Chasing Some Mirage: The Boss Tourney. LMS & Born To Run win

[epilogue]

If I had it all to do again, I would have taken 10th Ave Freeze Out with my first pick. I totally reached on Glory Days. But I do love that song and wease taking Cover Me so early psyched me out a bit.

[LoathedVermin72]

Joey:

"Glory Days" is a powerhouse.

"Because the Night" is very good, though I don't know if it deserves all the accolades it gets around here.

I really hate that you're making me sit through a 10-minute song from this crappy album. Christ, "New York City Serenade" takes forever to even get started. Like all the songs on The Wild..., it's overstuffed and sounds terrible. Argh, this is so annoying. I can't finish this. I hate you, Joey.

"Night" is very good.

TWO songs from The Wild, the Innocent...? And they're both pushing 10 minutes long?! You're pushing your luck, my friend. "Incident on 57th Street" is so boring.

I've always loved "The Rising". Great song.

First time hearing "Shut out the Light". Lovely.

"Tougher Than the Rest" is good, but I don't love it.

Best Song: Glory Days
Worst Song: New York City Serenade
Overall: Good

vs.

Spenno:

I have never loved "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out", but it's definitely good. Solid pick, Spenno!

I really, really love "Downbound Train". Excellent pick, Spenno!

"Wreck on the Highway" is a little on the plodding side. Mediocre pick, Spenno.

"For You" is a nice little song, though not top-tier for GFAB. Still a good choice, Spenno!

"Meeting Across the River" is definitely the worst song BTR, but...it's on fucking BTR. Nice steal, Spenno!

First time hearing "Loose Ends". This is terrific! Definitely one of the better Tracks tracks I've heard in this tournament. Thanks for introducing me to it, Spenno!

First time hearing "Lucky Town" and I think it's wonderful. Thanks for another great song, Spenno!

"Walk Like a Man" is middle-of-the-road. Nothing special. You probably could have chosen better in this round, Spenno.

Best Song: Downbound Train
Worst Song: Wreck on the Highway
Overall: Good

VOTE FOR: SPENNO (Sorry, Joey, this was super close. But those two awful The Wild... songs hurt you badly.)

---

wease:

"Cover Me" is great, though I was surprised to see it as a first round pick. The reworked live version is really something else.

First time hearing "Secret Garden". I think it's funny that all of Bruce's '90s soundtrack contributions (the others being "Streets of Philadelphia" and "Lift Me Up") are quiet, slow, and synth-driven. I think this is the least of the three, but it's decent.

"The Ghost of Tom Joad" is a little too subdued and minimal for my liking. I generally struggle to get into music like this unless it does something really special.

"Fire" fucking grates on my nerves. That obnoxiously muted guitar plucking, the whole fake-Elvis thing the song is doing - all of it annoys me to no end.

"It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City" is excellent.

"If I Should Fall Behind"...is it possible for a song to be actively forgettable?

"Blinded by the Light" is a classic and I just love it.

"War" is a pretty bland cover, and I don't even like the original.

Best Song: Blinded by the Light
Worst Song: Fire
Overall: Weak

VS.

Kreng:

"Lost in the Flood" is brutal. Terrific song.

"Adam Raised a Cain" is one of my favorite Springsteen songs. Pure fury. His vocals in this are just monstrous. I love the way the song erupts into an enraged flurry of repeated lines when the chorus hits.

"Stolen Car" is a solid middle-of-the-pack track from The River.

I love "Worlds Apart". The blending of Middle Eastern music and American roots rock (harmonica and all) is kind of ingenious; a wonderful meeting of form and content. Not to mention that intense, pulsing rhythm driving the song. This was an inspired pick.

First time hearing "American Skin". This is really good. Love the lyrics.

First time hearing "Youngstown". This is gorgeous! The instrumentation is perfect, and the whole song just breathes. There's such a deftly delicate touch to this; the song could break if things were played or arranged even slightly differently. Really beautiful stuff.

How did "Mansion on the Hill" make it to the penultimate round? I thought all the Nebraska songs would go pretty quickly. Anyway, good song, though I don't love it.

First time hearing "Part Man, Part Monkey" and it is fucking GREAT! Such an odd, off-kilter tone. I'd call it...darkly playful? Whatever it is, I am IN.

I love this team!

Best Song: Adam Raised a Cain
Worst Song: Stolen Car
Overall: Excellent

VOTE FOR: KRENG

[evenslow]

If I had it all to do again, I would have taken 10th Ave Freeze Out with my first pick.

me too, friend.

[LoathedVermin72]

That Spenno is a sly one!

[Strat]

Can someone explain to me why spenno might be in this tournament?

[evenslow]

Can someone explain to me why spenno might be in this tournament?

it's a joke cuz he doesn't like springsteen. tremorjam was initially in for first few picks and then ghosted, so we made that team the spenno team.

[evenslow]

seriously wtf happened to that dude?

[Strat]

Can someone explain to me why spenno might be in this tournament?

it's a joke cuz he doesn't like springsteen. tremorjam was initially in for first few picks and then ghosted, so we made that team the spenno team.

okay now i get it. I knew he hated springsteen with a passion so i knew i was not in on the joke.

[evenslow]

just looked at tremorjam's profile and he has a twitter handle listed. checked it out and he's posting on twitter. so he's still alive!!

[LoathedVermin72]

just looked at tremorjam's profile and he has a twitter handle listed. checked it out and he's posting on twitter. so he's still alive!!

so then he's just a dick

[evenslow]

just looked at tremorjam's profile and he has a twitter handle listed. checked it out and he's posting on twitter. so he's still alive!!

so then he's just a dick

think it's more he was dumbfounded by "Kitty's Back" being taken first overall.

[Monkey_Driven]

just looked at tremorjam's profile and he has a twitter handle listed. checked it out and he's posting on twitter. so he's still alive!!

so then he's just a dick

think it's more he was dumbfounded by "Kitty's Back" being taken first overall.

Can you blame him?

[Higgs]

just looked at tremorjam's profile and he has a twitter handle listed. checked it out and he's posting on twitter. so he's still alive!!

so then he's just a dick

I'd say that's fair.

[LetMeSleep]

just looked at tremorjam's profile and he has a twitter handle listed. checked it out and he's posting on twitter. so he's still alive!!

so then he's just a dick

I'd say that's fair.

Seconded.

[epilogue]

I'm struggling so much between wease and kreng. Cover Me has long been my favorite Bruce tune. I also love The Ghost of Tom Joad (both were songs I wanted on my team). And If I Should Fall Behind is a lovely song, a great late round pick. But boy do I really not care for Blinded By The Light. But Secret Garden is great.

kreng has Adam Raised A Cain (which I hadn't heard until he picked it and is just fucking amazing). He also has World's Apart which was the only song I was SURE I'd be able to take. I almost took it in the 3rd round because I love it so much. I really didn't think it was on anyone else's radar at all. It's my favorite track from The Rising and I'm just sick that I didn't take it sooner. Youngstown is another one that I really wanted on my team.

Man, this is tough... Both of these are strong teams that have super high highs and songs that I really wish I'd taken.

[Norah]

this is still on round 1?

[darth_vedder]

just looked at tremorjam's profile and he has a twitter handle listed. checked it out and he's posting on twitter. so he's still alive!!

so then he's just a dick

think it's more he was dumbfounded by "Kitty's Back" being taken first overall.

Can you blame him?

[evenslow]

all i have left is making fun of darth for taking kitty's back first overall but then he beat me in round one so what does that say about me?

existential crisis of massive proportions.

[darth_vedder]

DcT
Kreng

Solid picks on each team but since we determined TremorJam is a dick, I'm not voting for his team. DcT would have gotten my vote even if I did like Tremor's team better (I don't but still).

Kreng and Wease were pretty close. The "War" cover didn't do much for me and with so many Bruce songs still available, I'd say choosing a cover is worse than choosing "Kitty's Back" with the first pick. I do really love Cover Me though and it just might be my favorite song between the two teams. Number 2 would be "Adam Raised A Cain" which Kreng wisely chose. Overall I just think his team is a bit more consistent.

[epilogue]

this is still on round 1?

calm down