THE 2006 TOURNAMENT OF TUNES

View Bracket

ROUND 1

THE ELVIS REGIONAL

The Clean – Crazy [mp3]

vs.

Dumptruck - Watch Her Fall (Live) [RealAudio]

Under ordinary circumstances, Dumptruck—one of my most beloved 1980s bands—would win this matchup handily. They were one of that decade’s most unjustly neglected and forgotten bands (Trouser Press described their gloomy jangle as a cross between the dBs and Joy Division, while Robert Christgau called them “smart young depressives”) that was wrongly undone by record label malfeasance. This tune is a live version of a pretty good song from their debut album, with the live version unfortunately suffering from a hurried tempo and lack of the original’s dynamics.

The Clean, on the other hand, are longtime New Zealand indie-pop stalwarts, with this song coming from their comeback-of-sorts on the U.S. label Merge. “Crazy” is a pleasant VU-ish lo-fi strum which is hampered somewhat by Hamish Kilgour’s tuneless vocals.

Both of these come from albums which contain considerably better tunes than these would otherwise indicate, which might point to the weakness of my process of random song selection. But them’s the rules I’ve put in place, so they must be followed. The studio version of “Watch Her Fall” would have won this matchup, but the live version falls short. Gotta go with The Clean, though I don’t particularly like their chances in the next round.

Winner: The Clean - Crazy

Sebadoh – Got It [RealAudio]

vs.

Monks of Doom – The Better Angels of Our Nature

The Monks of Doom were, essentially, Camper Van Beethoven without David Lowery. When that great band imploded, Lowery took his dizzy goofball persona to Cracker, scoring several alt-rock hits during the early 1990s. Meanwhile, the rest of CvB—bassist Victor Krummenacher, guitarist Greg Lisher and drummer Chris Pedersen—hooked up with Ophelias guitarist David Immergluck to form the Monks of Doom, clearly taking CvB’s serious/weirdo side with them. “The Better Angels of Our Nature” is a solid piece of roots rock that manages to quote both Abraham Lincoln and the poet Mary Frye.

Ah, Sebadoh. One of the great indie rock bands, they somehow combined punk drive, slacker weirdness, heart-on-sleeve romanticism, and DIY production values (or non-values) into an improbably unified whole. They reached their artistic peak on this album, Bakesale, all but one song on which are absolute killers.

“Got It” isn’t even one of Sebadoh’s very best songs, but it’s good enough to move them to the next round, though it’s hard for me to leave Monks of Doom behind. Fortunately, Victor Krummenacher himself stands a pretty good chance of advancing should one of his solo songs come up as a contestant.

Winner: Sebadoh – Got It

Silkworm - Yr Web [WM]

vs.

Pogues - London You're a Lady [Wav]

“Yr Web” is moderately enjoyable Silkworm, but for me the band was never quite the same after the departure of Joel R.L. Phelps, one of my favorite artists. This song is from well into the post-Phelps era, and shows a band still struggling between its underground roots and its arena rock flirtations.

I’ll say it now—the Pogues will advance far in this tournament. The idea of the band was so breathtakingly audacious, particularly at its mid 1980s inception: a bunch of ragged punks, lead by a charismatic drunk with a mouthful of broken teeth, playing a revved-up version of Irish folk music. Imagine the Sex Pistols throwing away their guitars, Johnny Rotten strapping on an accordion and Sid Vicious taking up the tin whistle, anti-royalty and anti-corporate rants replaced by traditional reels, ballads of draw-dropping beauty, and fiery denunciations of English imperialism. “London You’re a Lady”—the band, while largely Irish, lived in London—is just one of those many ballads of jaw-dropping beauty, a lovely ode to their adopted city.

It’s “London You’re a Lady” in a walk.

Winner: Pogues - London You're a Lady

American Music Club - Only Love Can Set You Free [mp3]

vs.

Built to Spill - Untrustable Part 2 [WM]

Another mismatch…American Music Club’s entry is a typically lush piece of indie-lounge, with Mark Eitzel’s deep and supple croon dominating throughout. Still, the pace is a bit on the turgid side. Superior AMC tunes like “Patriots Heart” or “I’m in Heaven Now” might have advanced, but not this one, and certainly not at the expense of the great Built to Spill.

“Untrustable Part 2” is one of many guitar-god epics that Built to Spill’s Doug Martsch specializes in and can toss off nearly effortlessly—though it’s hard to say “effortlessly” given the obviously painstaking care that went into it, in the performance and particularly in the elaborate production work. The song is long, intricate, contains numerous tempo shifts and varying moods, and has lyrics which often hint at the profound. Built to Spill is one of the few bands whose music I could envision translating well into symphony treatment. In fact, their songs are symphonies in their own right, with an orchestra of three musicians and the incomparable producer Phil Ek. But your local philharmonic would do well with BTS’ oeuvre as well.

“Untrustable Part 2” storms into round 2.

Winner: Built to Spill - Untrustable Part 2

Chris Knox - Half Man/Half Mole

vs.

Tommy Stinson – Someday [myspace]

New Zealand is disproportionately represented on my iPod. In fact, the country even has its own playlist—the Clean, the Verlaines, the Bats and perhaps NZ’s greatest ambassador, Chris Knox, both solo and as half of his longtime collaboration with Alec Bathgate, Tall Dwarfs. “Half Man/Half Mole” is solo Knox, and marvelously primitive—just a fuzzed-out guitar, rudimentary percussion and Knox’s unassuming voice, with just a hint of backing vocals.

Tommy Stinson is the former bass player and punk conscience of the legendary Replacements. His post-Mats career was rather uneven, to put it kindly, which made his 2004 solo effort, Village Gorilla Head, a thoroughly unexpectedly pleasant surprise. His music echoes the Mats rather nicely—some raucous Stonesy swagger, some ballads, with country overtones throughout. Stinson’s voice comes across as sort of a mix between his old bandmate Paul Westerberg and Bob Dylan—in a good way, I assure you.

Though I love Knox’s song, memories of the Replacements still pluck at my heartstrings in a way the Tall Dwarfs never could. Love ya, Tommy, glad to have you back.

Winner: Tommy Stinson – Someday

Ted Leo - Loyal to My Sorrowful Country [mp3]

vs.

Bedhead – Psychosomatica [RealAudio]

Ted Leo is a true punk troubadour, a thoroughly winning combination—to my ears—of Billy Bragg, Graham Parker and the Jam. His music brims with punk’s energy, his guitar work is inventive while echoing riffs of his forefathers, and he’s not afraid to brave a falsetto on a regular basis. On top of that, his progressive politics are impeccable and well-illustrated by this great song off of his low-profile Tell Balgeary, Balgury is Dead EP. (Yes, he’s even old-school enough to call it an EP.)

“Psychosomatica” is a solid bit of meandering guitar riffage from Austin’s late and lamented Bedhead. (The RealAudio clip is rather lo-fi—the original sounds considerably cleaner.) Trouble is, I have no idea what they’re singing about, and for me, obscured vocals had better always be accompanied by impeccable musicianship. Bedhead’s musicianship here, however, is good but not overwhelming.

In contrast, there’s absolutely no question what Ted Leo’s singing about on his tune, with a certain former Yale fratboy coming out much the worse for it.

Winner: Ted Leo - Loyal to My Sorrowful Country

Cat Power - Top Expert [Real Audio]

vs.

Joe Ely - Where Is My Love? (Live) [RealAudio]

Chan Marshall (a/k/a Cat Power) is in typical early-career form here, pouring her sultry vocals over a hypnotic indie-blues vibe. Enjoyable if you’re in the mood for such a thing which, unfortunately, this morning I wasn’t.

“Where Is My Love?” is a gorgeous country ballad from Joe Ely, one of Texas’ very greatest songwriters, recorded in concert at Austin’s Liberty Lunch in 1990. The lyrics are heartbreaking (“Does she still see the same stars as I?”) and the musicianship top-notch. Joe also earns bonus points for singing an entire verse, convincingly, en español.

Ely’s plainspoken honesty wins out over Marshall’s indie crypticism.

Winner: Joe Ely - Where Is My Love? (Live)

M. Ward - Radio Campaign [mp3]

vs.

Archers of Loaf - Greatest of All Time [RealAudio]

M. Ward is certainly an odd character. Listening to him for the first time, you might assume that he’s a crusty old guy from Appalachia, rasping out ancient folk songs his granddad taught him. Instead, he’s a 30s-ish Portlander who’s fond of trucker caps, owes a huge debt to John Fahey and writes all original material. His acoustic guitar work is simply lovely—intricate and delicate—and he sings in a high, gentle voice. He’s one of my favorite musical discoveries of the past five years but, unfortunately, “Radio Campaign” isn’t one of his more compelling efforts.

As the iPod selected this morning’s four contestants, I found myself somewhat disappointed. The Cat Power, Joe Ely and M. Ward songs were all good, but not great; certainly not the best that those talented artists had to offer. I was envisioning a less-than-stellar song coasting into the Sweet Sixteen. And then the four song cued up…oddly-tuned guitars picking out an offbeat chiming melody and merging into the ragged voice (“They caught and drowned the front man of the world’s worst rock and roll band”) of Eric Bachman, leader of the late lamented Archers of Loaf. Yes, finally—a completely worthy candidate for the Sweet Sixteen. “Greatest of All Time” is a marvelous meditation on fame and indie-rock hero worship, and one of the greatest tunes of a truly great band.

“Greatest of All Time” is indeed great, and marches onward.

Winner: Archers of Loaf - Greatest of All Time

THE JERRY LEE REGIONAL

Big Star - My Life is Right [WM]

vs.

Pavement – Frontwards [RealAudio]

Big Star deserves better from this tournament. Great band, remarkably influential—1990s mainstays the Posies and Teenage Fanclub probably wouldn’t have ever existed without them, and the Replacements name-checked them in one of their best songs—but sadly just a bit too far out of its era’s fashion to ever make a lasting impact on a significant portion of the music-loving public. They churned out flawless power pop in the early 1970s, shamelessly echoing the Beatles and other simple Brit pop in a time when fussy, high-concept art rock was the norm. They deserved better then, and deserve better now. “My Life is Right” is a fine love song—listen to it, don’t just rely on the lyric sheet—but not quite the best that Alex Chilton and his cohorts were capable of. Maybe next time, guys.

In the great context of music history, Big Star was better than Pavement. But “Frontwards” is a terrific song and a good representation of Pavement—a driving medium tempo, vaguely atonal guitars, irresistible but often inscrutable lyrics (“I’ve got style/miles and miles/so much style that it’s wasted”) and Stephen Malkmus’ laconic vocals. This one was originally on the Watery, Domestic EP (there’s one of them EP thingies again, Gert!) which might have hit the dustbin of history and completely escaped my attention, had it not been included on the bonus disc of the reissue of the epic Slanted & Enchanted. The latter was already one of the greatest indie rock albums ever made, with the bonus material pushing it even higher into the pantheon.

I know it’s virtual sacrilege amongst indie-rock cognoscenti to vote against the obscurely hallowed Big Star, and to do so with a Pavement song not originally appearing on Slanted and Enchanted, but I have to go with Pavement on this one.

Winner: Pavement - Frontwards

Morphine – Whisper [RealAudio]

vs.

Dinosaur Jr. - Freak Scene [mp3]

You’re a young, attractive female. Wearing a stunning, new blue dress, you stroll into a swanky nightclub accompanied by a few of your gal pals, looking for a fun evening or, possibly, that mythical special someone. The room is dimly lit, and it takes your eyes a few moments to adjust. There’s a jazz combo playing on a stage in the back, a sultry saxophone mouthing suggestive enticements, drums crisply keeping rhythm, a bottomless bass underpinning the whole intoxicating mix. You and your friends settle in near the end of the bar, toasting each other with the first lemon martinis of the evening, when through a haze of cigarette smoke you spot a stranger across the room who’s looking at you while trying not to let you know he’s looking at you. He’s lanky, somewhat pale, with a mop of unruly dark hair; not handsome in the classic male model sense, yet somehow oddly attractive. He continues to look while not looking, making him seem…not reticent, but appealing shy. After thirty minutes or an hour of eye-flirting, he starts walking in your direction. You tense in anticipation before realizing he’s on his way out the door. But at the last moment, just as he seems to be going past you and forever out of your life, he pauses, leans in close to your ear and says, only to you, “Whisper me your number…I’ll call you up at home.” You’ve gotten a come-on from the inimitable Mark Sandman, late mastermind of Morphine. And of course you’ll whisper him your number.

“Freak Scene” is a wonderful bit of noisy rock from the esteemed Dinosaur Jr., marked by thick chords, careening tempo and J. Mascis’ marble-mouthed vocals and so-loud-it-distorts guitar solo. The song is from Bug (recently re-released by the wondrous Merge Records), includes bassist Lou Barlow before he split for Sebadoh, and pre-dates Dino’s momentary alt-rock radio moment in the sun of the mid 1990s. With Sebadoh itself having long since bitten the dust, Barlow reunited with Mascis and Murph last summer for a tour, and they’re again on tour right now; it’s anyone’s guess where they all go from here. Rumors of new material abound, but we’ll just have to wait and see.

Dinosaur Jr. may be coming back, but Morphine never will. Sandman’s music touches me like no other. “Whisper” still moves me, eleven years after its release, and it advances to the next round.

Winner: Morphine - Whisper

Elliott Smith - Some Song [mp3]

vs.

Vehicle Flips - Swope Street Theme

Elliott Smith was truly one of the great songwriters of his generation, crafting several wonderful albums of musically ambitious and emotionally devastating pop, before leaving us much too soon in his tragic and still unexplained death in 2003. The early-career “Some Song” is fairly rudimentary, even a bit lo-fi, compared to his later work, with sturdy but plain chords framing his boyishly high vocals and typically soul-searching lyrics.

One of the things I enjoy most about indie rock is finding a wonderful but obscure band that nobody seems to know anything about, one which it feels like I have all to myself. During the mid-to-late 1990s, that band was Vehicle Flips. Guitarist Frank Boscoe and bassist Tim Parker, aided by numerous other players, created highly enjoyable pop that owed musical debts to the Feelies and Galaxie 500 and featured Boscoe’s sharply evocative lyrics. “Swope Street Theme” is typical in its everyday subject matter—three roommates moving to a more affordable but possibly seedy neighborhood—but atypical in its grabbing guitar leads and propulsive tempo. I just wish there were more vocals and less guitar—Boscoe’s lyrics are always a treat, and I’d like to hear much more about this particular moving day.

Vehicle Flips were good, but Elliott Smith was undeniably great. Elliott moves on.

Winner: Elliott Smith - Some Song

Liz Phair - Stuck on an Island [RealAudio]

vs.

Bottle Rockets - I'll Be Coming Around

There’s always been plenty to talk about with Liz Phair. From the highs (her brilliantly ambitious double-album debut, Exile in Guyville, a song-by-song rebuttal to Exile on Main Street) to the lows (her embarrassing come-do-me writhing on a Gap commercial a few years ago), she’s always been worthy of comment. Plenty of people can’t stand her, which isn’t entirely undeserved. Yet her bold public posturing has helped obscure the fact that, at least early in her career, she created some truly great music. This song, an unreleased track from the Guyville era that appeared later on a Matador Records compilation, is a wistful look back at messed-up adolescence, replete with a wrecked car, illicit drug use and late nights with the wrong guy.

The Bottle Rockets were early progenitors of alternative country, Americana or whatever the hell you care to call country music with heavy rock influences and nary a trace of Nashville chart-hungry gloss. Leader Brian Henneman was closely tied to alt-country godfathers Uncle Tupelo, although his band’s music nodded more toward Lynyrd Skynyrd than Tupelo’s punk roots. “I’ll Be Coming Around” is from their second album, The Brooklyn Side; sadly, the song is poppy enough to come across as a token stab at hitsville, one which all but ignores the wonderful country overtones of the rest of the album. The song’s theme is of the well-worn “back door man” genre (guy who sneaks around with married women, arriving at their back door where the neighbors won’t see) that fails to add anything new to the narrative.

Liz Phair moves on, though not in particularly convincing fashion.

Winner: Liz Phair - Stuck on an Island

Mountain Goats – Baboon [mp3]

vs.

Scruffy the Cat - You Dirty Rat

Oh, Mountain Goats. I had such high hopes for you in this tournament. John Darnielle’s lyrics are just so impeccably, unfailingly brilliant—sharp observations and evocative images which suggest he’d be a great fiction writer if he wasn’t so busy with music—and effectively delivered by his appealingly untrained voice and rudimentary acoustic guitar strumming, that I was saddened to see “Baboon” pop up on my iPod screen this morning. Good song, but no “Golden Boy”, no “Warm Lonely Planet”, no “Minnesota”, no “Going to Queens.” Any of those probably would have ended up in the Final Four, no matter how good the competition was along the way. But “Baboon” doesn’t quite cut it, especially when matched up against…

Scruffy the Cat. Boston’s great lost band, purveyors of endlessly adorable power pop, marked by Charlie Chesterman’s boy-next-door vocals, Stephen Fredette’s tasteful guitar leads, funhouse keyboards and a frenetic rhythm section. “You Dirty Rat” (please note the above mp3 is a live version, since I couldn’t find the vastly superior studio version online) is about as good as broken-hearted pop gets.

I never thought I’d say this, but the Mountain Goats make an early exit. Scruffy the Cat cheerfully advances.

Winner: Scruffy the Cat - You Dirty Rat

The Long Ryders - Wreck of the 809 [WM]

vs.

The dB's - World to Cry [mp3]

L.A.’s Long Ryders were an excellent roots rock band that really bridged the gap between the Byrds/Gram Parsons early 70s country rock era and the earliest alternative country bands such as Uncle Tupelo and the Jayhawks in the late 80s. Their music was an interesting mix of Sid Griffin’s country influences and Stephen McCarthy’s garage rock primitivism; “Wreck of the 809” is a fine folk-rock tune told from the perspective of a young boy whose daddy regularly rode the ill-fated 809 train.

The dB’s were yet another fine 80s power pop band which put out two wonderful albums highlighting the considerable songwriting talents of Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey (rountinely referred to back then in Lennon-McCartney terms); unfortunately, they had some record label problems and Stamey split, leaving Holsapple to soldier on through two more uneven albums before calling it quits. In 2005 the band reunited briefly with its original lineup (Holsapple, Stamey, Will Rigby, Gene Holder) and recorded “World to Cry”, a solid, mature tune that would have fit pretty well on their final two albums. Which means, unfortunately, that it wouldn’t have passed muster with the giddy, pristine pop of their first two albums. And which means that it doesn’t pass muster against the Long Ryders, either.

Stay tuned for more breaking news about the 809.

Winner: Long Ryders - Wreck of the 809

The Connells - Choose a Side [mp3]

vs.

R.E.M. - So. Central Rain [RealAudio]

The Connells are a fine jangle-rock band from North Carolina that hit its creative peak around 1990 and has miraculously soldiered on to the present day. “Choose a Side” is a good tune from one of their earliest albums (Boylan Heights) and features crystal-clear guitars, martial drumming, and Doug McMillan’s unapologetically high vocals. Its random appearance in the tournament—I only have two of their songs on my iPod, making their selection to have been quite improbable—was a pleasant surprise, one made even more interesting by the song which followed, by a band to which the Connells owe a considerable musical debt.

As “Choose a Side” faded away this morning and the second song loaded up, sparkling guitars chimed in, making my heart rise with the warm pang of recognition. Then an old familiar voice drawled “Did you never call? I waited for your call…These rivers of suggestion are driving me away…” The song was the stellar “So. Central Rain”, from Reckoning, the very first R.E.M. album I ever heard and the first I owned. When a band that has meant as much to me as R.E.M. has for so many years, it’s really hard to me to speak objectively. Which I’ll refrain from even attempting for the time being. Maybe next round I’ll stumble across some eloquence.

Interesting pairing, although a huge mismatch. R.E.M. coasts.

Winner: R.E.M. – So. Central Rain

Pinetop Seven – Paramour [mp3]

vs.

The Drovers - The Good Life [mp3]

One of the most intriguing bands to come out of Chicago during the past ten years or so has to be Pinetop Seven. Listening to them, you wouldn’t even guess they’re from Chicago—no post-rock Tortoise grooves, no post-punk wailings of any of a dozen or more ragged combos—given their dusty, low-key Southwestern vibe. They’re closer to Calexico than any other comparison I can come up with at the moment. “Paramour” is a pretty good example of what Pinetop Seven is all about—layered acoustic guitars, south-of-the-border percussion, odd ambient noise, and Darren Richard’s confident vocals and near-poetic lyrics.

As much as I love the Drovers, the perky “The Good Life” all but eschews the heavy Celtic influences that drew me to the band in the first place. This track sounds a lot like the English roots-rock band Oyster Band with its upbeat tempo and its jolly fiddle and accordion which propel the melody. The guy-girl vocal harmonies do hint a bit at other, considerably greater Drovers songs, though not well enough.

As much as it pains me to snub the Drovers, “Paramour” is my pick.

Winner: Pinetop Seven - Paramour

THE JOHNNY CASH REGIONAL

Karl Hendricks Trio - The Overweight Lovers [mp3]

vs.

Guided by Voices - Everywhere With Helicopter [mp3]

The Karl Hendricks Trio is a noisy Pittsburgh combo (yes, a trio; yes, fronted by Karl Hendricks) which churns out overamped college rock that sometimes tries to make too much of itself. On “The Overweight Lovers”, Hendricks is trying his best to empathize with his subjects, an overweight couple who doesn’t necessarily enjoy being around each other but remain together, maybe because they assume it’s the best they can do. Which might be poignant, except for the fact that the distorted guitars obliterate the vocals in the chorus, making it difficult-to-impossible to catch the point Hendricks is trying to make. This song is caught in the middle.

Purists seem to discount all Guided by Voices albums from Mag Earwhig! through the end of their illustrious career, as if the departure of Bob Pollard’s early band cohorts (Tobin Sprout et al) prior to that album and the subsequent recruiting of Cleveland rockers Cobra Verde as backing band somehow represented a shameless career move by Pollard. Not so. For me, the late-period GbV is quite enjoyable; Pollard actually finishes the songs he starts (unlike the early years and their intriguing but too-brief fragments), loads them up with big hooks and dares—dares!—to do some production work so that the listener can actually hear the music without a veil of endearing tape hiss. “Everywhere With Helicopter” rocks out, gloriously—I defy you to sit still or remain quiet as the song is playing—and if Universal Truths and Cycles isn’t Bee Thousand, well, I can live with that.

Both songs rock, and if Hendricks just left it at that, or toned down the guitars and emphasized the lyrics more, his song might have moved on. But Pollard out-rocks him, and advances.

Winner: Guided by Voices - Everywhere With Helicopter

The Jesus Lizard - Fly on the Wall [QuickTime]

vs.

Jeff Buckley - Corpus Christi Carol [RealAudio]

My oh my, what an ungodly force of nature the Jesus Lizard was. Pummeling rhythms, lacerating guitars and David Yow’s incomparable, well, yowling. Yow is one of the great frontmen in rock history, surely a rival to even the legendary Iggy Pop in terms of onstage histrionics and outrage. As great as the band was live—by all accounts, they were a powerhouse—their studio work is thoroughly listenable as well. Give this song a listen, though be careful with the volume knob.

One thing I love about this tournament is the randomness of the pairings. These two songs couldn’t be more different. Although Jeff Buckley occasionally channeled Robert Plant in moving into thunder-of-the-gods territory, which would have put him on generally common ground with The Jesus Lizard, “Corpus Christi Carol” is all the way at the other end of the musical spectrum. The song is quiet, delicate, Buckley’s gentle falsetto vocals backed by nothing but a softly-picked guitar. Buckley is yet another figure of immense artistic talent who was tragically taken from us much too soon. Grace is a wonderful album, but unfortunately “Corpus Christi Carol”, for all its beauty, is just a bit too ethereal to totally win me over.

Today, with the weather being grim and windy and rainy, I’m opting for the visceral over the ethereal. I’ll go with the Jesus Lizard and the wondrous pounding they inflict on my sternum.

Winner: The Jesus Lizard - Fly on the Wall

The Verlaines - Black Wings

vs.

Angie Heaton - It's Easier When You're Here [mp3]

New Zealand’s Verlaines are the highly literate and often theatrical vehicle for songwriter Graeme Downes’ ambitious musical vision. “Black Wings” is a somber piece of rock poetry (sample lyric: “You drink to your health, I’ll drink to mine/Sort out the strychnine from the wine/And all the riddles in the air/Can take the devil, I don’t care”) backed by subdued guitar chords. The song is much more down-tempo than the rest of Way Out Where, a fact which makes it one of my favorites from that album.

Longtime Champaign, Illinois musician Angie Heaton (formerly of pop-punkers Corndolly, now a solo artist) crafts charmingly endearing pop. “It’s Easier When You’re Here” is a bit of a folky ballad which features her delicately plain-spoken vocals, warm and intertwined guitar leads, and a pleasant surge in the chorus. The song won’t change the world, but it satisfies in its own gentle way.

With my pre-tournament fears proving unfounded—nary a political outrage has emerged from New Zealand to spoil my mood—the Verlaines move on.

Winner: The Verlaines - Black Wings

The Shins - Know Your Onion! [mp3]

vs.

Joel R.L. Phelps - God Bless the Little Pigs [mp3]

Ten years ago, “Know Your Onion!”—with its sunny melodies, boyishly high vocals, cheesy keyboards, sprightly guitars and treble-skewed production—would have been called “twee pop.” Don’t get me wrong; I loved twee pop, and I love James Mercer and the Shins. (Just making an observation.) Anyway, my wife and I discovered the Shins last year, via the fine Garden State soundtrack album (yet another thing to praise Zach Braff for) which has been in regular rotation on our car stereo ever since. “Know Your Onion!” is a typically terrific Shins song; though I have pretty much no idea what Mercer is singing about here, that doesn’t matter much. The Shins are pure fun, and I’m more than happy to just leave it at that.

It’s unfair, at this stage of his fine career, to still refer to Joel R.L. Phelps as “former Silkworm guitarist.” Though he first made his mark with that fine then-Seattle now-Chicago band, the fact is that he was only with them for their first few records, whereas he has now recorded four full-length albums and two EPs on his own, with the backing of Robert Mercer and William Herzog (collectively known as Joel R.L. Phelps and the Downer Trio) “God Bless the Little Pigs” is from Phelps’ wonderful solo debut, Warm Springs Night, and is really a departure from the slow pace and somber tone of the rest of the album. In short, it rocks, serving perhaps as a knowing nod to his higher-volume former Silkworm bandmates.

More on Phelps later; he’s one of my favorite artists and, despite how much I enjoy the Shins, “God Bless the Little Pigs” easily advances to the next round.

Winner: Joel R.L. Phelps - God Bless the Little Pigs

Yo La Tengo - Tom Courtenay [RealAudio]

vs.

Arcwelder - Do Something Right [Quicktime]

From the very first exuberant line (“Julie Christie, the rumors are true!”), “Tom Courtenay” is three minutes and thirty one seconds of pure pop bliss. Yo La Tengo are the great ambassadors of the indie rock nation—thoroughly well-versed in rock history (both underground and Top 40), idiosyncratic, serious but fun-loving, immensely talented yet unpretentious, and completely, obsessively committed to their art. “Tom Courtenay” is a great example of what Yo La Tengo is all about. And, as a bonus, the video is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. Do check it out.

“Do Something Right” starts off darkly, with quietly ominous guitar and bass figures ending abruptly in single-note guitar blasts that hint more than a bit at heavy metal. Heavy, Arcwelder was, but not metal—in fact, the song’s chorus even approaches being sunny. Heavily sunny, as it were, if that makes any sense. (Sorry, I’m rapidly running out of adjectives.) The band was a fitting heir to the punk-with-melody legacy of their Minneapolis forbears Hüsker Dü.

Five years ago, “Tom Courtenay” would have not only won this battle easily, but likely would have waltzed into the Final Four. But I’ve drifted away from Yo La Tengo a bit over the years, and my passion for them isn’t quite what it once was. There’s still plenty to love about “Tom Courtenay”, though, enough to move on.

Winner: Yo La Tengo - Tom Courtenay

The Pixies - Debaser [RealAudio]

vs.

Miracle Legion - The Ladies From Town

There’s only one Pixies song on my iPod, and it’s one of their very best, “Debaser.” (I don’t even own a Pixies album, other than a fifteen-year-old cassette tape copy of Doolittle.) Bouncing bass lines, ringing guitar leads, Black Francis’ hysterical vocals and crazed surreal lyrics—yep, it’s all here. Just try listening to this song in your car without rolling down the window and screaming “I am un chien andalusia!” at bewildered pedestrians. It simply can’t be done. Great, great song. Heaven help the band that finds itself matched up against “Debaser.”

That band would be the wonderfully unassuming Miracle Legion. All apologies to Mark Mulcahy and Ray Neal, but “The Ladies From Town” just doesn’t quite cut it. It has its merits, of course, as does pretty much any other Miracle Legion song. Upbeat melody, nice jangly guitars, Mulcahy’s unmistakable drawled vocals and winning personality, Dylanesque harmonica, all of it rather nice. I can even overlook the underwhelming production of this live recording.

But “The Ladies From Town” is no “Debaser.” Pixies roll.

Winner: The Pixies - Debaser

Parish School - Common Nature

vs.

Victor Krummenacher - Rocket Fuel

Here’s an oddity…a band on my iPod that I know absolutely nothing about. “Common Nature”, by Parish School, was included on a joint label compilation of Flameshovel Records, Pretty Activity Records and Record Label Records. Parish School is apparently on Record Label, but that label’s site has no information whatsoever about the band. Mysterious, indeed. Anyway, the song is an interesting bit of electro-throb with a muttering male vocal: not groundbreaking, but something I could imagine hearing played in a swanky nightclub. Not that I ever frequent such places, of course. I did say “imagine”, remember.

Victor Krummenacher, as I’ve mentioned before, was a founding member of the incomparable Camper Van Beethoven. After that band’s breakup he and several other campers formed Monks of Doom (bounced out of the Tournament very early on, by Sebadoh), and he’s now a solo artist who crafts intelligent, heartfelt and emotional roots rock. “Rocket Fuel” is the heaviest song on the album (Bittersweet) which shows darker emotions than usual and stretches out to six-plus minutes, giving Krummenacher time to display some of his guitar chops.

I’ll go with the familiar over the unknown. Krummenacher it is.