Best Song Ever: May 2013 (Round 1 Part 3!)

Lenka, "Heart Skips a Beat" vs. Rentals, "Move On"

While the Lenka song may seem to stand out even amongst my esoteric tastes, I have a lot of respect for good bubblegum pop. It has its purpose and it can be as hard to hit it in all the right ways as it is to make a good rock or indie song. I tweeted a while back that although it's not usually my beat, I would recommend it to anyone looking for that kind of lightness in their life, and I may even do a full write-up of it in the future. And while it might actually be better at what it does than "Move On" by the Rentals is at what it does, I fall for that gentle Moog hum every time.

Winner: "Move On"



Van Halen, "Running With The Devil" vs. Styx, "Mr. Roboto"

"Mr. Roboto" by Styx is a song about a rock musician named Kilroy - specifically Robert Orin Charles Kilroy ("ROCK") who escapes imprisonment by an evil, anti-rock lobby group in the future by disguising himself as one of the ubiquitous robotic janitors present in this future setting. Anything potentially symbolic about this premise is undercut by the incredibly literal lyrics, which go from describing the plot of the rock opera, Kilroy Was Here, to sermonizing its point, in the opening track. I also think Styx might not be the right band to extol the virtues of rock as a voice for rebellious youth, "Renegade" or no. The opposition is a genuinely defiant rock statement demonstrating the true virtues of rock and roll: running with the devil.

I mean, "Mr. Roboto" is still a lot of fun to sing in the shower, but come on.

Winner: "Running With The Devil"



Tom Waits, "Underground" vs. Doors, "Love Her Madly"

I kinda regret not getting much further into the Tom Waits catalog, as of yet, than Swordfishtrombones. I really dig this twisted piece of cabaret, primally-grunted imagery of a literal underground village that brings to mind cave dwellers but also the freaks of the night, the "underground" folks in Waits' audience... I think. The Doors themselves are no strangers to bridging the cap between the center and the outsider, and have probably made more jocks and nerds alike take up recreational drugs than most bands. Is there anything particularly demonstrative of that in "Love Her Madly?" It's a jangly piece of 60s rock, but it still has that Doors bite to it.

Winner: "Love Her Madly"

Pretty Girls Make Graves, "Something Bigger Something Brighter" vs. Feist, "How Come You Never Go There"

Not an easy choice, between the twisted, hyperventilating, high pyrotechnics of PGMG and the slow burn of Feist. I think Leslie Feist just uses her vocals and her arrangement skills for best effect all over that album and that song in particular.

Winner: "How Come You Never Go There"

Stevie Wonder, "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" vs. Who, "Love Reign Oer Me"

With my particular tastes, the choice seems pretty clear but I want you to know it wasn't as easy as all that. I hate the idea that "Signed, Sealed, Delivered," or any Motown hit, is "merely" a good pop song. That's all they set out to do, not win irrelevant internet contests or reach decades of acclaim, and they did so perfectly. What an ebullient pop single, wrapped around the premise of crawling back to a partner, on hands and knees, and offering yourself right up to them. It feels like a spiritual experience, like all great music does. But the Who, as they are always in their best moments, are so grandiose, so inescapable. I don't think you have to be a larger-than-life rock epic to win this tournament, but it helps.

Winner: "Love Reign Oer Me"



Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, "Dream On" vs. R.E.M., "Sitting Still"

It almost feels like Noel Gallagher shouldn't be permitted another song in this tournament, since we've already had Oasis. But no, on a technicality, this is a "different artist," and a damn good song. Noel knows his business an every inch of his solo debut seems calculated to be the best, most immaculate possible version of his music. And that's cool, I liked it, I'd recommend it. I'd also recommend R.E.M., for pretty much any time and place. Their classic 80s sound was so organic-sounding that it sounds like they grew them, and picked them when they were ripe, rather than wrote them like anyone else would.

Winner: "Sitting Still"

Barenaked Ladies, "The Old Apartment" vs. Dum Dum Girls, "Yours Alone"

Much love to the Dum Dum Girls, whose glossy garage sound is something fresh. They've got the tunes and the attitude and the lyrics to back them up. Personally, I've just always been way into Barenaked Ladies, who are kind of a "you dig it or you don't" prospect. I like how they express their perspective on this, that skewed sensibility about relationships and human quirks, habits, hangups. The narrator of the song is hung up on the past: not an ex-lover, but literally a different time in his life when he was still with that person, just living in a different place. It's a weird form of nostalgia and self-examination (or avoidance thereof) that isn't often seen in pop music, and done in that attention-grabbing three chord bash out. These guys were just great at what they did.

Winner: "The Old Apartment"

Best Song Ever: April 2013 (Finals)

Richard & Linda Thompson, "Shoot Out The Lights" vs. Talking Heads, "Once in a Lifetime"

Part of the purpose of this tournament is to advertise these songs to you. Richard Thompson's work is highly touted by critics, with several of his albums landing on official "Best Of" compilation lists. But when would anyone hear his music, besides being a critic? If you haven't encountered his music in your day to day life, how can it possibly live up to the hype that surrounds it when it is brought up? I myself don't own any full RT albums. It can feel like, if you hear that level of hype before you hear the thing itself, you risk being underwhelmed when you finally do experience it. What music could ever truly live up to the dialogue that surrounds a song like this?

But it's beautiful in its simplicity, until it stops being simple. And I want you to know, if you didn't already, that this is a song that could go as far as the others in the semifinals here. It's a song that is within a hair's width of making it to the finals. It has everything I want from a rock song, a menacing riff. Vague, affecting, loaded lyrics delivered with a haunting weight. A solo that seems to exorcise demons. They should teach this one in the school of rock. It is a classic. If you don't know that yet, this is your chance. Losing in this competition doesn't make it go away.

Winner: "Once in a Lifetime"

Joel Plaskett Emergency, "Written All Over Me" vs. The Who, "Behind Blue Eyes"

This being my first ever tournament of this kind, I'm trying to find out what I'm really looking for in a finalist. "Written All Over Me" is a great song by a great artist. But it's possible that I need something that stands out from the pack a bit more. True, on the radio, Plaskett is as striking and attention-getting as anything, but in the field of this competition, it's merely great in a sea of legends.

Winner: "Behind Blue Eyes"

Bronze Medal: Joel Plaskett Emergency, "Written All Over Me" vs. Richard & Linda Thompson, "Shoot Out the Lights"
Winner: "Shoot Out The Lights"

Finals: Talking Heads, "Once in a Lifetime" vs. The Who, "Behind Blue Eyes"

Either you get it or you don't.

That's the name of the game when it comes to music. You can't study it. You can't learn it. You can't teach it. You can try to explain it, discuss it, dissect it. That's, after all, the purpose of this site. But in the end, pop music isn't something you know, it's something you feel.

"Behind Blue Eyes" is such a product of its time and place. That heady time of the early 70s, as prog was crawling out of the swamp of psychedelia and growing legs... as experiments in music were becoming more scientific and less psychological. "Behind Blue Eyes" was to be a centerpiece of Pete Townshend's Lifehouse project, explaining the villain's persona and his motivation. But it appeared instead on "Who's Next," with other Lifehouse castoffs like "Baba O'Riley" and proto-prog future CSI themes like "Won't Get Fooled Again." It's a pretty perfect song. The lyrical details are well chosen. It starts out mellow and folksy, and hits that hard and heavy spot at just the right point. It doesn't seem ashamed of being a rock song, albeit an ambitious one. Without any context, it manages to somehow thrive, leaving you to fill in the details for yourself.

I've never had much context for "Once in a Lifetime," either. None is provided. I've never wondered. It's such a perfect collection of phrases. "And you may ask yourself: How did I get here? ... / Letting the days go by / Water flowing underground / Into the blue again / After the money's gone / Once in a lifetime..." Is it a screed against the mundanity of everyday life, of settling down and losing opportunities? No.

Because it's not really about what it's about. It's not instructive. It's barely even food for thought. It just is. What great pop music does is create or enshrine phrases and feelings that had no form or voice before, and leaves them there to be taken up by audiences, hopefully year after year. It's the selling of a feeling. And of this entire list, no song, I think, embodies a feeling as well as "Once in a Lifetime."

There are other ways to judge which would have been the best. There might be a version of this tournament where this song didn't make it past the second round. I don't think anyone who thinks about music enough to stick with a series like this could deny that "Once in a Lifetime" is absolutely worthy of a victory like this. I don't know who exactly can put their finger on the real meaning of this song, why it says what it does the way that it does, with sound textures and African polyrhythms and David Byrne's David Byrniest delivery... watching it performed in the film Stop Making Sense feels like the Fantastic Four tapping into the Negative Zone.

I love all the songs in this competition. They all come from a place of appreciation and desire to hear over and over, that's why the picks all came from my iTunes library. "Once in a Lifetime" can then by considered a first among equals... my joyful and willing pick, for what to listen to next. Out of all of April 2013, it is the best song ever.

Best Song Ever: April 2013 (Round 3)

Tokyo Police Club, "Frankenstein" vs. Richard & Linda Thompson, "Shoot Out the Lights"
Winner: "Shoot Out the Lights"

Talking Heads, "Once in a Lifetime" vs. Arcade Fire, "Ready to Start"
Winner: "Once in a Lifetime"

The La's, "I Can't Sleep" vs. The Who, "Behind Blue Eyes"
Winner: "Behind Blue Eyes"

Props to all of our quarter-finalists. These three matches were easy and tough: easy because the winners were all bona fide classics with reputations and legacies to back them up, tough because the opponents are all recent favourites that have gained familiarity for me through this blog. After reading an article about the top albums of the past 25 years, near the beginning of my run writing this blog, I listened to the La's "I Can't Sleep" (and "Timeless Melody" and of course "There She Goes") over and over on YouTube for nights on end until my copy ofthe album finally arrived. Fittingly, the sound of that song related to my own enthusiasm to be listening to and enjoying music for the first time. But that joy is best shown, perhaps even made possible, by the Whos of the world, the "Behind Blue Eyes," the sometimes indulgent but ultimately epic and affecting versions of rock and roll that rip us out of reality and place us somewhere huge.

Tokyo Police Club's chilled over closing number put up a good fight, with its precision drumbeat and impeccable engineered sound, with every element just properly applied, those synths and guitars never fighting against each other but still moving in unison. And to Arcade Fire, of course. Both bands created modern classics that demonstrate exactly how good music can be in the 2010s, when made by people that care about what goes onto a record. Tokyo was a scrappy underdog here, known mainly in Canada as a fun band to see when they're in town. Arcade Fire is rightly hailed by most critics (and rightly disliked by people who don't like them because nothing's for everybody.) I love how "Ready to Start" captures the restlessness of youth, with its droning riff that seems to pace the floor like a nervous wreck, pondering questions that seem deep from the inside, like every teen and suburbanite.

Can a song that's been recorded in the last ten years stand up to decades of a legacy? I didn't hear "Shoot Out the Lights" very long before I started this blog and heard those songs, and while "Once In A Lifetime" seems always to have been around, it's not like I was there when it was first out. So it could be that I'm just bowing to the weight that the years have lent them. Or it could just be that all the pieces to fall into place in these great songs. The simple, vague, distant lyrics of "Shoot Out The Lights" tell you everything you need to know, but it's already been suggested by the opening two notes of that Link Wray like riff. I could swerve myself and everyone by putting AF over TH, but I don't even think Win Butler would. I could do it, if I didn't listen to "Once in a Lifetime" and went solely on what I think I remember about that song, but those sounds, those drums, that Tina Weymouth bass, that David Byrne delivery. There's not another song like it in existence and I hope someday a better writer than me pairs these two songs together and unpacks their true similarities: not only their moody sonic backdrops, but their alienated lyrics about growing mature and comfortable.

my bloody valentine, "only tomorrow" vs. Joel Plaskett Emergency, "Written All Over Me"

But then there was one really tough call. Both are songs I heard for the first time in the last year or so. You have to be of a certain perspective to even appreciate My Bloody Valentine, with its rough, hazy, unpredictable sound, but anyone can love Joel Plaskett, a master of pop songcraft who always manages to seem inventive anyway. He and his band are objectively great at what they do.

"Only Tomorrow" was a song I singled out on MBV, basically the moment I realized I was truly listening to another great work from this band, that their wild, freewheeling yet immaculately assembled music - every odd tangent and impulse is in fact worked over and carefully considered - is still alive and well.

And while I thought that was a done deal, that MBV's essence was so transcendent that they would be carried to the next round, I listened again, really listened to the relatively compact, uncomplicated pop rock song Plaskett had written, as it reached a transcendent quality of its own with a guitar solo that lets you know: This Is Joel Plaskett. And hearing him in those six strings, nonverbally pouring himself into your headphones, you just can't help but feel good. I'm calling this one an upset.

Winner: "Written All Over Me"

Best Song Ever: April 2013 (Round 2)

Tokyo Police Club, "Frankenstein" vs. The Exploding Hearts, "I'm a Pretender"
Winner: "Frankenstein"

Richard & Linda Thompson, "Shoot Out the Lights" vs. The Who, "Substitute"
Winner: "Shoot Out the Lights"

Jack White, "Blunderbuss" vs. Talking Heads, "Once in a Lifetime"
Winner: "Once in a Lifetime"

Tokyo Police Club, "End of a Spark" vs. my bloody valentine, "Only Tomorrow"
Winner: "only tomorrow"

Deer Tick, "The Bump" vs. The La's "I Can't Sleep"
Winner: "I Can't Sleep"

Zeus, "Kindergarten" vs. The Who, "Behind Blue Eyes"
Winner: "Behind Blue Eyes"

Round one was a bit of a learning experience. For obvious reasons, I had to learn the decision-making process: how do you judge two songs, sometimes completely different, against each other? Is one form of song inherently better than another? Do old songs, with decades of weight and a lifetime of listening, take precedence over recent favourites? Are originals inherently better than covers? On that last point, I find it very regrettable that none of the covers in the competition made it to round two. Those were some very tough calls.

I was pretty sheepish about the message I wanted to send about the nature of this exercise. In one sense it's an idle musing, the equivalent of sitting around in your basement with your buddies and going, "Who or Zeppelin? Floyd or Queen?" I don't mean to insult any song by voting it out. These are all songs I listen to, that I choose to have with me at all time. This is all quality music and worthy of recognition. But in a real sense, they are competing against each other. They're competing for your dollars and your time. The question at the heart of each of these matchups is: Which song would I rather be listening to? Which song could I listen to all day, and which song would I eventually turn to something else? Yes, some of the get by on personal attachment, or legacy, or being more ambitious works (here's to you, "Behind Blue Eyes," which carries all three) but when we listen to music this are factors, they are called up in our heads time and again when we click on these songs. The nebulous qualities a song needs to be better or best, to one man's ears, are all fair game.

The other learning experience was of course that I set way too much of a pace when it came to the literal verbal content of the article. I can't expect myself to write up an entire summary for each matchup, simply because I will end up re-writing the same virtues about each song until they are gone. A lot of these weren't easy, but they were definitive in the end: Talking Heads beating Jack White was one I had to double and triple-check to make sure I felt. Putting "Frankenstein" ahead of "I'm a Pretender" looks, on paper, like I'm putting a somewhat arty, somewhat fancy indie pop composition over a really good ragged pop-punk/power pop song just because one is more serious. -- The Tokyo vs. MBV matchup only seems to confirm this. I don't want it to be true, but maybe it is. But those songs that won had a lot of heart and a lot of great scenery, instead of the raw muscle exhibited by their opponents.

At the end of the round there were only two matches I really agonized over, because in a way both songs in each combo were similar, neither really had the edge:

Gin Blossoms, "Hey Jealousy" vs. Joel Plaskett Emergency, "Written All Over Me"

The Gin Blossoms bring their A-game to this gem, a frothy slacker anthem for the 90s. It's jokey and pleading, a great double-meaning, a song for all seasons. It's basically everything I love about 90s music, and I think that guitar break in the middle is rad. Oh, but Joel. This song has all the heart and humour you could want. His guitar slips from a muscular riff to a acrobatic, even playful, solo. A great example of his mastery of form.

Winner: "Written all Over Me"

Aerosmith, "Moving Out" vs. Arcade Fire, "Ready to Start"

I'm "biased" in the sense that Aerosmith is my on-the-record favourite band, so every song from them is going to get serious consideration. And this is a pretty good song, despite its early place in their discography. I've heard few riffs like it, and its lyrics abstractly amount to, if not philosophy, then certainly a certain kind of poetry. It's dusty, stoned gypsy rock, and it gets absolutely everything right.

That said, I'm not biased, in that I have no stake in the the competition. There's nothing to gain if I advance "Movin' Out" without convincing myself, properly, that it beats a key track from the great Suburbs album, Arcade Fire (or was it the other way around?) From the getgo, "Ready to Start" is a dynamic, gripping track that does a great job drilling directly into your chest. Neither's lyrics are totally straightforward. Once is a call to nature and isolation, one is a reflection on art vs. commerce.

It would be easy for me to pick Aerosmith just because I've been listening to it for decades. It would be easy for me to pick Arcade Fire just to satisfy the need to show that newer songs are on the same level as classics and personal faves. I'm moving Arcade Fire forward to let them fend for themselves against exceptional competition. I know they deserve it. This is a great song, and it's a very lucky thing it wasn't up against "Sweet Emotion."

Winner: "Ready to Start"

Best Song Ever: April 2013 (Round 1)

I've been going a little stir crazy lately. The little elves inside my brain that write my reviews have been fatigued since the new year: despite being flush with great new releases by the likes of Hollerado and David Bowie, not to mention finally getting into Husker Du, it's a little tough getting anything going, as far as writing for this site. I'm reluctant to return to the grind. Then an idea hit me. A really stupid idea, but maybe a fun one.

About a year ago, the entertainment site Vulture ran a series of articles designed to determine the best TV drama of the past 20 years. They used a tournament bracket setup and a panel of esteemed judges. It made for a really entertaining bunch of articles. Every now and again I have thought it might be interesting to find a way to incorporate something like that into SOTW.

So what has happened is that I had iTunes select 32 random tunes from my (active/checked) library: some are things I've covered on SOTW, some are my old personal favourites, some are objective classics and some are recent gems. And maybe some suck but I just happen to have them. Although the idea of pitting entertainments against each other is inherently an incorrect way of looking at it (I cannot stress that enough,) I am nakedly admitting that I'm just doing this for shits and giggles. The song that wins this tournament (be thankful I'm not doing full albums) can't possibly be the literal best song ever. By necessity, it's something that I listen to anyway, and I loves me some music so I'm not going to be too harsh on any of these songs. In doing this, hopefully, it will spotlight a lot of great tunes that haven't come up in regular conversation lately. Let's speed through the first half of our opening round:

Tokyo Police Club, "Frankenstein" vs. Japandroids, "Fire's Highway"

Tokyo was one of the first albums I truly, completely loved after starting this blog, and "Frankenstein" is a fantastic closer to that album, acting as a comedown from the jittery, hooky synth-power-pop, with its mellotronic tones and quivering guitars, and that staggering drumbeat. It's very odd that this competition begins with something that wraps up its original album so completely and satisfactorily.

It's an old favourite versus a new one, though, because Japandroids was one of the best albums of 2012, and "Fire's Highway," with its splashing riffs and thundering drums sums up its qualities succinctly. It's got those echoing, anthemic "oh's" and coarse vocals. "Fire's Highway" is definitely a great piece of an excellent whole, but "Frankenstein" is a complete listening experience on its own. It gets the nod.

Winner: "Frankenstein"

David Bowie, "Love is Lost" vs. The Exploding Hearts, "I'm a Pretender"

In one corner, a dense, pulsing, organ-fueled, moody track from David Bowie's great new album. In the other, a snotty, brash piece of mid-2000s pop punk. You might think you know the answer, but you don't. All things being equal, and the Bowie album being great, its newness works against it, and I haven't had enough time to become as attached to it, especially not this particular song, as I have to the perfectly raucous Exploding Hearts.

Winner: "I'm a Pretender"



Joel Plaskett Emergency, "Penny For Your Thoughts" vs. Richard & Linda Thompson, "Shoot Out the Lights"

Oof. This bracket is a killer. "Penny" is a key part of the terrific concept album that is Ashtray Rock, a cheeky, playful and catchy as hell ode to young love. And "Shoot Out The Lights" is a lumbering, towering freefall of depression and despair. It just hits that sweet spot. I've got to give it to RT, who bring one of my favourite guitar solos ever to this track. I feel like Joel would understand.

Winner: "Shoot Out The Lights"

The Who, "Substitute" vs. Japandroids, "For The Love of Ivy"

The BC Duo face tough competition for the second time tonight, going up against major-minor Who fave, "Substitute." Not the most beloved Who song, but also not my favourite track off Celebration Rock -- if it swapped places with "Fire's Highway" this would be a running battle. In the end, The Who's original takes it over Japandroid's cover. The best Who songs are quirky and weird and hard rocking all at once, and this is no exception.

Winner: The Who



Jack White, "Blunderbuss" vs. The Eels, "The Longing"

Not the closest matchup of the tournament so far, but definitely the most downbeat. The shimmering Nashville Skyline-esque beauty of White's solo debut title track goes up against a free verse poem set to a ghostly waltz by Mark Oliver "E" Everett. And make no mistake, as part of El Hombre Lobo: 12 Songs of Desire (which I'm totally gonna review soon) it's a key track, bringing a deep dimension of pain and despair in its refrain ("Surely there are other things to life / But I can't think of one single thing / That matters more than just to see her...") but "Blunderbuss" is one of the best tracks on one of the best albums of last year.

Winner: "Blunderbuss"

Arcade Fire, "Wasted Hours" vs. Talking Heads, "Once in a Lifetime"

This seems to be a recurring theme: matching songs that are great as part of a complete package against songs that can be listened to at any time in any situation. The Neil Young-tinged "Wasted Hours" is a great part of the overarching sound of The Suburbs, with its dusky-lazily strummed twang. But "Once in a Lifetime" is fucking "Once in a Lifetime!" I don't even need to tell you why it wins.

Winner: "Once in a Lifetime"

Nirvana, "Sliver" vs. Aerosmith, "Movin' Out"

Holy shit, this is regrettable. I have actually said "Sliver" is my favourite Nirvana song. Not always, but I have. It just sums them up so perfectly, their power and poppiness, their angst and perverse humour, writing a punk-grunge song from the perspective of an angsty child forced to stay with his grandparents. "Grandma take me home" is maybe one of the most surprisingly awesome rock lyrics ever (up there with the Pixies' "it's educational!") But look who they're up against. Much to the chagrin of many of my bemused colleagues, I have professed my lifelong love for that band time and again. And "Movin' Out" is not minor Aerosmith, it's got that sinewy riff, those hippie hangover post-psychedelic philosophy class lyrics that are utter nonsense but work better because of it. Rip the heart right out of my chest why don't you.

Winner: "Movin' Out"



Arcade Fire, "Ready to Start" vs. Lit, "My Own Worst Enemy"

Arcade Fire makes its return appearance coming up against one of the biggest rock hits of the 90's. And I love me some 90s rock, but with one of the most dense, subtle-yet-rocking tracks off The Suburbs, the 2011 Best Album Grammy winners take it. That lyrics, "I would rather be alone than pretend I feel all right" just does it for me, man.



Talking Heads, "Take Me To The River" vs. Tokyo Police Club, "End of a Spark"

I think Talking Heads' reading of Al Green's sexual-angst-via-religion "Take Me To The River," as a tightly-wound plastic funk explosion is one of the greatest covers ever committed to tape. And "End of a Spark" happens to be one of my favourite tracks off Champ and a terrific piece of 2010 alt-power-pop. And with both bands already having a slot in Round 2, it's an interesting scenario. If the Heads didn't win, it would be because it's not the even-better Stop Making Sense version but the original recorded version. Or perhaps because there's an inherent push against covers in this contest.

Winner: "End of a Spark"

Aerosmith, "Lightning Strikes" vs. my bloody valentine, "only tomorrow"

Two more different tracks from my iPod, you could hardly find. On the one hand, sludgy early-80s hard rock from Aerosmith's redacted era. On the other hand, a track from My Bloody Valentine's 2013 comeback album, the gauzy, low-fi, moaning, squealing, sighing, shoegaze epic mbv. It's bad enough I gave 'Smith the nod over Nirvana, I know James Leask would flay me if I passed over mbv for this one. Or at the very least, he would cancel my scheduled appearance on his podcast next week. Luckily for him, and mbv, this is minor Aerosmith we're talking about: Joe Perry wasn't even with the band for this album, and while I think it happens to be underrated, it's still not in the same league as one of the best tunes from this terrific album, mbv: I love the way it builds and culminates in that staggering, beautiful riff.

Winner: "only tomorrow"

The Hives, "Hate To Say I Told You So" vs. Gin Blossoms, "Hey Jealousy"

Now here's a matchup: the razor sharp garage punk of early-2000s Hives and the warm fuzzy aw-shucks self deprecation of the Gin Blossoms. It's not an easy win for the Blossoms, but it's a clean one.

Winner: "Hey Jealousy"

Joel Plaskett Emergency, "Written All Over Me" vs. Arctic Monkeys, "Brianstorm"

Joel! So glad you're back. Here we see the opening track from his "Truthfully, Truthfully" album paired against the opening track of Arctic Monkeys' second disc. For me, Favourite Worst Nightmare takes a few tracks to really hit its stride, and "Brian" is an only-okay holdover from the Whatever People Say I Am era. "Written All Over Me," meanwhile, exudes all the charm and wit that permeates all of Plaskett's music, a mischievous, down home chunk of riffage that always gets me going. Great curtain raiser.

Winner: "Written All Over Me"

Deer Tick, "The Bump" vs. Deer Tick, "Chevy Express"

Now here's a wild card. I had never even listened to Deer Tick before a few weeks ago, when someone showed me A.V. Club's Undercover series, featuring a terrific take on one of my all-time favourite songs, Harvey Danger's "Flagpole Sitta." I got the album, Divine Providence, and I liked it, and then moved on. Then my random playlist generator sat these two songs, neither of which I could recall from memory, right next to each other, the only instance in round one of a band going up against itself. So I left it in - and revised my proposed "only one song per band" rule, just to see how it played out. "The Bump" is them at their bar band best, and "Chevy Express" is a more intimate ballad. Both great and for different reasons, but I've gotta give it to the former.

Winner: "The Bump"



Matt Mays, "Indio" vs. The La's "I Can't Sleep"

Matt Mays released a great album in 2012, which I will review soon, and "Indio" is a terrific intro to it, with its dusty, mystic southwestern feel. Against weaker opposition, it might have won, but "I Can't Sleep" is The La's at their peak power, right up there with "There She Goes." Life's not fair sometimes.

Winner: "I Can't Sleep"

The Vaccines, "Wetsuit" vs. Zeus, "Kindergarten"

"Wetsuit" brings to mind tunes like "Favourite Food" from Tokyo Police Club, or Joshua Tree era U2, the way it builds modestly to ignite a towering inferno. It's maybe not as grandiose as all that, but it's a good listen. The first Zeus record was one of my favourite records of 2010, and here's some high spirited madness from them. They edge out the win.

Winner: "Kindergarten"

The Animals, "House of the Rising Sun" vs. The Who, "Behind Blue Eyes"

It could be the case that this entire tournament is a contest to see who gets to come in second to the winner of this match. Based on reputation alone, these might be the two heaviest hitters of the lot, and they are up against each other in round one. "House of the Rising Sun" was my favourite song as a kid: Eric Burdon's voice is so dour and enigmatic and gloomy, and that guitar is just so perfect, as the organ bubbles under the surface before overtaking it completely.

Both these songs have their mystical qualities. The Who has already advanced in this tournament, but not like this. That was early Who, this is mid-Who, Who's Next, post-Tommy, circa Pete Townshend completely losing his marbles in the Lifehouse debacle and coming back with one of the most phenomenal records of all time. "Behind Blue Eyes" is the hypothetical villain song, building to that great climax, this is that band at nearly their best (besides "Baba O'Riley," for sure.) This is the hardest call of the night. What's more, it comes back to that same dilemma: a great single, or a great album song.

Really listening, really thinking about it, hearing the individual strings of Pete Townshend's guitar, the crawling of John Entwhistle's bass, one of Roger Daltrey's best vocal performances, and then that moment when Keith Moon's drums come in. Songs like this are what you're really thinking of when you think of the Who. And it's not even 8 minutes long. It's actually shorter than its hit single opponent. If I could only hear one of these songs ever again, I don't know if I'd pick the same, but tonight, it has to be.

Winner: "Behind Blue Eyes"



So maybe I do have a bias against covers (although "Rising Sun" may as well be an original.) It's quite a selection I have for myself in Round 2. Place your bets and get ready to get disproportionately mad... if you're not already.

Cover: Green Day, "A Quick One, While He's Away"

Now, if you were a punk band going to cover the Who, you probably wouldn't start with "A Quick One." This seven-minute mini-opera uses multiple passages of folksy hard rock to depict various characters in the story of a longing lonely housewife waiting for her man's return. It is, even amongst the Who's discography, pretty curious. And Green Day, a band that was once known to have a sense of humour, plays it pretty seriously. No, it's not as good as the original, but frankly I commend them that they even did it, and yeah, did it well.

That said, if this was your first exposure to the song, it would seem absolutely nonsensical. Not that the original recording is much less nonsensical. Truth is, this song is so ridiculous it plunges into absurdity and comes out the other side totally unharmed, and while this cover doesn't exploit that, it does take it as a given and do a faithful job with it. Hey, a cover doesn't always have to be a reinvention.

Serious Contenders: Who, "Baba O'Riley"

Granted, there's little doubt amongst critical circles that this is one of the greatest songs of all time. It isn't really under-appreciated, it doesn't need me pointing out how great it is and few comprehensive Best Of lists would be complete without it. It's practically unassailable, which is a good thing because with all the theatrics and the synths and the obscure lyrics, it seems to come out just this side of silly. But it is, make no mistake, a real contender.

What I love about this video of the Who performing it live is the energy flowing through the band as they perform and can't help but be moved by their own music. Moon's back there bashing away. Townshend shimmies and hops about like an excited child. Daltry marches like a conductor. Only staid Entwistle, like a learned guru, remains in a trance, focused on the task at hand, providing that rock solid basis. Music and motion becomes one.

The lyrics as I mentioned are abstract but they seem to mean a lot. They derive, I'm told, from a similar-but-different composition (actually entitled "Teenage Wasteland") meant for Townshend's "Lifehouse" project. I've heard that version. This is much more enjoyable. Here the context-lacking lyrics provide for great-sounding nonsense you can hang your own interpretations on, take as defiant and determined yet vulnerable and hopeful,resting all one's aspirations on walking triumphantly out of that "Teenage Wasteland." And all the while that burbling synth keeps flittering, providing you an audio recreation of all the continuous interconnected randomness of life. Of everything.

Moon's drums. Not too crazy, but they play well, organically, against the pre-programmed keyboards. Townshend's guitar break, brief, but important, like a distant hailing frequency beckoning you on. And that harmonica, standing in for accelerating violins, represents all the transcendent hopes and dreams.

Sorry, my prose got a little purple there. My point is, this song is a moment of peak expression. It's got everything and it sounds like nothing else.