In a photo-like finish, Paranoid Android is your next tournament champion (defeating Idioteque 66-64). The readers and interlopers of MerrySwankster.com have decreed: it is the best song in Radiohead's catalogue, as determined by a 65-team bracket.

Paranoid Android
OK Computer
1

We have some ideas for our next tournament, but, I must ask, "Do you?" In the comments, please.

Posted by Keith O'Brien at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Radiohead tournament finals

Paranoid Android
OK Computer
1

Approbations:

NME - Greatest Tracks from 1996-2006
#3

Rolling Stone list of "500 Greatest Songs of All Time"
#256

Q Magazine greatest songs of all-time (Aug, 2006)
10

VS

Idioteque
Kid A
1

Posted by Keith O'Brien at 11:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Here's your final four. Results of the Round of Eight after the jump

Continue reading "And, then, there were four" »

Posted by Keith O'Brien at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

So I can't be accused of electioneering, I wanted to inform readers that the fourth-round voting at our Radiohead song contest will end Saturday at 11:30AM.

We pretty much know who will be winning three of the contests, but, right now:

Karma Police 50% (19 votes)
Airbag 50% (19 votes)

Fascinating!

Posted by Keith O'Brien at 12:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Voting starts below

Notables
Lowest seeds remaining: Airbag (10)
Highest seeds ousted: Creep (1), High & Dry (2), 2+2=5 (2)

Album records

Pablo Honey: 0-6

Bends: 10-11 (1-1 in the third round) Remaining (1): Fake Plastic Trees

OK Computer: 20 - 6 (5-1 in the second round) Remaining (5): Karma Police, Paranoid Android, No Surprises, Exit Music (For a Film), Airbag

Kid A: 14-5 (2-3 in the second round) Remaining (2): Everything in its Right Place, Idioteque,

Amnesiac: 3-8

Hail to the Thief: 9-9 (0-3 in the third round)

B-sides 1-11 (Pearly* winning the play-in game)

More stats after the jump

Continue reading "Third Round Stats" »

Posted by Keith O'Brien at 05:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Third round results

Roxy Music bracket

Paranoid Android (1)

VS

Exit Music (From a Film) (6)

Pink Floyd bracket

Karma Police (1)

VS

Airbag (10)

Kraftwerk bracket

Everything in its Right Place (1)

VS

Idioteque (2)

Pink Floyd bracket

No Surprises (4)

VS

Fake Plastic Trees (2)

Posted by Keith O'Brien at 07:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"Fake Plastic Trees"
The Bends
(2)

Sporting Equivalent - 1915 Boston Red Sox: Just like I (sometimes) long for the days when Radiohead made straight-forward, guitar oriented rock, I long had to look to the past to find Boston baseball greatness. That Sox teams won three World Series titles in four years, but it was in '15 when the starting rotation (Ruth, Foster, Shore, Wood and Leonard) combined to go 86-36 with a 2.00 ERA. Nearly flawless, just like this track, albeit now just a distant history.

VS

"Let Down"
OK Computer
(3)

Sporting Equivalent - Fans of the '06-'07 Dallas Mavericks: If basketball fans in D-Town knew a damn thing about the sport, they'd probably be more bit more depressed than they are now. But Dallas is a Cowboys town, so the depression will never reach suicidal proportions. So Mark Cuban is free to try keepin' up with the Joneses from San Antonio, a mirror of a team that is much more polished (like "No Surprises").

Listen to the songs after the jump

Continue reading "Pixies bracket: Fake Plastic Trees (2) v Let Down (3)" »

Posted by Randall Monty at 09:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

"the Bends"
The Bends
(9)

Sporting Equivalent - Liverpool: Not the first teams you'd mention, they kind of get lost in the mix of the other squads ("High and Dry", "Fake Plastic Trees", Manchester United, Chelsea). But put 'em all in a giant tournament (such as this one, or the just completed UEFA Champions League), and these two always seem to end up standing.

V

"No Surprises"
OK Computer
(4)

Sporting Equivalent - Detroit Lions (Barry Sanders era): When you stepped on the field against the Sanders-led lions, you always knew what you were going to get: 35-40 carries for #20, and a bunch of your defenders strewn on the ground. It didn't matter if you put eight in the box, Sanders would get his buck-twenty and a score or two. And you can't tell me that the lullaby piano part wouldn't beautifully soundtrack a slow-motion YouTube clip of Barry's highlights.

Listen to the songs after the jump

Continue reading "Pixies Bracket: The Bends (9) v No Surprises (4)" »

Posted by Randall Monty at 09:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Third-round previews

Pink Floyd bracket

Karma Police (1)

74% (23 votes) defeats Where I End and You Begin (9) 26% (8 votes)

VS

The National Anthem (5)

71% (22 votes) defeats (Nice Dream) (4) 29% (9 votes)

__

There There (3)

66% (23 votes) defeats You and Whose Army? (11) 34% (12 votes)

VS

Airbag (10)

80% (28 votes) defeats High and Dry (2) 20% (7 votes)

WINNER OF PINK FLOYD BRACKET TO FACE

Kraftwerk bracket

Everything in its Right Place (1)

73% (24 votes) defeats Bullet Proof (8) 27% (9 votes)

VS

A Wolf at the Door (4)

defeats 53% (18 votes) Subterranean Homesick Alien (5) 47% (16 votes)

--

Idioteque (2)

74% (26 votes) defeats Motion Picture Soundtrack (10) 26% (9 votes)

VS

How to Disappear Completely (14)

Roxy Music bracket

Paranoid Android (1)

90% (27 votes) defeats Lucky (9)10% (3 votes)

VS

Optimistic (4)

--

Exit Music (For a Film) (6)

71% (22 votes) defeats Planet Telex (3) 29% (9 votes)

VS

2+2=5 (2)

84% (26 votes) defeats The Tourist (10) 16% (5 votes)

WINNER OF Roxy Music bracket TO FACE Pixies bracket

Pixies bracket

The Bends (9)

VS

No Surprises (4)

77% (23 votes) defeats Morning Bell (5) 23% (7 votes)

--

Fake Plastic Trees (2)

63% (20 votes) defeats Pyramid Song (10) 38% (12 votes)

VS

Let Down (3)

68% (21 votes) defeats A Punch Up at a Wedding (11) 32% (10 votes)

Posted by Keith O'Brien at 10:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Notables
Lowest seeds remaining: You and Whose Army (14), Airbag (10), The Bends (9)
Highest seeds ousted: Creep (1), High & Dry (2), Just (3), Planet Telex (3)

Album records

Pablo Honey: 0-6

Bends: 9-10 (2-3 in the second round) Remaining (2): Fake Plastic Trees, The Bends

OK Computer: 15 - 5 (6-3 in the second round) Remaining (6): Karma Police, Paranoid Android, Let Down, No Surprises, Exit Music (For a Film), Airbag

Kid A: 12-2 (5-2 in the second round) Remaining (5): Everything in its Right Place, Idioteque, Optimistic, The National Anthem, How to Disappear Completely,

Amnesiac: 3-8 (0-3 in the second round)

Hail to the Thief: 9-6 (3-3 in the second round) Remaining: 3 (2+2=5, There There, A Wolf at the Door)

B-sides 1-11 (Pearly* winning the play-in game) Remaining: 0

More stats after the jump

Continue reading "Second round stats" »

Posted by Keith O'Brien at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

All matchups below are no longer in play.

Posted by Keith O'Brien at 10:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"A Punch Up at a Wedding (No No No No No No No No)"
Hail to the Thief
(11)

Best Shout-Along Lyric: the first "In a drunken punch-up at a wedding, yeah"

VS

"Let Down"
OK Computer
(3)

Best Shout-Along Lyric: "You know, you know where you are with you, know where you are / With floor collapses floating, bouncing back and one day?

Posted by Randall Monty at 04:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"Pyramid Song"
Amnesiac
(10)

Best Shout-Along Lyric: the closest this song comes is the "ooo" part

VS

"Fake Plastic Trees"
The Bends
(2)

Best Shout-Along Lyric: "He used to do surgery for girls in the eighties / but GRAVITY always
wins / and it wears him out"

Posted by Randall Monty at 04:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

"No Surprises"
OK Computer
(4)

Best Shout-Along Lyric: "This is my final fit, my final belly-ache with..."

VS

Morning Bell
Kid A
(5)

Best Shout-Along Lyric: "Sleepy jack the fire drill / Run around around around around around..."

Posted by Randall Monty at 04:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"The Bends"
The Bends
(9)

Best Shout-Along Lyric: "they brought in the CIA / the tanks and the whole marines to blow me away / to blow me sky high"

VS

"Scatterbrain. (As Dead as Leaves.)"
Hail to the Thief
(16)

Best Shout-Along Lyric: "somewhere I'm not / scatterbrain" (at 2:27)

Posted by Randall Monty at 04:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For your edification, there is no more voting on the entries below. That ship, she has sailed.

Posted by Keith O'Brien at 02:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A quick note. While I may think its queer that Creep was ousted in the first round, there are at least 23 people who think justice is rightfully served. While "Scatterbrain" might have been a tough first-round matchup, it's safe to assume Creep would not make it very far, if faced and beated another 16 seed.

"Scatterbrain"
Hail to the Thief
(16)

defeats

"Creep"
Pablo Honey
(1)

23-22

"The Bends"
The Bends
(9)

defeats

"Myxomatosis (Judge, Jury & Executioner)"
Hail to the Thief
(8)

23-20

"No Surprises"
OK Computer
(4)

defeats

"Like Spinning Plates"
Amnesiac
(13)

29-12

"Morning Bell"
Kid A
(5)

defeats

"You Never Wash Up After Yourself"
My Iron Lung
(12)

29-2

"A Punch Up at a Wedding (No No No No No No No No)"
Hail to the Thief
(11)

defeats

"How Can You be Sure?"
Fake Plastic Trees
(6)

28-13

"Let Down"
OK Computer
(3)

defeats

"Go To Sleep (Little Man Being Erased)"
Hail to the Thief
(14)

31-10

"Pyramid Song"
Amensiac
(10)

defeats

"True Love Waits"
I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings
(7)

25-18

"Fake Plastic Trees"
The Bends
(2)

defeats

"How I Made My Millions"
No Surprises
(15)

36-5

Posted by Keith O'Brien at 07:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"True Love Waits"
I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings
(7)

This is the best straight-laced love song that Thom Yorke has ever written. This is double edged sword: while it stands out in Radiohead's catalogue, it could be anybody's song.

VS

"Pyramid Song"
Amensiac
(10)

In both instrumentation and theme, this is Radiohead's Thelonious Monk-style track. It's smokey, urban and mysterious, like good jazz should be.

Continue reading "Pixies Bracket: True Love Waits (7) v. Pyramid Song (10)" »

Posted by Randall Monty at 12:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"Fake Plastic Trees"
The Bends
(2)

I won't hide my preference: this is a perfect song. It is pensive, explosive, realist and optimistic, all at the same time. At no other point in their entire canon does Radiohead feel this human, or this humane.

VS

"How I Made My Millions"
No Surprises
(15)

Lyrically, this track shows a heavy influence of Black Francis vagueness. Musically, it's all Leonard Cohen. Recorded during the OK days, it would probably seem out of place on that album, but fits perfectly on an accompanying single.

Continue reading "Pixies bracket: Fake Plastic Trees (2) v How I Made My Millions (15)" »

Posted by Randall Monty at 12:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"How Can You be Sure?"
Fake Plastic Trees
(6)

This one could have fit right in on the Bends, but they probably decided to keep it off because the lyrics are too easy to comprehend. Still, it's another bright, singable tune about how wrong horrible the whole world is. This song's greatest strength is that it could go on forever, and it would even require any new lyrics. Just keep slowing everything down and then building it all back up to the destructive melisma chorus.

VS

"A Punch Up at a Wedding (No No No No No No No No)"
Hail to the Thief
(11)

I don't know if there's any truth to the rumor that the parenthesized title of this song was taken from Radiohead fans after learning that the band planned on doing yet another "experimental" album, but it sure looks funny when scrolling across my iPod. The slinking bassline is both sexy and bad ass, even though the track can be a little too jazzy.

Continue reading "Pixies bracket: How Can You Be Sure (6) v A Punch Up at a Wedding (11)" »

Posted by Randall Monty at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"Let Down"
OK Computer
(3)

According to today's Wikipedia entry, "Let Down" is "about the alienation and emptiness of life in modern society." You don't say! This track combines the rarefied air of being extremely melodic and deceptively complex. Also, it contains one of the laziest metaphors in the Radiohead canon: "Crushed like a bug in the ground". Seriously, guys, that's fourth-grade material.

VS

"Go To Sleep (Little Man Being Erased)"
Hail to the Thief
(14)

There's a very Johnny Cash-esque guitar strum introducing this song, but, in theme, it is more Carly Simon. Thom Yorke claims that the album's title isn't a direct stab at W, but I don't see how a musician could make a far-reaching political statement in today's world that isn't about the current US president. "We don't want the loonies taking over"? A bit too late for that, I'm afraid.

Continue reading "Pixies bracket: Let Down (3) v Go To Sleep (14)" »

Posted by Randall Monty at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"No Surprises"
OK Computer
(4)

The perfect lullaby is a welcome reprieve from the remainder of OK Computer's complexities. Still, it fits because, lyrically, it might be the most thematically precise track on the album. Yet another song that sounds uplifting but is actually/probably about how horrible modern life has become.

VS

"Like Spinning Plates"
Amnesiac
(13)

The second most gimmicky song in the band's repertoire, this time with a Twin Peaks midget effect going on with the vocals. If you love Radiohead because of their experimentation, then you probably really, really dig this track. If you love them for their musicianship, then you probably (like me) prefer the piano ballad version from I Might Be Wrong. If you don't love Radiohead, then you're probably getting ready to leave some sort of jerk comment right about now about how they're a bunch of wussies.

Continue reading "Pixies bracket: No Surprises (4) v Like Spinning Plates (13)" »

Posted by Randall Monty at 10:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"Morning Bell"
Kid A
(5)

"It's very, very violent. Extremely violent," according to Thom Yorke. Also, it's either about divorce, King Solomon, ghosts or something else. I can say that the pliable Rhodes combined with the hurried drum fills give this song a pacing that feels like endless freeway driving.

VS

"You Never Wash Up After Yourself"
My Iron Lung
(12)

Johnny Greenwood unleashes in inner Eddie Hazel while Thom wonders aloud if the band is getting to comfortable.

Continue reading "Pixies bracket: Morning Bell (5) v You Never Wash Up (12)" »

Posted by Randall Monty at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"Myxomatosis (Judge, Jury & Executioner)"
Hail to the Thief
(8)

Myxomatosis can sure do a number on rabbits; any guesses as to what Thom is implying about human population control? Any guesses as to why this song is told from the point of view of a cat and backed by some of the rudest synths I've ever heard?

VS

"The Bends"
The Bends
(9)

This is about as close to a "fun" song that Radiohead seems to get, not to mention about as close to classic rock as well (three guitar attack!). Something about the CIA, something about the Marine Corps, something about decompression sickness, something about the sixties, a couple breakdowns, and one kick ass solo.

Continue reading "Pixies bracket: Myxomatosis (8) v The Bends (9)" »

Posted by Randall Monty at 08:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"Creep"
Pablo Honey
(1)

Last year, while researching for my coming trip to Hawaii, I came across a list of the "Ten Most Important Historical Events" pertaining to the 50th state. Number one? An anti-climactic, "formation of the islands". As in, the underwater volcanoes poking above the sea, lava spilling through, and over a course of about 5,000 years, forming a speckled land mass in the middle of the Pacific. In other words, a complete cop out. But the explanation made more than a little sense: had these formations not occurred, then every single other nameable thing from Hawaii's history would likewise have never occurred. The formation of islands is the single most impactful, influential and prescient event the state's history. If that didn't happen, nothing else would have. See where I'm going with this? Maybe you like better lyricism that Radiohead later showed. Perhaps you prefer the experimentation of their later work. But that would all be moot if not for this song. Because of "Creep", we were blessed with the rest of Radiohead's catalogue. We are in this track's debt. Even if the song didn't have the coolest guitar cruch in pop music history, it'd still be a #1 seed.

VS

"Scatterbrain"
Hail to the Thief
(16)

This is the song that loses to "Creep" in the first round.

Continue reading "Pixies bracket: Creep (1) v Scatterbrain (16)" »

Posted by Randall Monty at 08:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)