My apologies for the delays with this. My laptop spacebar key isn't working, which renders posts like this very difficult, so I have to post from work when I can.

Welcome to Week 22! We continue into bracket W2, featuring songs that won both of their first 2 matches. The winners will move on to bracket W3, while the losers move on to bracket L4.

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 21 is 11:59 PM, April 17th AM time.

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

Match W2.5:

Liz Phair - "What Makes You a Slave"
The Walker Brothers - "The Electrician"

Match W2.6:

Nina Simone - "Sinner Man"
Yann Tiersen - "La valse de Monstres"

Match W2.7:

Utopia - "The Ikon" (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4)
Nirvana - "Rainbow Chaser"

Match W2.8:

Visage - "Fade to Grey"
Curtis Mayfield - "Right on for the Darkness"

Match W2.5:
Liz Phair - "What Makes You a Slave"
The Walker Brothers - "The Electrician"

Love Liz, but "The Electrician" is a titan.

Match W2.6:
Nina Simone - "Sinner Man"
Yann Tiersen - "La valse de Monstres"

Truly love Yann, but Sinner Man is a behemoth.

Match W2.7:
Utopia - "The Ikon" (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4)
Nirvana - "Rainbow Chaser"

Enjoy Nirvana, and "The Ikon" is an uneven beast.

Match W2.8:
Visage - "Fade to Grey"
Curtis Mayfield - "Right on for the Darkness"

Very much enjoy Visage, but "Right On".. yeah, you get the point.

Seems like the week of the monstertracks, mostly the good kind.

The Walker Brothers - "The Electrician" wins over
Liz Phair - "What Makes You a Slave"
I can understand why someone would nominate the Phair song, but musically I find it to be unsatisfying. The Electrician is a grower for me.


Match W2.6:

Nina Simone - "Sinner Man" wins over
Yann Tiersen - "La valse de Monstres"
Both songs deserve to move on, but I prefer Sinner Man

Match W2.7:

Utopia - "The Ikon" (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4) wins over
Nirvana - "Rainbow Chaser"

Todd's epic composition easily out-distances a rather lightweight opponent in this round.

Match W2.8:

Curtis Mayfield - "Right on for the Darkness" wins over
Visage - "Fade to Grey"

Fad to Grey is catchy enough; but you can really feel Curtis in Right on for the Darkness - Curtis should be one of the favorites to go all the way in this contest.

Oh man, I just realized these are all in the same bracket, correct? Does that mean that none of them can face off in the final?

This makes me sad, as 3 of these are in my all-time Top 10 songs.

Anyway, my choices:


Match W2.6:

Liz Phair - "What Makes You a Slave"
The Walker Brothers - "The Electrician"

I like Liz and all, but she stood no chance against Scott Walker's finest hour, a perfect mesh of creeping dread and sunlit beauty.

WINNER: The Electrician (my all-time #6)


Match W2.6:

Nina Simone - "Sinner Man"
Yann Tiersen - "La valse de Monstres"

Nina romps here, as while I enjoy Yann Tiersen, it's more background stuff for me. Nina is very much foreground music.

WINNER: Sinnerman (my all-time #5)


Match W2.7:

Utopia - "The Ikon" (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4)
Nirvana - "Rainbow Chaser"

Finally a close match! I'm going with the refreshing brevity of ye olde Nirvana here. I prefer Rundgren in brevity mode anyway.

WINNER: "Rainbow Chaser"


Match W2.8:

Visage - "Fade to Grey"
Curtis Mayfield - "Right on for the Darkness"

It's sad that "Fade to Grey" had to land here, but it is crushed by Mayfield's most amazing achievement in a career full of them.

WINNER: Right on for the Darkness (my all-time #2)

Liz Phair - "What Makes You a Slave"
The Walker Brothers - "The Electrician" WINNER
Yes, this is a week for some of the more "epic" songs. The grower "Electrician" sounds better to me.

Nina Simone - "Sinner Man" WINNER
Yann Tiersen - "La valse de Monstres"
Not really close... Nina puts it all out there.

Utopia - "The Ikon" (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4) WINNER
Nirvana - "Rainbow Chaser"
"The Ikon" is laborious, but offers enough variety in it's complexity to beat Nirvana.

Visage - "Fade to Grey"
Curtis Mayfield - "Right on for the Darkness" WINNER
Not a huge fan of the Visage song, but it would take a lot to beat "Darkness".

Thanks!

So that's what's happening. Oh well, at least the game is still running.

Walker Bros. Wrote that cryptic and spooky melody that has haunted my day since its first appearance in competition. therefore, they get the victory here.

Yann does a good job, but Nina isn't in a serious threat this week.

Despite Utopia's piece being a half hour in full length, it still makes me feel better than the Nirvana (UK) song. "Ikon" is like Fantasia if it was a song with no animations.

Curtis wins it all. Visage just isn't as moving or meaningful.

Match W2.5:
In my appeciation these two are pretty even. However, What Makes You A Slave is little more than a demo while The Electrician is a full-fledged composition, worked out till the smallest detail.
Walker Brothers win.

Match W2.6:
Judged by their quality both Sinner Man and Valse De Monstres deserve to proceed. Of course, there's only room for one in the next round. Sinner Man gets my blessing.
Nina Simone wins.

Match W2.7:
Weakest match of this week. Although I still like The Ikon, third time round it gets a little tiresome. The 2:35 minutes of Rainbow Chaser is more to my liking right now.
Nirvana wins.

Match W2.8:
Right On For The Darkness is good, but it's also Curtis a teenyweeny bit past his prime. Fade To Grey is Visage at its very peak. The only peak they ever knew actually, and it didn't last very long. But, still.
Visage wins.

Match W2.5 - Liz Phair, "What Makes You a Slave"
Both songs meld portions of beauty with portions of tension. With Walker Bros., it's in a polished setting. With Phair its in a raw demo format. So while the Walker Bros. may have a bit more power, I find the Phair to have more immediacy. I feel "The Electrician" at more of a remove. Of course, I also have a ton of sentimental attachment to the early Phair sound.

Match W2.6 - Nina Simone, "Sinner Man"
An admirable run by Tiersen, but Simone outclasses here.

Match W.2.7 - Utopia, "The Ikon"
Better sound, more ideas... Rundgren easily beats Nirvana, Sr.

Match W.2.8 - Curtis Mayfield, "Right on for the Darkness"
If someone had submitted Curtis Mayfield singing a medley of "Barbie Girl" and "Crazy Frog," there's a fair chance it would still be my favorite for the tournament.

Match W2.5: I love "What Makes You a Slave", and I feel that it showcases Liz's ability to write a killer hook, but "The Electrician" is one of my favorite discoveries of the game, so it wins.

Match W2.6: "Sinner Man" is another epic powerhouse, and it runs circles around the sweet, but out-of-its-depth "La valse de Monstres".

Match W2.7: "Rainbow Chaser" has grown on me with each listen, while my opinion of "The Ikon" hasn't changed much since I first heard it. "Rainbow Chaser" wins.

Match W2.8: I like these about equally, but as I'm in a total synth pop craze lately, I'll give the edge today to Visage.

What happened to the Unacclaimed contest?

It's been quite a while since I noticed any progress

I miss this poll, and am still hoping it might get revived. Moonbeam, is it still in the cards?

Time to revive this game!

The Walker Brothers, Nina Simone and Curtis Mayfield win, while Utopia and Nirvana are in a 4-4 tie. Next vote wins!

I hope we start this again soon with all new songs. It was a lot of fun at the beginning. Maybe have only one or two loser's brackets so it doesn't get too confusing. I'm sure we can all think of two more songs to through into the contest.

Did I vote? No? Ok, Nirvana wins.