Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea (1998, #512)
def The Bordeoms - Super AE 8-5
def Ben Folds Five - Whatever and Ever Amen 10-2
def Belle and Sebastian - The Boy With The Arab Strap 10-7
def Elliot Smith - XO 12-11
vs
Beck - Sea Change (2002, #657)
def Low - Things We Lost In The Fire 10-2
def Aimee Mann - Bachelor #2 6-5
def Sleater-Kinney - One Beat 10-5
def Super Furry Animals - Rings Around The World 13-4

Not a lot to say about this high-power matchup. Two extremely popular albums that occupy two very different niches. It's unfortunate they had to meet each other in the quarterfinals, because it could easily be a semifinal or even championship matchup.

Sufjan Stevens - Michigan (2003, #1713)
def The Strokes - Room On Fire 9-4
def Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans 10-3
def Joanna Newsom - The Milk Eyed Mender 12-4
def The Go Team - Thunder, Lightning, Strike 13-8
vs
The Knife - Silent Shout (2006, #444)
def Broken Social Scene - s/t 11-0
def The National - Boxer 11-2
def The White Stripes - Icky Thump 14-3
def The Decemberists - The Crane Wife 11-8

This one while lopsided on paper could prove interesting considering the backlash Silent Shout has gotten lately, and considering the upsets Sufjan Stevens has already pulled off.

One week to vote. If you didn't vote in Life's Rich Pageant vs Either/Or last week, make sure to vote in the tiebreaker! (You can vote either here or the other thread.)

I'll go with Sea Change. Haven't heard Michigan.

I like Sufjan and would be glad to see NMH dopwn, still the choices are easy here :

NMH - In The Aeroplane Over the Sea
The Kinfe - Silent Shout

Beck - Sea Change
The Knife - Silent Shout

Tough choice on the first, a few months ago I would have said Neutral Milk Hotel.

Beck- Sea Change: Not only are the songs great, but how great does this album sound? It's got everything, amazing writing, amazing artist, and amazing production. I just hope this isn't Beck's last great record.

Knife- Silent Shout

Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea

The Knife - Silent Shout

Beck - Sea Change (2002, #657)
My favorite Beck album, a beautiful "hommage" to the Serge Gainsbourg's "Histoire de melody Nelson"

Sufjan Stevens - Michigan (2003, #1713)
Two very good album, but I prefer this one.

Now it's getting a bit difficult, but my choices are

Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
Sufjan Stevens - Michigan

Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea (1998, #512)
The Knife - Silent Shout (2006, #444)

I agree that in the top bracket we've got probably two of the best albums remaining, while Silent Shout draws the only opponent (for me, at least) that it can still beat.

In the Areoplane Over the Sea
Michigan

Sea Change
(pass- still haven't heard Michigan)

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Silent Shout

I like all four of these albums, but neither matchup was a tough call. Sea Change is, in some ways, Beck’s most accessible and rewarding album—at any rate, it’s the one I’m most likely to listen to on any given day—and I really don’t know what I would have done if it had been up against Silent Shout.

But Aeroplane is out and away the class of these four (and here’s a belated tip o’ the hat to Anthony for turning me on to it). Three years ago, I never would have guessed that I could be made so happy by an album featuring a nearly unprecedented, highly distinctive instrumental palette, plus recurring references to Anne Frank, trailer park childhood, and images of injuries to the spine and oral cavity as metaphors for intimacy.

Sea Change
Michigan

Neutral Milk Hotel, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Sufjan Stevens, Greetings from Michigan

Although I really, really wish I could vote for both NMH and Beck here...

Neutral Milk Hotel and Sufjan Stevens

easily.

Sea Change
Michigan

I think Aeroplane and Sea Change were the two best albums in the entire competition. That said, it would take Are You Experienced? on the other of the bracket before I vote against NMH.

In the Aeroplane over the Sea
Silent Shout

In the Aeroplane over the Sea
Michigan

Fairly easy decisions. I have to echo what SR just said - "Sea Change" is probably the second strongest entry remaining, but sadly, it doesn't beat out NMH in my mind.

And I enjoy "Michigan" a lot more than "Silent Shout" although neither are a huge favorite of mine.

NMH
Silent Shout

I really really really love both those albums. No contest.

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Haven't heard Michigan

Sea Change
Silent Shout

My predictable votes: Sea Change and Silent Shout

Sea Change
Silent Shout

NMH & Knife

In the Aeroplane over the Sea
Michigan

I would have opted for Sea Change over Michigan if I'd been given the chance though. And the tie is almost impossible, but I'll go for Elliott.

Neutral milk hotel
The Knife

One more day to vote.

In both of the matchups, one of the albums has a strong but not necessarily insurmountable lead.

In the tiebreaker, both Life's Rich Pageant and Either/Or have received one new vote, which leads Elliot Smith with the 'half vote' lead.

My vote is for Michigan.

I didn't get a chance to listen to Sea Change so I can't cast my usual vote for In The Aeroplane...

In the tiebreaker I,m gonna go for Life's Rich Pageant. Either/Or is not a favourite of mine. Would have been a completely different story had it been XO it was up against.

And, the results!

Tiebreaker:

REM - Life's Rich Pageant 11 def
Elliot Smith - Either/Or 10

On Beams' last minute vote, Either/Or is now the most favored album to lose in the tournament.

Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea 15 def
Beck - Sea Change 10

The Knife - Silent Shout 13 def
Sufjan Stevens - Michigan 10

Both favorites win.

I'll post the new Semifinal thread later. I'm watching, err, playing the new Final Fantasy movie, err, game.

I am shocked at Life's Rich Pageant's victory. One of Elliott's albums definitely should have made the semifinals.