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Unacclaimed Week 11

Welcome to Week 11! Four more songs will depart the game, while four more will advance to bracket L2.

Please listen to the songs before making your choice, and provide comments (however brief) to form the basis of your pick.

The deadline for Week 11 is 11:59 PM, December 18th AM time.

You can read the descriptions of why these songs were nominated in the rules thread.

Match L1.9:

Ten Years After - "I'd Love to Change the World"
UFO - "Rock Bottom"

Match L1.10:

Lupe Fiasco - "Hip-Hop Saved My Life"
Nino Rota - "The Godfather Waltz"

Match L1.11:

Robert Randolph & The Family Band - "Going in the Right Direction"
Carly Simon- "Why"

Match L1.12:

Streetlight Manifesto - "A Better Place, A Better Time"
Mark Joseph - "Lady Lady"

Re: Unacclaimed Week 11

L1.9
A great social protest anthem vs. a super metal song. Although these two may be equal. I need to give it to the bold "Rock Bottom."

L1.10
"Hip Hop Saved my Life" wins in a gut call. I felt like this song was just better.

L1.11
"Going in the Right Direction" wins easy. Hands down the best song this week and one of the top three best songs in the losers bracket.

L1.12
I am going through a ska phase and just went through a UK alternative phase. Again, I like both songs equally, but since I can only pick one, "Better Place, Better Time" wins due to how I felt while listineng to the energetic piece as opposed to the slow and meloncholy "Lady Lady".

Re: Unacclaimed Week 11

"Rock Bottom" over "I'd Love to Change the World"

This is an extremely tough matchup for this round, as both songs are in my top 200 and were among my favorites entering the tournament. "Rock Bottom" wins because it nails every part of the 70s hard rock formula: it has the riff, the solo, and an anthemic atmosphere. "I'd Love to Change the World" has almost equally great guitar along with subtly ironic lyrics that lift it above similar songs from that era. Too bad both songs can't advance.

"The Godfather Waltz" over "Hip Hop Saved My Life"

Easy choice here. "The Godfather Waltz" is a very memorable and emotional theme song, while "Hip Hop Saved My Life" is an incredibly generic rap song.

"Going in the Right Direction" over "Why"

"Going in the Right Direction" impressed me in the first round with its throwback, Southern rock-tinged sound and tight performance. "Why" packs a lot of bad 80s ideas into one song, along with the worst music video of the competition.

"A Better Place, A Better Time" over "Lady Lady"

I can't really stand either song, but "A Better Place, A Better Time" at least has an intriguing title and some creative effort.

Re: Unacclaimed Week 11

Match L1.9:

Ten Years After - "I'd Love to Change the World"
UFO - "Rock Bottom"

Man, why couldn't these have been split up with L1.12? I second Jackson's thoughts about these 2, as well as his choice, the extra-epic no-holds-barred guilty-pleasure "Rock Bottom".

WINNER: UFO


Match L1.10:

Lupe Fiasco - "Hip-Hop Saved My Life"
Nino Rota - "The Godfather Waltz"

Actually, I'm going with Lupe here, since I like him generally. Not one of his very best, but nice nonetheless.

WINNER: Lupe Fiasco


Match L1.11:

Robert Randolph & The Family Band - "Going in the Right Direction"
Carly Simon- "Why"

I was sad to have to vote against Robert Randolph last time, happy to this time 'round, good stuff.

WINNER: Robert Randolph & The Family Band


Match L1.12:

Streetlight Manifesto - "A Better Place, A Better Time"
Mark Joseph - "Lady Lady"

Barf, I dislike both of these quite a lot. I'll side with Jackson again and go with misguided ambition over abject blandness.

WINNER: Streetlight Manifesto

Re: Unacclaimed Week 11

L1.9: My favorite TYA track easily beats the somewhat generic Rock Bottom.
Ten Years After wins.

L1.10: The nod goes to the iconic Godfather score.
Nino Rota wins.

L1.11: Fantastic retro song by Robert Randolph that leaves Carly Simon behind in the dust.
Robert Randolph & The Family Band win.

L1.12: These two leave me kinda cold. Oh, alright then, Lady Lady is the better composition.
Mark Joseph wins.

Re: Unacclaimed Week 11

Match L1.9 Winner - UFO, "Rock Bottom"

Rock Bottom has more urgency and drive.

Match L1.10 Winner - Lupe Fiasco, "Hip Hop Saved My Life"

Some film scores retain power when divorced from the movie. I don't feel that is the case here. I agree that Fiasco has done better, but there are some nice moments in this track.

Match L1.11 Winner - Robert Randolph and the Family Band, "Moving in the Right Direction"

As I said last time, the Rodgers/Edwards production (and Simon's delivery) feels flat to me... a far cry from the fizzy, light yet funky work they produced in the 70s. The Randolph track has much more fun to it.

Match L1.12 Winner -

Streetlife Manifesto's singer is not the strongest, and the transitions are too abrupt. But I appreciate that there is a bit of looseness in the delivery of what is the sort of song that typically would be overproduced. That wins it over a slightly too slick "Lady Lady," which is dynamic, but not quite as stirring and soaring as it wants to be.

Re: Unacclaimed Week 11

Match L1.9:

Ten Years After - "I'd Love to Change the World" WINNER
UFO - "Rock Bottom"
Man, the Ten Years After song is great. Not that Schenker can't match Lee in guitar licks, that's for sure. But "I'd Love To..." is just way too strong as an overall rock classic.

Match L1.10:

Lupe Fiasco - "Hip-Hop Saved My Life"
Nino Rota - "The Godfather Waltz" WINNER
Familiarity, perhaps, but I love the images this tune conjures from my favorite film. Lupe - not crazy about.

Match L1.11:

Robert Randolph & The Family Band - "Going in the Right Direction" WINNER
Carly Simon- "Why"
Randolph just has the drive that Carly lacks. "Why" is bland in comparison.

Match L1.12:

Streetlight Manifesto - "A Better Place, A Better Time" WINNER
Mark Joseph - "Lady Lady"
Close, and I'm not crazy about either, but "A Better Place" feels like a better song.

Re: Unacclaimed Week 11

With only 6 votes at the moment, I don't think it's right to close this at the deadline. Is the forum burnt out from this game?

I propose to officially extend the deadline a full week for this week until 11:59 PM, December 25th AM time.

Re: Unacclaimed Week 11

I have to study to a prove to get into college, so i didn't have the time to give the songs a proper fair listen since week 7 or 8, even though this is the loosers brackets i just come to this forum to say quick stuff via cellphone. But i promise that next week after the test is done i'll be back in the game and hey it's going to be christmas and my vacations (finally)!

Re: Unacclaimed Week 11

Oops, I meant to vote, the deadline just kind of crept up.

Re: Unacclaimed Week 11

Ugh, now that I've quit updating the Ongoing Polls topic I keep missing deadlines.

Re: Unacclaimed Week 11

Match L1.9:
Ten Years After - "I'd Love to Change the World"
UFO - "Rock Bottom"

Easy one here, I'd Love To Change The World is awesome and Rock Bottom is.. okay, I suppose.

Match L1.10:
Lupe Fiasco - "Hip-Hop Saved My Life"
Nino Rota - "The Godfather Waltz"

I missed the deadline in week 5, so I hadn't heard Lupe Fiasco's fantastic song yet; I would've definitely voted for it in week 5. However, here it's facing The Godfather Waltz which is a lot tougher.. and yet it still wins.

Match L1.11:
Robert Randolph & The Family Band - "Going in the Right Direction"
Carly Simon- "Why"

I quite like most parts of the Robert Randolph song and the more I listen to Why the more it annoys me.

Match L1.12:
Streetlight Manifesto - "A Better Place, A Better Time"
Mark Joseph - "Lady Lady"

The original version of Lady Lady Guy sent me makes this choice even easier, but even the youtube version wins quite easily.

Re: Unacclaimed Week 11

Vote: Ten Years After

A good psychadelic rock song, though lyrics are a little flaky, it's got a great melody. All Rock Bottom really has is a good guitar riff.

Vote: Lupe Fiasco

Godfather Waltz doesn't work that well out of the context of the movie.

Vote: Robert Randolph

One song I really like versus a song that does nothing for me.

Vote: Mark Joseph

A little heavy on the male self-pity but it has a good melody.

Re: Unacclaimed Week 11

Match L1.9:

Ten Years After - "I'd Love to Change the World" WINS over
UFO - "Rock Bottom"
The guitar in "Rock Bottom" is excellent, but it gets to be a bit droning and repetitive in the 1st minute. The vocal delivery is no help. The guitar provides a bit of variety at @ 2:30 and the guitar and drums do get moving nicely at @ 4:30 for about 30 seconds, but the vocals never seem to improve. Rush does this stuff much better as far as I can tell. "I'd Love to Change the World" is a complete pleasure for me to listen to. Not a particularly close call for me.

Match L1.10:

Lupe Fiasco - "Hip-Hop Saved My Life" WINS over
Nino Rota - "The Godfather Waltz"
Lupe's song keeps on growing on me. As much as I love "The Godfather" the Waltz is just not that spectacular.

Match L1.11:

Robert Randolph & The Family Band - "Going in the Right Direction" WINS over
Carly Simon- "Why"
Robert Randolph's song gets its groove and doesn't let go. Carly is not at her best with "Why" as she takes the old lady's way out and processes her voice (like Cher in "Believe'). I think that Carly was at her best in the early 1970's.

Match L1.12:

Mark Joseph - "Lady Lady" WINS over Streetlight Manifesto - "A Better Place, A Better Time"
Neither of these songs really did much for me. But, "Lady Lady" had a cleaner sound which didn't annoy me as much as Streetlight Manifesto's tune.

Re: Unacclaimed Week 11

Match L1.9:

Ten Years After - "I'd Love to Change the World": The guitar licks are engaging, but somehow, it still feels a bit limp to me.

UFO - "Rock Bottom": So I'll gladly take this balls-to-the-wall rock song with even better guitar licks!

Match L1.10:

Lupe Fiasco - "Hip-Hop Saved My Life": This sounded a lot better the second time around! I've come to understand that I'm just not that big on hip hop, but I can see that it is an incredibly important genre, and this song sells that message well.

Nino Rota - "The Godfather Waltz": I think I'd need to see the movie for this to be special. It's interesting, but it doesn't make me want to listen again like the Lupe Fiasco track does.

Match L1.11:

Robert Randolph & The Family Band - "Going in the Right Direction": Unclassified was one of my favorite albums from 2003, and this is one of its best songs ("I Need More Love" is my fave!), so I'm happy to vote for it here.

Carly Simon- "Why": Glitzy 80s cheese is right up my alley, but it found its way to the wrong bracket, I'm afraid.

Match L1.12:

Streetlight Manifesto - "A Better Place, A Better Time": My least favorite song in the game. Sorry.

Mark Joseph - "Lady Lady": There are some nice melodies in here, even if the chorus lets it down a bit. That said, easy win for me.

Re: Unacclaimed Week 11

Moonbeam
Nino Rota - "The Godfather Waltz": I think I'd need to see the movie for this to be special.


Wait... you haven't seen The Godfather?!?!

Re: Unacclaimed Week 11

The deadline has passed, but there are two ties! Next vote will be the last one!

Re: Unacclaimed Week 11

Ten Years After - "I'd Love to Change the World"

Probably the most beginning-to-end solid song in this game.

Lupe Fiasco - "Hip-Hop Saved My Life"

I don't think I'll be doing much voting against my nominees this game.

Robert Randolph & The Family Band - "Going in the Right Direction"

A lot of times when a recent artist takes on a new genre, it sounds derivative and overly polished, which is the fault of "GiTRD" but it's still stronger than Carly.

I didn't have time to listen to the last two.

Re: Unacclaimed Week 11

Voting is still open! The last tie has not been open!

Re: Unacclaimed Week 11

Moonbeam
Voting is still open! The last tie has not been open!


The list tie has not been broken. This is still open for Match L1.12.

Re: Unacclaimed Week 11

Does anyone care to break the tie in bracket L.12?

Re: Unacclaimed Week 11

I'd love to but I already voted in this one.

In the Moderate games what I do in an unbroken tie is cancel my own vote. Or you could go the UMT route and have a three way vote next round.

Alex D! You can still vote in the fourth match.

Re: Unacclaimed Week 11

I haven't been paying attention to this the past few weeks, but if it helps break a tie, there are 2 songs I really like here...

1. Ten Years After -- I'd Love To Change The World -- perhaps the best song in the tourney...

2. Lupe -- Hip-Hop Saved My Life --- Great song.

3. RR&TFB -- Going In The Right Direction -- Better of the 2...

4. Mark Joseph -- Lady Lady -- I Did not like either, but why not go "Lady Lady"...

Re: Unacclaimed Week 11

Here are your results for Week 11!

Match L1.9:

Ten Years After - "I'd Love to Change the World": 7
UFO - "Rock Bottom": 5

In a battle of songs that just missed out on winning their first matches, it was only fitting that this went down to the wire. This match finished at the original deadline at a 5-5 tie, but the last two votes send Ten Years After into the next round.

Match L1.10:

Lupe Fiasco - "Hip-Hop Saved My Life": 10
Nino Rota - "The Godfather Waltz": 2

In a quick and painless match, Lupe laid down the law, easily outpacing Nino Rota to advance.

Match L1.11:

Robert Randolph & The Family Band - "Going in the Right Direction": 12
Carly Simon - "Why": 0

Both of these songs were trounced 14-2 in the first round, but the result here showcases just how unpredictable this game can be. Robert Randolph earns a perfect week leaving Carly Simon asking "Why".

Match L1.12:

Streetlight Manifesto - "A Better Place, A Better Time": 5
Mark Joseph - "Lady Lady": 6

In another match that ended the original deadline in a 5-5 tie, Slick's vote turned it in Mark Joseph's favor.

The winners advance to bracket L2, while the losers have sadly been eliminated from the game.