SCORES & UPCOMING GAMES



CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL SCORE: (2) JEFF BUCKLEY 168, (7) Tracy Chapman 159 .......... FINAL FOUR FINAL SCORES: (7) TRACY CHAPMAN 154, (1) Joy Division 90 ..... (2) JEFF BUCKLEY 137, (1) The Cure 89 .......... ELITE EIGHT FINAL SCORES: (1) JOY DIVISION 74, (14) Low 60 ..... (7) TRACY CHAPMAN 85, (1) Elliott Smith 69 ..... THE CURE 65, (2) Radiohead 58 ..... (2) JEFF BUCKLEY 74, (1) Neutral Milk Hotel 44 ..... FINAL SWEET SIXTEEN SCORES: (1) JOY DIVISION 75, (5) PJ Harvey & Nick Cave 24 ..... (14) LOW 73, (2) Concrete Blonde (64) ..... (1) ELLIOTT SMITH 78, (4) Gary Jules 44 ..... (7) TRACY CHAPMAN 74, (6) Kate Bush 53 ..... (1) NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL 54, (13) The Church 49 ..... (2) JEFF BUCKLEY 73, (3) Sinead O’Connor 35 ..... (1) THE CURE 109, (3) Tori Amos 86 ..... (2) RADIOHEAD 76, (6) This Mortal Coil 50 ..... (1) JOY DIVISION 96, (9) Mazzy Star 91 ..... (2) CONCRETE BLONDE 76, (7) Bob Mould 28 ..... (14) LOW 60, (6) Crowded House 51 ..... (5) PJ HARVEY & NICK CAVE 65, (4) Alphaville 38 ..... (1) ELLIOTT SMITH 113, (8) Replacements 88 ..... (6) KATE BUSH 87, (3) Nirvana 64 ..... (7) TRACY CHAPMAN 99, (2) The Eels 62 ..... (3) GARY JULES 103, (12) Morrissey 63 ..... (6) Kate Bush 72, (3) Nirvana 53 ..... (3) SINEAD O'CONNOR 66, (11) Ride 27 ..... (13) THE CHURCH 106, (5) James 44 ..... (2) JEFF BUCKLEY 95, (10) Smashing Pumpkins 40 ..... (1) NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL 80, (9) New Order 56 ..... (2) RADIOHEAD 102, (7) Nine Inch Nails 99 ..... (6) THIS MORTAL COIL 61, (3) Indigo Girls 60 ..... (4) TORI AMOS 89, (5) Swans 40 ..... (1) CURE 82, (8) Tom Waits 68 ............... FINAL 1ST ROUND SCORES: (5) PJ HARVEY & NICK CAVE 93, (12) Midnight Oil 38 ..... (7) BOB MOULD 63, (10) Peter Murphy 47 ..... (1) JOY DIVISION 117, (16) Erasure 19 ..... (6) CROWDED HOUSE 98, (11) Leonard Cohen 54 ..... (7) TRACY CHAPMAN 199, (10) The Smiths 162 ..... (5) MORRISSEY 115, (12) Morphine 83 ..... (3) NIRVANA 137, (14) Slowdive 102 ..... (8) THE REPLACEMENTS 128, (9) Dream Academy 82 ..... (13) THE CHURCH 262, (4) Magnetic Fields 193 ..... (10) SMASHING PUMPKINS 165, (7) Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds 155 ..... (9) NEW ORDER 160, (8) Sarah McLachlan 78 ..... (1) JEFF BUCKLEY 204, (16) Bjork 92 ..... (4) TORI AMOS 78, (13) Echo & the Bunnymen 22 ..... (8) TOM WAITS 72, (9) The Pretenders 22 ..... (6) THIS MORTAL COIL 51, (11) Yaz 31 ..... (3) INDIGO GIRLS 71, (14) Pavement 26 ..... (9) MAZZY STAR 132, (8) REM 46 ..... (2) CONCRETE BLONDE 88, (15) Psychedelic Furs 34 ..... (4) ALPHAVILLE 71, (13) Dead Can Dance 36 ..... (14) LOW 120, (3) U2 65 ..... (1) ELLIOTT SMITH 63, (16) 10,000 Maniacs 24 ..... (2) EELS 50, (15) Counting Crows 46 ..... (4) GARY JULES 62, (13) Depeche Mode 19 ..... (6) KATE BUSH 59, (11) Sisters of Mercy 20 ..... (1) NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL 42, (16) Violent Femmes 12 ..... (11) RIDE 25 (6) Peter Gabriel 24 ..... (3) SINEAD O'CONNOR 37, (14) Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark 17, ..... (5) JAMES 24, (12) Red House Painters 23 ..... (7) NINE INCH NAILS 46, (10) Wilco 31, (5) SWANS 31, (12) Pet Shop Boys 18 ..... (1) THE CURE 50, (16) Gear Daddies 10 ..... (2) RADIOHEAD 40, (15) Liz Phair 35


CURRENT GAMES BELOW — PAST GAMES ARCHIVED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE

Sunday, March 6, 2016

First Round Matchup: VIOLENT FEMMES at NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL

(16) Violent Femmes, "Add It Up"

How does desperation and pissed-off-ness intersect with sadness? This song’s not an obvious mope on account of the relentless and let’s face it a little crazy anger, but that doesn’t mean it’s not sad. In a pissed-off and kind of unhinged weirdo bracket, Violent Femmes would come in with a top seed. But “Add It Up”’s sadness comes at a slant, and that’s why it’s only a 16 seed in this tournament. So expectations here aren’t high for Violent Femmes, and if this was a home game for them they might have a chance, but Neutral Milk Hotel also knows how to play an uptempo and unhinged genius weirdo style of game. This would be an upset for the ages, but that’s always been how Violent Femmes rolls. As always, they'll play as if they have nothing to lose.  



vs

(1) Neutral Milk Hotel, "Two-Headed Boy"

Almost any song from NMH’s 1998 album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea would have garnered a high seed; this is one of the dubious benefits of being pretty much the only piece of popular music about the life and death of Anne Frank. “Two Headed Boy” is a slightly lesser-known song from this much-praised desolate masterpiece. The lyrics about the “Two headed boy / All floating in glass” are both beautiful and disturbing, and the song as a whole lends itself to many interpretations (I like this one). Jeff Mangum’s vocals, which manage to sound both delicate and unhinged, make the song’s imagery devastating. Like all of the best sad songs, “Two Headed Boy” ends without consolation or pity: “The world that you need is wrapped in gold silver sleeves / Left beneath Christmas trees in the snow / And I will take you and leave you alone.”





Which Song's Sadder? Vote by 9am 3/7

Two-Headed Boy
Add It Up
personality chart

5 comments:

  1. Is this directed at Two Headed Boy? WATCH YOURSELF

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  2. This is enough said, I think: "...pretty much the only piece of popular music about the life and death of Anne Frank".

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  3. To both bands' credit, neither of these songs seem initially like particularly good ideas.

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  4. "Add It Up"? Why not "Nothing Worth Living For," or "I Know It's True But I'm Sorry To Say," or shit, "Country Death Song"? Sometimes a song might have depression at its core, but comes out in a noisy, rockin' catharsis. When I think sad, I think mopey, and "Add It Up" is far from that... it's a weird kid dance jam!

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  5. The Femmes only barely squeaked into the tournament, and you may be right. The Committee did not engage Femmes experts, though perhaps we should have. The Femmes stuff I personally like the best ("Dance, Motherfucker, Dance!") I never think of as sad, exactly. It's probably the case that they should have been left off the bracket in favor, of, say, Dinosaur Jr or Sparklehorse.

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