Welcome to Games 19 and 20 of the Ultimate Pop Song Tournament!
These games are CLOSED. (OPEN GAMES)
To see the complete bracket, just go here. For info on how we chose the songs and everything else Tournament-related, go here.
—
The Rock Queen of the 90s is about to battle the Rock Queen of the Aughts, while a grunge classic takes on an urban-rock masterpiece.
Game 19 (Rock Warrior Division)
“You Oughta Know” (Alanis Morissette) v. “Sober” (Pink)
—
5. “You Oughta Know” (Alanis Morissette)
You should know how we all feel about this song, considering Mark and I dedicated a whole week to covering Alanis’ Jagged Little Pill. But in case you need a refresher: there are asses in this world that should only be kicked by this song. Remember what a jolt it was when it first came out? How Alanis seemed all dangerous and angry and slightly unhinged, with the video fish-eye lens and too-heavily-applied lipstick? No matter how we think of her now, that sense of her will forever stay inside the walls of this song. — Joe
12. “Sober” (Pink)
Do we still spell Pink with an exclamation point (P!ink)? That stuff really messes up the pristine organization of my iTunes. Anyway, for the longest time, my most dominant impression of this song was how it was constantly used as Kara DioGuardi’s calling card on American Idol. There’s always something keeping me from seeing “Sober” on its own merits, be it the Pink-making-out-with-herself music video, or the Video Music Awards performance where she was suspended on cables above the stage. It took me a while to get to the business of listening to the song, but once I did, it’s not like I needed much convincing. It’s an ass-kicker, through and through — Self-examination through ruthless, pummeling power chords. — Joe
Game 20 (Rock Warrior Division)
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” (Nirvana) v. “Hey Ya!” (OutKast)
—
4. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (Nirvana)
What can you even say about the institution that is this song? It kicked off an entire subgenre of music, at least from a popular perspective. Defined a generation, for better or worse. Set impossible mainstream standards for Kurt Cobain that he could never live up to (at least without hating himself). It’s the rare song that can hold up under that weight, but “Teen Spirit” has some incredible bone structure, and its “here we are now, entertain us” rallying cry supported a hurricane of buzzing distortion, drum flourishes, and Cobain’s unique brand of urgent mumbling. Bonus points for a music video that doesn’t always get the credit it deserves. Thrashing teens and branded cheerleaders and one really groovy school janitor. – Joe
13. “Hey Ya!” (OutKast)
Proof that a great song maintains its greatness no matter how worn its treads have become. I’m not sure a song has been more overplayed than this was back in 2003/04. You could hardly blame anybody for piling on and giving Big Boi and Andre 3000′s booty-shaker another spin. We couldn’t get enough of it … until we’d all of a sudden gotten WAY too much. But in the past few years, I’ve let “Hey Ya!” sneak back onto a few of my playlists, and damned if it doesn’t retain all that old exuberance and swagger. I’m still gonna catch myself doing the claps on the subway with my headphones on (don’t lie, you are too), and if I live to be 100, I’ll still know what’s cooler than being cool (ICE COLD!). — Joe
25 responses so far ↓
1 Hebby // Jul 28, 2011 at 4:39 am
Just so you know, my teenage self is fighting with my now-self pretty viciously inside my head. There’s biting, scratching, name-calling, angry accusations of betrayal…
2 SashaPT // Jul 28, 2011 at 7:18 am
Wow, surprised that Hey Ya! is beating Teen Spirit. It pleases me for some reason, even though I voted for Nirvana. Interesting generation-gap matchup here.
3 Mark Blankenship // Jul 28, 2011 at 8:07 am
SashaPT and Hebby : I suspected this matchup would cause that kind of confusion and pain. To me, it seems like it’s going to be a no contest win for Nirvana, until I really start listening to OutKast. I still haven’t voted, in fact. I’m going to mull for a few more hours.
4 Mark Blankenship // Jul 28, 2011 at 8:49 am
A few words for “Sober:”
I love this song because it’s one of the few pop hits that’s about self doubt, about the terrible moment when you realize your life has become a race away from things you cannot face. I love “You Oughta Know,” of course, but anger is such an easy thing to rock about. Honest dread is a bit trickier.
Given its subject matter, “Sober” could have been maudlin, like some terrible lyric sheet that Emily Dickinson shoved into her least favorite wall, but instead, it’s marked by Pink’s customarily honest and provocative sentiments. “I don’t wanna be that call at 4 o’clock in the morning because I’m the only one you know in the world who won’t be home.” That’s not a generic type of existential anguish, that’s a specific moment of crisis, crusted over with dried beer.
And how much more interesting that this beautifully written song, which boasts a gorgeous bridge and a kick-ass moment of silence, is meaty enough to join the Rock Warrior division instead of Deep Feelings. Like she always does, Pink takes her insecurities and gives them a backbone, creating unexpected strength (and undeniable hooks) as she expresses them. “You Oughta Know” is authentic and thrilling, but so is “Sober.” And “Sober” tells truths that are harder to put into words.
5 Jeff C // Jul 28, 2011 at 10:14 am
I remember when I first heard You Oughta Know: driving down Briarcliff Road in Atlanta, when 99X was still around and was one of the better ‘alternative’ stations in the country. I was floored by the viciousness, but hooked by the straightahead rock beat/bass line. Unfortunately, Alanis never had a better song, at least not in my book.
“Hey Ya!” is pretty genius, and I’m not sure why it’s in the Rock Warrior division. Still, I voted for Smells Like Teen Spirit – which, along with Pearl Jam’s Alive or Jeremy, pretty much nails the best parts of ‘grunge’ from a pop perspective. Unlike You Oughta Know – which starts at a snarl and simmers to rage – Teen Spirit is a start/stop affair, almost schizophrenic, but still raging. Either OutKast or Nirvana deserves to advance, but Teen Spirit has aged better, so I went with that.
6 Dan Turner // Jul 28, 2011 at 10:34 am
File Under: Bitchy, ArtFag. I voted for Pink as I cannot stand A.M. anymore. I don’t get that authentic feeling from “Y.O.K.” I consumed that album whole heartedly and then shat it out two months later when it became obvious that she was going to become so popular that I didn’t need to be paying attention. This was going to be force fed me regardless. This song was like the PG version, what I’m calling a sonic diptych, of the two classic songs “Flower & Johnny Sunshine” from 1993 by Liz Phair. Jagged Little Pill will never be what Exile in Guyville, though it painfully tries to be. NE’ER!!! So this is my choice in it’s place!
I’d just like to point out that Bjork’s “All Is Full of Love” video had 2 robo-bjorks making out and leaking fluids way before Pink sent this in for consideration. So I’m chosing that better track to go against Liz in this round.
My ultimate winner of Game 19 is Bjork’s “All is Full of Love” because as I mentioned, I’m an ArtFag. And that woman can yodel like an inbred Scandanavian in a post-mod punk band, beat down a reporter in Bangkok, wear a swan dress which people still talk (disparagingly) about, have love children with Matthew Barney, twatever! She wins game 19.
As far as game 20, I just don’t really think Nirvana’s hit holds my attention anymore. I like 2:45 – 3:07. The rest of it is kind of blah. Whereas “Hey Ya” still holds a lot of excitement in it after seven years or so. That whole Love Below album was a killer! Still is. Wait a minute! Where…? Are…? My panties?!?!?
7 Sadie // Jul 28, 2011 at 10:43 am
“Hey Ya” was a part of a perfect college moment for me. I was at an apartment party, kids milling around with drinks, music playing in the background. And then “Hey Ya” came on. EVERYONE started to dance. EVERYONE joined in on the call and responses (“YEAH!”) It was just a perfect moment of fun and dancing with abandon.
And that is why I must vote for Hey Ya.
8 Kristen // Jul 28, 2011 at 10:48 am
For me, Alanis vs Pink is the most difficult decision so far Grrrl power!
) I love Alanis soooo much (including Weeds), and have really specific memories of Jagged Little Pill (and my long-term memory sucks). But that Pink song is fantastic. What to do?!!!
9 Guy Lodge // Jul 28, 2011 at 11:12 am
For an irrational split-second, I got so excited when I saw the title “Sober” — thinking you’d somehow included Kelly Clarkson’s gorgeous non-hit ballad off “My December”, but of course, there’s no reason why you would have done that.
Still, I’m only marginally less surprised to see you’ve picked this P!nk song (I stick by the exclamation mark, almost to spite her for maturing on us). Perhaps it was a bigger hit in the US than in my corner of the world, because while I obviously know it, it never struck me as a very big deal — either as a song or as a pop artefact. It’s nice and all, but if you’d picked “Just Like a Pill”, Alanis might have had to yell a little harder for my vote.
10 Mark Blankenship // Jul 28, 2011 at 11:26 am
Hi Guy! I have a partial love for Kelly Clarkson’s “Sober.” I would love it more if it didn’t feel like a perpetual build up to a pay off that never comes. Pink’s “Sober,” meanwhile, was one of my byes. It was clearly not the most obvious choice: “Just Like a Pill” didn’t top our chart like it did yours, but it was still a massive song, and “Get the Party Started” is one of the hottest jams of all time. For me, though, “Sober” just sums up everything I love about her. (Well, that and “Glitter In the Air” and “Leave Me Alone I’m Lonely” and “Dear Mr. President” and “18 Wheeler” and “Trouble,” but I digress.)
11 Maggie // Jul 28, 2011 at 11:41 am
For me this first match-up illustrates the main dilemma in this whole competition: do you vote for the better artist, the more influential brand, the more significant catalog – or do you vote for the better song. I think Pink is a better artist than Alanis. I think they have similar wheelhouses(?) and that Pink does it better. I think when all is said and done, Pink’s contributions to pop music will be more significant. And “Sober” is a great song. But it’s “You Oughta Know.”
I still don’t know what to do.
12 Emily // Jul 28, 2011 at 11:45 am
Wow–the first one was much harder than I thought it would be. If it were “Glitter In The Air”, I wouldn’t have given it a second thought, because that shit is genius. But “Sober”, although fantastic, can’t quite arm wrestle the Jagged Little Pill CD that I clutch to my 24-year-old-just-left-my-fiance-and-quit-my-job-to-find-a-new-career angst-ridden chest.
As for the second game? You best shake it like a Polaroid picture, hooker.
13 Guy Lodge // Jul 28, 2011 at 11:47 am
Oh, I see — and after reading your case for the song in the comments above, I immediately hit it up on iTunes and began to hear it through your ears, as it were. So… result! And you’ll hear no complaining from me about the presence of any P!nk in this project — I’ve been on her side since the rough-diamond days of “There You Go”.
(Oh, and I voted for Nirvana in the other head-to-head, just in case they’re feeling left out of the conversation.)
14 Linguica // Jul 28, 2011 at 11:59 am
If I never heard Smells Like Teen Spirit again I would be OK with it, but I still voted for it because I remember how ridiculously influential it was and I just in good conscience can’t let it go out in the first round.
15 Mark Blankenship // Jul 28, 2011 at 12:02 pm
Yes, Maggie. These are the terrible (yet beautiful) questions. Don’t be surprised if that comment ends up in the next Tournament Update.
16 Roommate Joe // Jul 28, 2011 at 12:04 pm
Oh my God, Sadie, I had the EXACT same experience, only with “Rosa Parks.” An Outkast party-starter by any other name…
17 Tyliag // Jul 28, 2011 at 1:26 pm
Dan – I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one who has soured on Jagged little pill over the years. And I mean, back in the day I loved it. Loved it! Ironic bears the brunt of my loathing, but YOK is right there next to it as being highly overrated. As a time capsule, it is great, as a timeless classic, it just is not in my opinion. It’s walloping Sober and that bums me out but I’m not surprised.
18 Angie // Jul 28, 2011 at 1:58 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brpub0hTbjs
That alone got my Hey Ya Vote. That and I just get happy every damn time I hear it, pure and simple.
Oh, Pink’s getting her ass kicked, which is a shame, because Sober’s a fricking great song. She’s tremendously talented. I’m interested in seeing what motherhood does to her songwriting.
19 InfoMofo // Jul 28, 2011 at 2:52 pm
OHHHHH. When I first saw your original bracket with just the song names, I thought Alanis was up against the song “Sober” by the band Tool, and I did not understand this bracket at all.
20 Rachel // Jul 28, 2011 at 7:34 pm
I cannot believe that you guys forced me to vote against a world-changing song like “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” but for all the historical importance of that song, “Hey Ya” just always makes me happy to be alive in the here and now.
21 Jessica // Jul 28, 2011 at 9:56 pm
Alanis Morisette vs. Pink: Pink, just because I like Pink better. I’m feeling the ‘Rock Warrior’ division going to be where I struggle with the least definite opinions.
Smells Like Teen Spirit vs. Hey Ya: neither my favorite Nirvana nor my favorite OutKast song. If it was one of my more favorite Nirvana songs against Hey Ya, I’d be going with Nirvana. If it was one of my more favorite OutKast songs, it wouldn’t be in this division. Hey Ya it’s gonna be.
22 Kitty // Jul 29, 2011 at 2:33 am
I still remember the first time I ever saw the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” video; it was also the firt time I had listened to the song all the way through beyond a few snippets that I’d heard on the college radio station. It was a REVELATION. I was blown so off-kilter by Nirvana; it was disconcerting for 20 yr old me. Also amazingly my real-life teen crush Dave Grohl was no longer the mohawked lead singer of my little local DC band Scream; he was now a long-haired drummer for a band I’d never heard of that was based out of the Seattle area? It was all so gloriously confusing.
Easiest vote so far.
23 Erica S. // Jul 29, 2011 at 1:03 pm
Even though it was popular, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is not a pop song.
24 Roommate Joe // Jul 29, 2011 at 6:25 pm
Did it not chart on the pop charts?
25 Nick Davis // Jul 29, 2011 at 6:31 pm
@Erica: We considered this wrinkle, but we just elected to let Billboard be the judge of that, since “pop” means something different to everyone.
Leave a Comment