Drip, drip, drop, little April Song Tournament

Round 9 nomination:
Pixies - Hey

Round 8

1. Apocalyptica (ft. Nina Hagen) - Seemann
(Might be my favorite vocal performance of the tournament.)

2. Fozzy - Judas
(I should probably be embarrassed for nominating a Fozzy song, but clearly I've been sipping a little bit of the bubbly. Now that this is Chris Jericho's entrance music, the song is stuck in my head on a weekly basis. I can understand why entire crowds sing along to it. There's something undeniably catchy about it. The hook, the chorus, the structure . . . It feels like a song made by people who know how to concoct a radio single, for better and for worse.)

3. Nirvana - The Man Who Sold the World
(The rare cover that's better than the original. Also one of my most-played Nirvana songs.)

4. Angeleena Presley - Bless My Heart
(I've thought of nominating "Mama I Tried" from this same album. Presley isn't on the tier of Musgraves, Margo Price, Nikki Lane or some of the other talented young ladies in modern country, but she's very talented and I love her attitude.)

5. Don McLean - Castles in the Air
(Usually I'm not too into gbg's easy-listening selections, but this is well sung with good lyrics. Very relaxing listen that doesn't slip into boredom.)

6. Sugar Babe - Shinkiro no Machi
(Despite being Japanese, has a pleasant, sunny, San Francisco vibe.)

7. Queens of the Stone Age - Turning on the Screw
(As with most songs I've heard from this band, there's snippets of really good stuff, mixed with sections that do nothing for me. The song gets a bit tiresome after awhile.)

8. Double Echo - Felix & Tantrum
(I want to like this, as I admire the 80's-inspired goth sound, and the music has decent ambience, but the song just kinda fluttered along in meh, boring, forgettable territory. Points for effort and weirdness.)

9. Ultravox - Dancing With Tears In My Eyes
(Never been that into this 80's New Wave sound. It all feels too same-y.)

10. Racoon - Shoes of Lightning
(Honeykid keeps bringing up background music. To me this is the definition of it. There's not a single aspect of this song that makes me takes notice of it.)

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Round 9 nomination:
Lydia Loveless - Bad Way to Go

Do you watch AEW, Derek?

Isn't that a meerkat? Have you had species surgery without telling us?

yep great stuff this and NXT are the only two things I still watching about wrestling. I went to check out for a bottle of ''A little bit of the bubbly'' not long ago but sadly it's not available in my country

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''Haters are my favourite. I've built an empire with the bricks they've thrown at me... Keep On Hating''
- CM Punk
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1. Nirvana - The Man Who Sold The World
- Coming from one the greatest albums of all-time, I already knew this would be my top pick this round. Everything about this album/concert feel like a big deal. This is the most intimate we will ever get with Kurt.

2. Angaleena Presley - Bless My Heart
- This album of hers was a revelation when I heard it a couple years ago.

3. Apocalyptica (feat. Nina Hagen) - Seemann
- Creepy.

4. Fozzy - Judas
- I think more highly of this because of what it has become, than how good it is. I like this song more than I like this song is what I'm saying. I don't really want to hear it in any other context than seeing Jericho and the Inner Circle walking to the ring with an audience of people singing it to him. Also, please keep this stupid Matt Hardy gimmick away from the best thing going in AEW, Le Champion.

5. Sugar Babe - Shinkiro no Machi
- Easy breezy. Could listen to this again.

6. Don McLean - Castles in the Air
- Inoffensive. Nothing killer, but I won't complain.

7. Queens of the Stone Age - Turnin On the Screw
- Starts out like it's going to be good, then he starts singing and it clashes with the music. I'm sure it's supposed to sound like that, they just didn't realize it would sound awful. It's really a shame, because I found the music to be strangely drawing me in.

8. Double Echo - Felix & Tantrum
- Terrible haircut.

9. Dancing With Tears In My Eyes - Ultravox
- Meh

10. Racoon - Shoes of Lightning
- Only Tony Ferguson can wear sunglesses inside, even with open curtains.

Sturgill Simpson - Poor Rambler

Out of this group:

1. Musgraves
2. Presley
3. Price (I think Price might be overall more talented and has the most potential of all in the group)
4. Lane

Wrangled by Presley is my favorite country album by a female of the past decade. Musgraves' Pageant Material is second. Out of this group of ladies (and all of their albums that I've heard. [I haven't heard Margo's most recent]), Musgraves' most recent is my least favorite album. I think Wrangled stands out above Presley's other albums though, which kinda makes me wonder if it was a right time, right place kinda album for her and whether or not she'll be able to stay around that level. Her previous album wasn't bad, but I don't think it held a candle to Wrangled. I like that Musgraves is will to take artistic chances, but I'm a little worried about all the positive reception she received for it perhaps giving her the wrong kind of positive feedback. I think the good reception is because everybody hates country music, so when Kacey makes a non-country, country album that doesn't completely suck and they think they can attribute a political statement to it, they'll just throw her a whole bunch of praise. Margo has the most powerful voice out of all these ladies and the most potential, I love Midwest Farmer's Daughter, but I still haven't listened to her anti-American album yet. I love Nikki Lane, but I think she's the one that is probably a tier down. She's the coolest though, so she wins that contest.

Have you listened to Karen Jonas?


I'm not Derek, but I'll seize any opportunity to shoehorn myself into a conversation.

I don't know how it happens, but I hate nearly every AEW match I watch, but I still haven't ended up hating AEW yet. Their presentation is far more exciting than WWE's right now. Before and after the empty arena shows. Jericho's character work carries a lot of it, Cody knows how to carry himself like a superstar, Sammy Guevara is so good at being a cocky, Justin Bieber heel, and Darby Allin is possibly my favorite wrestler in the world right now. I really hope Matt Hardy doesn't ruin the whole show for me though, I hate his gimmick so much. Britt Baker is interesting because she goes from awesome to terrible in the same segments, but she's been on my mind because of how damn cool she looked cutting a dried blood promo after having an awesome nose bleed in her match with Shida. I saw a cool T-shirt on Pro Wrestling Tees with an image of her bloody face on it.

Shawn Michaels and Triple H are completely ruining AEW with their melodramatic bullsh*t. That Ciampa/Gargano thing was so bad. I don't know of anything that has sunk faster than NXT. Adam Cole is terrible and he's on top. He's not good on the mic or in the ring. All of his matches have to go a million minutes. F*ck him, dude. NXT has so much potential to be good, I just wish they'd build a show focusing on Oney Lorcan, Jack Gallagher, Matt Riddle (tell him to cut the indy sh*t and work a stiff shooty style), bring Cesaro back, bring back Drew Gulak, and let Daniel Bryan come down and work a lesser schedule as a guy who works a mentor gimmick or something. That's a pipe dream fantasy booking situation of course, but I would actually tune in to that every week.

My Round 9 nom:
Ricky Van Shelton - Statue Of A Fool

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If I answer a game thread correctly, just skip my turn and continue with the game.
OPEN FLOOR.

Never heard of Karen Jonas. Any particular songs you recommend as a good introduction?

Midwest Farmer's Daughter is my favorite female country album of the 2010's. I still haven't listened to Price's All American Made album in full. I've heard a couple songs from it that were underwhelming and I guess that scared me off. I know she's got a new album coming out soon.

I just listened to Wrangled again a little while ago. It's better than I remember. The lyrics in particular are very strong and wrapped in barbed wire. I like country with a rock n' roll attitude, which is what Pressley possesses.

I loved the whole Broken Matt Hardy thing when it first started. That's one of the rare times I actually tuned into TNA. I met Matt Hardy at that same wrestling show that I met Sting at a few years ago. Hardy was probably the coolest one toward his fans, still committed to the character. (He promised not to delete me if I remain a loyal soldier.) However, the gimmick has long since run its course. That segment with him and Jericho a couple weeks back was pure cringe.

I've never been an avid follower of NXT. I'll check out the Takeover shows, but it's usually months afterwards. I actually just recently watched the NXT Takeover: New York show from last year that featured the 2 out of 3 falls match between Gargano and Cole, which was a good match but ridiculously overrated. I didn't see the recent Ciampa/Gargano "match" but I read about it. I don't mind Adam Cole. I wouldn't call myself a fan, but he's alright. I've seen him wrestle in person when he was with ROH. I think he's only suited to be a top star of a small company like that.

AEW has adapted to the empty arena shows far better than WWE. Just having a few wrestlers out there as "fans" to add some noise and interaction makes a huge difference. I hate that this pandemic is stalling the momentum of so many wrestlers and feuds. I was never a big fan of Hangman Page, but once he developed this no-f**ks-given attitude and started swilling beer from fans, I became a total mark for him. (I know it's not your style of match, but the tag-team championship match at the last PPV between Omega/Page and the Young Bucks is my favorite match AEW has put on so far.) I think Page better embodies the lone-wolf badass far more than Moxley currently does. I was really looking forward to that Blood & Guts show that's been put on the backburner.

I've never liked Colt Cabana, so I hate that he's suddenly being heavily featured. And Jack Swagger/Hager needs to be nothing but a heavy for the Inner Circle. He's always sucked, and that title match this week was boring as hell. I know AEW doesn't have its full roster right now, but I don't like seeing multiple dudes on TV every week with weaker physiques than my own. (F**king "Pineapple Pete" and whoever that dude was who wrestled Spears on this week's Dynamite.) I've enjoyed Y2J on commentary the past two weeks. He's helped save the show. And that Baker/Shida match you referenced is probably the best women's match the company has had so far. Baker has really grown on me since becoming a heel.

Did you watch Wrestlemania this year? If so, what did you think of the Boneyard and Firefly Funhouse matches?

Sadly yin forgot to vote but we have to move on and so here's the result of Round 8:

1st - Nirvana - The Man Who Sold The World (64 pts)

2nd - Sugar Babe - Shinkiro no Machi (60 pts)
3rd - Castles in the Air - Don McLean (56 pts)
4th - Angaleena Presley - Bless My Heart (54 pts)
5th - Apocalyptica (feat. Nina Hagen) - Seemann (51 pts)
5th - Fozzy - Judas (51 pts)
7th - Dancing With Tears In My Eyes - Ultravox (50 pts)
8th - Queens of the Stone Age - Turning On the Screw (38 pts)
9th - Double Echo - Felix & Tantrum (36 pts)
10th - Racoon - Shoes Of Lightning (35 pts)

Grats to Derek on getting his tune through to the Final

Round 9 up before you can blink....

With yin going absent last round there's just the nine of us this time ....

I'll listen and vote this avo when the wife's having her three-hour virtual coffee with 'the girls'.

My R10 nom:
Marina and the Diamonds - Primadonna

You have a good rodent eye Sir - that is in fact my second cousin (thrice removed) Mingus.

Start with "Oklahoma Lottery" it's the title track to her debut album.


I like Matt, I think he's had spells of real greatness. Also, kudo to him for prolonging his career and getting things over that don't require him to be powerbombed on ladders... I just don't care for what he's doing. I hate that it's attached to Jericho, because his character work has been so good. I do think interacting with Matt while he's in character would be fun though, so even though I'm sort of a hard-ass on what I like about pro wrestling, I can see how this whole thing he does could be fun for people.

Cole is the epitome of everything I don't like about pro wrestling right now, but I'm aware that it's a taste thing.

Yeah, I agree about the handful of wrestlers around ringside giving it a cool atmosphere all things considered. I was looking forward to Blood & Guts too, but I thought it was being set up a lot earlier and then they got away from the feuds that were leading into it, and then all of a sudden they brought it back. It was a little annoying how they set it up, because it felt like what WWE does where they have an event so they have to have the match. The set up was feeling organic back when Cody was going after the belt and gave that fantastic promo. That said, I was still looking forward to it, because it was going to be a war games match that was actually going to be violent, I hope. NXT war games are usually just matches that lead to people doing stupid spots like a group of wrestlers looking up at a guy setting up for a dive or a seven man suplex, plus there is no blood. Cody/Dustin showed how important blood can be in their awesome match.

I've been interested in the Hangman Page saga just to see what they were gonna do with it, because I think they wanted him to be heel. But even though the Bucks seem like they are really well liked, they don't see very likable to me, so Hangman doesn't get booed for being douchey to them. However, doing moonsaults and flips into a weak lariat is very much not "Cowboy Sh*t". He should really watch Stan Hansen take heads off and try that.

I'm not too into Colt either, but I have a feeling his current spot has something to do with roster being limited right now. They did a decent job putting him and his part of the tournament over against Archer with their promo package. I think it's things like that that still makes me keep checking out Dynamite. They managed to roll with this situation and keep doing things that make relative sense.

As far as Hager goes, yeah, I think I agree with just about all of that about him. I will say, he's had some pretty good matches when he was in WWECW with Christian and some others if I remember correctly. He's never really been exciting though. When his match with Dustin was awkward and not great, I was pretty bummed, because I'm a big Dustin fan.

I saw them. I really think the Funhouse "match" would be a great short film thing, but context matters to me. I know kayfabe is dead and has been dead forever, but this isn't what I want in pro wrestling. My feelings are very, very, very mixed. For what it is, I think it's great. I enjoyed watching it and it's better than an actual match would have been. I don't know what to say about it.

My feelings are somewhat similar for the Boneyard match too, but at least the Boneyard match was closer to a match.

These "cinematic" wrestling matches make me wary.

The bigger problem was that we didn't get Roman vs Goldberg which I was super excited for. Plus the two champs are Drew McIntyre and Braun Strowman when they where Brock Lesnar and Goldberg.... to me, even with Goldberg being hella old, is a big step down.

re: Margo Price - All American Made sadly isn't a patch on Midwest Farmer's Daughter imo.

What's the biggest difference?

Just felt rather lacklustre overall really. MFD was always going to be a hard act to follow but even allowing for that it was a disappointment. That's not to say AAM is a bad album, it does have its moments but there's just very little on it that sets it apart and its production doesn't have the same vibrancy that MFD does imo.

1. Wailin Storms - Rattle
2. Ricky Van Shelton - Statue Of A Fool
3. Eminem ft. Nate Dogg - Till I Collapse
4. Deicide - Blame It on God
5. Sturgill Simpson - Poor Rambler
6. chelmico - Easy Breezy
7. Lydia Loveless - Bad Way to Go
8. The Future's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades - Timbuk3
9. Pixies - Hey