Chris 9, DcT 7. Interesting--this was a lot closer.

Vote for Chris. But this ended up being a lot closer than I expected it to be. Joey has a very good team. Just not a super flashy one.

[stip]

Darth_Vedder
1. Drive-5
2. Radio Free Europe-4.5
3. Begin the Begin-5
4. Driver 8-5
5. Circus Envy-4.5
6. Little America-5
7. Orange Crush-3
8. Binky the Doormat-4.5
9. Near Wild Heaven-3
10. Oddfellows Local 151-3.5
11. Bad Day-4.5
12. Sing for the Submarine-3.5
13. Why Not Smile-3
14. I'll Take the Rain-2.5
15. High Speed Train-2.5
16. All the Best-2.5

This was a really strong team until the last few picks, where our tastes start to diverge a little bit

57.5

Have you heard that alternate why not smile? I like it more than the version on Up.

vs.


PhilPritchard
1. The Lifting-5
2. Me in Honey-5
3. Maps and Legends-3
4. Until the Day is Done-5
5. Bang and Blame-3.5
6. Blue-4
7. Letter Never Sent-4.5
8. So Fast, So Numb--4.5
9. Final Straw-4.5
10. Exhuming McCarthy-3.5
11. 9-9-4
12. Hallelujah-3
13. You're in the Air-2.5
14. The Wrong Child-2.5
15. Just a Touch-3.5
16. Ignoreland-4.5

Strong finish with Ignoreland (then again all the automatic songs are great). But there are a few songs in here I just flat out dislike. The Lifting deserves to be a first round pick and I'm glad phil took it

62

and album by album

Murmur: Darth
Reckoning: darth (barely)
Fables: darth
pagent: darth
document :phil (barely)
Green: darth
Out of Time: Phil (barely)
Automatic: Darth
Monster: darth
HiFI: Phil (barely)
Up: Darth (barely)
Reveal: Phil
Around the Sun: Phil
Accelerate: Phil
Collapse: Phil
Misc: darth

Darth: 9, Phil; Interesting. Darth wins the electoral college vote. But Phil's team obliterates Darth's on the post up records to the point that he still gets my overall vote.

Phil (much closer than I would have thought)

[stip]

ThePlatypus
1. The Great Beyond-4
2. Nightswimming-5
3. Perfect Circle-4.5
4. Imitation of Life-4
5. Cuyahoga-3.5
6. King of Birds-5
7. Walk Unafraid-4
8. Second Guessing-2.5
9. Leaving New York-4
10. Man Sized Wreath-4.5
11. Every Day is Yours to Win-3.5
12. Good Advices-3
13. I Took Your Name-3.5
14. I Remember California-3
15. Low-3.5
16. The Wake Up Bomb-3

Nightswimming is top 10, but the rest of this team has a bit too many pretty good songs, and not enough great ones for my taste.

58.5

vs.

Pryto
1. It Happened Today-5
2. Living Well is the Best Revenge-5
3. Welcome to the Occupation-4
4. Swan Swan H-4
5. Let Me In-5
6. Turn You Inside Out-4
7. Pretty Persuasion-3
8. Sad Professor-3.5
9. Wendell Gee-4.5
10. Endgame-3
11. Pilgrimage-3.5
12. All the Way to Reno-3
13. Star me Kitten-4
14. Carnival of Sorts (Boxcars)-4
15. New Test Leper-3.5
16. Aftermath-3.5

Another very strong start but the back half of this team, like Platy's is full of songs I like but don't love. You have 2 of my top 4 from the post Berry years, and both may well be top 10 songs at this point.

62.5

Murmur: Platy
Reckoning: PryTo (not a big fan of either reckoning choice, though)
Fables: PryTo
Pageant: PryTo
Document: Platy
Green: PryTo
Out of Time: Platy
Automatic: Platy
Monster: PryTo
Hi-Fi: Pryto (but not a big fan of either Hi-Fi choice. probably my bottom two on what is, to be fair, a stacked album)
Up: Platy
Reveal: Platy
Around the Sun: Platy
Accelerate: PryTo (man sized wreath is a great song but nothing on that album is better than Living Well)
Collapse: PryTo (No band should have a song this good on their last album. If you can still write this you should still be writing music)
Misc: Platy

Platy 8/Pryto 8

Another one that is really close on the head to head, but Pryto gets my vote on points

[stip]

So in the end

Stip
Phil
Chris
Pryto

[PryTo]

These were all very close matches. When I scored songs individually, they were often too close to call (esp Chris vs. dct). So I then stepped back to consider the totality of the songs, which made it a bit easier. So while I thought Chris and dct were basically tied, I’m more inclined to listen to and be interested in songs like Disturbance at the Heron House and Feeling Gravity’s Pull than I am songs like End of the World and Man on the Moon, which are great but I’ve heard one too many times.

Lament – Country Feedback, At My Most Beautiful, Electrolite, Green Grow the Rushes, and I Don’t Sleep I Dream are all amazing. Definitely loaded with great material.

Stip – Continues to have a really strong back half compared to many other teams. Uberlin, Try Not to Breathe, Life and How to Live it, Houston, and Star 69 are all top notch.

This one was close, but I give it to stip by a hair.

Chris vs. dct was the closest matchup in this bunch. Both had some really standout tracks. I personally love Get Up. How hard is it to write a song with inspiring, positive lyrics and not make it sound like this?



It’s a rare feat and no one has done it better than REM did here. Huge points for Oh My Heart, These Days, and She Just Wants to Be. I’m less crazy about some of the big hits here, although I still love Man on the Moon. Shiny Happy People is borderline, but I honestly hate We Walk and Lotus.

Chris had an amazing first half, with almost every song a five-star winner. The back half goes south a bit. That Alligator song belongs in REM’s bottom ten. Whew. But the first ten songs are pretty much unfuckwithable so I have to give this one to Chris by a hair.

Darth has some great songs: Begin the Begin, Orange Crush, Oddfellows, Bad Day and Why Not Smile rank very highly. I’ve never been a big fan of Drive or Radio Free Europe. I’m still not sure what the hell to think of Near Wild Heaven.

Phil just had a strong showing overall, even landing killer songs in the final two rounds. Who else finished this strong? Phil's team may be the toughest one to beat out of everyone. This one goes to Phil.

Platy has some of my favorite REM songs. I really love King of Birds, I Remember California, and Good Advices, and Leaving New York is easily the best song on Around the Sun. Wake Up Bomb and Walk Unafraid make my worst of REM list. Perfect Circle and Second Guessing are a decent songs on albums full of great ones.

Pryto. I was pretty happy with all of these, although some of the albums were already picked clean by the time I got around to ‘em. I’d say Aftermath is the only song that doesn’t do much for me. I also found that some of the best rockin’ tunes were already taken, so overall this list is a bit heavy on maudlin tunes, albeit good ones. I think the first five songs are out of the park. I’m surprised that folks around here don’t like Pretty Persuasion (top ten in my book) and New Test Leper (best song on that album). But yeah, I have to vote for myself here. If I saw this setlist played live, I’d be in (near wild) heaven.

stip
Chris
Phil
PryTo

[stip]

I think Pretty Persuasion and New test Leper are both really highly regarded. I suspect I'm more of an outlier on that one. Esp with New Test Leper.

You and Phil pissed me off the most with the drafting since you guys grabbed so many of my favorite songs I was sure would last until round 3 and 4.

[stip]

is that mick jagger thing serious?

[PryTo]

I think Pretty Persuasion and New test Leper are both really highly regarded. I suspect I'm more of an outlier on that one. Esp with New Test Leper.

Both went unpicked for quite a while. I think Leper was the second to last pick on Hi-Fi. How is that possible? Ya'll have a love for Leave around here that is utterly baffling to me. I'll have to listen to it again because it ranks last on that album in my ranking. Leeeeeee-ave. Leeeeeeee-ave. Yes, Michael. Please do. And take that undercooked chorus with you. I will give it another listen, though. It's been a while.

And yes, Jagger was totally serious with "Let's Work." That's a pretty extreme example, but there are a lot of songs in that vein out there, most of them bad. Katy Perry's "Firework" is a recent example, although I can stomach that song a lot better than the Jagger abomination.

[Chris_H_2]

Chris
Pryto

[Norah]

lament
joey
darthvedder
jorge

[Lament]

I'm just stunned that either me or stip will be in round three. That's a pretty big failure on RM's part.

[darth_vedder]

Lament
Chris_H_2
Me
platypus

[darth_vedder]

This was a really strong team until the last few picks, where our tastes start to diverge a little bit

57.5

Have you heard that alternate why not smile? I like it more than the version on Up.

I have not heard the alt version, but "Why Not Smile" is top 3 on 'Up' for me (with At My Most Beautiful and Hope being the other two).

I was worried about the later albums...I just don't know them well, and all of my first picks were from the Berry years. By the time I listened to the newer albums via Spotify and picked, the ones I liked best were gone. I actually really like the ones I went with on Accelerate (Sing For the Submarine) and Reveal (I'll Take the Rain) though. Those aren't the best, but to me, both solid tunes. I liked the later years a lot more than I thought I would.

[stip]

Chris
Pryto

are you not voting in the other two?