Now hear this: it’s time for week 2 of the second round…

Ballots for these brackets will be due midnight, Saturday, October 20.

BRACKET E
13. The Ronettes, “Be My Baby”
20. The Beatles, “A Day in the Life”
45. Prince and the Revolution, “When Doves Cry”
205. Simon & Garfunkel, “The Sound of Silence”

BRACKET F
4. Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
36. Gnarls Barkley, “Crazy”
61. Ben E. King, “Stand By Me”
100. The Mamas and the Papas, “California Dreamin’”

BRACKET G
12. The Beatles, “Strawberry Fields Forever”
21. Bruce Springsteen, “Born to Run”
53. The Beach Boys, “God Only Knows”
85. Led Zeppelin, “Whole Lotta Love”

BRACKET H
5. Aretha Franklin, “Respect”
60. The Kinks, “Waterloo Sunset”
92. U2, “One”
156. David Bowie, “Changes”

It looks like bracketology has regained its mojo, with our best voter turnout in weeks for brackets A through D (and there’s still time for more!). Big ups (as the kids say) to all of the usual suspects, and especially to the many first-time voters from last week. Thanks, everyone.

(Oh, and for private bracketologists, the brackets above sport the winners of weeks 5 through 8 in round one.)

Vamanos…

BRACKET E
1. THE BEATLES, "A DAY IN THE LIFE": A richly orchestrated and cinematic climax to a Beatles album so sprawling and ambitious that even George Martin didn't think the narcotized psychedeliacs of '67 were ready for it. The pairing of two distinct compositions - Lennon's melancholy and Paul's jauntiness - is a shouldn't-work-but-does masterstroke and Ringo's drumming is criminally underrated on this album closer. Mick and Keith could only dream of writing a song this atmospheric and experimental.
2. PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION, "WHEN DOVES CRY": A syncopated sputter drives this dark tale of the behind-closed-doors unnerve of romantic relationships. A bit surprised that I'm putting this in second; after all, it was responsible for ousting my favorite soul singer's only real chance in this tournament (a song that, in my opinion, deserved at least a second-round appearance), but I'm trying to keep my votes spite-free. This one's no Purple Rain, but it is a great song nonetheless.
3. THE RONETTES, "BE MY BABY": My favorite girl-group song, bar none. Although I don't necessarily agree with Brian Wilson's claim, the song is pure ear-candy. Like someone remarked in round #1, a great marriage of rhythm and melody.
4. SIMON & GARFUNKEL, "THE SOUND OF SILENCE": Is there a more beautifully haunting statement on urban detachment than this? The lyrical imagery is potent: "...'neath the halo of a street lamp/I turned my collar to the cold and damp..." A shame that it's reduced to fourth here, being a fan of Paul Simon and all, but it's neither his best from early S&G days (it’s close), nor better than the three above it.

BRACKET F
1. NIRVANA, “SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT”: A jagged guitar and drum assault that bulldozed the pop music landscape but tormented its creator enough to lead him to suicide. Admittedly, when I listen to Nevermind I'll usually start it at “Territorial” to break up the monotony (and then go back to Side A), but if I should happen upon "Teen Spirit" on the radio, chances are I’m pounding on the steering wheel and singing it as loud as possible.
2. THE MAMAS AND THE PAPAS, “CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’”: An autumnal folk-song that floats over an ever-building bed of gorgeous harmonies and gently strummed acoustic guitar. The Mamas and the Papas at their most eerie and concise.
3. GNARLS BARKLEY, “CRAZY”: Appearing courtesy of a weak round #1 bracket. Although, not a bad song, but even after a solid one year reprieve from hearing it, it's still way too permeated in my musical consciousness to allow for objective consideration.
4. BEN E. KING, “STAND BY ME”: It's with slight embarrassment that I admit that this is a song of which I've never really formed an opinion of, despite having heard it numerous times throughout my life. Call it a case of a song that's slipped through the cracks.... well, that is until now. I hereby declare my extreme dislike for this song, due in large part to the sappy and puerile lyrics and those cockamamie strings, which can't be described as anything but awful. I feel no shame ranking this song fourth.

BRACKET G
1. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, “BORN TO RUN”: A celebratory anthem of escape and rebellion that took a 25 year-old Jersey kid from relative obscurity and turned him into a rock messiah. With a dozen guitar tracks, glockenspiel taps and grandiose production, Springsteen crafted an ambitious, bombastic and cathartic tour de force that fittingly embodies an entire album. One of my all-time personal favorites.
2. THE BEATLES, “STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER”: I remember reading an article where someone suggested that the Beatles could've done the Stones' thing if they were in the mood, but not the other way around - sort of like comparing a decathlete to a guy who just throws the javelin. Seems appropriate here.
3. LED ZEPPELIN, “WHOLE LOTTA LOVE”:
4. THE BEACH BOYS, “GOD ONLY KNOWS”
Since I have #1 and #2 firmly entrenched in their positions, I’m left with a decision between a British blues-rock groove and a crazy genius' heartwarming wispy. The way I see it, though, it's just a simple contest between two love songs. If "God Only Knows" is tender and romantic lovemaking, then "Whole Lotta Love" is frantic humping in the backseat of a car. (Ok, perhaps it’s more like love song vs. “love” song.) Regardless, I'm in a saucy mood today, and so the decision goes to the song featuring the sonic orgasm of a middle-section and the raunchy "I'm gonna give you every inch of my love". Plant skips the foreplay and leaves the mushy sentimentality of "God only knows what I'd be without you" looking like a disgusting middle-school PDI. Plus, when he begs the female subject to be her “backdoor man”, something tells me he’s not talking about the entrance located near the garage.

BRACKET H
1. U2, “ONE”: Arose from under the rubble of the Berlin Wall and became arguably the group's most anthemic and soaring song (in a catalogue full of anthems), but not without being one of the most lyrically misunderstood of the contemporary era. An amazing example of the beauty of musical simplicity.
2. DAVID BOWIE, “CHANGES”: The grand dame of art-rock goes cabaret and comes out with this lilting ballad. Bowie's best song.
3. ARETHA FRANKLIN, “RESPECT”: [insert clever comment here Re: vocals, feminism, Atlantic, etc.] Incidentally, the highest ranked song on AM that I do not own, in any format.
4. THE KINKS, “WATERLOO SUNSET”: Nothing's changed for me since round #1; this is still an innocuous song that completely fails to grab me in any way, likely due to a melody which I find neither captivating nor original.

BRACKET E
1. The Beatles, “A Day in the Life”- The ultimate testament to the difference between Lennon/McCartney and it meshed wonderfully just like always only this time their differences were obvious.
2. The Ronettes, “Be My Baby”- A little overrated because of Brian Wilson's admiration for it but still a great song.
3. Prince and the Revolution, “When Doves Cry”- Tough competition for Prince this week.
4. Simon & Garfunkel, “The Sound of Silence”- Same for this one. Tough competition but neither of these two are my favorites by the artists so I probably wouldn't have made them #1 in many brackets.

BRACKET F
1. Ben E. King, “Stand By Me”- I gave this song the #3 spot last round. Shows how different brackets and maybe even different moods can change things.
2. The Mamas and the Papas, “California Dreamin’”- The only song I like by them but it's a good one.
3. Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”- The bad thing about the second round (and everything after) is that I know I'm going to contradict myself. I think I voted this #1 but I'm sure the competition was much different...
4. Gnarls Barkley, “Crazy”- You know what one of the most underrated songs of the past 10 years is? Crazy by K-Ci and JoJo. I didn't have anything to say about this so I thought I'd mention that.

BRACKET G
1. The Beach Boys, “God Only Knows”- Ooh, the first one where it really sucked to give a song #2. I have about 10 songs I really like left on the board and one of them will leave this week.
2. The Beatles, “Strawberry Fields Forever”- I was trying to find a clip of Dick Clark interviewing the kids in the audience after they showed the music video of this on Bandstand. Funny stuff...
3. Led Zeppelin, “Whole Lotta Love”- Great riff but I kind of think it gets annoying. The whole orgasm simulation in the middle is just stupid.
4. Bruce Springsteen, “Born to Run”- The only Bruce song I really love exited last round I think (Thunder Road). Otherwise I just stick to his slower stuff.

BRACKET H
1. The Kinks, “Waterloo Sunset”- The thing that gets me is there are so many other songs just as good as this one from the Kinks 67-69 output. It's a shame that three great albums have been heard by so few people.
2. David Bowie, “Changes”- This one gets #2 by default.
3. Aretha Franklin, “Respect”- I don't like this song no matter who the performer, but to tell you the truth, there aren't many Aretha songs I even like.
4. U2, “One”- Yuck. It sounds like some crappy benefit song. I will never understand how this band became the biggest band in the world.

BRACKET E
1. The Beatles, “A Day in the Life” (Soaring and majestic. A great melody propped by a huge orchestra, audacious production, and an ambition to strive for something new.)
2. Prince and the Revolution, “When Doves Cry” (For me, it's the layered vocals at the end that raises the song from a solid but not spectacular entry in the Prince songbook to something bigger.)
3. The Ronettes, “Be My Baby” (I'm still pissed this beat Subterranean Homesick Blues. The Ronnettes are not my favorite of the girl groups. But this is a great song.)
4. Simon & Garfunkel, “The Sound of Silence” (It upsets me that the only Paul Simon entries in the tournament are this and "Bridge Over Troubled Waters." He would be high on my bracket for so many other songs, with or without Art.)

BRACKET F
1. Ben E. King, “Stand By Me” (Just a classic, simple song. King's vocals are solid, not splashy (leave that to the big boys and girls... like Otis, Aretha, Stevie), matching the song.)
2. Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (I like a lot of artists where you have trouble understanding the mumbled, nonsense lyrics... Dylan, Pavement, R.E.M. But would have killed Kurt to have at least let us in on a quarter of the words he's singing in the verses? Okay, that's missing the point, I know. Also, for an allegedly revolutionary rock song, it sounds pretty conventional to me, especially the boring guitar solo. Or am I hearing this through the ears of someone who had to wade through too much poor grunge in the 90's? And it's not like I don't like the song or the band. I do. Just not as much as the rest of the world.)
3. The Mamas and the Papas, “California Dreamin’” (There's a lot to dislike about the Mamas and the Papas. The flower kids image. The VERY inconsistent catalog. But it's hard to deny that this is a very well written song. But it gets knocked back down by the harmonies. They sound thin to me. I have always thought that the Mamas and the Papas harmonies were very overrated.)
4. Gnarls Barkley, “Crazy” (I love what Danger Mouse did with the Grey Album. I enjoy Cee-Lo a great deal. This is a good song. But I think that it will not hold up as well over time.)

BRACKET G
1. Bruce Springsteen, “Born to Run” (For a Springsteen liker, but not lover, like myself, this remains the definitive statement of Sprinsteen's career. I like a few songs better ("For You" "Spirits in the Night" "Rosalita"), but this defines Springsteen for me. Now that could be a bad thing to some, and I have never been particularly enamored of the cult of the black-clad motrocyclists on their suicide machines. What I'm saying is I stand at a remove from the mythos upon which Springsteen calls. But the fantastically crescendoing music makes me buy into it. I can feel the rush of the hurtling lovers because the music propels me in a way the Rebel Without a Cause lifestyle does not.)
2. The Beatles, “Strawberry Fields Forever” (I'm always kinda surprised when this gets listed as a top-five Beatles song of all time. But then again, I am always surprised when I hear it how much better it is then I had remembered.)
3. The Beach Boys, “God Only Knows” (A stunningly beautiful song, marred by the orchestral arrangement in the middle. The song completely loses its flow there.)
4. Led Zeppelin, “Whole Lotta Love” (An also ran among three giants. Robert Plant is good, but the sex god thing is always a little ludicrous.)

BRACKET H
1. The Kinks, “Waterloo Sunset” (I'll say it again. Ray Davies kicks Brian Wilson's ass. That's right. I'm directly challenging all you Beach Boys fanboys.)
2. David Bowie, “Changes” (It's kind of like if Sinatra gave us My Way at the beginning of his career rather than towards the end. "So I turned myself to face me / But I've never caught a glimpse / Of how the others must see the faker / I'm much too fast to take that test" He's telling everyone, pretty much at the outset, you will not get a handle on me before I move on. Musically, it's so darn catchy.)
3. U2, “One” (Like so many other of their songs, the Edge does understated yeoman's work to turn this into a classic.)
4. Aretha Franklin, “Respect” (Why last? Well, its a strong group. But also I must resist the cult of this recording. "Chain of Fools" is her masterpiece. Other of her songs are better than this. It's gotten turned into some ridiculous feminist anthem. (Really, I actually prefer I Will Survive.) Am I too much of an Otis Redding fanboy to appreciate what she did with his song? Maybe.)



And my personal bracketology picks:
E: 1) Subterranean Homesick Blues; 2) A Day in the Life, 3) Groove Is in the Heart, 4) Proud Mary.
F: 1) Family Affair, 2) What’d I Say, 3) Stand By Me, 4) Don’t Be Cruel.
G: 1) Try a Little Tenderness, 2) Born to Run, 3) Tomorrow Never Knows, 4) Whole Lotta Love.
H: 1) Sex Machine, 2) Waterloo Sunset, 3) Changes, 4) One.

Bracket E: Just like last week, the first bracket is the toughest. I don’t think any of these songs is Final Four material, but they’re all very good and very closely packed.
1. THE BEATLES, “A DAY IN THE LIFE”: Nearly-Walrus John, stoned Paul, Ringo on tympani and even something for the dog…what else could you want? Sgt. Pepper has come in for a bit of abuse on our threads lately, and a lot of that’s deserved, but this track is almost an answer to any objections to the album.
2. PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION, “WHEN DOVES CRY”: This song STILL sounds weird. Brilliant. However, I’m starting to think that the Purple Rain soundtrack is more than the sum of its parts.
3. THE RONETTES, “BE MY BABY”: Ronnie’s far from a polished singer, but then, she doesn’t need to be with Mr. Mistrial producing. This time through, I really enjoyed those cool little drum fills.
4. SIMON AND GARFUNKEL, “THE SOUND OF SILENCE”: Of my last-place songs this week, this is easily the strongest. Am I nuts, or are the tempo and harmony both off a little bit in the first few bars?

Bracket F
1. NIRVANA, “SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT”: It’s true that, even 16 years later, some mediocre corporate bands (but I repeat myself) still haven’t gotten over that whole whisper-to-a-scream song structure. But I can hardly fault Kurt for that. He wrote a masterful pop song and performed it with total abandon. Deserves all the acclaim it gets.
2. GNARLS BARKLEY, “CRAZY”: I’m guessing I’m in the minority here, but I pay so little attention to what’s on the radio these days that when I listened to this again, I calculated it was only the fourth or fifth time I’ve heard it. What still strikes me is that it’s just a solid song—not groundbreaking, but very good.
3. THE MAMAS AND THE PAPAS, “CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’”: Really should not have beaten Ray Charles in round one. Not bad, but a bit of a one-trick pony…take away the harmony, and what have you got?
4. BEN E. KING, “STAND BY ME”: I’ve decided this song’s top 100 ranking is for historical reasons—early use of strings in a nominally R&B song. OK, polite applause, but that’s as much as I’ll give it.

Bracket G
1. THE BEATLES, “STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER”: Since neither “Revolution” nor “Walrus” made the tournament, this is my favorite Beatles song here. Nothing else in this bracket is close to it.
2. THE BEACH BOYS, “GOD ONLY KNOWS”: No disrespect intended to this one; the Beach Boys were the only rock band in history who could make something so cool out of such a sappy, wet ballad.
3. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, “BORN TO RUN”: I’d rank this #2 if we lyrics were the only consideration. Bruce really doesn’t come off as well on record as he does in person, although I do like this song.
4. LED ZEPPELIN, “WHOLE LOTTA LOVE”: It’s still icky. I’m sure everybody’s gotten the idea I don’t care for Zeppelin; at this point, giving more specific complaints (and I still have a lot of ‘em I haven’t even mentioned) seems like beating a dead horse (again, though, Jimmy Page is exempt from most of my criticism).

Bracket H
1. U2, “ONE”: The best-written song in this group by far. Bono gets a lot of crap—some of which is merited—but here’s the secret of his real talent: he takes specific subjects and write emotionally charged, universalizing (and elliptical) songs about them.
2. ARETHA FRANKLIN, “RESPECT”: Very close call. The AM rankings have this as the best cover version ever. That is correct. Aretha took an excellent Otis song and made it her own.
3. THE KINKS, “WATERLOO SUNSET”: I’ve come around a little bit on this one since the first round. I think I ought to get better acquainted with the Kinks.
4. DAVID BOWIE, “CHANGES”: I know this song means a lot to some…I just don’t get on board with David until he starts putting on the makeup. With this (and “Space Oddity”), he’s already got the musical chops, but he doesn’t yet have the…what’s the word I’m looking for?…balls.

Personal tournament update: In my own brackets, I’ve got “A Day in the Life” third in bracket E behind “Subterranean Homesick Blues” in first and “A Change Is Gonna Come” in second. In the other brackets, I took the same songs I picked above.

BRACKET E – Trap game for Fab 4?
1. The Beatles, “A Day in the Life” – The song that made me a Beatles fan. Easy winner here.
2. Simon & Garfunkel, “The Sound of Silence” – Always sounds fresh to me.
3. The Ronettes, “Be My Baby” – I think this one is a bit overrated. To me it doesn’t stand out from the rest of its genre enough to merit the super high rating.
4. Prince and the Revolution, “When Doves Cry” – I'm not a Prince guy, for the most part.

BRACKET F – Blowout win expected.
1. Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” – Actually kind of close for me, but still can’t be denied no. 1 spot.
2. The Mamas and the Papas, “California Dreamin’” – Fantastic sunny pop classic.
3. Gnarls Barkley, “Crazy” – Great song, but still seems a bit overrated to me. Give it some time.
4. Ben E. King, “Stand By Me” – A little boring.

BRACKET G – Prime Time Matchup!!! Grab your popcorn and sit on the couch.
1. The Beach Boys, “God Only Knows” – A perfect pop song and serious contender for the bracketology crown, but faces an even tougher Beatles challenge in round 2! Keeping fingers crossed.
2. The Beatles, “Strawberry Fields Forever” – My pro-Beach Boys strategy would call for a lower ranking here, but I can’t justify anything less than 2nd.
3. Bruce Springsteen, “Born to Run” – Not as good as “Thunder Road,” which I could have put 2nd with a straight face.
4. Led Zeppelin, “Whole Lotta Love” – Way out-classed in this powerhouse bracket.

BRACKET H – Upset Special? (Alas, probably not.)
1. The Kinks, “Waterloo Sunset” – Late 60’s Kinks are probably the most criminally under-appreciated bands in pop music history. This is one of the “hidden” gems, relatively speaking. But it won’t be around much longer in bracketology, so this is my chance to say goodbye.
2. U2, “One” - Very solid song. But also a bit safe. The kind of song you would want your daughter to marry. (Or the kind of song that politicians trying to appear “hip” would list as their favorite. See, e.g., Bill Clinton.)
3. Aretha Franklin, “Respect” – Am I a bad person for not liking Aretha all that much? Probably.
4. David Bowie, “Changes” – Good, not great.

Personal: E. Subterranean Homesick Blues (very close battle with Day in the Life), F. That’s All Right Mama (without Elvis there would be no Nirvana), G. God Only Knows (headed to showdown with LARS), H. Waterloo Sunset

Sorry Loophole – I’m confused. Don’t mean to slag on your choice of adjectives - you seem like a standup guy after all, but other than in the title, where does “sunny” fit into the picture? “All the leaves are BROWN/And the sky is GREY/I’ve been for a walk/On a WINTERS day”. If by “sunny” you mean “cheery” or “bright”, however, isn’t the song in a minor key?

Anthony
You're right about "back door man" double entendre, but to be perfectly honest and precise, you probably know that it's not from him (like the majority of the song).
Back door man is a blues standard that was sung first in the thirties by Bo Carter (a specialist of risqué lyrics with numbers such as Pin in your cushion, Banana in your fruit basket...) then became, completely re-arranged, a Willie Dixon blues for Howlin' Wolf in 1960; the Doors did that one too.
Every time Plant makes those sexual allusions, he takes them from bluesmen, like the famous "squeeze my lemon" on Led zep II taken from Robert Johnson

Yes, nicolas, I'm well aware of Plant's often copped blues lyrics (didn't Muddy Waters reference this lyric also?) At the risk of coming off sounding like a sarcastic A-hole, thanks for the history lesson though. Your knowledge of pre-album era music, esp. 30s and 40s, is impressive.

Yeah but none of those guys sounded disgusting while singing it. It's a little different when a guy with tight pants and shirt wide open sings those lyrics in a high pitched shriek. He might as just wail "I'm a hornball" over and over.

lokks like the older I get, the less I love Plant and the more i realize almost everything goo about Led Zep comes from the others, and especially Page.
Well, I'm a bit hard on robert, he can sing sometimes when he doesn't try to go too high, and he invented a way of singing that was so much used by every heavy metal singer from Bruce Dickinson to Axl Rose, but he doesn't know when to stop.
And he stole from the bluesmen without always giving credits

Anthony - I don't actually listen to the music. I have been faking it the whole time.

Apparently. But why start now - the tournament will be over in a month.

BRACKET E
1. The Beatles, “A Day in the Life” - This acid trip stroll heralded the end of the Beatles. Paul practically did the whole album himself.
2. Simon & Garfunkel, “The Sound of Silence” - I think this song would be cooler if it was called "The Sounds of Science", and remixed accordingly.
3. Prince and the Revolution, “When Doves Cry” - This is Prince under a deadline. Yet it still trumps the rest of his catalogue.
4. The Ronettes, “Be My Baby” - No.

BRACKET F
1. Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” - I imagine teen spirit smells like muddy clothes and stale marijuana. It's actually a deodorant.
2. The Mamas and the Papas, “California Dreamin’” - Phillips' ego was too big to be contained in a quartet but there was a time when they seemed like the most enviable group of friends and musicians.
3. Ben E. King, “Stand By Me” - Wouldn't be half the song without the string section or "Darling, Darling!"
4. Gnarls Barkley, “Crazy” - Slipped through the last bracket (what else were we going to pick? Borissey?) and stops short here. There just ain't much to this song.

BRACKET G
1. Bruce Springsteen, “Born to Run” - A mountain-scale tale of teenage love and burning hopes in a blue-collar wasteland. Don't go to Jersey.
2. The Beach Boys, “God Only Knows” - I listened to this song again last night and I think I understood its appeal a little more but by and large its acclaim still baffles me.
3. Led Zeppelin, “Whole Lotta Love” - Overrated. It's two riffs lifted from Muddy Waters with a psychedelic guitar solo in the middle. John Bonham's biggest chore was stomping the hi hat for that entire wank.
4. The Beatles, “Strawberry Fields Forever” - My least favourite of the Beatles classics. Lennon was right. It wasn't recorded properly.

BRACKET H
1. Aretha Franklin, “Respect” - Redding's begging transformed to Franklin's celebrating. Soul has never sounded so powerful or fun.
2. U2, “One” - U2's earnestness is undermined by their preaching. A good listen but the following track on Achtung Baby is much better.
3. David Bowie, “Changes” - There are better Bowie songs. This one jolts rather than flows.
4. The Kinks, “Waterloo Sunset” - Doesn't match the strength or panache of the above.

Anthony,

Just so there's no confusion, I was joking when I said that I haven't listened to the music. I try to vote responsibly.

As you have correctly pointed out, my use of the word "sunny" to describe California Dreaming was stupid.

In my defense I will try to offer an explanation: As a resident of the northern climate (though not as far north as you) I guess I have always related to the part of the song where the singer is dreaming about sunny California more than the part where the singer is complaining about their present bleak location. In my mind, then, it became a sunny song.

I also suppose that the song is in a minor key, but I am not an expert in musical theory. The harmonies make it relatively cheerful for a minor-key piece, which is probably intentional given the dichotomy between the singer's actual location and dreamed-of location. Bottom line, most people probably don't see California Dreaming as a real dirge. But I admit that it isn't Katrina and the Waves either.

I will try to be more careful with my adjectives going forward.

It's the history teacher back again (if you picture me with a cheap corduroy suit with leatherette patches on the elbows, cause I'm sure history teachers are the same on both sides of the Atlantic, well you're wrong...)
Yes, Led Zeppelin borrowed that song from Muddy Waters.
It's a Willie Dixon song in fact. Willie Dixon an ex-con and boxer, was THE postwar Chicago blues talent scout and songwriter, hired by the Chess brothers and then by Cobra records. He recorded and wrote songs for every blues star of the windy city : Howlin' Wolf, Muddy, Bo Diddley, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush..
Drawing on the Delta repertoire of old standards, he rearranged or wrote numerous standards : Spoonful, Little Red Rooster, Back Door Man, I can't quit you baby, Bring It On Home, etc.. (any other Cream, stones or led zep tracks ?)
Since a lot of British singers discovered blues via Chess records, they sung a lot of Dixon stuff,
sometimes without credit. Even if he was credited, he didn't always get the money :
"Around this time (end of the sixties) , Dixon began to have grave doubts about the nature of the songwriting contract that he had with Chess publishing arm, Arc Music He was seeing precious little money from songwriting, despite the recording of hit versions of such Dixon songs as "Spoonful" by Cream He had never seen as much money as he was entitled to as a songwriter, but during the 1970s he began to understand just how much money he'd been deprived of, by design or just plain negligence on the part of the publisher doing its job on his behalf.

Arc Music had sued Led Zeppelin for copyright infringement over "Bring It on Home" on Led Zeppelin II saying that it was Dixon s song, and won a settlement that Dixon never saw any part of until his manager did an audit of Arc s accounts. Dixon and Muddy Waters would later file suit against Arc Music to recover royalties and the ownership of their copyrights. Additionally, many years later Dixon brought suit against Led Zeppelin for copyright infringement over "Whole Lotta Love" and its resemblance to Dixon s "You Need Love." Both cases resulted in out-of-court settlements that were generous to the songwriter." (Bruce Elder, Allmusic)
link to his bio : http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:fifexq95ldke~T1

You know what, Loophole, I need to offer an apology. It’s not my place to question the vocabulary choices of other voters. Sorry about that.

Thanks for the explanation; now I can see where you were coming from.

nicolas, I think you ought to do a set of brackets just from, say, 1920-1953. You really know your onions about early 20th-century music.

(I doubt "know your onions" means anything in French, but I'm sure you can get it from context.)

BRACKET E
Bracket with strictly classic good songs, with number one being an easy pick.

1. The Beatles, “A Day in the Life” - Psychedelic masterpiece. Still would like to know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall ... This song has historic value, as does the whole Pepper's album. In the 90's, The La's (Looking Glass) and Oasis (Champagne Supernova) really tried hard to make similar finishing touches to their albums.
2. The Ronettes, “Be My Baby” - Phil Spector's finest recording. It was quite difficult to choose spots 2 to 4, but this song is more groundbreaking than the other two, so spot 2.
3. Prince and the Revolution, “When Doves Cry” - My favorite Prince song. He does some excellent crying and screaming here.
4. Simon & Garfunkel, “The Sound of Silence” - Nice, goose-bumpsy song from the two nightingales. Do like some of their more lively songs more.

BRACKET F
Bracket with one up and one down.

1. Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” - In 1991, Kurt and Co. came to wake up the dead US rock scene. Although the band is just slightly overrated IMO, and as much as I dislike the whole post-grunge scene afterwards, I do love this song and just has to be played once in a while, preferably loud!
2. The Mamas and the Papas, “California Dreamin’” - Talking about folk pop in the 60's means talking about the Mamas & the Papas. Listening to these strong, harmonious vocals makes life so much easier, makes you dream of girls with flowers in their hair, etcetera ...
3. Ben E. King, “Stand By Me” - Close call with Mamas & Papas. Strong vocals too.
4. Gnarls Barkley, “Crazy” - Nice to hear and all, but it's not clear to me why it has to be so highly ranked in AM. Must be a hype or something.

BRACKET G
See bracket E: All good songs, easy to pick number one.

1. The Beach Boys, “God Only Knows” - Best track from Pet Sounds, Brian Wilson's masterpiece (even though Smile was supposed to become his even better masterpiece). The album is full of pearls, but here we hear a good example of layering the vocals and instruments towards a beautiful and rich sound.
2. Bruce Springsteen, “Born to Run” - Energetic rock song, this is where the Boss's stardom started. It took until The River, before I consciously started to listen to his music and to like his older music too.
3. The Beatles, “Strawberry Fields Forever” - It's a matter of taste. I like The Beatles a lot, but somehow this song doesn't do so much to me as other songs from the fab four.
4. Led Zeppelin, “Whole Lotta Love” - Sad but true, I just happen to like the other 3 songs more. I wonder how this song would sound, if Joplin would sing here and Hendrix playing the guitar.

BRACKET H
Another bracket with 4 different styles, hard to make judgement.

1. U2, “One” - At the turn of the 80's into 90's, I got a bit tired of U2, maybe they had gotten too famous or something. Then there came another album, Achtung Baby, with pretty okay songs. It took a while, some lesser U2 albums and a brilliant cover from Johnny Cash, to make me see things in perspective and to say that Achtung Baby is one of their best albums and One one of their best and irresistably beautiful prayers.
2. Aretha Franklin, “Respect” - The queen of soul at her best, can't sit still with this one, that's for sure. But let's not forget the man behind the scenes here, Otis, his original is also very fine.
3. David Bowie, “Changes” - I'm gonna put Changes in 3rd place. That hurts, because the song is exceptionally good! But being only part of the puzzle that's called Hunky Dory, my favorite Bowie album, this means 3rd spot only.
4. The Kinks, “Waterloo Sunset” - Last week, I was not so positive about The Kinks. And this song seems to go bubbling under too with all those other great songs from the late sixties. No offence to Kinks' fans, but am I not hearing a mix of Beatles and Beach Boys? Hmm, maybe I just underrate them and should listen to them more ...

BRACKET E
1. Prince and the Revolution, “When Doves Cry” - Probably my second favorite Prince song. I was gonna say it's amazing that he plays all the instruments, but looking back at my comment in the first week that seems kind of useless.
2. Simon & Garfunkel, “The Sound of Silence” - Brilliant lyrics, especially the overquoted prophet part, a great tune, Simon is great as ever and Garfunkel was never better.
3. The Ronettes, “Be My Baby” - I will never forgive Ronnie for eliminating Subterranean, but now that she's in the second round I have to admit.. it's a lot of fun.
4. The Beatles, “A Day in the Life” - One of my favorite Beatles songs, but unfortunately it's not quite as good as the rest.

BRACKET F
1. Gnarls Barkley, “Crazy” - Again, Brian and Thomas are just the best in the bracket. Admittedly, it's probably the weekest bracket of the entire second round, but so be it.
2. The Mamas and the Papas, “California Dreamin’” - I was surprised to see this taking the win over 'What'd I Say', but this is about as far as it will go. I just can't see it in the last 16. Crazy doesn't really belong there either, but that's the fun of bracketology.
3. Ben E. King, “Stand By Me” - I honestly don't really know what to think of this song. On the one hand it's fairly boring, one the other hand it's so incredibly big (for a lack of better words), everyone knows it and when you close your eyes and really listen closely.. it's quite beautiful.
4. Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” - Not my kind of music, I'll just leave it at that. Very unfortunate to have it end up in such a week bracket, now it might actually make the final 16.

BRACKET G
1. Bruce Springsteen, “Born to Run” - A miraculous anthem and for me the very best Bruce Springsteen song. This actually made it to the final 4 in my own bracketology.
2. The Beach Boys, “God Only Knows” - A fantastic song from The Beach Boys, not quite as great as their other song in the tournament, but verrrry good nonetheless.
3. Led Zeppelin, “Whole Lotta Love” -
4. The Beatles, “Strawberry Fields Forever” - I said it before, and I'll say it again, this is the perfect representation of the Beatles' psychodelic period. Which is to say, it sucks.

BRACKET H
1. U2, “One” - I don't want to hear the Johnny Cash version, I don't want to hear Joe Cocker sing it and I definitely don't want to hear Mary J. Blidge sing it. This is one of those songs that will never be covered properly, because Bono is the only one who can magically make this masterpiece into the song it's supposed to be. Shiny!
2. Aretha Franklin, “Respect” - This, however, was a cover that surpassed the original. Still, no match for Bono.
3. David Bowie, “Changes” - Not sure what this is doing so high in the rankings, because there's 'greater' Bowie tracks. Then again, it's great fun!
4. The Kinks, “Waterloo Sunset” - I put this 4th in the first round, and I'm gonna do it again. They're weren't necessarily worst in either week, but the competition in the bracket is just a little too tough.

Crap, I couldn't come up with a proper comment for Whole Lotta Love so I just conveniently forgot to give it one at all.

3. Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love - Just great music, nothing spectacular, nothing brilliant, just solid.

Oh, and I meant weakest of course rather than weekest.

schleuse, did I already mention to you that this bracketology is big fun? I guess not, huh?

Well, here we go then: This bracketology issss BIG FUN!



Have a good weekend!

You're very kind, Dre. Thank you.

...although, regarding your comments, I'm still trying to imagine Janis Joplin singing that she's going to give me every inch of her love. Yikes.

Hopefully I won't have to go to the ole iTunes playcount for these.

BRACKET E
205. Simon & Garfunkel, “The Sound of Silence” I still love it so more, and have only loved it more since round one of bracketology reminded me how much I love it and how much I need to listen to it. I'm going to watch The Graduate now.
45. Prince and the Revolution, “When Doves Cry” One I haven't listened to a lot lately, but I remember hearing this song for the first time and suddenly having an epiphany as to what all the hype was about.
20. The Beatles, “A Day in the Life” Okay, this is a great song...of course. However, it's not one of those Beatles songs I can listen to over and over again. I tend to like intimate Beatles (e.g. "Blackbird," "In My Life") more than epic Beatles songs.
13. The Ronettes, “Be My Baby” Bill Maher put it best: "Phil Spector got himself a hung jury, which saved him the trouble of shooting them in the head. [laughter] FEMA has declared the Los Angeles jury pool a natural disaster area." But that's not why it's in fourth. Although a great song, it's just not my favorite.


BRACKET F
36. Gnarls Barkley, “Crazy” Didn't this go up against "There is a Light that Never Goes Out?" in round one. I voted The Smiths higher, which just tells you how much I love that Smiths song since it was about the only bracket this song would have been number two. It's so simple and unassuming, it's like "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" for this decade.
100. The Mamas and the Papas, “California Dreamin’” Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
61. Ben E. King, “Stand By Me” We all love it, it's just become a little overplayed.
4. Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” I loved it when the Pixies covered this Ramones song. It's a great song and I'm glad we don't listen to Ratt because of it, but I just don't get the big deal.


BRACKET G
53. The Beach Boys, “God Only Knows” 45 plays
21. Bruce Springsteen, “Born to Run” 29 plays
85. Led Zeppelin, “Whole Lotta Love” 7 plays
12. The Beatles, “Strawberry Fields Forever” 2 plays


Wow, this is the titan bracket. Having to choose between "God Only Knows" an "Born to Run" is like choosing your favorite kidney. They're both perfect and they both hold a magical place in your life. This one had to be a play count decider. I guess I could just say that "God Only Knows" still gives me chills down the back of my neck when I hear it. Not many songs do that after years and years of listening to them. Yet, I emote like crazy when listening to Born to Run because, dammit, I just want to buy a 1975 Chevy and drive as far as my own will lets me. Both these songs just express a state of mind so well that it's hard to believe you didn't write them for yourself.

Zep's cool and so are the Beatles, but their two songs can't even come close to the two other songs in this bracket.

BRACKET H
5. Aretha Franklin, “Respect” 6 plays
60. The Kinks, “Waterloo Sunset” 26 plays
156. David Bowie, “Changes” 8 plays
92. U2, “One” 2 plays

Ugh, I hate doing it, but these are all much closer than any of the other brackets...except for "Respect." Far and away, one of my favorite songs ever. It's overplayed, so I don't listen to it on my iPod, but I never turn it off so I'm sure I've heard it at least 30-40 times in the past year and have enjoyed it thoroughly. Her voice is wonderful and the energy she brings to the performance is great.

"Waterloo" is a great subdued song that I love listening to as I drive home from work.

"Changes" and "One" are great, but just not personal favorites.

wow, Springsteen's getting a lot of love. That's weird. I thought I'd be his sole supporter beneath the Beatles/Beach Boys deathmatch.

BRACKET E
1. The Beatles, “A Day in the Life”
2. Simon & Garfunkel, “The Sound of Silence”
3. Prince and the Revolution, “When Doves Cry”
4. The Ronettes, “Be My Baby”

What a bracket! the first 2 are among my all time favoutites, and the other 2 real masterpiece

BRACKET F
1. The Mamas and the Papas, “California Dreamin’”
2. Ben E. King, “Stand By Me”
3. Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
4. Gnarls Barkley, “Crazy”



BRACKET G
1. The Beach Boys, “God Only Knows”
2. The Beatles, “Strawberry Fields Forever”
3. Bruce Springsteen, “Born to Run”
4. Led Zeppelin, “Whole Lotta Love”

BRACKET H
1. The Kinks, “Waterloo Sunset”
2. U2, “One”
3. Aretha Franklin, “Respect”
4. David Bowie, “Changes”

Bracket E
1)The Beatles - A Day In The Life:Maybe the only Beatles song that could top this bracket - a masterpiece collision of Lennon/McCartney's songwriting - if only the rest of the album was even half this good - then we might have an album...
2)Ronettes - Be My Baby:These top 2 would not be out of place in the top 16 - this is a gem
3)Prince - When Doves Cry:A little disappointed it topped the superior 'A Change Is Gonna Come' but still,a solid tune but far from his best
4)Simon & Garfunkel - Must be one of the surprises of the songs to make the second round - don't think of it as a five star classic

Bracket F
1)Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit:Well by default - a fairly weak bracket - it wouldn't be in my top 16 but it looks like it's going to be...I think it's very,very,very overrated(but it's still great) - just not a top 10'er
2)Mamas and the Papas - California Dreamin':One of their only good songs - as always,great harmonies - nothing wrong with that
3)Gnarls Barkley - Crazy:Definitely should not have topped The Smiths(with one of the songs of the 20th century) in round 1 - outclassed by many of the other songs here
4)Ben E King - Stand By Me:Has never been a huge favourite

Bracket G
1)Beach Boys - God Only Knows:God only knows what song could top this in bracketology
2)Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run:Now this is what I call rock n'roll - The Boss brings some life back into rock
3)Beatles - Strawberry Fields Forever:Great song(if a little overrated) but it can't get above 2 powerhouses from the B-Boys and Springsteen
4)Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love - Boooooring - must be #4 in this bracket - must be(absolutely appalling that it topped Layla in the first round - Layla might have actually topped this bracket for me)

Bracket H
1)Kinks - Waterloo Sunset:I can't believe this - this song sailed past me for years,never gave it a second thought - and then suddenly after the first bracketology,I'm absolutely loving it - one of my very favourites now - a masterpiece
2)Aretha Franklin - Respect:Soul sister brings the noise
3)David Bowie - Changes:Great,but not a favourite of Bowie's stuff
4)U2 - One:Great song obviously but not one of my favourites of theirs - and I think it sounds just awful when he sings the chorus

BRACKET E
1.The Beatles, "A Day In The Life" - Favorite Song of all time, and it's also by my favorite band. The whole thing is absolutely perfect. The accoustic intro, Paul's verse, John's vocals, the wall of noise orchestra, and that final chord. Perfect, absolutely perfect.
2.Prince and the Revolution, "When Doves Cry" - Move over Billie Jean, this was the defining pop song of the eighties. It's bassless trancelike melody mixed with those sad lyrics. Who knew a song like this could become so big? Give it one listen and you'll find out why.
3.Simon and Garfunkel, "The Sound of Silence" - I always thought this was Simon and Garfunkel's best song. Many other S&G songs to me sound almost campy in a way. This one is honest and yet so mysterious.
4.The Ronettes, "Be My Baby" - It really is a good song, but not as great as Brian Wilson says it is. Back in the day it must have been amazing, but since then, we've had the three songs that have beaten it out.

BRACKET F
1.Nirvana, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" -With that opening riff, hair metal felt itself disintegrate and alternative wa opened up into the mainstream. I admit, I'm more of a Pearl Jam man myself, but SLTS is better than any PJ song in my opinion.
2.Gnarls Barkley, "Crazy" - So catchy, so funky, so upbeat and so maniachal. With a production that sounds like Phil Spector on steroids, and Cee-Lo's voice and twisted lyrics sompliment each other greatly.
3.Ben E. King, "Stand By Me" - What a great ballad, it's just so great in any terms of speaking. Ben E. King's voice makes it sound like he's wailing to the moon.
4.The Mamas and the Papas, "California Dreamin'" - Soulful, what can you say? It's not quite "Stand By Me", but it's close.

BRACKET G
1.The Beach Boys, "God Only Knows" - near perfection. A love song like no other. Carl Wilson's vocals on this are so melancholy and the production makes it sound like it could be the ending to everything, all at once
2.The Beatles, "Strawberry Fields Forever" - I hope this is the only time I have to vote against The Beatles, I hope, but I know it'll probably happen again. So much has been said about the legendary Strawberry Fields Forever, but what can you say? The music lies in the mystery.
3.Bruce Springsteen, "Born To Run" - Love this song, it's the the centerpiece to a classic, and although no one song can capture the essence of that album, this one comes close.
4.Led Zeppelin, "Whole Lotta Love" - I think I may be one of the only few people who think that Whole Lotta Love is vastly overrated. Maybe that's just me.

BRACKET H
1.Aretha Franklin, "Respect" - Don't you just love it how Aretha Franklin turned an Otis Redding song on itself and made the meaning from the woman's point of view? It makes the original almost look like a joke. So much energy too, you've gotta love that.
2.U2, "One" - One of U2's best. I still think that "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is better, but, yet again, what do I know? This song conveys so much more than SBS does.
3.David Bowie, "Changes" - I find Changes to be overrated, especially when there are so much better David Bowie songs out there. But it's fine, and a great intro to my favoriet Bowie album.
4.The Kinks, "Waterloo Sunset" - It's alright, but The Kinks can do, and have done, better than this.

I don’t really have much to add to my comments on the first go-around, so I’ll try to keep things brief.

BRACKET E

Be My Baby gets my vote over two very close contenders. It sounds terribly exciting, even raw, not words one would probably associate with the Spector/girl group sound, but if you dig down and listen to what’s going in the track you’ll hear some pretty wild, thrilling (but immaculately arranged, of course) music.

13. The Ronettes, “Be My Baby”
45. Prince and the Revolution, “When Doves Cry”
20. The Beatles, “A Day in the Life”
205. Simon & Garfunkel, “The Sound of Silence”

BRACKET F

Stand By Me is one of the most stark and beautiful songs and performances of all time. It’s never aged, and never will age, partly because it’s so lovely and has a timeless sentiment, but mostly because it’s so stripped down and basic musically. I also love California Dreaming. The other two don’t mean much to me one way or the other.

61. Ben E. King, “Stand By Me”
100. The Mamas and the Papas, “California Dreamin’”
4. Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
36. Gnarls Barkley, “Crazy”


BRACKET G

A pretty reasonable case could be made for ranking Strawberry Fields as the greatest artistic achievement in the rock music era. It’s personally and universally touching, melodic and a masterpiece of ‘the-studio-as-an-instrument’ recording.

I’ll also use this opportunity to repeat that I hate the wimpy, simpering lyrics of God Only Knows. To each their own, of course; apparently some people like hearing men coyly croon about how much they love their girl. I find the tone and the content of the song sickening, but hey, if my parameters keep me from enjoying a song that everyone else seems to love, then that’s my loss and my deficiency. I won’t deny that it’s pretty great musically, and I’m still ranking it above Born to Run. I find Springsteen’s melodrama even more offputting than God Only Knows love-sick teenager routine.

12. The Beatles, “Strawberry Fields Forever”
85. Led Zeppelin, “Whole Lotta Love”
53. The Beach Boys, “God Only Knows”
21. Bruce Springsteen, “Born to Run”


BRACKET H

Waterloo Sunset is the best melody of Ray Davies career, and for about four solid years in the sixties he was the greatest writer of melodies in pop music. Respect is as equally as great, but pop beats out soul in my world. As for the other two…eh, I can leave them or I can take them. They’re decent songs by artists to whom I’m largely indifferent.

60. The Kinks, “Waterloo Sunset”
5. Aretha Franklin, “Respect”
92. U2, “One”
156. David Bowie, “Changes”

BRACKET E
1. The Ronettes, “Be My Baby”: a long-time favourite of mine (since childhood). Back in 1965 (the year I was born) my mum bought a vinyl called “Los éxitos del año” or something like that. I’ve listened it a lot when I was a child, and it included songs that now I see as gems (from Kinks’ “All Day and All the Night” to Petula Clarks’ “Anyone Who Had a Heart”, from Marie Laforet’s “La plage” to Peppino Di Capri’s “St. Tropez Twist”). But there was a song that I played again and again in our old stereo. It was “Tú serás mi baby”, a cover in Spanish of “Be My Baby” sung by a band that I’ve forgotten the name for years. Till I’ve found them here. They were Les Surfs, a family band (Jackson 5-style) from Madagascar (!!) that recorded a bunch of Spanish or French covers of American hits during the 60s.
2. The Beatles, “A Day in the Life”: although it can’t compete with the sweet childhood memories I love this one. There are too many things in this song to love: the enigmatic lyrics, the orchestral crescendo, the drums and especially the bridge with the “aaaaah” part. I’d love to turn you on…
3. Prince and the Revolution, “When Doves Cry”: one of the best songs of the Minneapolis genius, with a fresh (at the time) mix of heavy metal guitars with synthesizers and drum machines.
4. Simon & Garfunkel, “The Sound of Silence”: always liked the nice contrast between the menacing lyrics and the sweet harmonies but, quoting Harold Wexler, SH2B4.

BRACKET F
1. Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”: Chris Novoselic said for the “Classic Albums” TV Series something like: “when Butch Vig played us the definitive mix of SLTS I barely couldn’t believe that it was us playing”. It’s a case of a song that surpassed the expectations of its own creators.
2. The Mamas and the Papas, “California Dreamin’”: definitely a sunny one, Anthony, although only in dreams. But dreams often are better than the real thing.
3. Gnarls Barkley, “Crazy”: some of you are angry with The Ronettes for preventing “Subterranean Homesick Blues” to reach the next round. That’s my case with this one for leaving outside the sublime “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” (it’s Slush and Midaso case too). Anyway it’s a very good song.
4. Ben E. King, “Stand By Me”: not a favourite but undeniably good.

BRACKET G (damn, three of these songs are in my top 5, I’ll remain true to my previous votes but it’s so sad to see leave the tournament some of these songs)
1. The Beatles, “Strawberry Fields Forever” (#2 in my all-time list): Nostalgic vignettes of a misty Liverpool dreamed from the sunny Almeria. Lennon turned his childhood memories into a psychedelic trip where “nothing is real” and “living is easy with eyes closed”. Now we know that his infancy was not exactly happy, being abandoned by his parents and evolving hardly from the classroom strangest boy to the working class hero he would become.
2. The Beach Boys, “God Only Knows” (#4 in my all-time list): it includes my favourite minute of music ever, the last minute of the song with these sublime intertwined harmonies.
3. Bruce Springsteen, “Born to Run” (#5 in my all-time list): “Born to Run”, album and song, represents the culmination of the first phase of Springsteen, the one of the adolescent urgency (“Thunder Road” , of the epic of the street gangs (“Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” , of the cheaters glory (“Meeting Across the River” , of the excitement of nocturnal life (“Night” , of the romanticism of the alleys (“Backstreets” , where “the girls combs their hair in rear-view mirrors and the boys try to look so hard”.
4. Led Zeppelin, “Whole Lotta Love” (#93 in my all-time list): nice one, but if I stick to my all-time list…

BRACKET H
1. The Kinks, “Waterloo Sunset”: “I don’t need no friends / as long as I gaze on Waterloo sunset / I am in paradise”.
2. David Bowie, “Changes”: Bowie dealing with time and with changes, defining himself and his future ever-changing career.
3. Aretha Franklin, “Respect”: defiant women power, but all she asked was “for a little respect when you come home”. Just a little bit.
4. U2, “One”: U2 entered into electronica and into a more humorous way with “Achtung Baby”, but they didn’t leave behind the epic ballads (fortunately in this case). Not my favourite anyway.

Love it or hate it: Not sure what this says about the song--or whether it is even uncommon in bracketology--but "Waterloo Sunset" is listed either first or last on all but two ballots (7 first; 5 last). Kind of interesting.

BRACKET E- One song I adore, and 3 that I don't. No surprises here...

1. Prince- "When Doves Cry"- Lighting in a bottle. Not my favorite Prince song (as you'll see in the songs poll), but certainly one of his best. It seems the epiphany Prince has in finding that he replicates his parents' brokenness resonated with a lot of people. Rightly so.

2. Simon and Garfunkel- "The Sound of Silence"- Pretty, but it doesn't move me.

3. The Ronettes- "Be My Baby"- I'm not much of a Motown fan, which is sacrilege for someone coming from Michigan. I'd like this better if it weren't for the "Wall of Sound" production.

4. The Beatles- "A Day in the Life"- Do I really need to explain this one?

BRACKET F- The proportion of songs I like here rises dramatically.

1. Gnarls Barkley- "Crazy"- It's those haunted background vocals permeating the ether of the song that keeps me coming back.

2. Nirvana- "Smells Like Teen Spirit"- Defined a generation. Not many songs can say that.

3. Ben E. King- "Stand By Me"- It saddens me to rank this wonderful song third. It would have trumped some of the other brackets for sure.

4. The Mamas and the Papas- "California Dreamin'"- Hate it.

BRACKET G- See bracket E.

1. The Beach Boys- "God Only Knows"- I generally dislike The Beach Boys, but this song is amazing. It defines what it means to ache.

2. Bruce Springsteen- "Born to Run"- A sharp drop off to number two. More tolerable than the two below.

3. Led Zeppelin- "Whole Lotta Love"- I just don't get it.

4. The Beatles- "Strawberry Fields Forever"- Among my least favorite Beatles songs, and that is really saying something.

BRACKET H- It's 50/50 here.

1. David Bowie- "Changes"- Hunky Dory would have been better represented by "Life on Mars?" in my opinion, but this'll do. Wondrous.

2. U2- "One"- The meek shall inherit the Earth. Wonderful.

3. The Kinks- "Waterloo Sunset"- It doesn't grab me quite like some of their other signals.

4. Aretha Franklin- "Respect"- You're not gettin' any from me, ReRe. Go wail about it.

Hello Moonbeam - nice to see you chiming in again. Hope everything is well with you in your part of the world.

I'm afraid I've got to make two little comments regarding your post, though...


1) Be My Baby isn't a Motown record, so you don't have any home-town pressure on you.
2) You're lucky that Like a Rolling Stone seems to be a safe bet to win its bracket - if it had lost due to your 4th-place vote, I'd have been forced to jump on the next flight to Australia to wring your neck!

LOL- sorry about the Ronettes gaffe. Embarrassing!

If I could have put "Like a Rolling Stone" 5th to get you to visit, I would have!

E

the beatles - a day in the life: every single aspect of this song is impressive. it still doesn't sound old.

the ronettes - be my baby: i first heard this song about 30 seconds ago and i was quite impressed.

prince and the revolution - when doves cry: i don't think that it's the best song on purple rain.

simon and garfunkel - the sound of silence: if this were "the boxer" or "bridge over troubled water", then it would challenge no#1. "the sound of silence", however, doesn't come close.

F

nirvana - smells like teen spirit: i used to listen to this song on repeat. not so much anymore, i think i killed it, but i remember how it used to be. there are alot of songs that i like, less that i would say have influenced me as a musician, but only one that i would say has influenced me as a person. this it it.

gnarls barkley - crazy: i had to read the lyrics before i understood this song, but once i did, it shot to one of my favorites.

the mamas and the papas - california dream: i really need to get my hands on a copy of this...

ben e king - i like it. i really do. too bad it's a strong bracket.

G

the beach boys - god only knows: i don't think it's the best on pet sounds, but even if it were the worst, that would be saying so little.

the beatles - strawberry fields forever: i don't get this song at all. luckily, it's been matched up with two others in the same category. i pick this over the other two.

bruce springsteen - born to run: this song just does nothing for me.

led zeppelin - whole lotta love: this song does even less for me.

H

i don't like any of these songs. i'm not going to vote.

Loophole noted that opinion (or at least ranking) is sharply divided on “Waterloo Sunset,” with almost all voters ranking it either first or last. Loop also wondered whether that amount of disagreement was unusual.

Actually, there’s a way to measure that...it’s a relatively simple matter to go back to my spreadsheets and figure out the standard deviation among the votes for each song. Those of you who know your math know what a standard deviation means; for those of you who don’t, I understand the concept but can’t explain it well…the punchline is that the higher the number, the more disagreement there was on the song.

Below is a list of the ten songs which had the highest standard deviations in the first round—in other words, the songs about which there was the most disagreement.

Live Forever 1.36
I Got You (I Feel Good) 1.31
Hotel California 1.28
Bohemian Rhapsody 1.26
Fight the Power 1.25
The Message 1.24
Dancing in the Street 1.23
Help! 1.23
My Girl 1.23
Stop in the Name of Love 1.22

This list pretty much matched up with my expectations—I don’t think it’s a great surprise that Oasis, the Eagles, and rap are pretty polarizing (by the way, there are several more rap songs just bubbling under this list). It’s interesting that there’s a lot of Motown here too.

It’s very difficult for a song to be both controversial (in bracketology terms) and successful—only two of these songs won their brackets ("Bohemian Rhapsody" and "The Message").

Where would “Waterloo Sunset” fit on this list? Well, through the first 14 ballots, its standard deviation is 1.39, so it could very well top “Live Forever” (I have no theory about why this is; I’m just giving you the data). “Sympathy for the Devil” had a high score last week, at 1.26.

The standard deviation measures the average spread around the mean.

Interesting how opinions seem to be more spread in the second round. Already 2 (probably) in the top 5 in only 2 weeks.

Thanks for the data.

Looks like most of the high SD songs have an inherent "love it or hate it" quality to them (i.e., Bohemian Rhapsody, rap).

Of course, I can't see anything objectionable about "Waterloo Sunset."

I think a lot of the people posting love the "epic" song or the highly produced, orchestra backed song. They've always been a critical favorite. Waterloo Sunset is neither of those and seems so simple, but in reality if you add all that goop on top of it it could have been on Sgt. Peppers or Pet Sounds or be a Spector song. The Kinks didn't feel the need to add the glitz to a simple, beautiful song. I was going to post this next round but it looks like the amount of #4's might do it in.

Very busy this week ( I’m working and finishing a thesis for Monday for a master I’m doing on the side)
So I’ll be short (as short as I can be)

BRACKET E
1. Simon & Garfunkel, “The Sound of Silence”**** : magical folk rock, poetic lyrics
2. Prince and the Revolution, “When Doves Cry” *****: terrific guitar intro, great funk-pop.
3. The Beatles, “A Day in the Life” ****: I have a bootleg version without all the production effects and that’s how I realized I don’t like this song so much
4. The Ronettes, “Be My Baby” **** : I don’t like Phil Spector, but the song is cool


BRACKET F
1. Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”***** : a well-deserved anthem of power rock
2. Ben E. King, “Stand By Me”**** : great intro again, upright bass and triangle. Great voice. And I like the lyrics, simple but true. Nothing better than somebody to stand by, or to stand by you (hear me, my wife & daughter & all my friends ?)
3. Gnarls Barkley, “Crazy”***: good disco-pop, good voice, nothing more
4. The Mamas and the Papas, “California Dreamin’”*** : I don’t like this song. Sounds fake to me.

BRACKET G
1. Bruce Springsteen, “Born to Run” ***** : “Baby this town rips the bones from your back, it’s a death trap, it’s a suicide trap, we gotta get out while we’re young, cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run”
2. The Beatles, “Strawberry Fields Forever”***** : one of the most melodic songs of the Fab Four. Only problem : born to run in the same bracket.
3. The Beach Boys, “God Only Knows”***** : it’s great but it’s one step behind the 2 others (wwhich btw are my 2 favorite artists/bands)
4. Led Zeppelin, “Whole Lotta Love”**** : with every reservation expressed, it still has its good moments (intro riff, beat)

BRACKET H
1. U2, “One” ***** : Anthony will be happy. Rick R and Johnny C made me love U2. Great song.
2. The Kinks, “Waterloo Sunset”**** : am I breaking a mathematical law ? it’s second and not far behind, and so British
3. David Bowie, “Changes”**** : You wouldn’t be surprised if I told you it’s my favourite Bowie period
4. Aretha Franklin, “Respect”*** : with all respect for r&b, it’s 4th (ok I’m a bit ashamed about this joke 10000 persons did before me)

Might as well drop the other shoe...

Here are the ten songs from the first round which had the LOWEST standard deviations; in other words, the songs about which there was the most agreement among voters:

Good Vibrations 0.00
Billie Jean 0.26
You Really Got Me 0.51
House of Jealous Lovers 0.59
Nothing Compares 2 U 0.62
Only the Lonely 0.62
Purple Haze 0.62
There Goes My Baby 0.63
Theme from Shaft 0.64
God Only Knows 0.64

Zero is the lowest possible score--the only way to get it is complete unanimity, which only "Good Vibrations" got. "Billie Jean" would have if I hadn't picked it second (sorry).

Agreement doesn't necessarily mean voters LIKED a song...six of these songs won their brackets, but three of them were in last place, with "House of Jealous Lovers" winning the golden turkey for most agreed-upon last place choice.

The lowest standard deviations of the second round so far are "Light My Fire" (0.58) and "I Get Around" (0.59).

Back to "Live Forever" for a second (or for that matter, "Waterloo Sunset")....

I discovered something interesting. For the most part, the voters who either ranked "Live Forever" #1 in its bracket in Week 13 or wrote positively about it are the same voters who ranked "Waterloo Sunset" low here in Round #2 (and low in round #1 as well.)

And those who ranked "Live Forever" low or commented negatively in the first round are the same (again, for the most part) as those who ranked "Waterloo Sunset" high in Round #2.

A quick breakdown:

"Live Forever" (thumbs up)/"Waterloo Sunset"(thumbs down)

schleuse (USA)
jonmarck (CAN)
Neoptolemos (NL)
Anthony (CAN)

"Live Forever" (thumbs down)/"Waterloo Sunset"(thumbs up)

John (USA)
Midaso (NZ)
damosuzuki (?)
nicolas (FRA)
Honorio (SPA)


Of course, there's a couple of voters out there who love both (and one or two that dislike both), but I thought this trend was significant enough to deserve a post.

Anthony, I did not vote in the first round, but you can add me to the first group, i.e.

"Live Forever" (thumbs up)/"Waterloo Sunset"(thumbs down)

As Dutchman living in Germany, that would be DrDre (GER/NL)?

Hmmmm....

For what it's worth, one of Noel Gallagher's favorite songs is Waterloo Sunset.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0302462/bio

Yeah well I've changed my mind now - I was definitely too harsh on 'Live Forever' and quite like it now...

Too bad you hadn't changed you mind a month or two earlier. Now Tacks in my Ears is in the 16.

BRACKET E
1. The Ronettes, “Be My Baby”
2. The Beatles, “A Day in the Life”
3. Prince and the Revolution, “When Doves Cry”
4. Simon & Garfunkel, “The Sound of Silence”
An incredible group, this would actually have been a neat final four IMO. I'm sorry to have to put "When Doves Cry" third for the 2nd time, but "Be My Baby" is the definition of pop and "A Day in the Life" broadened the definition of what you can do with pop. And "Sounds of Silence", being perhaps my favourite song of one of my favourite groups, only comes fourth!!!???

BRACKET F
1. Gnarls Barkley, “Crazy”
2. The Mamas and the Papas, “California Dreamin’”
3. Ben E. King, “Stand By Me”
4. Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
"Crazy" is fantiastic, it will be remembered as THE song of the 00s. "California Dreamin'" and "Stand By Me" are marvellous tunes and performances. I've heard "Smells Like Teen Spirit" too many times.

BRACKET G
1. Bruce Springsteen, “Born to Run”
2. The Beach Boys, “God Only Knows”
3. The Beatles, “Strawberry Fields Forever”
4. Led Zeppelin, “Whole Lotta Love”
"Whole Lotta Love" is not awful, but "Strawberry Fields Forever" is delightful and "God Only Knows" is even more beautiful. But "Born to Run" is powerful above all.

BRACKET H
1. U2, “One”
2. The Kinks, “Waterloo Sunset”
3. David Bowie, “Changes”
4. Aretha Franklin, “Respect”
"Waterloo Sunset" is beautiful but nowhere near the strength of "One" which is too good for some people, but not for me. As much as I like "Changes" it's not one of Bowie's best. Same with Aretha's "Respect". Otis Redding's original is just as good in my ears.

BRACKET E
1. The Beatles, “A Day in the Life” – SGT. PEPPER may be overrated (not saying it isn’t a great album, but for me it’s topped by its two predecessors and its two full-length successors – MMT doesn’t really count – in the Beatles catalog), but its grand finale isn’t. It’s an intricate studio construction that manages, via Lennon’s vocal and those anguished orchestral crescendos, to be nakedly emotional as well. The wordless bridge between McCartney’s segment and the last verse may be the group’s finest moment on record.
2. Prince and the Revolution, “When Doves Cry” – From George Martin maximalism to P. Rogers Nelson minimalism in one bracket entry. I can’t remember if I crowned this the finest single of the ‘80s in Round One, but I’ll say it again just in case.
3. The Ronettes, “Be My Baby” – Another of those songs that’s instantly identifiable by a single opening drumbeat, the work of the great Hal Blaine. The Wall at its peak.
4. Simon & Garfunkel, “The Sound of Silence” – A great record, but it didn’t deserve to make it this far. Some will disagree, but for me it sticks out like the proverbial sore thumb in this company.

BRACKET F
1. Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” – A GFN (Goddamn Force of Nature, per my comments last week) record if there ever was one. It heralded a genre that had an inordinately brief shelf-life, but the song itself has never gotten old.
2. The Mamas and the Papas, “California Dreamin’” – Another record that was very much a product of its era but has never aged, due to its sheer brilliance in every respect.
3. Gnarls Barkley, “Crazy” – How will this record, by far the most recent entry in Round 2, stand the test of time? Very well, I suspect. It so dominated in 2006, to the point that it immediately started being covered by other artists, that it’s already demonstrating GFN signs.
4. Ben E. King, “Stand By Me” – Sigh. As I’ve said before, maybe placing it last in its bracket in Round 1 was a bit harsh – it -is- a pop masterpiece, after all, thoroughly overplayed as it might be. I have no such misgivings here.

BRACKET G
1. The Beach Boys, “God Only Knows” – A GFN of a different color. The more I hear it, the more I think it might be the most beautiful pop song ever written, with its gorgeous lyrics and chord changes given added life by Brian’s extraordinary production and once-in-a-lifetime performances from all singers (Carl’s finest hour) and musicians involved.
2. Bruce Springsteen, “Born to Run” – They didn’t really become the E Street Band until Roy Bittan and Max Weinberg joined on this album. It’s a shock, then, to realize that the titanic title track was recorded -before- they were recruited. One can wistfully wonder what the song would have sounded like with Weinberg keeping time instead of the aptly named Ernest “Boom” Carter, but such thoughts are swiftly cast aside by the headlong rush of this go-for-broke production. It doesn’t really qualify as a GFN because you can clearly hear just how much work went into making it sound like this, but the effort pays off.
3. The Beatles, “Strawberry Fields Forever” – Well, talk about work and effort. An ultimate studio-as-instrument recording, with some of the most creative post-production work ever done. Again, Lennon’s raw vocal cuts through the filigree and his own cut-and-paste imagery so that even if you don’t know precisely what he’s saying, you know what he’s talking about and how he feels about it.
4. Led Zeppelin, “Whole Lotta Love” – This is an astonishingly rich bracket. As I repeatedly wrote last week, SH2B4, and Zep’s still-astounding blast of musical priapism sadly brings up the rear (heh heh heh) here.

BRACKET H
1. U2, “One” – For me, their greatest moment. I admire the band immensely, but even so this epic cry of the heart just towers over the rest of their catalog, and most of everybody else’s for that matter. Bono’s genius here was to craft a song that at once is ground-level specific to whatever person-to-person situation he was addressing when he wrote it but is simultaneously, effortlessly applicable to the entire troubled universe. “We’re one, but we’re not the same – we get to [note that it’s ‘get to’ and not ‘have to’, a distinction that the Edge has commented on] carry each other”. Have truer words ever been written by anybody?
2. Aretha Franklin, “Respect” – Otis’s song itself isn’t necessarily a GFN but this record most certainly is – after years of struggling to find her artistic voice, the Queen finally found a supportive environment and poured this performance out as if it had just been waiting to emerge. This wasn’t the very first song she recorded for Atlantic, but it was the one that set the template for what followed – not just for Aretha herself but for soul music and female singers in general.
3. The Kinks, “Waterloo Sunset” – A milestone moment in the midst of one of the greatest sustained periods of creativity any songwriter and band have ever known. Perfect in every way.
4. David Bowie, “Changes” – SH2B4. As I said in Round 1, a great opening track on an album full of songs I love even more.

Sorry, translate by Google

BRACKET E
1. The Ronettes, "Be My Baby." Noise sweet for our hearts
2. Prince and the Revolution, "When Doves Cry." The great song Prince combined with many elements and great interpretation
3. The Beatles, "A Day in the Life." A genius without doubt, but I do not know why, does not moving
4. Simon & Garfunkel, "The Sound of Silence." Very beautiful especially at the age teenager

BRACKET F
1. Gnarls Barkley, "Crazy". A discovery that represents the twenty-first century
2. Ben E. King, "Stand By Me." Very beautiful especially at the age teenager
3. The Mamas and the Papas "California Dreamin '." This song is a stimulant: it happy your life
4. Nirvana, "Smells Like Teen Spirit". The melody is very simple

BRACKET G
1. The Beatles, "Strawberry Fields Forever." That did me excited. For different from everything, risky,
2. Bruce Springsteen, "Born to Run." Bruce leaves the best of himself in every sentence. We need to hear it until the end because the crescendo is rector
3. The Beach Boys "God Only Knows". Genial but I reserve the 4 points for Good Vibrations
4. Led Zeppelin, "Whole Lotta Love." It's OK to touch the "air guitar"

BRACKET H
1. Aretha Franklin, "Respect." For your greatness, your strength and because you want my respect: 4 points
2. The Kinks, "Waterloo Sunset". There comes a time when it slows down too much, but it is precious
3. David Bowie "Changes". I do not think that represents good and Bowie
4. U2, "One". There must be a mistake. It may be that this song is among the 64 elected

BRACKET E
1. The Beatles, “A Day in the Life” - Fan-tas-tic!
2. Prince and the Revolution, “When Doves Cry” - Also fantastic
3. Simon & Garfunkel, “The Sound of Silence” - Nice lyrics and athmosphere.
4. The Ronettes, “Be My Baby” - Just funny.

BRACKET F
1. Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” - Grunge classic.
2. The Mamas and the Papas, “California Dreamin’” - One of the most uplifting songs.
3. Gnarls Barkley, “Crazy” - Nice. But here should be The Smiths "light", then that would be no.1.
4. Ben E. King, “Stand By Me” - Very nice, but the competition..

BRACKET G
1. The Beatles, “Strawberry Fields Forever” - So original for that time. Respect!!
2. The Beach Boys, “God Only Knows” - Sweet love song.
3. Bruce Springsteen, “Born to Run” - Bruce rocks.
4. Led Zeppelin, “Whole Lotta Love” - Not in its league.

BRACKET H
1. The Kinks, “Waterloo Sunset” - Nostalgic song.
2. David Bowie, “Changes” - This song can't be denied.
3. U2, “One” - this is one very good u2 song.
4. Aretha Franklin, “Respect” - overrated.

BRACKET E

1. "A Day In the Life" - I might have liked all the cute Beatles songs and Yellow Submarine when I was a kid, but this song hit me with the idea that I needed to look deeper when listening to music, and that truly good bands and artists have to courage to get experimental like this and expand their musical
horizons. I've never gone back to liking something that just "sounds good" since.

2. "Be My Baby" - Of course, if something is so perfectly constructed to help you understand why good music sounds great, it still can trump most experimental tracks (except the one above) any day.

3. "Sounds of Silence" - Beautiful harmonizing, just a little dated sounding. I like the version on the earlier S+G album better.

4. "When Doves Cry" - I think Prince has much more interesting sounding stuff than this. I don't like to be able to place anything in a general decade just by how it sounds, but this is 80s.


BRACKET F
1. "Crazy" - Converge classic soul voice with plodding beats and you get this classic that seems to combine all elements of anything currently indie into a universally liked gem.

2. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" - I wish this wasn't overplayed so much and is considered the essential song of the alternative revolution. I try to seperate it from the hype and it's still gnarly and powerful.

3. "California Dreamin'" - Gorgeous, but very 60s and little too polished.

4. "Stand By Me" - If Ben E. King could come to our time and sing Crazy, it would be even more of a solid number one in this bracket. But it's not that timeless, the way the song is.

1. "God Only Knows" - Essential to my listening pallette. Can't really say anything more about it.

2. "Strawberry Fields Forever" - Why these two songs in the same bracket! Among a large handful of perfect Beatles songs, I guess if John, Paul, George, and Ringo did a harmonizing round instead of that weird coda at the end of the song, then they would top Carl Wilson & Co.

3. "Born to Run" - This is still incredible at #3, all the appropriate bombast with none of the indulgence. Can't get over how he pulls off the horn section and over 7 minutes while remaining honest and authentic.

4. "Whole Lotta Love" - A really plodding song, not what I would recommend for anybody wanting to get into Zep.

BRACKET H

1. "One" - Tough call, but this song opened up the nineties for me and is still memorable.

2. "Waterloo Sunset" - Close second, only because the nineties were the formative decade for me, and the early nineties U2 albums were key early purchases as I began my teen years. This is a masterpiece, otherwise.

3. "Respect" - Love it, but really a staple of oldies radio, and nothing beyond. Don't even have it on iTunes.

4. "Changes" - Another 'good song' but nothing epic. Bowie could do a lot more that this song in regards interesting sounding tunes with perfect melodies.
BRACKET H
5. Aretha Franklin, “Respect”
60. The Kinks, “Waterloo Sunset”
92. U2, “One”
156. David Bowie, “Changes”

BRACKET E
1. Prince and the Revolution, “When Doves Cry” - A coin flip made it number one (tails). Hypnotic.
2. The Beatles, “A Day in the Life” - The culmination of Sgt. Pepper's, enough said.
3. The Ronettes, “Be My Baby” - Pretty rough putting my favorite girls group song third, but this is round 2.
4. Simon & Garfunkel, “The Sound of Silence” - Was last in round 1, will be last here. Not that it's terrible, just pretentious as fuck.

BRACKET F
1. Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” - The voice of a generation, "Here we are now, entertain us."
2. Gnarls Barkley, “Crazy” - A modern classic
3. Ben E. King, “Stand By Me” - I like this one just as much because of the movie as the song.
4. The Mamas and the Papas, “California Dreamin’” - Pretty good, but how'd it get here?

BRACKET G
1. The Beatles, “Strawberry Fields Forever” - Seems this is a very polarizing Beatles song, but it's one of my all-time favorites.
2. Bruce Springsteen, “Born to Run” - The Springsteen epic.
3. Led Zeppelin, “Whole Lotta Love” - Living, breathing physical rock 'n' roll, people.
4. The Beach Boys, “God Only Knows” - Sweet harmonizing, sweet sentiment, maybe just a shade too sweet.

BRACKET H
1. Aretha Franklin, “Respect” - I respect the Queen, and I think even Bono would put this numero uno.
2. U2, “One” - "One" is two. Although I think the Bank of America version would top this bracket.
3. David Bowie, “Changes” - One of my favorite Bowie tunes, but while I like him, he's not one of my favorite artists.
4. The Kinks, “Waterloo Sunset” - Kool Kinks Kan't Kontinue Kompetition

It's 9pm Friday here in Vancouver, so I'm hoping these will count...

BRACKET E
1. The Beatles, “A Day in the Life” - To merely call it a "song" is almost an insult.
2. Prince and the Revolution, “When Doves Cry” - That beat seeps into the subconsciousness...great track.
3. Simon & Garfunkel, “The Sound of Silence” - Yes yes, it's pretentious as heck. But the amount of (still) memorable lines from this song is a testament to its power.
4. The Ronettes, “Be My Baby” - Spector 101 just doesn't match up in this bracket for me unfortunately.

BRACKET F
1. The Mamas and the Papas, “California Dreamin’” - Gorgeous harmonies...a timeless gem.
2. Ben E. King, “Stand By Me” - Wonderfully simple and pure in every way, shape, and form.
3. Gnarls Barkley, “Crazy” - Amazing that this never actually hit #1 in the states...pretty much defines the term "crossover hit"
4. Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” - Eh...I was born in 1987, so I can't say I have the "I was blown away the first time I heard this song" story that so many others do - but that is a tribute to how influential Nirvana was.


BRACKET G
1. Bruce Springsteen, “Born to Run” - A true anthem
2. The Beach Boys, “God Only Knows” - It teeters on that edge between sappy and haunting the entire time, but never crosses it - the fact that they progressed from "Fun Fun Fun" to this in just a couple of years is stunning.
3. The Beatles, “Strawberry Fields Forever” - Beyond the whole subtext-of-lyrics and revolutionary-for-its-time business, and you're left with a very, very good song - but one that doesn't pack the same punch to the gut impact that the previous two do.
4. Led Zeppelin, “Whole Lotta Love” - As Cookie Monster would say: "One of these things is not like the others. One of these things just doesn't belong. Can you tell which thing is not like the others by the time I finish my song?"

1. David Bowie, “Changes” - Not the best Bowie song from this era, and the verse isn't anything to write home about...but that chorus. Oh, that chorus.
2. The Kinks, “Waterloo Sunset” - That Davies was writing songs with wonderful melodies like this consistently for a 4-5 year period just boggles the mind.
3. Aretha Franklin, “Respect” - Probably a victim of being overplayed; nonetheless, it still packs a punch .
4. U2, “One” - Remember that comment about God Only Knows being right on the edge of sappiness, but never crossing it? I think this one crosses it. But because that's subjective, I can completely understand the amount of acclaim its gotten.