that whole from bubblegum to sky is a pretty good album actually. in my top 30 of last year. total one man production, which helps it stand out to me.

The Contestants
Patrick
Andyfest
Promethium
Pumachik
Sanchez
Wenchlette
Twogunsholla
Toots

Round 1 - Patrick vs. Andyfest

1. Patrick (Last.FM Compatibility Very High): Bruce Springsteen - Cadillac Ranch

A truly great album with some really underrated songs. This is just ok, however and is one of the tracks I typically skip over. 5/10.

2. Andyfest (Last.FM Compatibility Very High): Folk Implosion - Natural One

A one hit wonder blast from the past. Fortunately for you, I always really liked this song. I think at one point I had this album but sold it back. I love Dinosaur Jr but haven't been that fond of their other solo projects. This sound definitely sounds like the era that its from, but it still gets my toe tapping. 6/10.

Andyfest advances.



Round 1 - Promethium vs. Pumachik

1. Promethium (Last.FM Compatibility Medium): The Charlatans - A Day For Letting Go

Never heard this band. The sound has been tried a fucking billion times, but the song is ok as far as that goes. These guys have listened to a lot of Psychedelic Furs. Pretty meh. 4/10.

2. Pumachik (Last.FM Compatibility Low): Boards of Canada - Chromakey Dreamcoat.

Listening to this makes me feel kind of like I just ate a turkey sandwich and got three blowjobs. It's not really unlistenable, I just don't see when I would ever want to listen to something like this. 3/10.

Promethium Advances



Round 1 - Sanchez v. Wenchlette

1. Sanchez (Last.FM Compatibility High): Merle Haggard - Are The Good Times Really Over (I Wish a Buck Was Still Silver)

I'm not typically a fan of pure country music, but there are some exceptions and Merle is certainly one. His songwriting is just so fucking good, you can't deny. 8/10.

2. Wenchlette (Last.FM Compatibility Very High): Office - The Ritz

I was hoping for some mild-mannered singer songwriter, but spont comes up with some power pop...hmm. Wow this is sugary sweet. Reminds me of Fountains of Wayne or something. Just not into this. In fact I hate it. 2/10.

Sanchez advances



Round 1- Twogunsholla vs. Toots

1. Twogunsholla (Last.FM Compatibility Very High): Eluvium - Repose in Blue

Ambient music from some dude who lives here in Portland. Two minutes of basically one sound. Not sure how long I can make it here Tommy. Two and a half minutes of drone. This type of thing is good for a movie soundtrack or an art installation or something, but not for casual listening. I made it to the four minute mark, though. 2/10.

2. Toots (Last.FM Compatibility Low): Yowie - Tenesha.

From your library and last played, I knew this was going to be a problem, but didn't know just how big it would be til this came on. Maybe one of the worst things I've ever heard. I'd rather listen to the audio tapes of the JonBenet strangulation than this. 1/10.

Twogunsholla advances.


ROUND 2: Twogunsholla, Sanchez, Promethium, Andyfest

how is this a negative?

hahaha good point. maybe if i was a tense person, that sort of music would be more palatable to me. but I'm already mellow enough.

Haha wow I can't believe I advanced with a 2/10. Luck of the draw, I guess.

I also like how you put in your last.fm compatibility with each contestant.

Why does my library play alice in chains every time??????? Though nutshell is about their best song.

hahahahah, seriously!

ROUND 2: Twogunsholla, Sanchez, Promethium, Andyfest


Twogunsholla vs. Sanchez

1. Twogunsholla: The Helio Sequence - Lately. Another Portland band from ol twoguns. I've liked the couple tracks I've heard from these guys but haven't actually listened to an entire album. Wow, I like this song...might have to check these guys out (of course I've said that before). 7/10.

2. Sanchez: Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way. Not sure how to even rate this. I'm no huge Fleetwood Mac fan, but of course I've heard this song a thousand times. It's a pretty good song for what it is, but still...it's Fleetwood Mac. Unrateable.

Sanchez: Whiskeytown - Turn Around. I love Strangers Alamanac, the best thing Ryan Adams has ever done imo. Too bad he can't get back to something like this. That said, this isn't the best song on the album. It's a fairly boring mid-tempo song, but just for having this album in his library, I'm giving Sanchez a slight bonus. 7.1/10.

Sanchez advances


Promethium vs. Andyfest

1. Promethium: The Last Shadow Puppets - My Mistakes Were Made For You. Never heard of this at all, but the description says this is one of the dudes from Arctic Monkeys. This is quite good in a loungey way. Would be good for a dark bar late at night. Might have to check this out as well. 8/10.

2. Andyfest: Golden Animals - Darkness & Light. Never heard of this either. Reminds me a bit of Mark Lanegan or maybe Jim White. Another good late night drinking tune. The female backing vocal almost ruins it, though. But, pretty good if a bit boring. 7/10.

Promethium advances


FINALS

Promethium vs. Sanchez

1. Promethium: Chad VanGaalen - Echo Train. Man, there are a million bands/singer songwriters out there like this right now. This guy has a little bit more interesting voice than some of them, though, and at least brings a little rock. The similar artists list shows Hayden which I can definitely see, although this guy might be better. 7/10.

2. Sanchez: Kind of Like Spitting - Birds of a Feather. Yet another Portland band. One that I've never really liked. This isn't unlistenable or anything, but its pretty uninteresting other than the violin. Plus the dude's voice is pretty intolerable. 4/10.

Promethium wins.

I never make it to the third round.

it was pretty close. that song wasn't too bad.

Yeah, The Golden Animals seem to come up a lot in my rumbles and end up doing me in. They're always close though!

I have Whiskeytown albums in my library too

I expect to be a shoe-in when you're the judge, damn. Office is fun, though I haven't listened to them in a while.

f4df
Elliott Smith - "King's Crossing"
It takes almost two minutes for this to finally start going anywhere. Once it does, it's not bad. My main complaint is he's really trying to shoehorn too many atmospherics into here. The basic song, at its core, is actually fairly decent.

paladisiac
Kanye West - "Stronger"
Yeah, I'd do anything for a Klondike...EXCEPT willingly sit through five minutes of vocoder-intensive hip-hop.

GAME RECAP:
This is one of those rare low-scoring blowouts where the real losers are those in the bleachers.

FINAL SCORE:
f4df 53
paladisiac 35

yeah normally you would have, probably.

and marianfudge, yeah good point. you got robbed.

flying rabbit
Animal Collective - "Chores"
One of Obner's favorite PPDD punch lines delivers a song here that has certain enjoyable elements mixed with excessive (and REPETITIVE) doses of pure irritation. In the end, the irritation is too much to overcome. Punch line status preserved.

rparis74
Mick Flannery - "Near or Far"
This is a very sparce acoustic folk affair. Well done, for what it is, but not really my cup of Bailey's.

GAME RECAP:
The frantic all-over-the-court pace of flying rabbit is efficiently rendered ineffective by the precise, yet plodding, "four-clover" halfcourt set run by rparis74 in this awkward matchup.

FINAL SCORE:
rparis74 44
flying rabbit 29

if i couldnt beat animal collective i'd probably jump into traffic.

dont get any ideas, people.

haqdiesel
Typical Cats - "Justice Coming"
Never heard of these guys before, but this is one of the better raps I've heard in a long time. OK, this is one of the ONLY raps I've heard in a long time, but it's still good stuff.

red
Eagles of Death Metal - "Secret Plans"
Great band. Great sound. Great track. Less is more.

GAME RECAP:
Close battle with both teams making runs, but red pulling away by hitting key free throws down the stretch.

FINAL SCORE:
red 87
haqdiesel 81

harry
Califone - "Stepdaughter"
Sounds like a kind of dusty Western version of Sun Kil Moon to me. There's something oddly compelling about this.

radcliffe
Robyn Hitchcock - "My Favourite Buildings"
His vocal style here is so casual, it's almost (but not quite) to the point of being half-assed. And there's a strange charm about that, especially given the light acoustic arrangement with accompanying harmonica. Just a real ramshackle spontaneous feel, kind of like Paul Westerberg with a sophisticated accent.

GAME RECAP:
These two EXTREMELY veteran squads may not have youth on their rosters, but they definitely still "got game." The almost cult-like worship of John Wooden by harry would seemingly give him the decided advantage, but rads pulls through on Steve Nash-like grit and determination.

FINAL SCORE:
radcliffe 73
harry 68

flying rabbit got fucking ROBBED here.

Yeah, it's totally unfair that Animal Collective sucks so much ass.

somehow i showed up in this thread

what the fuck

Not to mention Califone is so much better than Robyn Hitchcock

perhaps i shall do an old fashioned rumble. first next bunch of people who want in, please give me a +1 or something.

do me