Yes - that is exactly my problem, Stuart! I currently have a 50 song subscription to emusic. I'm not buying much additional music these days - I completely agree that emusic's catalog is too limited to be my sole source of music, but I'm currently operating on a constrained budget while I wait for some company to recognize the obvious benefits of adding me to their staff. Corporate hiring managers have proven to be remarkably dim-witted about that. Nonetheless, even at 50 new songs per month, I am not able to fully digest everything. I generally need to hear a new album 3-5 times before I can fully form my opinion of it. But between listening to the new music and revisiting old favorites, it can take a very long time for me to get those listens in. Consequently, I have a large and growing amount of music that I don't even know if I really like or not. I've taken to loading up my ipod with the latest 3-4 months of additions plus a selection of older music, and then listening to the albums in alphabetical order, which intersperses the new and the old. My other problem is that I have so many albums now that I find it daunting to select them, either for loading onto the ipod or for playing on my home system.

a few passably related topics here...
i am closing in on the end of a bottle of 2005 Maleatis red wine from greece that i bought a year or 2 ago and I am quite loving it... not knowing anything (at all really) about greek wine , I bought it (like a good little tourist) because it has a silver medal sticker , was almost sold out, and was only 20 bucks.... I checked online after enjotying it so much to find nothing much on it. This made me think that maybe wines are similar to music (or art in general) that there is much good stuff out there that generally goes un-noticed (except locally w the greek wine medal), so the real game is to find this good stuff at very reasonable prices...I wonder how much sucsess you lot have at this game??? It is certainly hit and miss for me, but tonight I got lucky...My segue (sp??) to topic two may be weak but the happily arrived at state of bliss from the wine , and listening to a wonderfull (if self laudatory) playlist of old and new music which I am made a while ago made me think of a topic I discussed w Derek last week regarding (of course) music....
Currently I have only a 30 song a month emusic subscription...pardon me while I refil my glass...........................................................................................................................................................................
but i also buy about 3 cds a month because a lot of good music is a little larger than emusic can get the rights to....Really if all you are buying is emusic you dont get out enough...
So I am trying to process at the very least 1.5 cds a week of new music... Now I listen to pretty well everything I have ever purchased, so as I age the math becomes problematic...ie at a certain age I can no longer listen to some music because I have too dammn much of it... Also, the stuff I really love ( say belle and sebastian for egample) I listen too almost bi-weekly, and there are a bunch of bands like them that I listen to so much its ...well...absurd... Bob Dylan, DEcemberists to name 2......so this brings me to my first point..
-Sorry kyle but you are in my line of sight here.... you have ( last we spoke ) a 90 song selection, add that to what you buy on cd, ( since you must do that) ....there must be tons of music that gets lost to you, or else you dont repeat listen much ( I really doubt that) or else you dont go back and listen to stuff you liked in the past but now find dated, ( I doubt that too because you like 80's stuff so much..( a fault I am ready to overlook)..
so my question is ( unfortunately using Kyle as the bait) ..
How does a music lover reconcille the vast quantities of music at our dispersal... How do we decipher what is good form average because a lot of stuff we all agree is great we only teally understand after repeated listenings....
In short I propose that a better stategy may be to buy less... be more disciminate... and listen more to the fewer purchases...perhaps play it safe and listen more to those dreaded biases unoriginal music critics...
damn I dont know the answer, but it is worth pondering

Two good examples in Holly and Baker, of record companies going to the well too many times with the same music. And here I thought that Tupac Shakur was the only one who released more albums after he died than when he was alive. I assume there's money in constantly reissuing and repackaging the same music year after year. I just wonder why, with all the new music out there to explore and review, sites like pitchfork choose to review the same old same old again and again. Increased page views? Also, why didn't Buddy Holly ever release an album with N.I.G.G.A.Z. in the title?

It's even more pronounced in the jazz world. FOr illustrative purposes I give you the "compilation" section of the Chet Baker discography on allmusic.com. Keep in mind that Chet died (a mysteriosu fall from a window in Amsterdam, no less) in 1988. Ridiculous! I am as big a CB fan as you're likely going to come across, and I would recommend "must haves" at about 3 records. I don't really understand how multiple labels are able to access / issue the same music time and time again.

Yes, the relentless re-issuing of existing music is annoying, but it is by no means limited to indie bands. Look at Buddly Holly, for example. He released 5 albums before his untimely death, and that music has been re-packaged dozens and dozens of times. In fact, according to AMG, since his final studio album in 1964, the only years that have NOT seen at least one Buddy Holly compilation album are 1973 and 1976. The Doors and Jimi Hendrix catalogs have been similarly abused. I wonder what business case drives this behaviour. I can readily understand that there is still a market for Buddy Holly among younger people who are hearing some of his songs for the first time. But how can it make sense to continually create new packages containing those same songs? Why not keep selling the existing catalog plus one or two well-crafted compilations for the casual listener?

You know, I've always enjoyed Galaxie 500, with their dreamy ethereal, drony guitar pop fondly evoking uni days for me, bonus points bestowed for being progenitor of even more enjoyable Luna but when I came across this review in Pitchfork the other day I kind of had to scream a bit.
My issue, in the form of a rhetorical question: How many motherfucking times does a motherfucking obscure indie band from the late 80s/early 90s have to motherfucking reissue their motherfucking music? Given they reissued their sum total 3 studio albums a decade ago, as well as a box set of music in mid-1997, then a rarities disc from the box set separately a few years after that, plus the requisite Peel Sessions disc, doesn't a third decade on reissue of all three albums seem a tad motherfucking excessive?

Any other 'too many trips to the well' examples you can conjure up/muster enough outrage to curse about?

A pre-long weekend chuckle. Anybody still play their cassettes?

Languidity is awesome Stu, absolutely. Sometime Sun Ra gets marginalized unfairly for being "weird" though I have (almost) always found him to be very musical and, damn it, joyous.

losing data like that ...ouch... i felt a cool shadow pass over me....
Kyle, I forgot to include Basia Bulat's first album on my best of lists... I loved it much,, a great summer cottage cd....I just picked up the new one a few weeks back and I dont think its quite as good, though it has a more produced fleshed out sound... If you like it definately get the first one two, as some of songs are real gems..
I think I also have you to thank, (but maybe I have the yearend lists wrong) for the Panics.... love them, kind of like a less ironic Luna to my ears....
Also Brian the perfect 70s jazz-spring driving with rooftop open on a beautiful sunny day- I have found.... Sun Ra Langudity, avail at emusic, absolute late 70's gem...the first track is the only weak track so first time out start the album from track 2 on with the windows down...music LOUD, all the way up to "leven" (said with cockney accent)
s

Adam - deepest sympathies. I lost my hard drive last year (almost exactly the same amount of music, gonzo...) and about 9 months later I'm still only about 2/3 of where I was. It's just bloody boring downloading stuff 24/7.

The Mountain Goats record from last year somewhat escaped my notice - like other very prolific bands, they end up being overlooked by yours truly on an individual-release basis (think Bob Pollard) - though I do enjoy the music. I recall a song - Genesis I believe, with it's catchy refrain "I used to live here" so I guess I (or one of you lot) picked up a song or two, but I'll go back to it; given, after all, that it's the first record of the rest of your life.

110 gb of music lost? a tear came to my own eye when i read that, reaching for my backup drive. not fun. hoping that, through the magic of torrents and download sites, you're able to reconstruct most of the collection.

thanks for the overview of recent listens, bri, and glad you're enjoying ola p. recent pickups for me include the new basia bulat, she and him, and besnard likes, none of which i've heard yet, as well as pantha du prince, one of my requisite 10 or so electronica picks per year, which is starting to grow on me, two or three listens in. also digging surfer blood, a mix of sunny beach boys-like 60s pop with jesus and mary chain-like distortion, which seems to be big with the indie kids these days (see: real estate, gauntlet hair, pearl harbor, cults - pressed for time, i'll add links later, for now, use the google).

Hey there, Adam here. Thanks for the inclusion into this blog. I have been lurking in the background reading through the archives. Though my active contribution has been stunted by the fact that I had the not so good fortune of losing a hard drive which led to the loss of my entire music library. 110 GBs worth. My seven year old bore witness to a less than polite introduction to some rather strong language. After crying in my beer for days I am ready to re-build and this site will help me start over. My first album to re-populate my collection is "The Life of the World to Come" by The Mountain Goats. Step 1.

Boys - we haven't got together to play new music for a while (what with the Clash of the Decades as our last get together, and the next one now scheduled to be a follow-on "Unheralded Below-The-Radar Nugget-Gems of the 80's and 90's".......I tried to think of more metaphors to mix in there but ran out of inspiration), so I feel I've lost the thread of what everyone's listening to and liking in the past few months.

Before I list out a few recent faves of mine, I wanted to mention that I believe we may have a couple of new posters out there, sitting on the sidelines - Adam and Dave. If so, don't be shy - just put it out there, and let the group tear your favourite music to pieces.

So, carrying on then, nothing earth shattering in my corner, though I've enjoyed the follow up releases from Headlights - which is more of the same but with a bit more complexity in the songs (slower, more arranged); Midlake - a big shift toward finding inspiration in the late 60's English folk movement, dirge-like at times but melodic and complex; and Laura Veirs - more great moody singing/song-writing. Another I'm enjoying (from the "Lit Rock" category) is Throw Me the Statue's latest. Odd, difficult-to-get-a-handle-on-songs, but man can that guy can write a lyric.

Bands that are new (or new to me), because there are older releases in here....Rosebuds, this record from 2008 is interesting, it gets under my skin a bit, a couple of songs like Life Like and Another Way In are immediately appealing, while others feel a bit slick and empty. The new Quasi seems pretty strong - more "Rock" than their previous records , and Broken Bells (the new "band" with the Shins singer) is great - not quite as peppy or indy-band-focused as a Shins release, but with great songs and interesting sometimes-synthy arrangements. Sold at Starbucks which is insulting. Ola Podrida's record (merci Kyle) has a great collection of alt-folk-indy-not-quite-country songs which I really enjoy. Also really enjoyable the quirky edgy pop of Pomegranates from their record from last year.

Haven't spend much time with the new Besnard Lakes but I didn't fasten onto it too much on the first listen. Anyone else listen and like it?

Don't think there's any need for me to pile on the praise for Pavement (ooh alliteration), as everyone knows how much I love 'em. I do like your point Derek that they are perhaps the quintessential nineties band. They are certainly the first band I think of when I am asked to describe why I thought the 90's were so great. And you really brought that home at the big Clash of the Decades when you showcased what is arguably their greatest song.....oh wait....

Anyway, moving away from bad memories for my favourite Scotsman, I would say (also not a surprise I'm sure) that I'm more warm and less luke about Big Star. If you ignore the hyperbole and just listen to the first two records (and only those two) you'll find some very appealing, melodic guitar pop. It's not groundbreaking, but they sure had their influence on the power pop movement that much came later in the decade. And they were sure swimming in a blue ocean at the time. If you know what I mean. Though not too dissimilar from Badfinger (whom I also love) just a little less poppy. Three good songs to start with are September Gurls, Thirteen, and the Ballad of El Goodo.

I'm not sure I buy the main premise of the Slate article that the boomers and all their cultural baggage are about to sail off in to the sunset, unfortunately. I'm also not sure how he makes his tenuous connection with this premise and Pavement. Anything for an article I suppose.

Still nice to be reminded, with the appearance of their greatest hits (oxymoron of course), of how much the 90's and Pavement went hand in hand. There aren't too many great bands whose artistic output spans almost exactly a 10 year period we like to call a decade, and get out while they still sound fresh and before new musical trends pass them by. Other than the obvious are there any other significant bands that would fit nicely into a 10 year frame.

As for Alex Chilton I fall in to the indifferent category. He first came to my attention when I picked up the Replacement's "Pleased to Meet Me" on vinyl almost a quarter of a century ago. Track 2 is "Alex Chilton" and is a terrific track and until I heard the song I hadn't the foggiest who this referred to. I did delve very lightly into some Big Star music but it never really made a mark with me. Early 1970's pop/rock isn't exactly in my wheelhouse so perhaps I should make an effort to dig deeper. Any recommendations from some of you older farts?

More Pavement. Plus, I'm a snot-nosed philistine so tell me more about this Alex Chilton fellow. Were you fans? Indifferent? Slavish devotees?

Gotta love the score given the Pavement compilation by Pitchfork. No Texas Never Whispers? Seems an oversight, imo, though I think they nail the track selections from Slanted & Enchanted. Probably a good compilation for those who inexplicably may not own all of their albums.

I tend to agree Mike, and made the point to Stuart and Kyle last night. Let the record show I was peremptorily shouted down by Mr. Watson, who wouldn't believe (a) that PF - whoever that may be at this stage - was capable of anything so crass, or (b) that it was a good economic strategy on their part. I think we need someone in the media to track this in a year and see whether PF won or lost the game.

Did you notice the followup article on the page? It appears that Pink Floyd won the case. I suspect that this suit may have been prompted by commercial reasons, rather than artistic ones. If you allow listeners to download individual tracks, you might sell only a couple from a given album, generating only a couple of dollars revenue. If you force them to buy the whole album, you can charge ten bucks or so. Sure there are some who will choose to buy nothing rather than buy the whole thing, but in the case of a well-established group like Pink Floyd, it may be that they would make more money by insisting on a larger packaging.

Interesting issue Kyle, though I'm surprised the Floyd'ers seem to be in as good a spot, legally speaking, as they are. I say that only because traditionally artists have tended to lose power over the distribution and selling of their music in dealing with record companies. Sounds like they had a savvy lawyer throwing in that clause to protect them, even if this circumstance per se was unforeseen - ie ipods and their evil power to commoditize music.

Not to play both sides of the fence, but I do feel like PF (or their lawyer) is being a little holier than thou in trying to stop the selling / downloading of individual songs. I love the band but there are certainly numerous songs that are not part of a bigger whole, that stand alone perfectly well, and are no less brilliant because of it. Arguably there greatest records are made up of great songs - Piper, Dark Side, Wish You Were Here. And it's not like they were the only band making concept music in the late sixties, seventies / eighties - I mean, the Who, Led Zeppelin, in fact almost every self-respecting rock band and most embarrassing imitations were doing the same thing at that time - I think of the Sweet, for example (who for the record I actually kind of dig). And, final point now, if you can download individual tracks from a Mahler symphony, or a Mozart opera, than surely Us and Them can't be sacred?

Interesting court case intiated by Pink Floyd against EMI, to prevent the label from selling their songs as individual downloads instead of as an entire album. Apart from the legal merits of either side (though it seems to me that EMI's on shaky ground when it contends that an album is something physical so downloads don't count) there's a broader question of whether you believe the artist or the music fan who gets to decide how a work is experienced. Do you think it's reasonable for a band to stipulate that its fans have to buy the whole work, because each song is part of that greater whole and can't really be understood or appreciated on its own? Or do fans have a legitimate right to pick and choose from the works of an artist they admire?

Perhaps I'm not framing the questions correctly but I think you get the gist of what I'm asking. Interested in getting your thoughts.

My take is that technology and file sharing renders the question academic anyway, given that I can easily download any individual Floyd tracks I want within seconds, and actually did so back in January in order to have a digital copy of "Fearless" to share during one of my better rounds in the Clash of the Decades. But I can appreciate where Pink Floyd is coming from; if any band is an 'album' band, it's them. Just wondering if it's reasonable, given that people are able to access pieces of the whole, that they insist on only selling the whole. Not sure.

Second the shoutout on Willis, Bri. A great use of 6 of my 9 remaining emusic credits this month. And a bonus badass mofo cover ; Samuel L. has nothing on this guy.

Update: Actually, the more I look at the cover, the more I'm reminded of a certain member of TV on the Radio.

well you guys have blunted what I had hoped to be a really funny self deprecating blog about Newsome... Notwithstanding my comments last week I actually bought the dam thing that same day... It was at soundscapes and I loved it on first listen, totally different from the last one, not to mention the racy photos inside...dam it really is worth the 2 1 bucks just for that...
Very accessible, she tones down the warble considerable, even has some good uptempo songs and its still growing on me as an album....
thanks for the larry willis tip Bri

No classical recs but I did locate another site where you can download new interesting music legally at http://www.rcrdlbl.com/.

As for Newsom, I'm one listen in and I tend to agree with Mike. It's much better than the previous album, both in terms of what she's doing, and maybe not doing, with her voice, and the strength of the songs, which stand on their own, as well as being part of the bigger whole. The songs on her previous disc tended to frustratingly meander all over the place. For those who really dig/dug Kate Bush, I'm thinking this is a home run. Not sure that I fall into this category. I appreciate what she's doing but I'm not sure if I'm terribly into it. Will give it a few more spins. Have closed my office door with the hopes of getting some work done on an important RFP and will try this as background music, which sometimes helps me focus on writing, not sure if others find this to be the case.

Ah the power of critics....it's got us all chasing and really working hard to understand an artist whom none of us (Derek = possible exception) really like.

Still looking for some classical recommendations...or have you all been too busy listening to Joanna Newsom.

"Have One on Me" is also available on Grooveshark, where you can listen to it as many times as you want. I've listened to some of it, but I'm still sorting out my opinion of it. I like it better than her previous material (which I've only sampled briefly) - both the voice and the lyrics are more mature here.

You don't have to resist. You can listen to the whole album here.

I gave it a listen in its entirety, as the Slate article suggests you do, on Friday evening and on first listen thought it was at the very least a good disc. Will obviously need to listen to it more often to really sink my teeth into it and that will require a purchase of the CD I suppose as they won't stream it for free indefinitely. So go ahead and give it a spin.

The new Gorillaz disc which I listened to on the Guardian's website (but is also available at the NPR site) also has some pretty good moments. Stick with it as I found the first 2 or 3 tracks the weaker ones on this album.

Continued praise for Newsom. Can you resist?

Yes indeed, the combo of 'pics and my annoyingly over-full life is keeping me from enjoying many of the finer things in life - like new music. On that note, in the eternal balance between pop, jazz, and classical music, I have definitely skewed towards the first in the past six months, and expect the pendulum to swing back over the next little while, likely first towards some good old-fashioned symphony music. Any recommendations (doesn't just have to be orchestral) of faves - recent recordings to throw at me? Failing that, jazz (old or new)?

Stu I recall you looking for some good electro fusion last year or so ago - I recently came across a great recording from 1972 or so by Larry Willis called "Inner Crisis". Give it a listen (it's on emusic) if you're still in the market for some nice energized e-jazz.

Re sports themes, the one that springs to mind for me (credit to Oliver as he loves this song) is We Are the Champions. Bit of a lighter-waver but still, not bad. Another one, "Hey Hey Hey - Kiss Him Goodbye" by Steam. I hope to be singing one or both of those at about 5:45 tomorrow.

eerily quiet here. it's as if there were an international sporting event spanning 17 days were somehow preoccupying your thoughts. hmmmn.

well then, gearing up for tonight's big match up against swede.....what's that...slovakia...no! really? (okay, but i'm still gonna be nervous), i can't help but wish the games were over, if only so i don't have to hear various versions ctv-themed 'i believe' song weaving its way through the background of every broadcasted competition like a lingering case of flatuence. which brings me to my question for the week (music- and not fart-themed):

what pop songs do you most associate with sporting events?

my personal fave of the past 15 years or so is blur's "song 2", which packs a nice big carthartic punch with its simple, 'woo hoo' chorus but there must be others. the gary glitter song still gets played quite a bit in the US, though his nasty personal predilections and arrests have mostly dampened enthusiasm for 'rock and roll pt. 1 and 2'.

least favourite: that damn ole ole ole song they sing at habs games. grrr.

fun times last night at the Wild Beasts show, even though they were neither wild nor beastly (discuss).

for those of you wondering how it is that joanna newsom continues to get glowing reviews, i invite you to continue to bang your head against the wall.

marc and mike, sorry you both couldn't make the show last night but thought you'd be interested in sampling some of the music from the opening band we saw last night, Still Life, Still, which I think we all kind of dug.

Hey Mike, belatedly, I love that Beatles link. I don't know about the rest of you but I can obsess at that level. Looks really well researched. And can you think of another band where you know every song so well, so that reading the detailed analysis doesn't leave you mystified? Other than the Smiths, Derek? Other than Bob Dylan, Stu? Other than John Denver, Mike?

Congrats, Bri! And welcome to late 2004. The good news: The Argos have just won the Grey Cup. The bad news: 4 more years of W.

I downloaded a podcast! I downloaded a podcast!

You actually have a very good memory Marc. As Kyle pointed out to me last night the 5 of us did indeed go to the Rex several years ago but we didn't stay too long as the band was quite bad and we headed off to the Rivoli.

No worries Stuart re Sunny Day in Glasgow. I hadn't realized that the Japandroids and the Sunny Day concerts were on consecutive evenings. Having picked up Japandroids tickets for Kyle and I this past weekend I might have had to bail on the other show regardless so I'm relieved to see you haven't purchased those tickets.

As for the Wild Beasts I picked up 5 tickets on the weekend $16/per and that show is 2 weeks from tonight at the Horseshoe.

the april 2 show ( sunny day glasgow) is the friday of the easter weekend, alas I can no longer make it...same w the japandroids, so its just the beasts for me.... Can someone else organise the tickets for glasgow show (if anyone is still interested.).. otherwize derek if you can still grab me a ticket just for the W. beasts Ill pay you the night of the show...
tks
s

Derek, where did we all go the evening we went out to Midi before a gig? ...was it just the Rex or was it something at the shoe? ...atrocious memory for such details ...and yes, i'd like to check out both shows, thanks for making arrangements guys.

Actually, fuck it. Put me down for the Japandroids show as well. Album is starting to grow on me, especially the drums that kick off the first track.

If I've read correctly does this mean that we have all 5 long-term members of the CD club looking to attend the Wild Beasts concert on February 22nd. If that is the case has this ever happened before?

Monday might actually be better for me than the Saturday. Put me down for some Wild Beasties and I'll have to get back to you on the Japandroids.

I'm game for what ever is on the go ...always up for something that i have absolutely no acquaintance with! ...besides, i might have my head out of the dust by then and looking for some release.

I'm up for the Wild Beasts. Unusual sounding band. A bit of the Smiths meets Antony and the Johnson perhaps?

The Wild Beasts are a band from the UK and are playing the Horseshoe on Monday February 22 for $15. The Japandroids are also playing at the shoe on a more family friendly Saturday night April 3 for the princely sum of $12.

a pox on your spurious, nay, supercilious statements stu (4 pts. for alliteration). is wild beasts that montreal band with the one good song? when are japandroids playing? am in for the glaswegian gig. let me know dates/deets for the other two.

I neglected to say that I am tiring of Kyles use of multi syllabic words such as "pulchritudinous".
To me they merely reinforce his epicene nature .....

Ok , maybe you get the wild beasts tickets Derek since you are more into beasteality then i... is the show Mon feb 22 at the shoe?

I will buy sunny day tickets in a week or so for all interested so anyone joining Derek and I please let me know before then...

of course I will take your cash at the show...

As one show is only 3 weeks away (Wild Beasts) and the the other 2 months away (Sunny Day) why don't we do both for those who are interested. April seems like a long time to wait to see some live music.

the garrison is in manhatten, thats why i suggested it...
actually it is 1197 dundas st west..... see link here
I just neeed to get out so I am open to seeing the wild beasts too

The pulchritudinous goddesses. Is that a metal band?

I'm of the same mind as Kyle. All 3 bands I like but don't really need to see in a live setting. Would be more interested in seeing Sunny Day in Glasgow or even Japandroids or Wild Beasts. The Sunny Day concert appears to be only $10. Where and what exactly is the Garrison?

much as i like the clientele and beach house (and field music, for that matter), i'm not dying to see any of these bands live. the word, 'soporific' comes to mind. will there be couches? good pot? lithe, pulchritudinous goddesses feeding me grapes while i recline and the music washes over me? if yes to any of these questions, i'm in. if no, i'll have to be cajoled. as for a sunny day in glascow, maybe. how much for the tix?

also, 30 days in, a nominee for worst album cover of the year.

Clientelle w Field music @ shoe march 19
Beach House @ opera house march 30
a sunny day in glasgow @ garrison april 2

anyone interested in any of these or spotted something better...i feel the need
s

Very cool link, Mike, and potentially hours of good reading and listening. For someone lacking in musical education such as myself, it's a great overview of concepts and terminology as well. I have added this as a link on the right navigation side of the page (moving the reading links up and the 2000s lists down) for those who may want to come back to it later, as I surely will. My father in-law, who is a Beatles fanatic, has always been adamant about the fact that, although their early stuff is now dismissed as simple or cute, when compared to their later work, the arrangements were far more complex than most if not all the pop music that preceded it. The Angels, "My Boyfriend's Back", released in 1963, mere months before the Beatles appearance on Ed Sullivan, seems eras away from a song like "Love Me Do".

Hard to comment further on Pollack's work, given that I haven't even begun to get through it, but I do have to commend him for undertaking the task.

For those of you who like to be really analytical with your music:

A friend of mine sent me this link to a site that provides in-depth analysis of virtually every Beatles song. It is written by American musicologist Alan Pollack. He makes only passing reference to lyrical content, as it is primarily a musical analysis. I've only read a few of them, but what becomes clear very quickly is that even the simple Beatles songs are full of little twists and changes that make them interesting. I've often wondered whether they wrote that way intentionally, or whether they just wrote what felt right to them, unaware of the underlying musical complexity that they were creating.

stuart, i was being facetious, which is pretty much my default mode. please feel free to bring any newbie along to the next meeting. but for the love of god, get some twenty-something in your office to take a look at that computer of yours.

The emusic song samples are m3u files. My system is set up to associate m3u files with the MS Media Player. However, when I click on an emusic song sample, the music plays directly from the web page - Media Player is not invoked, and there is no visible proprietary media player that pops up either. The song simply plays "in place". My settings on the emusic site include "Embedded Song Samples: ENABLED" under "Streaming Sample Settings".

It sounds as though you've somehow gotten into a state in which your samples are playing locally with their Flash 9 player, and are also downloading to Windows Media player for some reason. My only recommendation would be to contact emusic customer support and hope that they have a technical team that can reset your account.

last shot here at my emusic woes, before i pull its plug... I still seem to have the emusic media player going at the same time as windows media.... but slightly out of sync, rendering the listening unintelligible.....
my computer at the office plays emusic via windows media only... ( not via a emusic propriatorial media player...
are you lot sure that emusic has its own media player...?
s

I had a lot of fun meeting all of you in Toronto last week - thanks for welcoming me into the event. For the record, the songs that I played were:

Jimi Hendrix: All Along the Watchtower
Buffalo Springfield: On the Way Home
Van Morrison: Into the Mystic
Tom Waits: Telephone Call from Istanbul
James: Seven
Elliott Smith: Bled White
Stars: Your Ex-Lover is Dead

I considered publishing the entire list of songs that I brought with me (to justify all of the hours that I spent compiling it, I suppose), but I've decided that I prefer to remain somewhat mysterious. Each of you should feel free to assume that the discs were jam-packed with your favorites from each decade.

I'm easy going on this one. Which probably means I get trumped. Maybe invite the Vendulander into the blog? We can subtly check him out that way :)

Derek? Brian? Marc? might I bring a newbie to the next cd club? Or do you agree w our newblood phobic colleague?
s

Stuart, while I would welcome any visitors to upcoming meetings, I believe our charter specifically forbids venezualans from attending, rock star or no. If he were Brazilian, it would be a different story. Alas....

Yeah that was a fun night. Marc, thanks for letting us invade your space and draw you (randomly) with what I believe was the toughest decade.

I had a great time and enjoyed the upsets I managed to pull off, though ultimately getting slammed in the finals was humbling. In looking at my lists the enxt day (I built eight play lists for the night to draw from, plus a list of 50 "five star" songs and fifty "four star" numbers) I did wonder if I should have pushed the boundaries of familiarity a little more to draw from some stronger material in the second half of the night. But then I remember playing "Driver 8" and "Girl Called Johnny" and getting feedback ranging from sideways glances (the nice guys) to comments like "poor choice" (the frank guys) to " who is this?" (the ..... guys).

Still, with all of that prep I thought I may as well throw out a few of my other play lists for posterity's sake. As the evening progressed I chopped up the lists and used some songs as youi'll see, though when I look at them now they might have been better as a whole. By and large this is music that I think is really strong or at the very least the best within its genre, of the time.

Round Three
Love My Way - Psy Furs
Prisoners - Rain Parade
Beds are Burning - M/Oil (used that one)
Levi Stubbs' Tears - Bragg (used it)
Major Tom - Peter Schilling

Round Four
Pair of Brown Eyes - the Pogues
Elephant Stone - Stone Roses
Wet Weekend - Big Dipper
Pale Shelter - Tears for Fears
Pink Turns to Blue - Husker Du

Round Five
Only Life - The Feelies
The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death - Housemartins
Games Without Frontiers - Gabriel
A Wave Crashed on Rocks - The Felt
The Dreg - Fleshtones

Round Six
Ceremony- New Order
Borderline - Camper Van Beethoven
Message of Love - Pretenders
Killing Jar - Siouxsie and the Banshees
Perfect Day - The The

Round Seven
Fields of Fire - Big Country
Christine - House of Love
Everything Counts - Depeche Mode
Might as Well Be on Mars - Pukka Orchestra

So great night. My one less-than-glowing comment is that iit ended up being a process of (almost) smug familiarity with music, rather than opening our ears to new (or less familiar) music. Of course that was all to do with the format. For me that familiarity was what propelled me through two rounds...so not sour grapes. And I kick myself for not punishing Mr 60's with my (lack of) votes for his choice of two Beatles and two Stones. Bastard! And thereby skipping lots of great bands. And two from the same record (Let it Bleed).

Stu has subsequently suggested we get together in the future for in depth listens oif a decade. Stu, over to you to outline your suggestion.

A good friend of mine has landed herself a venzuland rock star boyfriend who I think would make an interesting invitee to the next cd club..
He was very commercially sucessfull during the 90's and had a sound sort of like REM meets sigour ros....its interesting how he knows all the american and british bands of the 60's to 00's including obscure figures like al kooper... seems they had access to all the stuff we had up here...
anyway I am hoping you lot are more open to this since its not a special event like the decade battle but let me know...
s

Big kudos to Marc for his amazing hosting duties on Friday night for the big Decades of Music Smackdown. The food, drink, and company were, as always, excellent and very much appreciated.

Kudos too to Mike, for making the trek down to the meeting, spinning some great music during the elimination rounds, and generally tolerating the drunken self-absorption of the rest of us. I hope your son doesn't hold your decision to skip his hockey game against you for the rest of your life; if so, I hope it was worth it.

Final Tally was, for those too drunk to remember:

1st Place: 1960s
2nd Place: 1970s
3rd Place: 1980s
4th Place: 1990s
5th Place: 2000s

Believe the rounds went as follows:

1. 1960s defeated 2000s
2. 1980s defeated 1990s
3. 1990s defeated 2000s (eliminated)
4. 1980s defeated 1970s
5. 1970s defeated 1960s
6. 1960s defeated 1990s (eliminated)
7. 1970s defeated 1980s
8. final round - mike's 3 choices, 4 choices from 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, votes after each round
total vote final round: 1960s: 34, 1970s: 32, 1980s: 6

Please correct if I have this wrong. More importantly, what does this tell us, beyond the fact that Stuart wins and should get some sort of prize, beyond blog-based technical support for web browser media plugins? Beyond the bitterness of say, not finishing where you would have liked your randomly assigned decade to have finished, do you ultimate agree with the final ranking?

Are we sentimental and overly nostalgic? Do we idealize the past or just require time to put the music in its proper perspective? Or, is it just that Stuart is a god?

Derek, that is...

internet explorer, windows xp , adobe flashplayer 10
thanks much Derak...
s

Let me know Stuart if you are using Firefox or Internet Explorer and which version of Windows you're running. Is it XP, Vista or 7? You shouldn't have to remove Windows Media Player.

I have the streaming samples setting correct (embedded sound samples enabled).. I also have the syn option in the emusic download manager set to default....but i have had some sucsess..
the problem is that the emusic streaming is working fine but my windows media player has for some reason started playing symultaneously, ( but 5 seconds delayed)...
I have gone into the windows media player and turned off all the file types that are automatically prompting it to be engaged...this has solved the problem sort of.."
but now when I try to stream a song I get a dialogue box each time that says "file download,"
"do you want to open or save this file" and I have to close the dialogue box each and every time I click on a track top stream....
maybe I shoiuld just remove windows media player from my computer, but I am worried that will affect other things I have or that my kids have on the computer....
seems drastic to do that,
any thoughts?????
s

Hey Stuart you should be able to simply stream tracks within e-music without the use of an external player. It may be that you have the internal streaming option disabled. Give this a try and see how yours is set up.

Go to "Your Account" and look at the Account Options on the left hand side and scroll down to the "Downloading and Streaming" option and click on "Streaming Sample Settings".

My own account is set up as follows:

• Status

  Embedded Sound Samples: ENABLED

eMusic's 30-second audio samples are set to play automatically within your browser, without launching a media player. Nice! Note that you must have Flash 9 installed in order to utilize this feature. To install Flash 9 click here.

But, if you prefer to listen to audio samples using your Media Player just click the button below. The change will not affect downloading or playback of downloaded tracks.

Let me know if you are still having trouble after checking this out.

Thanks again Marc for being a gracious host on Friday night.

When I stream tunes on emusic the song will start playing and then 5 seconds later a second version of the same song will start playing symultaneously overtop the first version making the listening indecipherable. I have tried emusic help but they are about as techincally savvy as me...any thoughts from you lot on how to correct this. Whic music player do you guys run for emusic. Is that music player what you have as a default for all streaming? help would be greatly appreciated as currently I cannot use the system at all due to this...
s

As I'm looking at my final prep for this afternoon's/evening's battle royale, my question to you is:

Are we doing 7 rounds or 9 rounds total?

Reviewing the blog postings, Derek nicely sketched out examples of each but I noticed that we hadn't made a decision on the exact number. I'm fine with either scenario, but may I make a suggestion: If we do 9 rounds, we should probably limit each round to 3 songs per decade. If we stick with 7 rounds, we can keep it at the 15 minutes.

Thoughts? Mostly wanted to clarify ahead of time as this may impact your song selection/strategy.

Would love to offer my thoughts and comments but I am completely immersed right now in the amazing musical ride that is the 1970s. I need to stay focused in order to resolve the greatest question of that era: David or Shaun?

Ok I will not bring them... No worries...
s

Yeah, normally I'm a the-more-the-merrier type but I must admit I was thinking of this event as just me and the boys ("and our 50"?, no likely not).

I do believe that invitation was extended Stuart. Having said that let me just quote one of my favourite tunes from the 70s (is this on your list Kyle?):

"Got to - keep it in the family
Learn to - keep it in the family
Have to - keep it in the family
Want to - keep it in the family"

Of course I'm just a dour Scotsman who likes the status quo.

Hey Marc, do we have a definitive start time on this for Friday?

AT a music and wine filled new years eve dinner at my place with my neighbours and Derek and May, apparently an invitation was extended for my neighbour John and his musically knowledgable friend to come to the event friday. Derek , I have little recollection of this , you may recall more detail, but the copious quantity of wine drunk that night have dulled my memory. I have told him that I will check with you lot to see if you are ok with 2 more rogue voters. I realise this involves more food marc so I am quite happy to say I will get together with them at another time. At any rate none of you should feel obligated , but perhaps you all can tell me wether you think this is ok with you or not...
s

Let's see: 7-9 rounds at 30 minutes per minimum times # of beers you can consume within each half hour = you're screwed for your course, Bri. Marc, you may want to restrict turntable selections to the start of the evening, in order to prevent damage to equipment and rare vinyl that could easily occur several beers into the proceedings. I plan to 'lay a base' by consuming a large plate of pasta every hour on the hour, along with a big glass of milk. Should get me to 9pm at least.

I should be good for a 5 o'clock start boys. Food is taken care of? Don;t go to any effort Marc if you were thinkignof it, we can just order something. I have an 8:30 start the next morning at an all day Accountign course so, while I can stay up late-ish, I better not be too hammered.

i agree w Kyle, forget the year thing...it makes things too inflexible.... plus way more work...
I am fine with a 5 or 6pm start , just let me know...
Marc I asume your turntable is working? Please confirm
s

As Marc's place is a mere two subway stops from my office, a 4:00 pm arrival is indeed doable from my perspective, though that many consecutive hours of drinking portends a bit of a ghastly hangover for Saturday morning. Given that Brian won't be available until after 4:00 pm, did we want to push the start time to 5 or 6?

As for the exact years or ranges, I vote on skipping, mostly because I think it could take away from the strategizing and decision-making that will go into what songs are played each round. Do I play a song from the beginning, middle, end of a decade in each round? Do I try to group the songs I'm going to play by genre? If so, which genre to start with? Do I lead with what I feel are the strongest songs first or do I keep some powder in the keg with the hopes of making it to the end? Going with one year or set of years will mean I'll have to come up with 3 goodies or so per year but the structure imposed kind of makes it easier for participants and really, we can't have that. Just my two cents. Certainly don't want to antagonize anyone going into a voting period.

6pm should just be about the time Brian is drawing his last competitive breath of the evening. Especially since he has nothing from 1981. That's outrageous. No less iconic 80s songs than Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough", Human League's "Don't You Want Me Baby", Soft Cell's "Tainted Love", Duran Duran's "Girls on Film", OMD's "Joan of Arc" and Pigbag's "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" (better known as the New Music theme) all spring from 1981.

Hope it's not all Marine Girls and Minutemen there Bri.

My plan is to pick up my son at school at lunchtime, and drive to Toronto then. So I will not be ready to go by 4pm, I'm afraid. It'll probably be after 6 before I can be there. But I'm not essential for the early round matches anyway, so you can get things rolling without me. I'll try to time a dramatic entrance just as the first decade is on the ropes.

Hey Derek, there's that knack again. We're in good hands. Funny to think what a drunken slur of an idea this on Grey Cup night.

Re the "year" idea, I'm easy going. I think it might have to be multiple years from each decade to work - perhaps four years, to accommodate the max number of rounds that each decade cn go. And how to choose the four in that case? We could go random, but in the case of the sixties that raises the specter of multiple pre-Beatle years. And I really don't think we want to sit around listening to Frankie Valli all night. And might the new format make it tougher for The Gaine-sayer to perform his crucial role?

Anyway, I've narrowed the eighties down to 75 songs - from the outstanding to the soporific, the transcendent to the sophomoric, I've got it all. Nothing from 1981 though.

Looking forward to it all. FYI I may not be available until after 4 - not 100% sure but it's scheduled to be a busy week with a bunch of things due Friday.

Dude, yuall seem to got it ALL figured out.

Ok here goes Marc I'll try and answer some of your questions. The decades will be drawn randomly but as I mentioned in an earlier post the winning decade in any particular round will not go back in to the hat but will skip being selected for one round thus avoiding the scenario you mention.

As for the minimum of 7 rounds maximum of 9 that I posted earlier take the following as an example.

7 Round Contest

#1: 60's v 70's - winner 60's
#2: 80's v 90's - winner 80's
#3: 60's v 00's - winner 60's
#4: 80's v 70's - winner 80's (70's eliminated)
#5: 60's v 90's - winner 60's (90's eliminated)
#6: 80's v 00's - winner 80's (00's eliminated)
#7: 60's v 80's for all the marbles

9 Round Contest

#1: 60's v 70's - winner 60's
#2: 80's v 90's - winner 80's
#3: 60's v 00's - winner 00's
#4: 80's v 70's - winner 70's
#5: 60's v 80's - winner 60's (80's eliminated)
#6: 90's v 00's - winner 90's
#7: 70's v 00's - winner 70's (00's eliminated)
#8: 60's v 90's - winner 90's (60's eliminated)
#9: 70's v 90's for the big prize

As for the 4pm start time I believe that we are deadly serious. You don't after all think this thing will run like clockwork do you. A couple of those 5 litre mini kegs should see us right.

Getting back to the other scenario re specific years. I was thinking that if we were to go that route we should be assigned specific years prior to the night in question. i.e. I show up on the 15th knowing that all the songs I play have to come from 1997 and Brian's from 1983 etc. Would be rather difficult the night of to bring along a deep list of songs for each year of your assigned decade. I still like the idea but would like to hear from the rest of the group.

The list of shameful songs is also a nice touch.

Gentlemen, Happy New Year tu yuall. (that's Texas speak i picked up last week)

I'm trying to get a handle on all the convoluted rules to the smackdown. If we are drawing the five decades out of a hat randomly is it not possible that one of the decades gets picked every time if it has not yet been eliminated and therefore might be subject to up to nine rounds? ...or are we arbitrarily saying that it can only participate in four rounds ...but if it wins those first four rounds would it not then automatically become the winner because it is undefeated and then the smackdown ends after four rounds? ...Is there something i am not understanding about the rules (as per usual!)?

Secondly, in order to declare a winner out of five decades, would we not have a minimum of EIGHT rounds with a maximum of nine? ...or again, is there something i am not understanding about the rules (as per usual!)?

Re start time and a little simple math. Stuart mentioned a 4:00pm start time in an earlier e-mail ...is this for real? Limit of 15 min per round per person times 2 plus x minutes for The Gainezer for the the save, gives us 37:30 a round, times 9 is 5:37, makes us done by 9:30? ...oh ya and then there's 2 1/2 hours of voting and arguing about the rules! ...so that's how many ml. of alcohol? I'm willing to start at 4:00 if everyone else is serious about it.

apologies, I see I may have opened a pandoras box...lets go with the original plan and we can always do a different take on it next year...ie maybe once a year in janyuary we pit 2 decades against each other so it can be more in depth... I like Kyles idea of banashing a person from marcs house ( survivor style) if they pick a song everyone hates but since I will likely through in a few Bacherach or neil diamond tunes (being the smaltz lover I am ), I would have to say a no to this..." the mornings' just another day, happy people pass my way..."
s

I like the suggestion, D. So would this mean that we'd have different years down on paper, say a 1970s hat vs. a 1990s hat and I might pull '1993' out of your hat and you'd pull '1977' so then it would be a fierce battle between songs from these two years? For example, you would play 'Two Princes' by the Spin Doctors and I would counter with 'I Just Want to Be Your Everything' by Andy Gibb? Wait, would those be good examples?

On the topic of irritating music, one additional twist I thought we could add would be to have an 'auto-disqualify' feature, whereby each attendee could write down the name of one song, from any decade, that he considers to be so goddamn awful that, if played, triggers an automatic disqualification for the person who has chosen to play it. We obviously would not disclose our choices, at least until after the end of the evening, and it lend a touch of drama and pressure to the proceedings. So if, say, Brian were feeling overconfident and decided he could get away with playing "We Built this City" by Starship, and this were written down on my sheet of paper, I could then wave it and shout, 'Disqualify' and he would automatically be disqualified from that round and any future round. The only unresolved question, in my mind, would be whether he would get to stay for the rest of the evening or would have to leave Marc's place immediately. If this sounds like I'm picking on Brian then picture one of yourselves yelling it at me, and me having to high tail it out of Marc's place, Barry Manilow's Mandy tucked against the tail between my legs.

Tend to agree with what you're saying Stuart. The only thing I could suggest, and it's only a suggestion, is that we randomly assign each person a specific year within a decade and in that way we might have a greater variety of music to listen to as it won't simply be the 10 greatest songs of a 10 year period which are probably fairly obvious to most. Would require more upfront work for each of us and would make Mike's task more difficult.

I'm easy either way but I thought I'd throw this out there.

further thought, also to Kyles question...
It would be nice if the person presenting the songs loved them to death, and still likes playing it...
the arguments about the importance historically or musically can always be tried out to sway voters......
for me the interesting songs are likely the ones just under the absoute best.... I mean i will likely trott out hey jude, because I love the song to death and still love it, but do you guys really need to hear it? I am wondering if the evening is being compressed too much... for example, I would love a whole evening playing 1960 against 1990..... we could divide up into 2 groups each armed with 100 songs and alternate what you play...ie each team member doesnt have to tell ahead of time their choice to his fellow team members...
I realise this is way to late to change the format, and I wont say any more...I promise...
maybe next year we can do a similar thing but dig deeper into the decades...

damn .....so max 4 rounds x 3 or 4 songs is 12 to 16 selections total... I am cutting from 60 and its not easy....60's are an embaressment of riches....With such a limited number of songs, I am worried we will all pick such famous songs it will be a boring night musically... I will go gamble and say i will pick on each round at least one song that is less well known, if known at all.... or at least from a lesser liked category such as country...I should still easily beat the Latvian....

Well, I've scratched a few surfaces in the 80's in the last ten days (and there are some ugly boils and blisters below that shiny skin...ha), and was planning to bring twenty to thirty songs - ie, maximum 4 rounds, each with 3 or 4 new songs. In terms of my selections, I was thinking I'd "play the room" a little bit, see what worked and what didn't as they evening wore on. I would tend to think a mix of defining and trascending, but given that we're looking for votes, was thinking that anything people had heard say, 5000 times will be difficult to get past any pre-existing biases, so try to find at least a few songs that may sound fresh to everyone's ears.

Mind you, I've got the 80's, so am feeling a bit like the Latvians at an international hockey tournament. I'm counting on Kyle for major votes.

Dreams of better lives/the kind that never hate/Dropped in the state of imaginary grace/I made a pilgrimage to save the human race/Never comprehending a race had long gone by.....

I'm sure I haven't even scratched the surface of the 70s and my list of possible songs and artists has swollen to 20...so I'll have to whittle these down to 3 or 4 songs total? Yowsa!

Beyond coming up with "good" song choices, what should we be aiming for in either evaluating songs to motivate or deciding on how to vote? Songs that define a decade? Transcend it? Posess a timeless quality while simultaneously albeit paradoxically are still very much rooted in a specific time and place? Your guidance will determine whether or not Dr. Hook makes the final cut.

Back to so-cal pretty guitar strumming, vocal harmonies, as per Derek's suggestion...

"Cause the free wind is blowin' through your hair/and the days surround your daylight there/ Seasons cryin', oh despair/Alligator lizards in the air/In the air....doo doo doo..."

Or Kyle you could just go with America sans breakfast.

As for Brian's hubris perhaps he is just now beginning to realize how much help he's going to need simply to win a round never mind reaching the final.

3 or 4 songs should be about right. Let's say we limit it to 15 minutes per person per round as we don't want Kyle getting carried away with the likes of Rush, Genesis and King Crimson that could easily see us closing in on an hour for 3 tracks.

Hoping I can locate my original copy of Breakfast in America in time....

I'm happy with the wildcard coming into play only on the verge of elimination. It'd be tough to offer more than one impassioned plea for a stay of execution for any decade.

Derek, you have a flare for organization. A couple of questions - how many songs per decade per round should we be thinking about? I was imagining three or four. And secondly, perhaps Mike would have a bit more involvement if he could jump in whenever a decade was on the ropes on a vote, and not just the second time through (thinking he might not get to play anything for the first half under that scenario)?

Gentlemen, I've done a lot of listening in the past couple of weeks. The 80's were an outstanding decade of music, and dare I say, could be the frontrunner going into the big shewdewn.

The decades involved are the 60s (Stuart), 70s (Kyle), 80s (Brian), 90s (Derek) and 00s (Marc).

Since a decade can only lose twice and then is eliminated I think that we are looking at a minimum of 7 rounds and a maximum of 9. Thus each decade will be in play for 2 rounds at a minimum and likely 4 at a maximum.

The idea behind a wildcard like yourself Mike is that if a decade has already lost once and has been voted against for a 2nd time then you could throw out several tunes from that era as a lifeline to see if that would somehow sway the vote and keep that decade alive.

CDs, Ipods, or vinyl I think we can probably accommodate any format so that will be up to each individual. Having an album cover with lyric sheets might even play a small part in the persuasiveness of the song.

Speaking of the big battle of the decades, I did get a quick introduction to the concept from Brian when he was here. As I understand it, I need to prepare some songs for each decade to attempt to reverse the outcome of each round when the voting is done. I assume that the last decade to be included is the '00s - how far back are we going? And how many rounds of competition will there be in total? How many rounds could any one decade potentially have? Finally, are we all bringing CD's with our chosen songs on them, or are we playing them from mp3 players?


Thanks,


Mike

I'm probably most interested in the new Field Music and Frightened Rabbits albums. Didn't realize that Rogue Wave, Quasi and most especially Bettie Serveert were still making music. I guess once bands lose a certain newness they just fall off the collective radar. Anyone hear anything from Ben Folds Five lately?

As for Robert Pollard I'm not sure anyone needs to hear new music from the man who doesn't have a thought that doesn't get turned in to a lyric. And I'll pass on anything new from Vampire Weekend, a band I tired of very quickly.

Looking forward to January 15th. One of the rules that came to mind is that a winning decade in any round should not go directly back in to the hat as we could select the same match-up two rounds in a row. Having said that should we avoid identical decade match-ups at least until the final round when there are only 2 decades left. My song selection will remain very top secret until the night in question although I might just run with the complete discography of Ace of Base and let all comers fall in its wake.

Out with the old, in with the new....a nice primer from pitchfork on upcoming 2010 releases. Which ones am I most looking forward to hearing? If pressed, I'd have to say Besnard Lakes but to be honest, I'm most looking forward to hearing from bands with whom I'm not presently familiar. The new stuff is what usually ends up being my faves of any given year. Perhaps you feel differently and there are some new releases for which you await with baited breath? Conversely, are there any artists who should not, iyo, put out any album this year or at any point in the future?

Also, I understand from the email flurries that we are looking at Friday January 15th at Marc's for the big meeting/showdown. Yes, Feel free to start posting rules/thoughts/song nominations, etc so we can all prepare.