Suggest Music to Izulde Tournament - Round 2

[Izulde]

Seedings After First Round
1. The Avett Brothers "Murder in the City" - wademoore*
2. Ke$ha "Tik Tok" - Logan (Abdicated)*
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3. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros 'Home" - Scoobz0202*
4. Amadou and Miriam (ft. Manu Chao) "Senegal Fast Food" - Peregrine*
5. No Kids "For Halloween" - Passacaglia*
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6. Neutral Milk Hotel "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" - NorvTurnerOverdrive
7. VAST "Be With Me" - Ksyrup
8. John Doe "A Little More Time" - digamma*
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9. Ingrid Michaelson "You and I" - lordscarlet*
10. Royksopp (ft. Robyn) - "The Girl and the Robot" - Abe Sargent
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11. Freak Nasty "Da Dip" (RonnieDobbs2 Joke entry)
12. Mogwai "Yes I Am A Long Way From Home" - thesloppy
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13. The Tallest Man on Earth "The Gardener" - Recoil*
14. The Hold Steady "Stuck Between Stations" - RonnieDobbs2 Real Entry
15. Arcade Fire "Sprawl II" - Big Fo
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16. The Hold Steady "The Weekenders" - dfisher
17. How To Dress Well "You Won't Need Me Where I'm Goin" - Easy Mac

* - Denotes winner of matchup/advanced to 2nd round.

Note: Because Logan abdicated, a spot opens up for the highest-placing non-winner, which is NorvTurnerOverdrive's entry.

After much debate between the judges, it's been ruled that NTO will be seeded #8, as they didn't win their first round matchup.

So now we have the Elite 8, with the matchups like this:

1. Christina Perry "Jar of Hearts" - wademoore
vs.
8. Beirut "Carousel" - NorvTurnerOverdrive

2. Josh Ritter "Girl in the War" - Scoobz0202
vs.
7. Lupe Fiasco "The Show Goes On" Recoil

3. Richard Shindell "The Courier" - Peregrine
vs.
6. Alicia Keys "Empire State of Mind" - lordscarlet

4. Hercules and Love Affair "You Belong" - Passacaglia
vs.
5. Rich Price "I'm On My Way" - digamma

[Izulde]

We kick off the second round of SMTI Tournament action with a 4 seed vs. 5 seed matchup, Passacaglia taking on digamma. Passacaglia won his first round matchup with a daring No Kids "For Halloween" pick that stunned observers by placing in the second tier, 5th overall in the first round, while digamma advanced with a solid selection in John Doe "A Little More Time" a third tier entry that seeded 8th overall.

Now Passacaglia is putting forth Hercules and Love Affair "You Belong" and digamma's countering with Rich Price "I'm On My Way", a coach admitted 'oddball pick'. Will Passacaglia belong or will it be digamma on his way to the Final Four? Let's get to the listening.

Did You Know?
The song that got Izulde through the hectic final weeks of the semester was Britney Spears "Don't Let Me Be The Last To Know" (Hex Hector Club Mix). This earned him much mockery from his fellow grad students, who tend to be indy rock kiddies

Hercules and Love Affair "You Belong" - Passacaglia
Pre-Listen Thoughts
None, as I've never heard of the artist.

Listen #1
The beat's okay, but it seems pretty flat. Not really much variance here. Vocals are decent, but again, nothing earth-shattering.

Listen #2
Okay, it's growing on me. Not knock my socks off territory or anything, but the kind of song I'd like to have playing when I'm thinking through something. I'd rate it above Royksopp's song that Abe put up last round at any rate.

*Lyrics Retrieved*

Listen #3
The voice is growing on me and this is definitely a walking/thinking song. Beat's growing on me, too, although lyrics seem fairly pedestrian. Not an active listen song.

Final Verdict
Pretty decent entry, all things considered. If I had to drop it in the first round rankings list I'd place it somewhere in the 5 to 7 range right now.

Rich Price "I'm On My Way" - digamma
Pre-Listen Thoughts
I'm very curious to see what oddball pick is. I have no idea on this one, either.

Listen #1
Love the intro and for a moment I thought this was going to be like Vertical Horizon, who has a few songs I like, such as "You're A God", which I almost thought it this was for a second. Unfortunately the comparison is affecting my stance towards Price's voice, as I like VH's lead singer better. The repetition of the title lyrics is a bit annoying, too.

Listen #2
Okay, I'm starting to divorce the VH comparison and I'm liking the vocals a lot better. Still love the instrumentals. First half of the song is still a lot better than the second half, but the solo last line from 3:12 - 3:16 is worth fighting through the second half's repetitiveness for.

***Lyrics Retrieved***

Listen #3
Yeah, after the second verse, I find myself impatiently waiting for the end of the song and I could see myself perhaps not having the patience for it and just skipping to the next song. Still, this is a song I'd definitely actively listen to.

Final Verdict
A very, very good song overall and so close to being great. If he'd opted for a third verse, rather than a repetitive bridge that frankly is one of the weakest parts of the song from a personal listening pleasure standpoint, it would have jumped into that category.

Winner - Rich Price "I'm On My Way" - digamma
In the end, even the weak section of Price's song isn't enough to doom it. Not when it does so much else well and not when in its opponent does nothing spectacular.

[Izulde]

Next up, we have 3 seed Peregrine up against the 6 seed lordcarlet. Peregrine had an ingenious first round selection in Amadou and Miriam (ft. Manu Chao) "Senegal Fast Food" that continued a steady climb throughout the round until settling in at 4th. Meanwhile, lordscarlet was very lucky in his first round draw, managing to sneak into the second round despite a merely middling pick in Michaelson, Ingrid's "You and I".

Now it's Peregrine's "The Courier" by Richard Shindell against what is likely the favorite in this matchup, lordscarlet's choice of Alicia Key's "Empire State of Mind".

Did You Know?
Despite Izulde's comments on repetition in lyrics so far in this round and earlier, one of his favorite songs has repetitive lyrics, namely BoA "I Did It For Love". We haven't seen a J-pop or K-pop singer entry in this tournament yet, although Amadou and Miriam have done well in representing the foreign language artists.

Richard Shindell "The Courier" - Peregrine
Pre-listen Thoughts
I get the feeling this is going to be a folk-type song. Those have had some success in this tournament, so we'll see how it does.

Listen #1
Wow, a live song. Daring pick. Like the instrumental intro, but this is going to all depend on the voice... and I like it! The drawn-out notes are enjoyable to listen to right now, but we'll see how they hold up on repeat listens. This is a very curious mixture of almost country at parts, but with a Loreena McKennitt infusion, although that's maybe just the lyrics, which I'm seeing because I used Peregrine's link after being unable to find it on Youtube.

Listen #2
I'm starting to sing along now. "I am a currrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-ier, just a currrrrrr-ier!" There's something oddly danceable about this, too. This is just a freaky, freaky song. It's like a country/folk song that inspires dancing ... only it's about a medieval battle. I could see using this in a CK 2 dynasty.

**Lyrics Already Had***

Listen #3
It doesn't start off with that dancey feel, btw. It isn't really until the first IAAC that I start bopping to it. Definitely a first tier song, in any case. Very, very impressive.

Final Verdict
Is it enough to knock off The Avett Brothers "Murder in the City" for the #1 spot? No. In fact, whether I listen to this or Ke$ha "Tik Tok" is a toss-up dependent on my mood. But shit just got real for Alicia.

Alicia Keys "Empire State of Mind" - lordscarlet
Pre-Listen Thoughts
Originally predicted to win this matchup with ease, things toughened up in a hurry, despite my R&B tastes. This is going to be an epic battle, fo' sho.

Listen #1
Like the voice, like the piano, but I'm getting bitter listening to this song. I keep seeing the Columbia rejection letter, so even though I genuinely like this song, I'm going to stop listening before I go drinking or something. The high notes were getting a bit much anyway.

Final Verdict
Ultimately, this song would have lost anyway. The high notes were grating on the New Yoork! parts and going up against an entry that had no real flaws, it didn't have much chance. Yeah I know New York was going to be a key part, but I didn't expect this blowjob of The City.

Winner - Richard Shindell "The Courier" - Peregrine
What a fantastic surprise. I really appreciate this song, although on further reflection I'd probably put it #3 in the overall list, but still in the first tier. Well done.

[wade moore]

Good to see this staying alive!

I am surprised by the Alicia Keys result, but it's hard to predict various personal experiences that can contribute to musical tastes.

[Peregrine]

Glad you liked that song Izulde- that live album by Richard Shindell is fantastic all the way through, and I figured you would appreciate the battle elements in that song given your historic interest.

[lordscarlet]

Seriously? I get hosed because you couldn't get into Columbia? And to think I deleted posts criticizing how this tournament has been handled.

[Passacaglia]

Oh cool, didn't realize this was still going -- I assumed this was the thread of old stuff. And I lost? Oh well.

[Izulde]

Hey, I may be slow, but (eventually) I usually get stuff done.

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Hey, I may be slow, but (eventually) I usually get stuff done.

Poorly worded on my part -- I just meant that I didn't realize this thread was the new round, not the old round, when I saw it yesterday. I didn't mean to say I thought it died.

[wade moore]

bump?

[Ronnie Dobbs2]

Eh, everyone knows Seinfeld is going to win anyway.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Ronnie Dobbs2

Eh, everyone knows Seinfeld is going to win anyway.

[Logan]

Well done RD.

Wade, one of these days you'll learn...

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by wade moore

bump?

Originally Posted by Logan

Well done RD.

Wade, one of these days you'll learn...

Originally Posted by Lathum

I refuse to participate after the flame out in your last tournament.

cough cough

[terpkristin]

Well, even though Izulde hasn't done his part yet, I played along at home this afternoon. I ended up buying 7 of the 8 songs from Amazon MP3--I already had Empire State of Mind in my iTunes (assuming that the version up for debate is the one with Jay-Z on The Blueprint 3 album). I ended up with 3 clear winners and one tie.

In listening to these, I listened to each matchup at least 3 times each, one after the other. I listened with my in-ear headphones while chilling on the couch (and admittedly while on pain medicine) while surfing here and playing various games on my iPhone. Some of the songs may have ended up being "voted" differently had I been listening to them on my speaker system or had I been using my over-ear headphones (all three setups give slightly different musical feels). I consider the mood I was in to be a fairly standard, chill mood for a Saturday afternoon.

Matchup 1: #1 Seed "Jar of Hearts" by Christina Perry (recommended by wademoore) against #8 Seed "Carousel" by Beirut (recommended by NorvTurnerOverdrive). I really liked the melody of "Jar of Hearts" and also liked Perry's soulful voice. I found the song kind of haunting. I didn't especially like the voice of the lead singer for "Carousel," though I did like the horn in the background (and the wider use of musical instruments in general). Unfortunately, the lead singer's voice for "Carousel" really ruined it for me--I couldn't always even understand the words. "Jar of Hearts" is the winner.

Matchup 2: #2 Seed "Girl in the War" by Josh Ritter (recommended by Scoobz0202) against #7 Seed "The Show Goes On" by Lupe Fiasco (recommended by Recoil). My first thought on the Josh Ritter song is that it was pretty mellow. I liked the opening and the interlude, and this song makes me want to check out some of Josh Ritter's other stuff. I liked the melodic part of "The Show Goes On." It sounds like something I've heard before, but I can't place where. I wasn't as much a fan of the rap part. Though I like both, what it really came down to is which song would I go to if I were looking for something to listen to on an ordinary day while working or chillin' around the house. In this case, "Girl in the War" wins, though both will stay on my iPod and chances are good they'll both get decent play time, depending on my mood.

Matchup 3: #3 Seed "The Courier" by Richard Shindell (recommended by Peregrine) against #6 Seed "Empire State of Mind" by Alicia Keys (the version on Jay-Z's The Blueprint 3) (recommended by lordscarlet). I thought that "The Courier" sounded a little country/twangy. I liked the lyrics, though the song felt a little repetitive (not that that's necessarily a bad thing). I liked the Alicia Keys parts of "Empire State of Mind." I felt it offered a nice contrast to Jay-Z. What we have here are two very different songs, and I couldn't decide on a winner while just sitting here. I think that if I were driving around town or playing through my speakers, "Empire State of Mind" may have won, but if I were at work, "The Courier" may have won. I need a tiebreaker for this one so if Peregrine and lordscarlet want to recommend another song each, I'll handle it that way.

Matchup 4:#4 Seed "You Belong" by Hercules and Love Affair (recommended by Passacaglia) against #5 Seed "I'm On My Way" by Rich Price (recommended by digamma). "You Belong" strikes me as a song I would normally prefer, as I tend to like the dance-y type stuff, but this one didn't do it for me. I can't put my finger on what wasn't doing it, maybe that the sound was a little stale...it sounds like other albums I have. "I'm On My Way" struck me as a happy/peppy song. I liked how I felt when it came on...it felt "brighter" to me, if that makes sense. "I'm On My Way" is the winner for me here.

/tk

[Izulde]

Yes, I need to get back to this.

[Izulde]

And we're back after a typically long Izulde hiatus. The boobirds believe it'll be 2012 before this tournament gets done, but miracles have been known to happen.

In any case, the next matchup is:

2. Josh Ritter "Girl in the War" - Scoobz0202
vs.
7. Lupe Fiasco "The Show Goes On" Recoil

Scoobz0202 had one of the stronger first round entries with Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros "Home", while Recoil took advantage of a very lucky matchup to slide in with the lowest winning entry in the field. They're only avoiding a last place seeding because of Logan's withdrawal from the competition. Previous record would indicate Scoobz the favorite, but this is an Izulde tournament, which means anything can happen, including more stoppages than all of professional sports history combined.

Did You Know?
We have no idea what Izulde music trivia to put here because we've forgotten what we said before and we're very, very bad people. Shame on us. Break out the whips and scourges, cuz it's time for some medieval style repentence. Hollereth!

Josh Ritter "Girl in the War" - Scoobz0202
Pre-listen Thoughts
I keep thinking of Three's Company, but that's just because of John Ritter. Damn Jo-Ritters!

Listen #1
Good driving or getting stoned song (if I was the type to do that). But for whatever reason, this entry just isn't connecting with me on an active listen level. I can't help but get a been there, done that vibe.

Listen #2
Ah. Peter and Paul. God, and so on. Christian-centric music really isn't my thing. At all. I can see where this would be inspirational to a lot of people. Wait, did he just say her eyes are like champagne? Now that's just a silly simile in the context of this song IMO. I'm starting to drum my fingers impatiently. I'll glance at the lyrics and will probably pass on a third listen.

***Lyrics Retrieved***

Ah, I see why the champagne eyes now. But really, that's just bad lyric writing. I do like the dove to dragon imagery, though. Still, not going to listen.

Overall Verdict
It's not badly sung by any means and maybe at another point in time, I'd listen to it for all three go-rounds. However, it's just not fitting my musical palate right now.

Lupe Fiasco "The Show Goes On" - Recoil
Prelisten Thoughts
Haven't heard the artist before, although for some reason it reminds me of wrestling. Why, I have no idea.

Listen #1
The intro reminded me of Jason Derulo, which is a good thing. Right now, I'm iffy on Lupe's voice as a rapper, but I'm headbopping to the chorus.

Listen #2
The first 53 seconds of this song is really nice and Lupe's voice is sounding better as I get used to it. Tranquilizing effect to this song that's quite pleasant. Definitely an active listen.

***Lyrics Retrieved***

Listen #3
Oakland out to Auckland is an interesting sequence, but overall there's nothing remarkable about the lyrics. In this case that's fine, because the sound is enjoyable. This, too, is meant to be an inspirational song, but it's also much more in line with my aesthetics.

Overall Verdict
Not sure where I'll ultimately place it in the overall rankings, but it wins easily here.

Winner: Lupe Fiasco "The Show Goes On" - Recoil

[Izulde]

I'll get the final entry done later. I'm supposed to be at someone's place at 7 and it's already 6:42, so I'm running quite late there, too.

[wade moore]

:whistle:

[DanGarion]

Is voting still open?

[Izulde]

Thanks for the bump. I still need to do that last one for this round.

[Izulde]

1. Christina Perri "Jar of Hearts" - wademoore
vs.
8. Beirut "Carousels" - NorvTurnerOverdrive

Did You Know?
One of Izulde's students in a composition section he taught wrote an essay analyzing "Jar of Hearts". One hopes the song fares better than the essay did.

Christina Perri "Jar of Hearts" - wademoore

Pre-listen thoughts
Be interesting to see how this does and if it outperforms the essay.

Listen #1
Didn't Sophie B. Hawkins use those steps in "As I Lay Me Down"? Speaking of catching a cold, it sounds like she has one. It seems like she's straining to sing this song, too.

Listen #2
I really do like the instrumentals of this song, but not a fan of her voice at the moment.

Listen #3
Okay it's growing on me to the point where I'd have it as okay background music. Not any higher than that though. Overall, probably about a C+, which was better than the C the paper got (which the student argued about, incidentally). Oh, and the lyrics aren't anything special, but that's okay.

Beirut - "Carousels" - NorvTurnerOverdrive

Pre-Listen Thoughts
No real opinion, other than that it sounds like a familiar name to me and I'm not sure why.

Listen #1
Definite carousel music intro. Very NMH feel to the vocals, from what I remember of that song. That probably means it'll grow on me. Although at first blush, I like the Perri instrumentals better, there's something head wavy about the carousel sound. ...Wow, that ending instrumental sequence goes on a long time.

Listen #2
2:36-4:06 roughly of instrumental closing. That really ruins the song for me and makes me not want to have to listen again. In fact, it makes me want to switch back to "Jar of Hearts" again to see if I like it any better.

Winner - Christina Perri "Jar of Hearts" - wademoore
Although a far cry from The Avett Brothers brilliance, the favorable matchup here keeps wademoore alive and advancing. It'll be interesting to see where wade falls in the Final Four seeding.

[terpkristin]

HAH. I was still playing along.

/tk

[wade moore]

Always interesting to see how different people view music.

Glad I made it through, no idea where to go next!

[digamma]

I've been pondering next song for months.