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

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Second Round Action: (1) ELLIOTT SMITH vs (8) THE REPLACEMENTS

This second-round game is a matchup of regional substance-abuse powerhouses, each of whom have amassed an outsized reputation for sadness, and are capable of making it deep into the tournament (we could see either of these bands making it to the Elite Eight if not further, except here they run into each other). The Midwest loves them some Replacements. The Pacific Northwest loves them some Elliott Smith. Both can play brilliantly, driven perhaps by their demons, but both falter when they give into them: alcohol for the Replacements, and harder stuff (as well as alcohol) for Elliott Smith. That both teams are prone to depression goes without saying: these two songs demonstrate that well.

Neither has an official video that we could find, so there's no visuals to muddle our decisioning. Smith's lyrics are a bit more cryptic ("First the mic then a half cigarette / Singing 'Cathy's Clown' / That's the man she's married to now / That's the girl that he takes around town") than the Replacements ("And sometimes I just ain't in the mood / To take my place in back with the loudmouths / You're like a picture on the fridge that's never stocked with food / I used to live at home, now I stay at the house"), though neither are high on the Wilco meter, and mostly transparency is what's on offer with a dollop of wordplay.

"Waltz #2" sure offers us a bleak outlook on the unknowability of others' interior lives and pains: "She appears composed, so she is, I suppose / Who can really tell? / She shows no emotion at all / Stares into space like a dead china doll" but tries to turn that frown upside down ("Still going strong / XO, Mom / It's ok, it's alright, nothing's wrong") with about as much success as you'd expect.

The most optimistic moment in "Here Comes a Regular" ("And everybody wants to be someone's here / Someone's gonna show up, never fear") is maybe even less optimistic than Smith's. Both songs turn toward the cold (see also our first-round coverage of "Here Comes a Regular") and are in their separate ways about the end, though The Replacements arrive at a sad resignation to winter: "First the lights, then the collar goes up and the wind begins to blow / Turn your back on a pay-you-back, last call / First the glass, then the leaves that pass, then comes the snow / Ain't much to rake anyway in the fall." Smith takes a hypothetical: "Tell Mr. Man with impossible plans to just leave me alone / In the place where I make no mistakes / In the place where I have what it takes" and turns it to the eternal: "I'm never gonna know you now / But I'm gonna love you anyhow." As we mentioned in our first-round coverage of "Waltz #2," after his suicide or murder, it's not hard to read this as his epitaph.

Smith's the big favorite coming into this game, and we'd still give him the edge just on the basis of the very last chord in the song and the way that last repeated line resonates and holds us, but it's hard to know how these two will face off against each other. Depends, we suppose, who, if anyone, is sober.

*

(1) Elliott Smith, "Waltz #2"



vs

(8) The Replacements, "Here Comes a Regular"




FINAL SCORE: ELLIOTT SMITH 113, REPLACEMENTS 88

7 comments:

  1. Here Comes A Regular will smoke Elliot Smith. If the Mats show up to the game halfway sober. And that's a long shot.

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    1. Expecting this game to be close. Smith with the much bigger fanbase and rep, but I think maybe Mats (also what's the story with calling them the Mats? I get how it's a shortening, kinda, of the name, but I've never understood it) fans feel more strongly identified with them and will show up even if the band don't

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    2. Early in their career, they played a gig where the producers apparently thought they were called the Placemats and advertised the show as such. The guys (or their fans) thought it was funny, so they went by that nickname.

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    3. Learning things--especially a bizarro story like this--is outstanding. Thanks.

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  2. Here Comes A Regular will smoke Elliot Smith. If the Mats show up to the game halfway sober. And that's a long shot.

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  3. Aaaahh, this is one of the most agonizing choices in the competition! I'm going to regret my vote either way, so here goes...

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  4. Yes, but what a big part of sadness is regret...

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