Best Song of the 1980s Bracket [FINALS, SUBMIT BY 1/5]

[mrtyrmystry]

i respect the personal choice to allow it, but no artist should have two songs, whether Prince, Springsteen, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Journey, U2, or the Police. even if they are good-great songs. no matter how slight one thinks some artists/songs are, compared to how major other artists are, i think it's just wrong - any song by a major artist already stands a (deservedly?) greater chance of advancing through the bracket.

19. The Head That Talks
Talking Heads, “Once in a Lifetime”

20. Pick ‘em: U2 (“With or Without You” is untouchable)
None

21. Calling The Police for a Second Song (“Every Breath You Take” is untouchable)
None

22. Pick ‘em: New Order
New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"

Blue Monday is cold. this song is warmer. i don't think either song excites voters very much. but they should, darn it !!!!

23. Does Bruce Springsteen Deserve a Second Song? (beyond “Born in the USA”)
None

24. Hall, or Oates?
it should be You Make My Dreams Come True just because it's the catchiest. it's all whatever

25. Pick ‘em: Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel, “In Your Eyes”

26. Late ‘80s Rap Roundhouse (Pick One for Each)
NWA, “Express Yourself”

Public Enemy, “Fight the Power”
Over the years, I memorized the first verses to half these songs. pretty useless, theyre not much fun to listen to anymore. but I think they'll always be "necessary" listening. Express Yourself is less necessary than the other two, but it has better lyrics.

quote from a satirical article: Chuck D sounds "like your uncle lecturing you with a clock radio as a backing track." It's kind of true! on one song there's a tea kettle too. personally I think their music is still cool.

"Don't Believe the Hype" is quoted on El Scorcho (weezer, pinkerton). How dreadful!

27. Does Journey Deserve a Second Song? (beyond “Don’t Stop Believin’”)
None

[kitakule]

19. The Head That Talks
Talking Heads, “Once in a Lifetime”
Talking Heads, “Burning Down the House”
Abstain

20. Pick ‘em: U2 (“With or Without You” is untouchable)
U2, "Sunday Bloody Sunday"
U2, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”
U2, “Pride (In the Name of Love)”
Abstain

21. Calling The Police for a Second Song (“Every Breath You Take” is untouchable)
The Police, “Don’t Stand So Close to Me”
The Police, “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic”
None

22. Pick ‘em: New Order
New Order, "Blue Monday"
New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"
Abstain

23. Does Bruce Springsteen Deserve a Second Song? (beyond “Born in the USA”)
Bruce Springsteen, “Hungry Heart”
Bruce Springsteen, “The River”
None

24. Hall, or Oates?
Hall and Oates, “Maneater”
Hall and Oates, “Private Eyes”
Private Eyes is my favorite song in this entire bracket, honestly. Hope it survives for a few rounds at least.

25. Pick ‘em: Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel, “Sledgehammer”
Peter Gabriel, “In Your Eyes”
Abstain

26. Late ‘80s Rap Roundhouse (Pick One for Each)
NWA, “Straight Outta Compton”
NWA, “Fuck Tha Police”
NWA, “Express Yourself”
Public Enemy, “Don't Believe the Hype”
Public Enemy, “Fight the Power”
Public Enemy's "Bring the Noise"

27. Does Journey Deserve a Second Song? (beyond “Don’t Stop Believin’”)
Journey, “Open Arms”
Journey, “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)”
Journey, “Any Way You Want It”
None

[Steeve Ho You Fat]

19. The Head That Talks
Talking Heads, “Once in a Lifetime”
Talking Heads, “Burning Down the House”

The heads can remain silent in my book

20. Pick ‘em: U2 (“With or Without You” is untouchable)
U2, "Sunday Bloody Sunday"
U2, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”
U2, “Pride (In the Name of Love)”

Never been a big U2 guy, but this song is the apotheosis of their style and subject. At least we can consider ourselves lucky that the specific subject matter is no longer as relevant as it was in the '80s.

21. Calling The Police for a Second Song (“Every Breath You Take” is untouchable)
The Police, “Don’t Stand So Close to Me”
The Police, “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic”
None

NWA has the right opinion on The Police.

22. Pick ‘em: New Order
New Order, "Blue Monday"
New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"

It's a nice groove

23. Does Bruce Springsteen Deserve a Second Song? (beyond “Born in the USA”)
Bruce Springsteen, “Hungry Heart”
Bruce Springsteen, “The River”
None

This guy already won one too many decade brackets. If we do a '90s version, I'll vote for Atlantic City by The Band, but that's as close as I'm getting.

24. Hall, or Oates?
Hall and Oates, “Maneater”
Hall and Oates, “Private Eyes”

25. Pick ‘em: Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel, “Sledgehammer”
Peter Gabriel, “In Your Eyes”

Really just here for the dancing chicken video.

26. Late ‘80s Rap Roundhouse (Pick One for Each)
NWA, “Straight Outta Compton”
NWA, “Fuck Tha Police”
NWA, “Express Yourself”
Public Enemy, “Don't Believe the Hype”
Public Enemy, “Fight the Power”
Public Enemy's "Bring the Noise"

27. Does Journey Deserve a Second Song? (beyond “Don’t Stop Believin’”)
Journey, “Open Arms”
Journey, “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)”
Journey, “Any Way You Want It”
None

Journey deserves no songs, because they're boring, trite, and exist solely to be yelled by drunk white people

[rylltraka]

Just a friendly reminder that you have until midnight tonight to submit your votes and to take egregious potshots at music other people enjoy.

[Sam]

Just a friendly reminder that you have until midnight tonight to submit your votes and to take egregious potshots at music other people enjoy.

I'll take Mik up on his suggestion and express my confusion at the popular notion no artist should have more than one song in this bracket. I think I understand Wichael's point that the bracket should if anything be biased towards "minor" artists -- there's an element of arbitrariness in who becomes a famous artist that's unconnected to their actual music and the bracket should try to correct for that to some extent. That seems fine.

However:
1) From the bands listed so far I don't get the impression there are that many "hidden gems" getting cut out. Prince's second song is coming at the expense of songs in the 15-30 range in the 1982 Top 40, not misunderstood geniuses.
2) Is it so hard to imagine that Prince or Bruce Springsteen have two songs that are better than the entire oeuvre of most other groups? I'm not saying it's definitely true. In Journey's case I'm pretty sure it's wrong. But it seems like something to decide on a case by case basis, not take as a principle.

[Sam]

Oof. Can't edit.

[AKKOLADE]

FINAL PLAY-IN ROUND (SUBMIT VOTES BY 11:59 PST 11/14)

19. The Head That Talks
Talking Heads, “Once in a Lifetime”
Talking Heads, “Burning Down the House”

20. Pick ‘em: U2 (“With or Without You” is untouchable)
U2, "Sunday Bloody Sunday"
U2, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”
U2, “Pride (In the Name of Love)”

21. Calling The Police for a Second Song (“Every Breath You Take” is untouchable)
The Police, “Don’t Stand So Close to Me”
The Police, “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic”
None

22. Pick ‘em: New Order
New Order, "Blue Monday"
New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"

23. Does Bruce Springsteen Deserve a Second Song? (beyond “Born in the USA”)
Bruce Springsteen, “Hungry Heart”
Bruce Springsteen, “The River”
None

24. Hall, or Oates?
Hall and Oates, “Maneater”
Hall and Oates, “Private Eyes”

25. Pick ‘em: Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel, “Sledgehammer”
Peter Gabriel, “In Your Eyes”

26. Late ‘80s Rap Roundhouse (Pick One for Each)
NWA, “Straight Outta Compton”
NWA, “Fuck Tha Police”
NWA, “Express Yourself”
Public Enemy, “Don't Believe the Hype”
Public Enemy, “Fight the Power”
Public Enemy's "Bring the Noise"

27. Does Journey Deserve a Second Song? (beyond “Don’t Stop Believin’”)
Journey, “Open Arms”
Journey, “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)”
Journey, “Any Way You Want It”
None

[dwd500]

19. The Head That Talks
Once in a Lifetime

20. Pick ‘em: U2 (“With or Without You” is untouchable)
No, thank you.
- I'm not entirely convinced these are different songs.

21. Calling The Police for a Second Song (“Every Breath You Take” is untouchable)
- I'm saying No, because I'm deciding to side with the "you get one shot" rule. (I am also too lazy to check back and see, or even care, if I've been consistent on this) However, I think "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" should have been that one shot, here.

22. Pick ‘em: New Order
Blue Monday

23. Does Bruce Springsteen Deserve a Second Song? (beyond “Born in the USA”)
No

24. Hall, or Oates?
Private Eyes

25. Pick ‘em: Peter Gabriel
In Your Eyes
- Just needed listen to "Sledgehammer" without the video to figure this out.

26. Late ‘80s Rap Roundhouse (Pick One for Each)
NWA, “Straight Outta Compton”
Public Enemy, “Fight the Power”

27. Does Journey Deserve a Second Song? (beyond “Don’t Stop Believin’”)
Hell, No.
- I've got issues with the one song they've got.

[mrtyrmystry]

@Sam's very reasonable post: a less coherent one

1) The second entries that artists are being considered for is (or should be) a separate issue than the relative merit of the songs they are replacing.

Basically, I think there are more than 80/96 artists from the 80s that made a song that deserves to be in the bracket. To take it to an extreme, say there is no song limit, and maybe the absolute truth is that 80/96 best songs of the 80s are by, say, 20-30 different artists. One of these artists is certainly Prince. But which Prince songs, and how many? It depends on how much you like Prince. You have to be a Prince fan to answer these questions. You have to be partial to the artist, more than the songs.

I would rather hard limit it to one song per artist even though that still leaves the honestly difficult task of deciding which single song for each artist. As it is, I think some people are voting for a second song for a particular artist because they are fans of that artist and believe that the first choice for that artist is not a good representation, or their best song. (I'm not faulting Mik for his original choices - it's a large task) I don't personally feel that's a good reason to vote for a second song. It may be a good reason to reconsider the first song choice (some of which have been voted on).

2) As a young who has only heard a couple albums + the singles each from both Springsteen and Prince, I am reasonably certain that they have two songs that are better than the entire oeuvre of most groups. This is case by case - there are other artists in the bracket that I believe should have zero songs. I guess my simplest answer is, as compromise every artist should have one song. I imagine most voters have similar sorts opinions (as to 2+ or 0 songs), but probably about different artists. Just because an artist deserves two songs, it doesn't necessarily mean they should get them because it comes at a pretty great cost, whether the songs they are replacing are well-chosen "hidden gems", or just songs nonzero other people like. (here I will acknowledge it is difficult to choose a fringe artist who few voters care for whose song you will include - and that song probably won't go far anyways)

In the end, this is a bracket for the voters. I'm just a voter. If voters vote for a second song for a particular artist, it should be in the bracket, as it will be.

I bolded the tl;dr of this post, even though the reasoning isn't totally sound.

[ScoBo]

I'm voting for nothing for each of the "second song" artists, but marked which ones I would have picked otherwise.

19. The Head That Talks
Talking Heads, “Once in a Lifetime”
Talking Heads, “Burning Down the House”

20. Pick ‘em: U2 (“With or Without You” is untouchable)
U2, "Sunday Bloody Sunday"
U2, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”
*U2, “Pride (In the Name of Love)”
No

21. Calling The Police for a Second Song (“Every Breath You Take” is untouchable)
The Police, “Don’t Stand So Close to Me”
*The Police, “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic”
None

22. Pick ‘em: New Order
New Order, "Blue Monday"
New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"

23. Does Bruce Springsteen Deserve a Second Song? (beyond “Born in the USA”)
*Bruce Springsteen, “Hungry Heart”
Bruce Springsteen, “The River”
None

24. Hall, or Oates?
Hall and Oates, “Maneater”
Hall and Oates, “Private Eyes”

25. Pick ‘em: Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel, “Sledgehammer”
Peter Gabriel, “In Your Eyes”

26. Late ‘80s Rap Roundhouse (Pick One for Each)
NWA, “Straight Outta Compton”
NWA, “Fuck Tha Police”
NWA, “Express Yourself”
Public Enemy, “Don't Believe the Hype”
Public Enemy, “Fight the Power”
Public Enemy's "Bring the Noise"

27. Does Journey Deserve a Second Song? (beyond “Don’t Stop Believin’”)
Journey, “Open Arms”
*Journey, “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)”
Journey, “Any Way You Want It”
None

[A Dim-Witted Saboteur]

19. The Head That Talks
Talking Heads, “Once in a Lifetime”
Talking Heads, “Burning Down the House”
And you may find yourself / in another stage of this bracket

20. Pick ‘em: U2 (“With or Without You” is untouchable)
U2, "Sunday Bloody Sunday"
U2, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”
U2, “Pride (In the Name of Love)”

21. Calling The Police for a Second Song (“Every Breath You Take” is untouchable)
The Police, “Don’t Stand So Close to Me”
The Police, “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic”
None

22. Pick ‘em: New Order
New Order, "Blue Monday"
New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"

23. Does Bruce Springsteen Deserve a Second Song? (beyond “Born in the USA”)
Bruce Springsteen, “Hungry Heart”
Bruce Springsteen, “The River”
None
Of course.

24. Hall, or Oates?
Hall and Oates, “Maneater”
Hall and Oates, “Private Eyes”

25. Pick ‘em: Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel, “Sledgehammer”
Peter Gabriel, “In Your Eyes”

26. Late ‘80s Rap Roundhouse (Pick One for Each)
NWA, “Straight Outta Compton”
NWA, “Fuck Tha Police”
NWA, “Express Yourself”
Public Enemy, “Don't Believe the Hype”
Public Enemy, “Fight the Power”
Public Enemy's "Bring the Noise"

27. Does Journey Deserve a Second Song? (beyond “Don’t Stop Believin’”)
Journey, “Open Arms”
Journey, “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)”
Journey, “Any Way You Want It”
None
No.

[Victor Prieto]

Talking Heads, Once in a Lifetime
U2, Sunday Bloody Sunday
The Police, Don’t Stand So Close To Me
New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"
Pass
Hall and Oates, “Maneater”
Peter Gabriel, “Sledgehammer”
NWA, “Express Yourself”
Public Enemy, “Fight the Power”
Journey, “Open Arms”

[rylltraka]

PLAY-IN ROUND THREE RESULTS

19. Once in a Lifetime 26, Burning Down the House 3.5 - I thought these were roughly equally popular, and I was wrong.

20. Sunday Bloody Sunday 10.5, I Still Haven't . . . 6.5, Pride . . . 7

21. Don't Stand . . . 4.5, Every Little Thing . . . 15.5, None 11

22. Blue Monday 16, Bizarre Love Triangle 10.5

23. Hungry Heart 4.5, The River 9, None 16 - oh man, when I discovered "The River" existed, I was driving headlong through the Central Valley of California and just listened to that track over and over. But well, other voices, other rooms.

24. Maneater 15.5, Private Eyes 12

25. Sledgehammer 11.5, In Your Eyes 18

26. Straight Outta Compton 6.5, Fuck tha Police 6, Express Yourself 19.5
Don't Believe the Hype 3.5, Fight the Power 15.5, Bring the Noise 9

27. Open Arms 1.5, Separate Ways 1.5, Any Way You Want It 5.5, None 22.5 - I perhaps underestimated how much Journey was The Eagles of the 1980s.

There might be a delay until the morning because I have to construct the full bracket now, but the tournament proper will begin soon with the first wild-card rounds to make the Round of 64.

[rylltraka]

The completed bracket is now available in the original post of this thread. There were a couple late additions: The Cars' "You Might Think" and The Pointer Sisters' "I'm So Excited", near the bottom of the field.

Feel free to discuss the seedings and offer feedback, although they will only be altered if the rationale is sufficiently compelling (and not "I hate this band, and thus their song should be ditched for this B-Side by Echo and the Bunnymen").

Our first wild-card round will be posted tomorrow.

[rylltraka]

WILD CARD: QUADRANT VICE
SUBMIT VOTES BY 11:59 PM PST 11/18

9A/9B: Bonnie Tyler, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" vs. Dire Straits, "Money For Nothing"

10A/10B: The Bangles, "Walk Like an Egyptian" vs. Madonna, "Like a Prayer"

11A/11B: ZZ Top, "Gimme All Your Lovin'" vs. Billy Joel, "We Didn't Start the Fire"

12A/12B: Stevie Nicks, "Edge of Seventeen" vs. U2, "Sunday Bloody Sunday"

13A/13B: Bananarama, "Cruel Summer" vs. Rick James, "Super Freak"

14A/14B: Judas Priest, "You Got Another Thing Comin'" vs. NWA, "Express Yourself"

15A/15B: Salt'n'Pepa, "Push It" vs. The Pointer Sisters, "I'm So Excited"

16A/16B: INXS, "Need You Tonight" vs. Husker Du, "Celebrated Summer"

[Ben Dillon]

9A/9B: Bonnie Tyler, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" vs. Dire Straits, "Money For Nothing"

10A/10B: The Bangles, "Walk Like an Egyptian" vs. Madonna, "Like a Prayer"

11A/11B: ZZ Top, "Gimme All Your Lovin'" vs. Billy Joel, "We Didn't Start the Fire"

12A/12B: Stevie Nicks, "Edge of Seventeen" vs. U2, "Sunday Bloody Sunday"

13A/13B: Bananarama, "Cruel Summer" vs. Rick James, "Super Freak"

14A/14B: Judas Priest, "You Got Another Thing Comin'" vs. NWA, "Express Yourself"
New York courteously abstains.

15A/15B: Salt'n'Pepa, "Push It" vs. The Pointer Sisters, "I'm So Excited"

16A/16B: INXS, "Need You Tonight" vs. Husker Du, "Celebrated Summer"

[BenWeiner27]

9A/9B: Bonnie Tyler,"Total Eclipse of the Heart" vs. Dire Straits, "Money For Nothing"

10A/10B: The Bangles, "Walk Like an Egyptian" vs. Madonna, "Like a Prayer"

11A/11B: ZZ Top, "Gimme All Your Lovin'" vs. Billy Joel, "We Didn't Start the Fire"

12A/12B: Stevie Nicks, "Edge of Seventeen" vs. U2, "Sunday Bloody Sunday"

13A/13B: Bananarama, "Cruel Summer" vs. Rick James, "Super Freak"

14A/14B: Judas Priest, "You Got Another Thing Comin'" vs. NWA, "Express Yourself"

15A/15B: Salt'n'Pepa, "Push It" vs. The Pointer Sisters, "I'm So Excited"

16A/16B: INXS, "Need You Tonight" vs. Husker Du, "Celebrated Summer"

[Stained Diviner]

9A/9B: Bonnie Tyler,"Total Eclipse of the Heart" vs. Dire Straits, "Money For Nothing"
Maybe there should be a content warning on this. It's stuff that Knopfler overheard, and some of it is very bad. Also, watching this video builds appreciation for Toy Story.

10A/10B: The Bangles, "Walk Like an Egyptian" vs. Madonna, "Like a Prayer"
The Bangles song is fun. The Madonna song tries to be serious, but I can't get into it.

11A/11B: ZZ Top, "Gimme All Your Lovin'" vs. Billy Joel, "We Didn't Start the Fire"
Those bearded guys can play guitar. William Joel was 40 when We Didn't Start the Fire came out, so of course he didn't start the fire.

12A/12B: Stevie Nicks, "Edge of Seventeen" vs. U2, "Sunday Bloody Sunday"
The Stevie Nicks song is good, but so what?

13A/13B: Bananarama, "Cruel Summer" vs. Rick James, "Super Freak"
Cruel Summer is twice as long as it should be, and it's 3 and a half minutes.

14A/14B: Judas Priest, "You Got Another Thing Comin'" vs. NWA, "Express Yourself"
Judas Priest is OK, but this NWA song is good, and it samples a good song too and does it well.

15A/15B: Salt'n'Pepa, "Push It" vs. The Pointer Sisters, "I'm So Excited"
Push It is awesome.

16A/16B: INXS, "Need You Tonight" vs. Husker Du, "Celebrated Summer"
INXS is OK but forgettable. I saw them in concert once, which was OK but forgettable, though I guess I haven't forgotten about it yet.

[kammajos000]

9A/9B: Bonnie Tyler,"Total Eclipse of the Heart" vs. Dire Straits, "Money For Nothing"

10A/10B: The Bangles, "Walk Like an Egyptian" vs. Madonna, "Like a Prayer"

11A/11B: ZZ Top, "Gimme All Your Lovin'" vs. Billy Joel, "We Didn't Start the Fire"

12A/12B: Stevie Nicks, "Edge of Seventeen" vs. U2, "Sunday Bloody Sunday"

13A/13B: Bananarama, "Cruel Summer" vs. Rick James, "Super Freak"

14A/14B: Judas Priest, "You Got Another Thing Comin'" vs. NWA, "Express Yourself"

15A/15B: Salt'n'Pepa, "Push It" vs. The Pointer Sisters, "I'm So Excited"

16A/16B: INXS, "Need You Tonight" vs. Husker Du, "Celebrated Summer"

[A Dim-Witted Saboteur]

WILD CARD: QUADRANT VICE
SUBMIT VOTES BY 11:59 PM PST 11/18

9A/9B: Bonnie Tyler, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" vs. Dire Straits, "Money For Nothing"

10A/10B: The Bangles, "Walk Like an Egyptian" vs. Madonna, "Like a Prayer"

11A/11B: ZZ Top, "Gimme All Your Lovin'" vs. Billy Joel, "We Didn't Start the Fire"

12A/12B: Stevie Nicks, "Edge of Seventeen" vs. U2, "Sunday Bloody Sunday"

13A/13B: Bananarama, "Cruel Summer" vs. Rick James, "Super Freak"

14A/14B: Judas Priest, "You Got Another Thing Comin'" vs. NWA, "Express Yourself"

15A/15B: Salt'n'Pepa, "Push It" vs. The Pointer Sisters, "I'm So Excited"

16A/16B: INXS, "Need You Tonight" vs. Husker Du, "Celebrated Summer"

[MiltonPlayer47]

9A/9B: Bonnie Tyler, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" vs. Dire Straits, "Money For Nothing"

10A/10B: The Bangles, "Walk Like an Egyptian" vs. Madonna, "Like a Prayer"

11A/11B: ZZ Top, "Gimme All Your Lovin'" vs. Billy Joel, "We Didn't Start the Fire"

12A/12B: Stevie Nicks, "Edge of Seventeen" vs. U2, "Sunday Bloody Sunday"

13A/13B: Bananarama, "Cruel Summer" vs. Rick James, "Super Freak"

14A/14B: Judas Priest, "You Got Another Thing Comin'" vs. NWA, "Express Yourself"

15A/15B: Salt'n'Pepa, "Push It" vs. The Pointer Sisters, "I'm So Excited"

16A/16B: INXS, "Need You Tonight" vs. Husker Du, "Celebrated Summer"

[dwd500]

9A/9B: Money For Nothing
10A/10B: Walk Like an Egyptian
11A/11B: Gimme All Your Lovin
12A/12B: Edge of Seventeen
13A/13B: Cruel Summer
14A/14B: Express Yourself
15A/15B: I'm So Excited
16A/16B: Celebrated Summer

[Whiter Hydra]

The best part about this bracket is that I get to watch a bunch of music videos that had a ton of work put into them, most of which are probably better than Jonathan Cain playing an air keyboard in Separate Ways.

9A/9B: Bonnie Tyler, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" vs. Dire Straits, "Money For Nothing"

These songs have two of the most famous music videos of the decade, though good luck trying to figure out what's going on with Total Eclipse of the Heart. They're both iconic fixtures of the 80s, and it's a shame one of them has to go out so early. Ultimately, though, I'm going to actively seek out the former a lot more than the latter.

10A/10B: The Bangles, "Walk Like an Egyptian" vs. Madonna, "Like a Prayer"

The back half of Like a Prayer is surprisingly catchy. I had not seen the music video before, and it certainly tries to fit a lot in the span of a song. Walk Like an Egyptian never really caught on for me, though I definitely see the appeal.

11A/11B: ZZ Top, "Gimme All Your Lovin'" vs. Billy Joel, "We Didn't Start the Fire"

I'm disappointed that We Didn't Start the Fire was Billy Joel's entry (there's easily a dozen songs of his from the 80s I like better), but it's still a good song from one of my favorite artists. The music video is also surprisingly coherent despite the lyrics being a bunch of names. ZZ Top is okay, but I guess I think of them more as a "generic classic rock group" more than anything.

12A/12B: Stevie Nicks, "Edge of Seventeen" vs. U2, "Sunday Bloody Sunday"

It's hard to top Stevie Nicks' vocal talent, and Sunday Bloody Sunday doesn't come close. I also find U2's music to be a bit overly preachy.

13A/13B: Bananarama, "Cruel Summer" vs. Rick James, "Super Freak"

I'm not happy about my vote, but I'm not thrilled with either option.

14A/14B: Judas Priest, "You Got Another Thing Comin'" vs. NWA, "Express Yourself"

You Got Another Thing Comin' just sounds so generic. Express Yourself has actual creativity behind it.

15A/15B: Salt'n'Pepa, "Push It" vs. The Pointer Sisters, "I'm So Excited"

Push It isn't exactly my style, while I'm So Excited manages to successfully lean into the cheesiness without slowing down too much.

16A/16B: INXS, "Need You Tonight" vs. Husker Du, "Celebrated Summer"

The less we talk about the music video for Need You Tonight, the better. At least it's still an enjoyable song. Celebrated Summer has too much distorted guitar for me to be willing to vote for it.

[ValenciaQBowl]

Completely agree with Naveed here, this was the first time I heard "Radio Ga Ga" and it's way better than many (most?) of the more frequently played Queen songs.

Fun snark aside, I am honestly and truly baffled by the love people have for this song. Musical enjoyment isn't debatable, thank goodness, but I grew up listening to Queen and love them, and this always seemed like a weird throwaway. But whatever, I'm clearly in the minority.

[AgathokakologicalPunk]

9A/9B: Bonnie Tyler,"Total Eclipse of the Heart" vs. Dire Straits, "Money For Nothing"
Let's pretend that Dire Straits is actually represented any of a number of their more representative songs. I'll try to mention one each round. We'll start popular - "Walk of Life".

10A/10B: The Bangles, "Walk Like an Egyptian" vs. Madonna, "Like a Prayer"
Blah blah blah fluff pop blah blah blah try to be risqué blah blah blah still boring blah blah blah.

11A/11B: ZZ Top, "Gimme All Your Lovin'" vs. Billy Joel, "We Didn't Start the Fire"
"You Bet Your Life" > "The End of the World as We Know It" > "We Didn't Start the Fire". ZZ Top has better music and better beards. Still, I'd rather listen to the latter.

12A/12B: Stevie Nicks, "Edge of Seventeen" vs. U2, "Sunday Bloody Sunday"
Stevie can sing. She can sing far better than Bono. Bono can't sing too well, really. The Edge can play better than Waddy Watchel.

13A/13B: Bananarama, "Cruel Summer" vs. Rick James, "Super Freak"
Rick James has more than one hook. That's all you need to win here.

14A/14B: Judas Priest, "You Got Another Thing Comin'" vs. NWA, "Express Yourself"
Not bad for a metal anthem. Any real guitar work and I would call this a contender.

15A/15B: Salt'n'Pepa, "Push It" vs. The Pointer Sisters, "I'm So Excited"
Bouncy and fun with enough performative substance to surpass bubblegum.

16A/16B: INXS, "Need You Tonight" vs. Husker Du, "Celebrated Summer"
Husker Du was certainly the vanguard of a movement, a movement far better than the overdrawn entreaties of INXS.

[Sam]

Fun snark aside, I am honestly and truly baffled by the love people have for this song. Musical enjoyment isn't debatable, thank goodness, but I grew up listening to Queen and love them, and this always seemed like a weird throwaway. But whatever, I'm clearly in the minority.

This wasn't meant to be snarky. I like Queen, maybe not love them, but in any case recognize their place in the rock pantheon. But given how much I enjoyed this song, I was really surprised I hadn't heard it before. Maybe it's just the novelty. (Also while you' may be in the minority among you, Naveed and me, the fact the two of us only just heard it in the past year suggests most of the rest of the world agrees with you!)

My ballot:
SUBMIT VOTES BY 11:59 PM PST 11/18

9A/9B: Bonnie Tyler, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" vs. Dire Straits, "Money For Nothing"

10A/10B: The Bangles, "Walk Like an Egyptian" vs. Madonna, "Like a Prayer"

11A/11B: ZZ Top, "Gimme All Your Lovin'" vs. Billy Joel, "We Didn't Start the Fire"

12A/12B: Stevie Nicks, "Edge of Seventeen" vs. U2, "Sunday Bloody Sunday"

13A/13B: Bananarama, "Cruel Summer" vs. Rick James, "Super Freak"

14A/14B: Judas Priest, "You Got Another Thing Comin'" vs. NWA, "Express Yourself"

15A/15B: Salt'n'Pepa, "Push It" vs. The Pointer Sisters, "I'm So Excited"

16A/16B: INXS, "Need You Tonight" vs. Husker Du, "Celebrated Summer"

[ValenciaQBowl]

This wasn't meant to be snarky.

Certainly not, Sam! I was referring to my own penchant for hyperbole in disparaging takes in these threads in what I hope is always taken as good-natured ribbing. I was just trying to foreground some rare straight talk. Speaking of which:

WILD CARD: QUADRANT VICE

9A/9B: Bonnie Tyler, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" vs. Dire Straits, "Money For Nothing"
--Oy, my wife loves that Bonnie Tyler song, and I'm not even allowed to groan audibly if it comes on her playlist. "Money for Nothing" isn't great Dire Straits, but it's miles beyond the comp here.

10A/10B: The Bangles, "Walk Like an Egyptian" vs. Madonna, "Like a Prayer"
--Not a huge fan of either, but the former has a decent little groove until you start hating it after the 2,000th time you've heard that whistling part.

11A/11B: ZZ Top, "Gimme All Your Lovin'" vs. Billy Joel, "We Didn't Start the Fire"
--Those few of us old enough to have listened to ZZ Top in the 70s were mostly confused by their retooling for '80s success. They completely dropped the Texas roadhouse blues style of rock that I liked about them back then. That Billy Joel song is unlistenably bad Boomer garbage.

12A/12B: Stevie Nicks, "Edge of Seventeen" vs. U2, "Sunday Bloody Sunday"
--I really like Stevie Nicks, but U2's War was a formative album for my musical tastes.

13A/13B: Bananarama, "Cruel Summer" vs. Rick James, "Super Freak"
--This is tough, but I love me some Bananarama. I had a huge crush on Siobhan Fahey when I was in 9th grade.

14A/14B: Judas Priest, "You Got Another Thing Comin'" vs. NWA, "Express Yourself"
--Wow, this one is extraordinarily tough. But I'm going to go with the song 17-year-old me loved blasting in my '77 Buick Regal.

15A/15B: Salt'n'Pepa, "Push It" vs. The Pointer Sisters, "I'm So Excited"
--Eh, I'll abstain to allow people who have an opinion on these songs to decide.

16A/16B: INXS, "Need You Tonight" vs. Husker Du, "Celebrated Summer"
--Husker Du rules. If you liked hearing this song, I hugely recommend Bob Mould's solo debut album Workbook, which slows down the Husker Du tempo but keeps the ability to mix anger and wistfulness. It's one of my favorite albums of all time.

[ScoBo]

9A/9B: Bonnie Tyler, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" vs. Dire Straits, "Money For Nothing"
10A/10B: The Bangles, "Walk Like an Egyptian" vs. Madonna, "Like a Prayer"
11A/11B: ZZ Top, "Gimme All Your Lovin'" vs. Billy Joel, "We Didn't Start the Fire"
12A/12B: Stevie Nicks, "Edge of Seventeen" vs. U2, "Sunday Bloody Sunday"
13A/13B: Bananarama, "Cruel Summer" vs. Rick James, "Super Freak"
14A/14B: Judas Priest, "You Got Another Thing Comin'" vs. NWA, "Express Yourself"
15A/15B: Salt'n'Pepa, "Push It" vs. The Pointer Sisters, "I'm So Excited"
16A/16B: INXS, "Need You Tonight" vs. Husker Du, "Celebrated Summer"

[Steeve Ho You Fat]

9A/9B: Bonnie Tyler, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" vs. Dire Straits, "Money For Nothing"

10A/10B: The Bangles, "Walk Like an Egyptian" vs. Madonna, "Like a Prayer"

11A/11B: ZZ Top, "Gimme All Your Lovin'" vs. Billy Joel, "We Didn't Start the Fire"

12A/12B: Stevie Nicks, "Edge of Seventeen" vs. U2, "Sunday Bloody Sunday"

Sunday Bloody Sunday is probably more famous and influential, but Edge of Seventeen is such a perfect encapsulation of the strengths and excesses of '80s rock and a powerhouse performance. I don't really see any songs in this group that I think I'd vote for over it.

13A/13B: Bananarama, "Cruel Summer" vs. Rick James, "Super Freak"

Tough one, these are both fun! But the Bananarama riff is too much fun, especially since it's etched in my mind as the anchor of the first song on that 2010ish Girl Talk album.

14A/14B: Judas Priest, "You Got Another Thing Comin'" vs. NWA, "Express Yourself"

Right on '80s let's rock out

15A/15B: Salt'n'Pepa, "Push It" vs. The Pointer Sisters, "I'm So Excited"

16A/16B: INXS, "Need You Tonight" vs. Husker Du, "Celebrated Summer"

What's more '80s than that riff?

[rylltraka]

This is your friendly reminder that you have until midnight tonight to submit your votes.

[AKKOLADE]

Total Eclipse of the Heart

Like a Prayer

Gimme All Your Lovin

Edge of Seventeen

Super Freak

Express Yourself

I'm So Excited

Need You Tonight

[1.82]

9A/9B: Bonnie Tyler, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" vs. Dire Straits, "Money For Nothing"

I've written about Total Eclipse of the Heart on this forum previously:

Somebody That I Used to Know came out my last semester of high school. Back then I didn't have a car and also didn't have a phone, but I was the starting third baseman for the school baseball team, which made me generally indispensable, and so people with cars would have to make arrangements with me to meet them at a certain place so that they could pick me up for away games (which were all of our games, because the field at our school was being redeveloped at the time). In the car we always listened to pop music on the radio, which allowed me for the first time to show off one of my neatest party tricks (my ability to sing along to all of the words of Total Eclipse of the Heart) and also let me hone my skills in terms of making snap reactions to new music.

I do still know all the lyrics of Total Eclipse of the Heart (it helps that about 80% of the song is chorus). Not every song has to be a sing-along song, but there are few songs that are a better source of endless merriment when sung along than this one. The line "we're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks" was a particular favorite during my Maryland quizbowl days, but there are just so many. It's disappointing to have to vote against Money For Nothing, which is an iconic song, but I can't possibly vote against Total Eclipse of the Heart here.

10A/10B: The Bangles, "Walk Like an Egyptian" vs. Madonna, "Like a Prayer"

Here also we have two songs I know well and which have positive associations for me. I like The Bangles, but I like Madonna more, and Madonna wins here. This song always reminds me of the episode of Happy Endings (a show that I know is beloved by multiple quizbowl people who are not me) that ends with the Madonna cover band Man-donna performing a rendition of Like a Prayer. That's the second best musical moment at the end of an episode of Happy Endings, behind the episode that concludes with Megan Mullally and Casey Wilson performing beloved quizbowl anthem Torn at a boat show. Happy Endings was a delightful show that always suffered from the problem of being difficult to describe in a way that made it sound appealing.

11A/11B: ZZ Top, "Gimme All Your Lovin'" vs. Billy Joel, "We Didn't Start the Fire"

I have already expressed my dislike for We Didn't Start the Fire, so here I will note that the song Baby Boomer Santa from the Christmas episode of the third season of Community (the best episode of a season that was by and large quite bad) lays out in a more entertaining way than I ever could what it is that makes We Didn't Start the Fire so disagreeable.

12A/12B: Stevie Nicks, "Edge of Seventeen" vs. U2, "Sunday Bloody Sunday"

It's truly bizarre that the band behind the Songs of Innocence project was at one time considered "alternative" in some way. I remembered Sunday Bloody Sunday as being pretty good, but upon listening to it this time I was surprised to find myself voting for it over Edge of Seventeen.

13A/13B: Bananarama, "Cruel Summer" vs. Rick James, "Super Freak"

On the subject of Cruel Summer, I don't think anything in the past decade has amused me as much as Big Sean's classic verse on Mercy. Unfortunately the song that shares its name with the album Mercy is on is pretty boring. Super Freak, on the other hand, is one of the very best examples of a song that I heard countless times as a child without ever really understanding what it's very obviously about.

14A/14B: Judas Priest, "You Got Another Thing Comin'" vs. NWA, "Express Yourself"

15A/15B: Salt'n'Pepa, "Push It" vs. The Pointer Sisters, "I'm So Excited"

I really didn't know that Push It was from the 1980s; if I were to guess, I would have said that it was from the first half of the '90s. I'm So Excited is a song I certainly haven't heard in at least fifteen years.

16A/16B: INXS, "Need You Tonight" vs. Husker Du, "Celebrated Summer"

[rylltraka]

WILD CARD: QUADRANT VICE

9A/9B: Bonnie Tyler, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" 8.5, Dire Straits, "Money For Nothing" 17

10A/10B: The Bangles, "Walk Like an Egyptian" 13.5, Madonna, "Like a Prayer" 12

11A/11B: ZZ Top, "Gimme All Your Lovin'" 17.5, Billy Joel, "We Didn't Start the Fire" 8

12A/12B: Stevie Nicks, "Edge of Seventeen" 13, U2, "Sunday Bloody Sunday" 12.5

13A/13B: Bananarama, "Cruel Summer" 12, Rick James, "Super Freak" 13.5

14A/14B: Judas Priest, "You Got Another Thing Comin'" 10.5, NWA, "Express Yourself" 13.5

15A/15B: Salt'n'Pepa, "Push It" 10.5, The Pointer Sisters, "I'm So Excited" 11.5

16A/16B: INXS, "Need You Tonight" 13.5, Husker Du, "Celebrated Summer" 10.5

Six of the matchups were decided by one vote. Every vote counts.

[rylltraka]

WILD CARD: QUADRANT MAGNUM
SUBMIT VOTES BY 11:59 PM 11/21

9A/9B: AC/DC, "Back in Black" vs. Eurythmics, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"

10A/10B: Tears for Fears, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" vs. The Police, "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic"

11A/11B: Culture Club, "Karma Chameleon" vs. Marvin Gaye, "Sexual Healing"

12A/12B: Whitesnake, "Here I Go Again" vs. Van Halen, "Panama"

13A/13B: Huey Lewis and the News, "The Power of Love" vs. New Order, "Blue Monday"

14A/14B: Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" vs. Motorhead, "Ace of Spades"

15A/15B: Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, "Islands in the Stream" vs. Poison, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"

16A/16B: Billy Idol, "White Wedding" vs. The Pixies, "Where is My Mind?"

[pray for elves]

9A/9B: AC/DC, "Back in Black" vs. Eurythmics, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"

10A/10B: Tears for Fears, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" vs. The Police, "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic"

11A/11B: Culture Club, "Karma Chamelon" vs. Marvin Gaye, "Sexual Healing"

12A/12B: Whitesnake, "Here I Go Again" vs. Van Halen, "Panama" -- I refuse to vote for a band David Coverdale named after...himself. Plus Panama slaps hard.

13A/13B: Huey Lewis and the News, "The Power of Love" vs. New Order, "Blue Monday" -- Back to the Future aside, Blue Monday is just a better song.

14A/14B: Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" vs. Motorhead, "Ace of Spades"

15A/15B: Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, "Islands in the Stream" vs. Poison, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"

16A/16B: Billy Idol, "White Wedding" vs. The Pixies, "Where is My Mind?"

[ValenciaQBowl]

9A/9B: AC/DC, "Back in Black" vs. Eurythmics, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"
--"Back in Black" still hits hard forty years later if you blast it, and you should.

10A/10B: Tears for Fears, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" vs. The Police, "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic"
--I would've preferred "Mad World" by Tears for Fears, but I still would've picked this Police song, which I probably won't be voting against for a long time.

11A/11B: Culture Club, "Karma Chamelon" vs. Marvin Gaye, "Sexual Healing"
--There may not be a more '80s band or song than Culture Club's "Karma Chameleon," and though "Sexual Healing" isn't a Marvin Gaye song I'll put on (unlike many other Marvin Gaye songs), I figure I have to go with the more important music figure.

12A/12B: Whitesnake, "Here I Go Again" vs. Van Halen, "Panama"
--I think I've seen that some people have sniped at "Panama," but if you pick this garbage Whitesnake song against almost anything, well, boy howdy.

13A/13B: Huey Lewis and the News, "The Power of Love" vs. New Order, "Blue Monday"
--I remember a Bobcat Goldthwait stand-up bit where he said Huey Lewis looks like a guy who golfs with your dad. He rocks like that, too.

14A/14B: Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" vs. Motorhead, "Ace of Spades"
--See my Whitesnake comment re: this hideous ballad above.

15A/15B: Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, "Islands in the Stream" vs. Poison, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"
--Nope, can't do it: hate both of these songs, won't credit either with a pick.

16A/16B: Billy Idol, "White Wedding" vs. The Pixies, "Where is My Mind?"
--How unfair that these titans, these kings of songs, have to compete while one of the egregious ballads above will move on. "White Wedding" has been played out for a while, but the lead guitar in that is still fantastic. But I can't pick against one of my top-five all-time bands.

[rylltraka]

--How unfair that these titans, these kings of songs, have to compete while one of the egregious ballads above will move on. "White Wedding" has been played out for a while, but the lead guitar in that is still fantastic. But I can't pick against one of my top-five all-time bands.

Well, I guess, that, uh, every rose has its thorn.

[ValenciaQBowl]

Oh, how I despise you....

[AgathokakologicalPunk]

9A/9B: AC/DC, "Back in Black" vs. Eurythmics, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"
No more of that annoying synth riff.

10A/10B: Tears for Fears, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" vs. The Police, "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic"
Synth vs synth + drums. Winner: synth + drums.

11A/11B: Culture Club, "Karma Chamelon" vs. Marvin Gaye, "Sexual Healing"
Strategic vote to eliminate Marvin from future rounds. Sorry Marvin, you didn't deserve to lose to Boy George. No one does.

12A/12B: Whitesnake, "Here I Go Again" vs. Van Halen, "Panama"
Really pretty similar - the best song of an eh band and a lesser (imo) song of a great band. I'll go for the nostalgia.

13A/13B: Huey Lewis and the News, "The Power of Love" vs. New Order, "Blue Monday"
Abstain. Not willing to become informed on this one. Too much work.

14A/14B: Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" vs. Motorhead, "Ace of Spades"
Mötorhead's music reminds me of a [misguided] snipe at Rush: "You say they can shred. Sure they can, but their shredding doesn't sound good."

15A/15B: Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, "Islands in the Stream" vs. Poison, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"
I remember this song playing at a visitation, which unsettled me greatly. Good song, bad setting.

16A/16B: Billy Idol, "White Wedding" vs. The Pixies, "Where is My Mind?"
I have a deep-seated antipathy toward "White Wedding" due its opening's similarity to that of "Come Out and Play", which I much prefer. Perpetual disappointment.

[Ben Dillon]

9A/9B: AC/DC, "Back in Black" vs. Eurythmics, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"

10A/10B: Tears for Fears, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" vs. The Police, "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic"

11A/11B: Culture Club, "Karma Chamelon" vs. Marvin Gaye, "Sexual Healing"

12A/12B: Whitesnake, "Here I Go Again" vs. Van Halen, "Panama"

13A/13B: Huey Lewis and the News, "The Power of Love" vs. New Order, "Blue Monday"

14A/14B: Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" vs. Motorhead, "Ace of Spades"

15A/15B: Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, "Islands in the Stream" vs. Poison, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"

16A/16B: Billy Idol, "White Wedding" vs. The Pixies, "Where is My Mind?"
Nope.

[MiltonPlayer47]

9A/9B: AC/DC, "Back in Black" vs. Eurythmics, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"

10A/10B: Tears for Fears, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" vs. The Police, "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic"

11A/11B: Culture Club, "Karma Chamelon" vs. Marvin Gaye, "Sexual Healing"

12A/12B: Whitesnake, "Here I Go Again" vs. Van Halen, "Panama"

13A/13B: Huey Lewis and the News, "The Power of Love" vs. New Order, "Blue Monday"

14A/14B: Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" vs. Motorhead, "Ace of Spades"
Brings back fond memories of the assemblies that we had in both 8th grade and 12th grade right before graduation.

15A/15B: Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, "Islands in the Stream" vs. Poison, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"

16A/16B: Billy Idol, "White Wedding" vs. The Pixies, "Where is My Mind?"

[1.82]

9A/9B: AC/DC, "Back in Black" vs. Eurythmics, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"

When I was in college, I had a friend who loved Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) and hated Here Comes the Rain Again, or maybe she loved Here Comes the Rain Again and hated Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This). Either way, it was bizarre to me that someone could have differing opinions on those two songs, which I spent my whole childhood thinking were the same song. They're both very important to me, which I guess is a function of the kind of music I was exposed to as a child.

Back in Black will win this matchup because I guess the electorate in this bracket loves guitar rock music more than anything else, but it's not a song I can possibly care about. We've all heard it innumerable times, we all can hear it in our head the second we see the title, whatever.

10A/10B: Tears for Fears, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" vs. The Police, "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic"

When I was in tenth grade, my friend sent me a link to Everybody Wants to Rule the World, telling me that it was a song he thought I'd like. It was a song I was already familiar with, of course, but he wasn't wrong at all.

Similarly to the 2000s bracket and the 2010s bracket, I know many or most of the songs in this bracket, but the difference here is that I never experienced any of the songs here as new songs; they're all songs from the distant past, from when my parents were young. So many of these songs are tied up in my experience of the past that I'll never be able to regain, and so I'm not just voting on some kind of objective idea of the quality of the song, but also on how much it reminds me of being a small child again, sitting in a booth with my parents at the combination KFC/Taco Bell at the corner of Homestead and Hollenbeck in Sunnyvale. (The song that unambiguously wins on the latter measure, despite certainly not winning on the measure of quality, is Take Me Home Tonight by Eddie Money, but since I don't think that made this bracket we'll have to deal with weaker versions of that feeling.) Everybody Wants to Rule the World wins on both metrics.

11A/11B: Culture Club, "Karma Chamelon" vs. Marvin Gaye, "Sexual Healing"

Karma Chameleon is another delightful song from the distant past. I don't know if I'd say exactly that I know all the words to the song, but I certainly know them at least approximately. On the other hand, for reasons that remain unclear I was not exposed to Sexual Healing as a child.

12A/12B: Whitesnake, "Here I Go Again" vs. Van Halen, "Panama"

13A/13B: Huey Lewis and the News, "The Power of Love" vs. New Order, "Blue Monday"

14A/14B: Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" vs. Motorhead, "Ace of Spades"

As in many cases, this is a matchup where it's blindingly obvious which of these songs is more evocative of the idea of the 1980s, and I think that that counts for a lot.

15A/15B: Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, "Islands in the Stream" vs. Poison, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"

16A/16B: Billy Idol, "White Wedding" vs. The Pixies, "Where is My Mind?"

[alexdz]

9A/9B: AC/DC, "Back in Black" vs. Eurythmics, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"

10A/10B: Tears for Fears, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" vs. The Police, "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic"

11A/11B: Culture Club, "Karma Chameleon" vs. Marvin Gaye, "Sexual Healing"

12A/12B: Whitesnake, "Here I Go Again" vs. Van Halen, "Panama"

13A/13B: Huey Lewis and the News, "The Power of Love" vs. New Order, "Blue Monday"

14A/14B: Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" vs. Motorhead, "Ace of Spades"

15A/15B: Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, "Islands in the Stream" vs. Poison, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"

16A/16B: Billy Idol, "White Wedding" vs. The Pixies, "Where is My Mind?"

[kammajos000]

9A/9B: AC/DC, "Back in Black" vs. Eurythmics, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"

10A/10B: Tears for Fears, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" vs. The Police, "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic"

11A/11B: Culture Club, "Karma Chamelon" vs. Marvin Gaye, "Sexual Healing"

12A/12B: Whitesnake, "Here I Go Again" vs. Van Halen, "Panama"

13A/13B: Huey Lewis and the News, "The Power of Love" vs. New Order, "Blue Monday"

14A/14B: Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" vs. Motorhead, "Ace of Spades"

15A/15B: Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, "Islands in the Stream" vs. Poison, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"

16A/16B: Billy Idol, "White Wedding" vs. The Pixies, "Where is My Mind?"

[Stained Diviner]

WILD CARD: QUADRANT MAGNUM
SUBMIT VOTES BY 11:59 PM 11/21

9A/9B: AC/DC, "Back in Black" vs. Eurythmics, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"
I like both of these, but Back in Black is definitely better.

10A/10B: Tears for Fears, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" vs. The Police, "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic"
One of my high school friends was upset about Everybody Wants to Rule the World because she didn't want to rule the world. That's not why I'm voting against it.

11A/11B: Culture Club, "Karma Chamelon" vs. Marvin Gaye, "Sexual Healing"
If you vote for Karma Chameleon in this matchup, you're a bad person. Stop doing that.

12A/12B: Whitesnake, "Here I Go Again" vs. Van Halen, "Panama"
Van Halen is better than the band that is as good as Van Halen in its dreams.

13A/13B: Huey Lewis and the News, "The Power of Love" vs. New Order, "Blue Monday"
Honestly, it would be fine with me if both of these songs lost.

14A/14B: Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" vs. Motorhead, "Ace of Spades"
I'm only voting for Ace of Spades because it's not I've Had The Time of My Life.

15A/15B: Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, "Islands in the Stream" vs. Poison, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"
This is three crap pairings in a row. Maybe 64 songs would have been enough for this tournament.

16A/16B: Billy Idol, "White Wedding" vs. The Pixies, "Where is My Mind?"
This one was close, especially because even Billy Idol has forgotten about White Wedding.

The first four songs I voted for are good. The last four aren't, but it's not my fault. Maybe White Wedding is OK.

[ScoBo]

9A/9B: AC/DC, "Back in Black" vs. Eurythmics, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"
10A/10B: Tears for Fears, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" vs. The Police, "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic"
11A/11B: Culture Club, "Karma Chamelon" vs. Marvin Gaye, "Sexual Healing"
12A/12B: Whitesnake, "Here I Go Again" vs. Van Halen, "Panama"
13A/13B: Huey Lewis and the News, "The Power of Love" vs. New Order, "Blue Monday"
14A/14B: Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" vs. Motorhead, "Ace of Spades"
15A/15B: Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, "Islands in the Stream" vs. Poison, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"
16A/16B: Billy Idol, "White Wedding" vs. The Pixies, "Where is My Mind?"

[Sam]

9A/9B: AC/DC, "Back in Black" vs. Eurythmics, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"

10A/10B: Tears for Fears, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" vs. The Police, "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic"

11A/11B: Culture Club, "Karma Chamelon" vs. Marvin Gaye, "Sexual Healing"

12A/12B: Whitesnake, "Here I Go Again" vs. Van Halen, "Panama"

13A/13B: Huey Lewis and the News, "The Power of Love" vs. New Order, "Blue Monday"

14A/14B: Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" vs. Motorhead, "Ace of Spades"

15A/15B: Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, "Islands in the Stream" vs. Poison, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"
This is...not Dolly Parton's finest. Nor Kenny Rogers', for that matter. And yet...

16A/16B: Billy Idol, "White Wedding" vs. The Pixies, "Where is My Mind?"

[Steeve Ho You Fat]

9A/9B: AC/DC, "Back in Black" vs. Eurythmics, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"

In ~2011, I watched the movie Sucker Punch on Delta. I still occasionally think about how much happier I would have been staring at the seatback in front of me. Of its many sins, perhaps the worse was the bad cover of this song. The proper version is one of the best relics of the '80s: a perfect synth line, vague but interesting lyrics, and a music video that exemplifies a time when that art form was at its peak. Back in Black is a classic rock song (and this is a weirdly tough first-round matchup either way), but it doesn't do enough to differentiate itself from all the other hard rockish songs from the '80s to deserve a win here.

10A/10B: Tears for Fears, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" vs. The Police, "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic"

11A/11B: Culture Club, "Karma Chamelon" vs. Marvin Gaye, "Sexual Healing"

I'm still mad at y'all for wrongly eliminating Marvin from the last bracket.

12A/12B: Whitesnake, "Here I Go Again" vs. Van Halen, "Panama"

RIP Eddie van Halen

13A/13B: Huey Lewis and the News, "The Power of Love" vs. New Order, "Blue Monday"

14A/14B: Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" vs. Motorhead, "Ace of Spades"

15A/15B: Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, "Islands in the Stream" vs. Poison, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"

16A/16B: Billy Idol, "White Wedding" vs. The Pixies, "Where is My Mind?"

Both of these songs would beat the majority of what's in this section. White Wedding is cool, but it sounds like more of a relic, while The Pixies are still influencing rock bands to this day.

[Wartortullian]

9A/9B: AC/DC, "Back in Black" vs. Eurythmics, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"
I have a lot of criticism of AC/DC, but if "Back in Black" did not exist, it would be necessary to create it. In a sense, it's the platonic ideal of hard rock, while "Sweet Dreams" is still one of my least favorite new wave hits.

10A/10B: Tears for Fears, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" vs. The Police, "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic"
ACAB

11A/11B: Culture Club, "Karma Chameolon" vs. Marvin Gaye, "Sexual Healing"
"Karma Chameleon" deserves far better than to go up against Marvin in the first round, but my hands are tied here.

12A/12B: Whitesnake, "Here I Go Again" vs. Van Halen, "Panama"
Ben 's thoughts on this matchup are dead-on, but I have to disagree with his conclusion. I could pick Whitesnake over a worse Van Halen song (e.g. "I'll Wait"), but even a merely "good" one wins handily in this scenario.

13A/13B: Huey Lewis and the News, "The Power of Love" vs. New Order, "Blue Monday"
The Huey Lewis song is solid, but "Blue Monday" is iconic.

14A/14B: Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" vs. Motorhead, "Ace of Spades"
I found myself liking "Time of My Life" more than when I first heard it, but you can't headbang to it.

15A/15B: Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, "Islands in the Stream" vs. Poison, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"
I don't like either of these songs—though as schlocky as it is, the Poison song still deserves to exist.

16A/16B: Billy Idol, "White Wedding" vs. The Pixies, "Where is My Mind?"
"White Wedding" is the best Billy Idol song. That's not much.

[BenWeiner27]

9A/9B: AC/DC, "Back in Black" vs. Eurythmics, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"

10A/10B: Tears for Fears, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" vs. The Police, "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic"

11A/11B: Culture Club, "Karma Chamelon" vs. Marvin Gaye, "Sexual Healing"

12A/12B: Whitesnake, "Here I Go Again" vs. Van Halen, "Panama"-Not only is Panama a really, really good song, it is also A LOT of fun to play in Guitar Hero.

13A/13B: Huey Lewis and the News, "The Power of Love" vs. New Order, "Blue Monday" - This was a very hard one to choose

14A/14B: Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" vs. Motorhead, "Ace of Spades"

15A/15B: Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, "Islands in the Stream" vs. Poison, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"

16A/16B: Billy Idol, "White Wedding" vs. The Pixies, "Where is My Mind?"