[Rupert 'Stiles' Stilinski]

Would anyone be interested in conducting a tournament for the best sonic youth song of all time?

I've seen other boards do this where either 64 or 128 songs are ranked and face off against each other. People vote for the songs over a short period of time then go to the next round.

For example "I love her all the time" might be ranked a #1 seed and face off against "Junkies Promise" (a #16 seed) in the first round. "I love her all the time might win and face the #8 seed "The Sprawl". By the end there would be only one winner... the Sonic Youth song that would be (by the board) considered the greatest of all time.

I would be willing to assemble the songs into a bracket and keep the stats. People could PM me and I'd update the bracket. I could use a spreadsheet if someone would be willing to let me know how to do it.

I have a pretty good grasp of what songs people like and dislike; I remember the survivors that were on the old board a few years back. I feel like I could pick the "favorite" songs and then place them in a decent order.

Let me know if you'd be into it, or if you have any suggestions, please reply.

[sellouteater]

Sounds cool

[AllHandsOnTheBigOne]

Yeah, that sounds interesting. The hard part is determing the "seeds" of the songs...

[Rupert 'Stiles' Stilinski]

I'd be willing to let people help me. Would the seeds make that much of a difference in the long run?

[AllHandsOnTheBigOne]

I suppose not. But obviously a song is going to last longer if it faces the likes of "Nic Fit" in the first round rather than "The Diamond Sea".

[krastian]

I'm down.

[sellouteater]

so is this thing going to happen?

[Rupert 'Stiles' Stilinski]

Originally Posted by sellouteater

so is this thing going to happen?

I'll come up with a 64 song list in order this week and ask people's opinions on any songs that should be ranked differently and/or added deleted, etc.

I was hoping this would have more buzz since it will be quite time consuming, but I figure people would be more into it once they see the brackets.

[krastian]

For the number one seeds maybe you should divide the "east" and "west" brackets by having one "big/well known" song from the 80's (Schizo, Teenage Riot, Death Valley etc.) on each side and do the same for the 90's/00's.

[Rupert 'Stiles' Stilinski]

Originally Posted by krastian

For the number one seeds maybe you should divide the "east" and "west" brackets by having one "big/well known" song from the 80's (Schizo, Teenage Riot, Death Valley etc.) on each side and do the same for the 90's/00's.

I like that... maybe each bracket is a different era of Sonic Youth.

I'm thinking of only doing mainstream albums with the possible exception of Anagrama which is very popular with some people. Are there any other songs NOT on the main albums that people would want?

[mikec]

Sounds like fun!

[RockerNino]

this sounds really cool. do it!

[krastian]

Maybe throw in Genetic.

[AllHandsOnTheBigOne]

Originally Posted by krastian

For the number one seeds maybe you should divide the "east" and "west" brackets by having one "big/well known" song from the 80's (Schizo, Teenage Riot, Death Valley etc.) on each side and do the same for the 90's/00's.

I like that idea. Maybe a bracket for each decade, with the 80s being divided up into pre/post Steve Shelley brackets.

[AllHandsOnTheBigOne]

Originally Posted by Rupert 'Stiles' Stilinski

I'm thinking of only doing mainstream albums with the possible exception of Anagrama which is very popular with some people. Are there any other songs NOT on the main albums that people would want?

Are you considering S/T and Confusion is Sex/Kill Yr. Idols main albums?

I don't know, should Ciccone Youth material be considered? I might like seeing "Macbeth" on there.

[whorefrost]

Originally Posted by AllHandsOnTheBigOne

Are you considering S/T and Confusion is Sex/Kill Yr. Idols main albums?

why in the hell not?

[Rupert 'Stiles' Stilinski]

I'm a total loser and need a life:

Here's what I have so far... trust me, it's not easy to pick the top 64 Sonic Youth songs of all time.

Bracket One: Sonic Youth/Confusion, KYI/Bad Moon Rising/Evol

1. Expressway
2. Inhuman
3. I'm Insane
4. Brother James
5. I Love Her all the Time
6. Death Valley 69
7. Tom Violence
8. Burning Spear
9. Intro/Brave Men Run
10. Shadow of a Doubt
11. Kill yr Idols
12. Halloween
13. She is Not Alone
14. Star Power
15. In the Kingdom 19
16. Shaking Hell

--- Didn't make the cut

17. Green Light
18. Nature Scene
19. World Looks Red
20. Flower
21. Society is a Hole
22. Confusion is Next

Comments?

I broke it up so that the brackets work like this:

Bracket One: already listed
Bracket Two: Sister/Daydream/Ciccone (just Macbeth)/Goo
Bracket Three: Dirty (and Genetic)/Jet Set/Washing Machine
Bracket Four: 1000 Leaves (and Anagrama)/NYCGF/Murray St/Sonic Nurse

Let me know what you think of the first bracket. The others are much tougher to widdle down to 16 songs.

Cheers!

[krastian]

Looks good even though I would have liked to have seen Protect Me You. Give a holler if you need any input/ideas.

[AllHandsOnTheBigOne]

Looks pretty good. Maybe Death Valley '69 should get a higher seed?

[krastian]

Originally Posted by AllHandsOnTheBigOne

Looks pretty good. Maybe Death Valley '69 should get a higher seed?

I agree....and maybe Tom Violence too.