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Round Four of the Tournament of Hands is now upon us. This time the eight tracks I was left with after Round Three are winnowed down to a mere four. Can you taste the excitement?

1. Relax (Come Fighting) by Frankie Goes to Hollywood
vs.
2. The Message by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
Difficulty: ****
Winner: Melle Mel
Comments: Because, apparently, Grandmaster Flash himself was only involved with the record-scratching part, and didn't do any rapping himself, and this song is actually really a Grandmaster Melle Mel number. (There's at least two MC's that I can hear, possibly more, but Wikipedia won't tell me more than that.) Anyway, "Relax" is a kickass track but still not a real favourite of mine.

3. Take Me Away by Fefe Dobson
vs.
4. As Good as New by ABBA
Difficulty: *****
Winner: Ms. Dobson
Comments: Apparently I prefer the newer sounds of Fefe Dobson to the somewhat stale sounds of disco-era ABBA. Whoda thunkit?

5. What If We Don't Get What We Want? by 13 Engines
vs.
6. The Killing Moon by Echo & The Bunnymen
Difficulty: ****
Winner: Lucky 13
Comments: Am I just getting tired of "Killing Moon", perhaps? I'm reminded of some critic's contention that Echo & The Bunnymen were a watershed in the history of new wave, because after they came out everyone realized things had just gone too far and there was a backlash. This is one of their best songs, but it's run out of steam, in this tournament at least.

7. Bus Stop by The Hollies
vs.
8. Future Call by Jill Cunniff
Difficulty: *****
Winner: Hollies
Comments: Sixties pop manages to beat more modern and dynamic pop, but for how much longer?

Things are really getting down to the wire here. Who do you think will come out on top?

I'm past 30,000 scrobbles now, and in fact probably past the number of music files in my collection. Though I have not managed to play every song in my collection at least once, I am working on it.

I notice that I have failed to note the identity of not only my 30,000th scrobble, but even my 25,000th. Well, I did make note of them at the time, and just needed to get around to actually blogging about it here.

Track #25,000 was Live Your Life Be Free by Belinda Carlisle, from the album of the same name. I'm sure I went on to listen to the rest of the album as well. What do I think of it? Well, the song itself is okay, and I've got nothing against Belinda Carlisle herself. I'm sure it's what JoeIsListening would call a two-star or three-star song--not enough to make me change stations on the radio, but not one I'd generally get stuck in my head and go seek out to listen to. There are better songs on the album, in particular You're Nothing Without Me, a breakup song which somehow manages to be at the same time biting and vulnerable. Alas, that was like scrobble #25004.

Track #30,000 was, unfortunately, the unauspicious Confessions Of 349-18-5171, a Ken Nordine spoken track from his Best of Word Jazz Vol. 1. Ken Nordine is really on the borderline between spoken word and music, because his stuff often consists of both. I don't mix comedy with my music on shuffle play, but Ken Nordine makes it in. However, this is one of his duller spoken word entries, and the title doesn't even have a whole lot to do with the content of the track. This would, I suppose, be another two-star track.

I wonder how long it'll be until 40,000? Looks like it'll probably be 9-10 months from now, at my current listening rate, so May or June of 2009. I'll try to post sometime before then.

(See the explanation posted with the first round if you're too confused.)

Here we are again, for Round Three of the Tournament of Eggs. My apologies for the delay; apparently being on holiday took up all my time, so I had to wait until I went back to work. 32 tracks have now been narrowed down to 16, which by now means that most of the fat has been trimmed off, the chaff has been threshed out, the deadwood's been cleared out, the split ends have been clipped, and here are the results of the round before I metaphor again.

1. Relax (Come Fighting) by Frankie Goes to Hollywood
vs.
2. Heat of the Moment by Willy DeVille
Difficulty: ***
Winner: Frankie
Comments: I'm amazed that Willy DeVille managed to get this far in the first place, given that I only got that album because of "Storybook Love". "Heat of The Moment" is not too bad, I suppose, but not up to "Relax".

3. The Message by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
vs.
4. We're Just Temporary Ma'am by White Whale
Difficulty: ****
Winner: The Furious Five
Comments: Unfortunately, the White Whale was sunk by the Flash. Pity, because it's a nice little song, with a great title, but "The Message" is much too strong.

5. Take Me Away by Fefe Dobson
vs.
6. Streets of Banaras by Ann Mortifee
Difficulty: *****
Winner: Fefe
Comments: With Fefe Dobson we have a performance strong enough to beat out Ann Mortifee's, though not by much.

7. As Good as New by ABBA
vs.
8. Tomber by Laurence Jalbert
Difficulty: ***
Winner: BBAA
Comments: "Tomber" is not quite strong enough to beat ABBA, apparently.

9. Chance (single version) by Big Country
vs.
10. What If We Don't Get What We Want? by 13 Engines
Difficulty: ****
Winner: The Engines
Comments: It's possible that "Chance" may be growing on me, but 13 Engines has knocked it out of the tournament.

11. Kissing Gate by Sam Brown
vs.
12. The Killing Moon by Echo & The Bunnymen
Difficulty: ***
Winner: Echo
Comments: Now for some reason I'm picturing "The Kissing Moon" and "Killing Gate" or something. In any case, Sam Brown advanced as far as she was likely to.

13. Bus Stop by The Hollies
vs.
14. Careful With That Axe, Eugene by Pink Floyd
Difficulty: ***
Winner: Holly
Comments: Concise 60's pop wins out over lengthy psychedelia, apparently.

15. Look Down by Claude-Michel Sch&omul;nberg
vs.
16. Future Call by Jill Cunniff
Difficulty: ****
Winner: Jill
Comments: Not the best song in Les Miz, alas, so Jill manages to squeak by.

Hopefully the next round will be prompter, especially since I only have eight contestants to play off this time. Plus no more inconvenient vacations planned.

(See the explanation posted with the previous round if you're too confused.)


Here we are again, for Round Two of the Tournament of Swans. Our starting allotment of 64 tracks has been reduced to 32, so oddly enough this round took less time to do. Let's see the results, without further ado:

1. Relax (Come Fighting) by Frankie Goes to Hollywood
vs.
2. 7 8 9 by Barenaked Ladies
Difficulty: ***
Winner: Frankie
Comments: "7 8 9" is amusing enough, a bit jokey, but loses out to "Relax" in edginess.

3. Heat of the Moment by Willy DeVille
vs.
4. Hell in a Handbasket by Drywall
Difficulty: ***
Winner: Willy
Comments: I still don't know whose voice it is on that Drywall track (doesn't sound like Stan Ridgway, at any rate), but it's annoying enough for Willy DeVille to advance another round.

5. The Message by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
vs.
6. Close But No Cigar by Weird Al Yankovic
Difficulty: *****
Winner: Flash
Comments: "The Message"'s classic status, and more serious tone, may be all the keep it from getting defeated by what is beginning to sound like one of Weird Al's standout tracks.

7. We're Just Temporary Ma'am by White Whale
vs.
8. Ultraviolence by New Order
Difficulty: **
Winner: The Whale
Comments: "Ultraviolence" advanced as far as it was likely to, given my general apathy for New Order album tracks. Not to belittle the White Whale song, which still shows no signs of slowing down (but we'll see how it does in the next round...)

9. My Hippy Angel by Bob Geldof
vs.
10. Take Me Away by Fefe Dobson
Difficulty: ****
Winner: Fefe
Comments: Teenage angst with some hard rock guitar beats a gentler hippy angel in my books, apparently.

11. Streets of Banaras by Ann Mortifee
vs.
12. The Last Word by Mary Chapin Carpenter
Difficulty: ****
Winner: Ann
Comments: Once again Ann Mortifee's powerful vocals bring her victory over a lower-key performance.

13. As Good as New by ABBA
vs.
14. The Rhythm of the Heat by Peter Gabriel
Difficulty: *****
Winner: BABA
Comments: Very close, and perhaps if the Gabriel song weren't the "Plays Live" version, it might have won out, but "As Good As New" is making its way into my favourite tracks here...

15. Tomber by Laurence Jalbert
vs.
16. Junior by John Mellencamp
Difficulty: *****
Winner: Laurence
Comments: Another hard call, and perhaps Jalbert's more emotional voice overcame Mellencamp's compelling, but musically low-key, street-person story.

17. Chance (single version) by Big Country
vs.
18. Foxglove by Bruce Cockburn
Difficulty: ***
Winner: The Country
Comments: This is still not my favourite Big Country song, but Bruce Cockburn's tiny instrumental was still unable to compete.

19. What If We Don't Get What We Want? by 13 Engines
vs.
20. Mermaid Smiled by XTC
Difficulty: ***
Winner: The Engines
Comments: The sole XTC track in the tourney loses to the more interesting 13 Engines song.

21. Eric's Theme by Vangelis
vs.
22. Kissing Gate by Sam Brown
Difficulty: **
Winner: Ms. Brown
Comments: Still a pretty weak song, but vocals beats instrumental 95% of the time. (ISTR there was something in the "Stop Making Sense" liner notes to the effect of "Lyrics were invented to keep people listening to music longer than they normally would. I also claim that music makes me more willing to listen to poetry than I normally would, too.)

23. There Won't Be Trumpets by Stephen Sondheim
vs.
24. The Killing Moon by Echo & The Bunnymen
Difficulty: ***
Winner: Echo
Comments: A stronger Sondheim song might have won, but this may be E&TB's best song, so it triumphs again.

25. Bus Stop by The Hollies
vs.
26. Double Take by Blondie
Difficulty: **
Winner: The Hollies
Comments: "Bus Stop" unsurprisingly wins its second round, but it has yet to face much real opposition.

27. Nightswimming by R.E.M.
vs.
28. Careful With That Axe, Eugene by Pink Floyd
Difficulty: ****
Winner: Floyd
Comments: This time around I seemed to be noticing more of the awkwardnesses of Stipe's lyrics, which gave Eugene the edge he needed.

29. Look Down by Claude-Michel Sch&omul;nberg
vs.
30. The Story of One Chord by Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper
Difficulty: ****
Winner: Marius & Co.
Comments: The drama of Les Misérables trounces the silliness of Mojo. Apparently I was not in a very jokey mood this round...

31. Love Don't Need No Tyranny by Tanita Tikaram
vs.
32. Future Call by Jill Cunniff
Difficulty: ****
Winner: Jill
Comments: These songs are really very similar, upbeat songs from female vocalists with a strong musical backing, but Jill wins by a nose for being a little catchier.

Next week, or so, Round Three, where the 16 winners in this round duke it out with each other...

This is borrowed directly from a recent series of journals by JoeIsListening, wherein one takes 64 songs selected at random from one's playlist and puts them in an elimination tournament which I gather is based somewhat on basketball playoffs or something. I don't know from basketball, so I won't comment on that. To quote from Joe, "These will be divided into 32 musical face offs. Losers go away and the winners advance until 'there can only be one.'" I eliminated any under-1-minute tracks from the list, but didn't bother with a ten-minute-plus track or a number of 8-9 minute ones.

I am also borrowing Joe's Difficulty-O-Meter, which "gauges the degree of difficulty in deciding which song advances. The scale runs from * (no contest, no thought required) to ***** (pass the razor blades)".

Now, I've got close to 30,000 tracks in my system, many of which I could not hum even a snatch of upon seeing the title, so this could be interesting, or not as much. Let's see.

1. Lebanese Blonde (French mix) by Thievery Corporation
vs.
2. Relax (Come Fighting) by Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Difficulty: ****
Winner: Frankie
Comments: Both of them good grooving tracks, but I think "Relax" got the edge because of my greater familiarity with it, and perhaps it's a bit less laid-back and a little more forceful.

3. Broken Birds by Jane Siberry
vs.
4. 7 8 9 by Barenaked Ladies
Difficulty: *
Winner: The Ladies
Comments: Little contest here--a pretty much acoustic track from a past-her-prime Siberry doing a misguided album of songs she wrote as a teenager, versus a catchy children's song from Canada's top popsters.

5. Heat of the Moment by Willy DeVille
vs.
6. Dreamin' by Lou Reed
Difficulty: ***
Winner: Willy
Comments: Willy DeVille mostly wins by default, because the Lou Reed track, from his subdued "Magic & Loss", is just not very strong. We'll see how Willy does in the next round...

7. Hell in a Handbasket by Drywall
vs.
8. Framed by Saga
Difficulty: ***
Winner: Drywall
Comments: This is far from my favourite track from Stan Ridgway's "Drywall" project, but it's still at least distinctive enough to edge out a less-familiar prog-rock track from Saga.

9. Afterglow by Genesis
vs.
10. The Message by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
Difficulty: *
Winner: Flash
Comments: A weak track from a weak Genesis album against one of the classic songs of rap music? Okay, I'm not rap's biggest fan, but Grandmaster Flash nailed this one.

11. Slip Inside This House by The 13th Floor Elevators
vs.
12. Close But No Cigar by Weird Al Yankovic
Difficulty: ***
Winner: Al
Comments: A catchy, appealing tune from Weird Al's latest album, even if not one that stuck out on first listen, holds its own against Roky Erickson's eerie tune.

13. We're Just Temporary Ma'am by White Whale
vs.
14. The Warrior by Scandal
Difficulty: *****
Winner: The Whale
Comments: Okay, "The Warrior" is a classic of 80's pop-rock, where White Whale are just some obscure upstart indie-rock band, but "We're Just Temporary Ma'am" is catchy and has a great title, which won out over nostalgia by a hair.

15. Prayer Meeting by Chet Atkins
vs.
16. Ultraviolence by New Order
Difficulty: ***
Winner: The Order
Comments: While "Ultraviolence" is one of those tracks that I couldn't hum you a bar of right now, it still outdoes a Chet Atkins instrumental cover version from "Solid Gold '68". Or, at least, this particular one.

17. My Hippy Angel by Bob Geldof
vs.
18. The Luxury by The Tragically Hip
Difficulty: ***
Winner: Sir Bob
Comments: While the Tragically Hip have some great songs, I have trouble getting into a lot of their album tracks, while Geldof's song is a fun listen.

19. Rocket by Primitive Radio Gods
vs.
20. Take Me Away by Fefe Dobson
Difficulty: ****
Winner: Fefe
Comments: Though Dobson's Avrilesque charms are overly obvious, they nonetheless outweigh those of that PRG guy.

21. Stay Awake by Suzanne Vega
vs.
22. Streets of Banaras by Ann Mortifee
Difficulty: ****
Winner: Ann
Comments: This was an interesting pairing. I love Suzanne Vega's a cappella take on the Mary Poppins song, but somehow her quiet, deadpan song paled next to Ann Mortifee's intense, histrionic soprano workout.

23. Furry Old Lobster by Jonathan Coulton
vs.
24. The Last Word by Mary Chapin Carpenter
Difficulty: ****
Winner: Mary
Comments: Mary Chapin Carpenter wins out over Jonathan Coulton for having more clever lyrics, but this is admittedly one of Coulton's weaker numbers.

25. As Good as New by ABBA
vs.
26. The Nightfly by Donald Fagen
Difficulty: ***
Winner: BAAB
Comments: The throbbing disco beat and harmonies have it over Fagen's soft jazz and wry weary-radio-DJ lyrics.

27. Questions in a World of Blue by Julee Cruise
vs.
28. The Rhythm of the Heat by Peter Gabriel
Difficulty: **
Winner: Pete
Comments: Julee Cruise is just a little too wispy to take on the primal power of even the live version of one of Gabriel's best tracks.

29. Tomber by Laurence Jalbert
vs.
30. Tapestry by Carole King
Difficulty: ***
Winner: Laurence
Comments: Laurence Jalbert, who on this song strikes me as a sort of Francophone Melissa Etheridge, edges out Carole King on this one.

31. You Took My Heart by Chris Isaak
vs.
32. Junior by John Mellencamp
Difficulty: ****
Winner: Cougar
Comments: John Mellencamp's story was a little more compelling than Isaak's bouncy lament.

33. Chance (single version) by Big Country
vs.
34. Messages by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Difficulty: ***
Winner: BC
Comments: The OMD track just wasn't striking me, which left Big Country on top by default.

35. Animation by Jon Anderson
vs.
36. Foxglove by Bruce Cockburn
Difficulty: ****
Winner: Bruce
Comments: The Jon Anderson track just went on and on, leaving the field open for Cockburn's little guitar instrumental.

37. What If We Don't Get What We Want? by 13 Engines
vs.
38. Rooms on Fire by Stevie Nicks
Difficulty: ***
Winner: Lucky 13
Comments: An uncharacteristically low-key track from alt-rockers 13 Engines, which takes out past-her-prime Stevie.

39. Mermaid Smiled by XTC
vs.
40. Perfect World by Talking Heads
Difficulty: ****
Winner: XTC
Comments: I'm not that familiar with the XTC track, actually, but it manages to beat out one of my less-than-favourite Heads tracks.

41. Manto's Arrow and the Sphinx by Andreas Vollenweider
vs.
42. Eric's Theme by Vangelis
Difficulty: ***
Winner: Vangelis
Comments: Despite (or, perhaps, because of) what sounds like Lisa Gerrard wailing in the background, Andreas Vollenweider is unable to beat the majestic track of "Chariots of Fire".

43. Kissing Gate by Sam Brown
vs.
44. Fading Lights by Genesis
Difficulty: ***
Winner: Ms. Brown
Comments: Not my favourite Sam Brown track, but it's better than the dull and overlong Genesis song, at least.

45. What a Day That Was by David Byrne
vs.
46. There Won't Be Trumpets by Stephen Sondheim
Difficulty: ***
Winner: Mr. Sondheim
Comments: Perhaps if the Byrne song had been the "Stop Making Sense" version, it might have beaten out this minor Sondheim song from the "Side By Side By Sondheim" revue.

47. The Killing Moon by Echo & The Bunnymen
vs.
48. Pull Me Down by Skydiggers
Difficulty: ****
Winner: Echo
Comments: For a song I was unfamiliar with, the Skydiggers track was unexpectedly strong, but not enough to beat out the classic E&TB song.

49. So Serious by Electric Light Orchestra
vs.
50. Bus Stop by The Hollies
Difficulty: **
Winner: Holly
Comments: It'll take more than that silly ELO song to defeat one of the best pop songs of the 60's! I can see "Bus Stop" getting quite far in this competition, in fact...

51. Double Take by Blondie
vs.
52. Islands of the Future by Gentlemen Without Weapons
Difficulty: ****
Winner: Blondie
Comments: Oh, my. The Blondie song is pretty silly, and from their latter days, but what is it up against? While Gentlemen Without Weapons sounded more pop than new-age with their synthesizers filled with animal and natural sounds, this song contains a gagworthy voiceover from a young Fairuza Balk that eliminates it from this round.

53. Grimsby by Elton John
vs.
54. Nightswimming by R.E.M.
Difficulty: ***
Winner: REM
Comments: The Elton John song is okay, but not great, and the REM song has been growing on me lately.

55. Careful With That Axe, Eugene by Pink Floyd
vs.
56. The Horns of Rohan & The Battle of the Pelennor Fields by Bo Hansson
Difficulty: **
Winner: Floyd
Comments: Oh, please. There's no way that Hansson and his synthy Lord of The Rings soundtrack can compete with such an epic of prog. I mean, with screaming and everything!

57. Look Down by Claude-Michel Schönberg
vs.
58. Saskatchewan Sea by The SplendourBog
Difficulty: ****
Winner: Les Miz
Comments: The SplendourBog song is an interesting ode to Canada's flattest province, but it can't decide whether to be serious or jokey, so the Les Misérables track, not one of my favourites but decent enough, narrowly pulls ahead of it.

59. The Story of One Chord by Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper
vs.
60. Lovers Anonymous by 10cc
Difficulty: ***
Winner: Mojo
Comments: The Mojo & Skid track is silly stuff, and so is the 10cc I suppose, but the 10cc track has the disadvantage of being pretty dull musically, so it drops out.

61. I Wanted Your Heart by Magazine
vs.
62. Love Don't Need No Tyranny by Tanita Tikaram
Difficulty: ***
Winner: Tanita
Comments: Neither of these are songs I'm that familiar with, but the Magazine track was grating on me a bit on this listen, so Tanita takes it through greater tunefulness.

63. Amelia by Joni Mitchell
vs.
64. Future Call by Jill Cunniff
Difficulty: **
Winner: Jill
Comments: While I like a number of Joni Mitchell songs, this isn't one of them. I mean, my favourite album of hers is "Chalk Mark In A Rain Storm", for heaven's sake. Jill Cunniff's isn't quite Luscious Jackson, but it's still a more fun listen.

Next week, or so, Round Two, where the 32 winners in this round duke it out with each other...

My 20,000th track, as far as I can tell, was Electro-Shock Blues. At least, that's what my count told me before last.fm inexplicably scrobbled Tishbite twice shortly before that. I was listening to whole albums, as is often my wont, so I'm sure at least it was something on Electro-Shock Blues.

So...well, I can't comment much on the specific song, since I'm not intimately familiar with the album. I like the Eels in general, ever since I discovered that was what happened to that E guy, but that particular album is fairly dark and subdued; I tend to prefer Daisies of the Galaxy or Beautiful Freak instead.

(For that matter, I don't like Milk & Kisses nearly as much as, say, Treasure or Tiny Dynamine, or most of This Mortal Coil.)

By the way, I remember wondering, as a kid, how there could be 20,000 leagues under the sea. I mean, how many aquatic hockey players were there? And then, when I discovered that the league was a unit of length, I thought for years that that was how deep the ocean was. ...I should read that book sometime, too.

It's that time again, apparently. Another lyrics quiz based on some of my favourite songs. First lines not guaranteed, one band appears twice.

1.
Jan had told him many times, "It's you to me who taught,
In Jersey anything's legal, as long as you don't get caught."

2.
And if I seem to act unkind
It's only me, it's not my mind that is confusing things
I Want to Tell You

3.
With my ego in my gut, my babbling mouth would wash it up
(But now I've started learning how); I keep it shut

4.
I want to love, but it comes out wrong
I want to live, but I don't belong

5.
Is it an horrific dream, am I sinking fast
Could a person be so mean as to laugh and laugh
The Hurting

6.
She walks through the streets with her eyes painted red
Under black belly of cloud in the rain
Running To Stand Still

7.
And you know for a million years he has been your lover
He'll be a million more
Greenman

8.
Take me by the hand and walk me to the end of the pier
Run your fingers through my hair as you tell me what I want to hear
Infected

9.
I'd do anything for you, I'd stand out in the rain
Anything you want me to do, don't let it slip away

10.
Anyone in his right mind would tell it to go away
But the river of dread runs deep, full of unspeakable things
Dirty Creature

11.
Someday Mother will die and I'll get the money
Mom leans down and says, "My sentiments exactly."

12.
I won't use words again, they don't mean what I meant, they don't say what I said
They're just the crust of the meaning with realms underneath

13.
Now every time you see a baby carriage
You curse the years you have avoided marriage
Biological Time Bomb

14.
I'm punch drunk, you're such a dirty fighter
You try to massacre my schoolboy dreams
Below The Belt

15.
There are scenes, there are blues, there are boots, there are shoes
There are Turks, there are fools, they're in lockers, they're in schools
Third Uncle

16.
Now my life has changed in oh so many ways
My independence seems to vanish in a haze
Help!

17.
No we've never been away from here
So we'll try to lose ourselves again

18.
Their response it didn't thrill us
They locked the doors and tried to kill us
The Saga Begins

19.
You've got something to say, you say it to my face and be a man about it
You got a problem with me, don't go behind my back just like a baby

20.
You can call me on my cellphone, you can page me all night long
But you won't catch this free bird, I'll already be long gone
Steve McQueen

21.
For God's sake why am I driving in the wrong lane
Trouble is my middle name but in the end I'm not too bad

22.
All we have to do now is take these lies and make them true somehow
All you have to see is that I don't belong to you and you don't belong to me
Freedom 90

23.
There is no need to remind me, no way I could forget
We fell in love, and then fell out; both times there was no net

The Beatles
Brian Eno
Chantal Kreviazuk
Christine Lavin
Garbage
George Michael
Hooverphonic
Kate Bush
Loudon Wainwright III
Sade
Sheryl Crow
The Smithereens
Split Enz
Suzanne Vega
Tears for Fears
The The
They Might Be Giants
Tim Finn
Traveling Wilburys
U2
Weird Al Yankovic
XTC

I've never done one of these before, but perhaps the time is right. (Ganked from poor-de-chirico.)

My top 50 artists:
1. Barenaked Ladies
2. Depeche Mode
3. The Beatles
4. R.E.M.
5. Weird Al Yankovic
6. They Might Be Giants
7. Bruce Cockburn
8. Laurie Anderson
9. Rush
10. Christine Lavin
11. Billy Joel
12. Elvis Costello
13. Genesis
14. Stan Ridgway
15. Joni Mitchell
16. Johnny Cash
17. Joe Jackson
18. Queen
19. Elton John
20. Madonna
21. Prince
22. The Smashing Pumpkins
23. John Mellencamp
24. Captain Tractor
25. The Nylons
26. Pink Floyd
27. Kate Bush
28. Paul Simon
29. Fleetwood Mac
30. John Williams
31. Eurythmics
32. The Pursuit of Happiness
33. XTC
34. The Rolling Stones
35. Tom Waits
36. Duran Duran
37. Heart
38. David Bowie
39. Thrill Squad
40. Timbuk 3
41. Cowboy Junkies
42. Shriekback
43. Howard Jones
44. King Crimson
45. The Stranglers
46. Chris de Burgh
47. Leonard Bernstein
48. Leonard Cohen
49. The Cure
50. Talking Heads

1. How did you get into 31?
I dunno, I remember hearing Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) and seeing the video, and probably Here Comes the Rain Again and all that. When I seriously entered the world of music, Be Yourself Tonight had just been released. I more or less liked the songs from that one (It's Alright (Baby's Coming Back) being the enduring favourite), ended up buying myself a copy, and I think my brother got me Touch for Christmas.

2. What was the first song you ever heard by 22?
I seem to recall I saw the video for Today, and had no idea who these Pumpkin guys were. For a long time the only songs I really liked were Disarm and 1979 (once I found out that was them), but ended up picking up Siamese Dream and Melon collie and the infinite sadness anyway. I like Adore much better, but haven't gotten much further with them yet.

3. What's your favourite lyric by 41?
"And I'm searching all the windows for a last-minute present to prove to you that what I say is real
For something small and frail and plastic, baby, because cheap is how I feel."

4. What is your favourite album by 49?
Probably Disintegration; Lullaby is a great song, and the rest has good atmospherics without too much of the dissonance that sometimes strikes on Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me and The Head On The Door, the only two other ones I've listened to enough to judge.

5. How many albums by 13 do you own?
A lot--also 13, as it turns out. From Genesis to Revelation, Trespass, Nursery Cryme, Selling England By The Pound, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, A Trick of the Tail, Wind And Wuthering, ...And Then There Were Three..., Duke, Abacab, Genesis, Invisible Touch, and We Can't Dance. I first got into the late Collins-era Genesis of the self-titled album and "Invisible Touch", but I was intrigued by a friend's copy of "A Trick of The Tail", and my brother got me into "Trespass". I'm not completely sold on Gabriel-era Genesis; I like the early Collins-era stuff better.

6. What is your favourite song by 50?
That's a tough one. Probably Road To Nowhere.

7. Is there a song by 4 that makes you sad?
Everybody Hurts, I suppose.

8. What is your least favourite song by 15?
There's a lot of songs that don't make a lot of impression on me, really, since I like her 80's pop-style albums better than her earlier folk stuff, but a least favourite...? I guess I always found Twisted a little bit annoying.

9. What is your favourite song by 5?
I love his artist pastiches, especially his take on Oingo Boingo in You Make Me.

10. Is there a song by 6 that makes you happy?
Oh, definitely! Birdhouse in Your Soul would probably do it.

11. What is your favourite album by 40?
Eden Alley edges it out over their debut, I think, because of the title track and Rev. Jack and His Roamin' Cadillac Church.

12. What is your favourite song by 10?
It's changed a few times over the years, but right now I think it's Moving Target.

13. What is a good memory you have involving 33?
Just driving in my car with the music of Green Man washing around me like melodic waves.

14. What is your favourite song by 37?
They're almost one of my guilty pleasures, so it's difficult for me to admit to unabashedly liking anything. I like the melancholy Just the Wine, from the supposedly inferior Dreamboat Annie outtake album, Magazine.

15. Is there a song by 19 that makes you happy?
Honky Cat[/album] is just so upbeat and jazzy, plus I've known it for a long time.

16. How many times have you seen 24 live?
Hard as it is to believe, since they live in bloody Edmonton, and I know at least one member of the band, I've never seen them live at all. I am ashamed of myself.

17. What is the first song you heard by 23?
Probably [track artist=John Mellencamp]Jack & Diane, though it might also have been (gag) Hurts So Good. Back when his last name was still "Cougar".

18. What is your favourite album by 11?
That's hard to say, because though he has some killer songs he's really quite uneven. Storm Front, I guess.

19. Who is your favourite member of 1?
I like Ed Robertson's more relaxed vocal style over Steven Page's, and on my favourite album of theirs, Maroon, he wrote most of the best songs.

20. How many times have you seen 14 live?
Never, but what else is new? What are the odds of him coming up to Canada in the first place?

21. What is a good memory you have involving 45?
First hearing the song Golden Brown.

22. What is your favourite song by 16?
Ring Of Fire. I just love those horns.

23. What is the first song you heard by 47?
Doubtless something from West Side Story, and most likely the opening, since I probably found the record among my parents' musicals and started it on side 1. Though I don't have as many memories of listening to this one as a kid; I got to know it better when I was one of the Jets in a local production.

24. What is your favourite album by 3?
I've changed my mind about that many times over the years. Today? Probably Revolver.

25. What is your favourite song by 18?
I still believe that, in many ways, Fat Bottomed Girls is the perfect rock song.

26. What is the first song you heard by 38?
If I had to guess, I'd say it was Starman, because my brother listened to him a lot when I was young, and that one sounded very familiar when I listened to "Ziggy Stardust" years later. Though I also remember that China Girl was one of the first music videos I ever saw.

27. What is your favourite lyric that 21 has sung?
It'd probably still be the chorus of When Doves Cry, which is probably the first time I heard of him.

28. What is your favourite song by 2?
Halo leapt to the top of my personal charts years ago, and still lurks there.

29. What is the first song you heard by 32?
I'm an Adult Now, from the original indie video. I still like that version better than the one that ended up on their debut album.

30. What is your favourite song by 8?
Either Gravity's Angel or Born, Never Asked, I can't decide.

31. How many times have you seen 17 live?
Zero.

32. Is there a song by 44 that makes you happy?
Happy? King Crimson is not about the happy! Though Thela Hun Ginjeet is fun to chair-dance to.

33. What is your favourite album by 12?
If I'm including the Attractions albums in here (though if those were included in the charts, he'd be a bit higher than #12), then it used to be Punch the Clock, probably now is All This Useless Beauty, though When I Was Cruel shows definite promise.

34. What is the worst song by 29?
Well, let's see. Some songs from Tango in the Night fail to impress, like You and I, Part II and Family Man, but Not That Funny from Tusk is also undistinguished.

35. What was the first song you heard by 34?
I suspect that's lost in the mists of time. I'm sure I heard something, probably (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, at least, on the radio before the Harlem Shuffle video came out, but I can't be more definite than that.

36. What is your favourite album by 42?
I couldn't possibly decide between Oil & Gold and Big Night Music, though I usually list "O&G" first anyway.

37. How many times have you seen 39 live?
None, though that would've been cool. They probably came to Edmonton at some point, too.

38. What is your favourite album by 36?
Another guilty pleasure. Rio has held up well over time, though, if I can forget about Hungry Like The Wolf (file next to "Hurts So Good", if you please).

39. What is the first song you heard by 28?
Okay, I definitely remember hearing 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover on the radio. Didn't find out who it was or what it was called for years, but I loved that chorus.

40. What is your favourite album by 7?
It's a tossup between Humans and Stealing Fire, but the latter has a couple too many lightweight tracks on it, so I guess "Humans".