Welcome to Week 14! This week features 8 more songs that won their first-round matches. Again, it's been awhile since we've heard these, so anything can happen!

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 14 is 11:59 PM, January 22nd AM time.

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

Match W1.5:

The Who- "Eminence Front"
Dressy Bessy- "California"

Match W1.6:

The Verlaines- "Death and the Maiden"
No Doubt- "New"

Match W1.7:

Nick Nicely- "Hilly Fields"
The White Stripes- "The Big Three Killed My Baby"

Match W1.8:

Stereolab- "French Disko"
Prince- "Crystal Ball"

Match W1.5:
The Who- "Eminence Front"
Dressy Bessy- "California"

I would've expected "Old And Wise" to make it to the second round more than "Eminence Front", but since The Alan Parsons Project is gone altogether my hopes are now all in the hands of Daltrey & Co.

Match W1.6:
The Verlaines- "Death and the Maiden"
No Doubt- "New"

"Death and the Maiden" is great, one of the best of the week, "New" is.. well, it might be No Doubt's best song.

Match W1.7:
Nick Nicely- "Hilly Fields"
The White Stripes- "The Big Three Killed My Baby"

While I enjoy "The Big Three.." more than most White Stripes songs, "Hilly Fields" is much more enjoyable to me.

Match W1.8:
Stereolab- "French Disko"
Prince- "Crystal Ball"

"French Disko" is simply a lot of fun while "Crystal Ball" is impressive but ultimately not good enough.

Oh gosh, of course "Eminence Front" wins. This is one of my two favorite songs this week."California" is okay, but comes nowhere near the power and brilliance of the Who song.

"Death and the Maiden" wins also, because this is my favorite song this week.

"Hilly Fields" comes next. This song is as dark and creepy as they come, just the way I like it.

"Crystal Ball" was great even if it was a bit long. it's danceability makes it my pick to advance.

Vote: Dressy Bessy

Two good songs, it's a close vote. I'll vote for the one that's farther from the center of a genre.

Vote: The Verlaines

Other No Doubt songs on that album I might have voted for, but not this one.

Vote: White Stripes

I like Hilly Fields, it's a good psychadelic song. But Big Three is my own nomination, and there's only two songs in this thing I would vote for over it.

Vote: Prince

Crystal Ball is an overlong, uneven song but with spurts of greatness. French Disko is a good song, but very ordinary.

Match W1.5 Winner - The Who, "Eminence Front"
Closer than I had remembered. Dressy Bessy maybe was a mite thin in production and lead vocals. But I really like the chorus, and the way she sings "in Summer." But the Who track is long, and nervy, and creates a fine sustained mood with those underlying synths. Avoids the problem with most late 70's Who songs by having Townshend on vocals.

Match W1.6 Winner - The Verlaines, "Death and the Maiden"
Perhaps the find of the tourney for me... but will the shabbiness begin to wear on me? I'm a minor supporter of No Doubt, and enjoy this number, but it doesn't measure up.

Match W1.7 - The White Stripes, "The Big Three Killed My Baby"
The standout track from their very good debut album. I've loved this musically and conceptually from the first time I heard it. "Hilly Fields" is impressively modern-sounding, and has grown on me since last round's listen. But I love that White Stripes number much more.

Match W1.8 Winner - Stereolab, "French Disko"
Another artist I really love, and a great song from them. Prince 's lack of focus hurts here.

Match W1.5:

The Who- "Eminence Front": I like that it is synthy Who, but it is still The Who, which means that it still leaves a lot to be desired for me.

Dressy Bessy- "California": Which means this little slice of sunshine gets another surprising vote for me, not that I mind!

Match W1.6:

The Verlaines- "Death and the Maiden": The toughest vote of this round for me. I ended up buying this song after Round 1, and I'm quite glad I did! It's extremely catchy even as it changes.

No Doubt- "New": On the other hand, I already owned this, and count it among the best No Doubt songs. That said, I gave the edge to the new discovery. The truth is that I like both of these songs about the same, and on another day, I may have picked "New".

Match W1.7:

Nick Nicely- "Hilly Fields": I bought 13 songs after Round 1, including this one. Of the 13, this has the highest play count since. I just love its expansive zaniness!

The White Stripes- "The Big Three Killed My Baby": I tend to underrate The White Stripes, and this is a good track, but I've grown to really love "Hilly Fields".

Match W1.8:

Stereolab- "French Disko": Yet another song I've bought, which makes this quite the strong week! The unrelenting pulse of this song and the delectable vocals make it a real favorite, but it's still out of its league for me.

Prince- "Crystal Ball": The pinnacle of Prince's genius.

Match W1.5:
The Who- "Eminence Front" WINNER
Dressy Bessy- "California"
Since the last round, I've been listening to Dressy Bessy quite a bit- for the most part, I really dig their sound. But in this instance, "Emminence Front" prevails as one of the best latter-day (post 1980) Who efforts.

Match W1.6:
The Verlaines- "Death and the Maiden" WINNER
No Doubt- "New"
"Death and the Maiden" (my pick) is a classic piece of New Zealand/Flying Nun music history. It's also become (like most early Verlaines music) part of my lifeblood. Not sure I'm ready to go there with No Doubt.

Match W1.7:
Nick Nicely- "Hilly Fields" WINNER
The White Stripes- "The Big Three Killed My Baby"
I almost called this a draw, but ultimately went with "Hilly Fields" because it is such a pleasant surprise. Both excellent songs.

Match W1.8:
Stereolab- "French Disko" WINNER
Prince- "Crystal Ball"
While I appreciate the scope of Prince's "Crystal Ball", I just prefer the classic Stereolab vibe.

Thanks!

Match W1.5:
The Who- "Eminence Front"
Dressy Bessy- "California"
I found this Who song very bad... and I love alot the Who.

Match W1.6:
The Verlaines- "Death and the Maiden"
No Doubt- "New"
The hardest choice this week. I give my point to No doubt but The Verlaines is as good as the other.

Match W1.7:
Nick Nicely- "Hilly Fields"
The White Stripes- "The Big Three Killed My Baby"
The Whote Stripes are so good. It's cool to see their here.

Match W1.8:
Stereolab- "French Disko"
Prince- "Crystal Ball"
One of my favourite in this game.

Match W1.5:

The Who- "Eminence Front"
Dressy Bessy- "California"

My Who nostalgia, even '80s Who, beats a fairly run-of-the-mill track in "California".


Match W1.6:

The Verlaines- "Death and the Maiden"
No Doubt- "New"

I really like The Verlaines song, much more than this average No Doubt track.


Match W1.7:

Nick Nicely- "Hilly Fields"
The White Stripes- "The Big Three Killed My Baby"

I enjoy my White Stripes, but I gotta go with the weird neo-psych of "Hilly Fields".


Match W1.8:

Stereolab- "French Disko"
Prince- "Crystal Ball"

GAH!!! The 2 best tracks in the bracket, head to head. "French Disko" is in my all-time 500, it's pretty much the quintessential Stereolab song. "Crystal Ball" is wonderful madness, but too much of an uneven sprawl to hold up against the Lab. It would've won every other match here.

Match W1.5:
While I'm not head over heels about Eminence Front, once again it gets my vote. The Who definitely benefit from the rather so-so opponents they meet in this game.
Eminence Front wins.

Match W1.6:
Solid song vs. a special song. The special one is Death And The Maiden, by the way.
Verlaines win.

Match W1.7:
Hilly Fields is my nomination, and of course I won't let it down.
Nick Nicely wins.

Match W1.8:
Two of my favorites in this match. French Disko still sounds absolutely fab, but the tour de force that is Crystal Ball wins here (by a very small margin).
Prince wins.

Match W1.5:

The Who- "Eminence Front"
Liked both, but I'm more in a mood for something with a deep sound. But still, you really hear the difference between Keith Moon and an average studio drummer.

Match W1.6:

The Verlaines- "Death and the Maiden"
I don't know what Dunedin's people gave to their children in the 60s/70s to make them release that many great singles once they grew up.

Match W1.7:

Nick Nicely- "Hilly Fields"
Strange song, in a great way, everytime it seems to lose you, it finds a trick to catch you back

Match W1.8:

Stereolab- "French Disko"
My pick ! And I find the Prince disco a bit messy.

Contrarying last week, when I disliked almost all the tracks, this time the group is very strong. Three songs here would win every bracket of last week!

Match W1.5: Dressy Bessy
Both my favorite songs of the winners round so far match against each other! Never thought I would vote against The Who's track, but California sounds better with each listening. Delightful melody!

Match W1.6: The Verlaines
Not that good, but a little bit better than No Doubt's one.

Match W1.7: Nick Nicely
Another perfect song, and other one that continues growing on me.

Match W1.8: Prince
Has some boring moments, but gets my vote because of the danceable and inventive other ones.

"Eminence Front" over "California"

It was my first time hearing both songs, and they pleasantly surprised me. "California" has a very breezy, summery vibe and might have won if this vote was being taken in June. The thought of a song from the Who in the 80s (post-Moon) was not exactly the most appealing thing to me, but I quite liked the way "Eminence Front" mixed rock and synth-pop.

"Death and the Maiden" over "New"

Neither of these songs completely captivated me, but the Verlaines win for using their name as a hook and that bizarre breakdown in the middle.

"Hilly Fields" over "The Big Three Killed My Baby"

"Hilly Fields" is one of those truly unique recordings that sounds completely removed from its era. If I heard this song without knowing its release date and had to guess, I'd probably be at least ten years off. The White Stripes song doesn't sound any different of better than their more popular albums, which I'm not that fond of anyway.

"French Disko" over "Crystal Ball"

"French Disko" might be my favorite song left in the tournament; I've been playing it non-stop over the past few weeks. It seemed so straightforward on first listen but has become utterly captivating, with dark lyrics that contrast with its upbeat mood.

"Crystal Ball" wasn't as good as I remembered it being, yet still is better than some songs that will advance. It's sort of like Prince's "Station to Station," a ten-minute song that takes a while to build up and abruptly switches styles mid-song, but it doesn't deliver the sublime moments of the Bowie song.

There is a tie once again this week, so voting is still open!

Match W1.5:

The Who- "Eminence Front" wins over
Dressy Bessy- "California"

The Dressy Bessy tune has a nice groove, but this is an easy call for Eminence Front. Even the instrumental beginning of Eminence Front is tight enough and interesting enough to win this match. Nice to listen to the Who in the 1980's still rockin'.

I'll vote on the other matches as time permits, unless the tie is broken first.

Match W1.6:

No Doubt- "New" wins over
The Verlaines- "Death and the Maiden"

This one was a very tough call. I didn't think either song was completely inspiring, but the Blondie like tune from No Doubt won over the tune from the Verlaines with the nice beat changes.

Voting is still open!

Match W1.8:

Stereolab- "French Disko" wins over
Prince- "Crystal Ball"

I found large portions of Crystal Ball to be annoying, while even though French Disko didn't strike me as outstanding, I was able to listen without being irritated.

Match W1.7:

The White Stripes- "The Big Three Killed My Baby" wins over
Nick Nicely- "Hilly Fields"

Can't say that I would listen to either one of these songs again in any hurry. But, The Big Three had the raw passion and rocked out more than Hilly Fields, so I gave it the nod. I would be surprised if I pick either of these songs in the next round.

Voting for this week is now over.

Here are your results for Week 14!

Match W1.5:

The Who - "Eminence Front": 9
Dressy Bessy - "California": 4

Match W1.6:

The Verlaines - "Death and the Maiden": 11
No Doubt - "New": 2

Match W1.7:

Nick Nicely - "Hilly Fields": 9
The White Stripes - "The Big Three Killed My Baby": 4

Match W1.8:

Stereolab - "French Disko": 7
Prince - "Crystal Ball": 6

Full brackets will be posted once Week 16 is finished.