# March R.E.M. Madness (opening Round) \[Closed\] **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 13, 2008, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-r-e-m-madness-opening-round-closed/441308 "2008-03-13T23:53:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2008, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-r-e-m-madness-opening-round-closed/441308/1 "2008-03-13T23:53:11Z")
Obviously, inspired by [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=457954&highlight=beatle+madness) (and the ones that followed). I liked the idea, and wanted to do it with a different artist, but a lot of the musicians/bands I really considered either didn’t have a big enough catalogue (The Clash, The Replacements), were too obscure to get a lot of votes (Husker Du, Robyn Hitchcock), or bored me (Rolling Stones, U2). So I settled on R.E.M. in the hopes that enough people were familiar with their work to make this interesting. Rules are the same as in the other thread (copied and pasted here): –In each round, match-ups will be deteremined by the seeding (Highest will play lowest, and so on). The final four will match up Bracket A with Bracket C, and Bracket B with Bracket D. –In each match-up, vote for which song you personally enjoy more. Songs with the most votes move on to the next round. A tie will be broken with a coin flip by me. –Voting will end for round 1 on Sunday, March 2 at 7:30 pm. If all goes according to plan, we will crown a champ on or around the evening of March 17. –Feel free to make predictions. My divisions were based pretty much only on chronological order, though I did try my best to match songs with a similar feel against each other. I also tried to pick popular songs I don’t particularly care for (“Everybody Hurts”, “Losing My Religion”), just to be fair. So here’s the first round: A Radio Free Europe **VS** Sitting Still Wolves, Lower **VS** 1,000,000 Gardening At Night **VS** We Walk Pilgrimage **VS** Moral Kiosk Harborcoat **VS** Pretty Persuasion So. Central Rain **VS** (Don’t Go Back To) Rockville Feeling Gravitys Pull **VS** Can’t Get There From Here Driver 8 **VS** Life And How To Live It B Begin The Begin **VS** These Days Fall On Me **VS** I Believe Just A Touch **VS** Superman Finest Worksong **VS** It’s The End Of The World As We know It (And I Feel Fine) Exhuming McCarthy **VS** Disturbance At The Heron House The One I Love **VS** King Of Birds Pop Song 89 **VS** Stand Get Up **VS** Orange Crush C Losing My Religion **VS** Half A World Away Country Feedback **VS** Me In Honey Drive **VS** Try Not To Breathe Everybody Hurts **VS** Nightswimming The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite **VS** Man On The Moon What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? **VS** Crush With Eyeliner Strange Currencies **VS** Tongue How The West Was Won And Where It Got Us **VS** The Wake-Up Bomb D New Test Leper **VS** Electrolite So Fast, So Numb **VS** Bittersweet Me Daysleeper **VS** Lotus Suspicion **VS** At My Most Beautiful The Great beyond **VS** Imitation Of Life All The Way To Reno (You’re Gonna Be A Star) **VS** Beachball Bad Day **VS** Animal Leaving New York **VS** Wanderlust First round voting will end on Saturday at 4:00pm PST. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2008, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-r-e-m-madness-opening-round-closed/441308/2 "2008-03-14T00:21:44Z")
A Sitting Still Wolves, Lower Gardening At Night Pilgrimage Harborcoat So. Central Rain Feeling Gravitys Pull Life And How To Live It B These Days Fall On Me Superman Finest Worksong Exhuming McCarthy King Of Birds Pop Song 89 Get Up C Half A World Away Me In Honey Try Not To Breathe Nightswimming Man On The Moon What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? Tongue The Wake-Up Bomb D Electrolite Bittersweet Me Daysleeper At My Most Beautiful Imitation Of Life Beachball Animal Leaving New York ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Credible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@Justin\_Credible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Credible)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2008, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-r-e-m-madness-opening-round-closed/441308/3 "2008-03-14T01:45:43Z")
A B Fall On Me Just A Touch Finest Worksong Exhuming McCarthy The One I Love Stand Orange Crush C Losing My Religion Country Feedback Drive Everybody Hurts The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite Crush With Eyeliner Strange Currencies D Electrolite Bittersweet Me Daysleeper Animal You may notice I left some out. I didn’t feel right voting if I was unfamiliar with one or both songs, so I just voted for one when I knew both. Also, I will be pulling for The One I Love, as it’s my favorite REM song. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2008, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-r-e-m-madness-opening-round-closed/441308/4 "2008-03-14T02:19:29Z")
Wow. You’ve successfully reminded me of how little of R.E.M.'s catalogue I own. I’ll put in a few votes for exceptional songs in contested categories, though: C Try Not To Breathe Nightswimming The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite Crush With Eyeliner ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2008, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-r-e-m-madness-opening-round-closed/441308/5 "2008-03-14T13:49:38Z")
A Radio Free Europe B Superman It’s The End Of The World As We know It (And I Feel Fine) The One I Love Pop Song 89 Orange Crush C Losing My Religion Country Feedback Drive Nightswimming The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? D Electrolite Bittersweet Me Daysleeper Only voted for the matchups I knew. And apparently I know less REM than I even knew. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2008, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-r-e-m-madness-opening-round-closed/441308/6 "2008-03-14T15:32:11Z")
A Radio Free Europe Wolves, Lower Gardening At Night Pilgrimage Harborcoat So. Central Rain Feeling Gravitys Pull Driver 8 B Begin The Begin I Believe Superman It’s The End Of The World As We know It (And I Feel Fine) Exhuming McCarthy The One I Love Stand Get Up C Half A World Away Country Feedback Try Not To Breathe Nightswimming The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? Strange Currencies How The West Was Won And Where It Got Us D Electrolite Bittersweet Me Daysleeper Suspicion The Great Beyond All The Way To Reno (You’re Gonna Be A Star) Bad Day Leaving New York ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2008, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-r-e-m-madness-opening-round-closed/441308/7 "2008-03-14T16:31:48Z")
Damn, there are some tough choices in there, particularly in bracket B. _Begin The Begin_ VS _These Days_? _Exhuming McCarthy_ VS _Disturbance At The Heron House_? Those are some quality songs. Anyway, here’s my list. I left out a couple I didn’t feel qualified to answer: A Radio Free Europe Gardening At Night Pretty Persuasion So. Central Rain Feeling Gravitys Pull Driver 8 B These Days Fall On Me Just A Touch Finest Worksong Exhuming McCarthy The One I Love Pop Song 89 Orange Crush C Half A World Away Country Feedback Drive Nightswimming The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? Strange Currencies How The West Was Won And Where It Got Us D New Test Leper So Fast, So Numb Lotus At My Most Beautiful The Great beyond Beachball Leaving New York ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2008, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-r-e-m-madness-opening-round-closed/441308/8 "2008-03-14T16:46:40Z")
Radio Free Europe Wolves, Lower Gardening Pilgrimage Harborcoat (Don’t Go Back To) Rockville Can’t Get There From Here Driver 8 B These Days Fall On Me Superman It’s The End Of The World As We know It (And I Feel Fine) Disturbance At The Heron House The One I Love Stand Orange Crush C Losing My Religion Country Feedback Try Not To Breathe Nightswimming The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? Strange Currencies How The West Was Won And Where It Got Us D Electrolite So Fast, So Numb Daysleeper Suspicion Imitation Of Life All The Way To Reno (You’re Gonna Be A Star) Bad Day Leaving New York ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2008, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-r-e-m-madness-opening-round-closed/441308/9 "2008-03-14T17:10:34Z")
## A Radio Free Europe We Walk Pilgrimage Pretty Persuasion (Don’t Go Back To) Rockville Can’t Get There From Here Driver 8 B These Days Fall On Me Superman It’s The End Of The World As We know It (And I Feel Fine) Disturbance At The Heron House The One I Love Stand Orange Crush ## C Losing My Religion Country Feedback Try Not To Breathe Everybody Hurts Man On The Moon What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? How The West Was Won And Where It Got Us ## D Electrolite Bittersweet Me ## – Imitation Of Life ## Bad Day Hardest match-up: So. Central Rain VS (Don’t Go Back To) Rockville, followed closely by Everybody Hurts VS Nightswimming and The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite VS Man On The Moon. ---
**Author:** ![Marjorie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5ac83/32.png) [@Marjorie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marjorie)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2008, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-r-e-m-madness-opening-round-closed/441308/10 "2008-03-14T19:53:47Z")
A Sitting Still Wolves, Lower Gardening At Night Moral Kiosk Harborcoat So. Central Rain Can’t Get There From Here Driver 8 B These Days Fall On Me Superman It’s The End Of The World As We know It (And I Feel Fine) Exhuming McCarthy The One I Love Stand Orange Crush C Half A World Away Country Feedback Try Not To Breathe Nightswimming Man On The Moon Crush With Eyeliner Tongue How The West Was Won And Where It Got Us D Electrolite Bittersweet Me Lotus Suspicion The Great beyond All The Way To Reno (You’re Gonna Be A Star) Bad Day Wanderlust ---
**Author:** ![drewbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drewbert/32/15890_2.png) [@drewbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewbert)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2008, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-r-e-m-madness-opening-round-closed/441308/11 "2008-03-14T22:50:41Z")
A Sitting Still Wolves, Lower Gardening At Night Moral Kiosk Pretty Persuasion (Don’t Go Back To) Rockville Feeling Gravitys Pull Life And How To Live It B These Days I Believe Just A Touch Finest Worksong Exhuming McCarthy King Of Birds Stand Orange Crush C Half A World Away Country Feedback Try Not To Breathe Nightswimming Man On The Moon Crush With Eyeliner Strange Currencies The Wake-Up Bomb D New Test Leper Bittersweet Me Lotus At My Most Beautiful The Great beyond All The Way To Reno (You’re Gonna Be A Star) Animal Leaving New York ---
**Author:** ![drewbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drewbert/32/15890_2.png) [@drewbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewbert)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2008, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-r-e-m-madness-opening-round-closed/441308/12 "2008-03-14T22:53:15Z")
P.S. You forgot Voice of Harold vs. King of the Road 😛 ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2008, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-r-e-m-madness-opening-round-closed/441308/13 "2008-03-14T23:28:13Z")
[QUOTE=drewbert] P.S. You forgot Voice of Harold vs. King of the Road 😛 [/QUOTE] I’d thought about doing a _Dead Letter Office_ face-off, but I figured there was no way any song from that album was going to make it anyway. I would’ve picked “Bandwagon” vs. “Windout”, though, FTR. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2008, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-r-e-m-madness-opening-round-closed/441308/14 "2008-03-14T23:34:35Z")
I dunno. I kind of like the Velvet Underground covers. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2008, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-r-e-m-madness-opening-round-closed/441308/15 "2008-03-15T00:26:56Z")
[QUOTE=Lisa-go-Blind] Hardest match-up: So. Central Rain VS (Don’t Go Back To) Rockville, followed closely by Everybody Hurts VS Nightswimming and The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite VS Man On The Moon. [/QUOTE] Interestingly, the easiest choice for me was _Everybody Hurts_ vs. _Nightswimming_, with the latter winning in a landslide 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Macphisto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b487fb/32.png) [@Ms\_Macphisto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Macphisto)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2008, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-r-e-m-madness-opening-round-closed/441308/16 "2008-03-15T01:09:16Z")
A Radio Free Europe Wolves, Lower Gardening At Night Moral Kiosk Pretty Persuasion So. Central Rain Feeling Gravitys Pull Driver 8 B Begin The Begin Fall On Me Superman It’s The End Of The World As We know It (And I Feel Fine) Exhuming McCarthy The One I Love Pop Song 89 Orange Crush C Losing My Religion Country Feedback Drive Nightswimming Man On The Moon What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? Strange Currencies The Wake-Up Bomb D Electrolite So Fast, So Numb At My Most Beautiful Imitation Of Life Bad Day ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2008, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-r-e-m-madness-opening-round-closed/441308/17 "2008-03-15T03:42:03Z")
A Sitting Still Wolves, Lower Gardening At Night Pilgrimage Pretty Persuasion (Don’t Go Back To) Rockville Can’t Get There From Here Life And How To Live It B These Days I Believe Superman It’s The End Of The World As We know It (And I Feel Fine) Disturbance At The Heron House The One I Love Stand Orange Crush C Half A World Away Country Feedback Drive Everybody Hurts Man On The Moon What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? r Strange Currencies How The West Was Won And Where It Got Us D Electrolite Bittersweet Me Daysleeper Suspicion Imitation Of Life Beachball Bad Day Leaving New York ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2008, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-r-e-m-madness-opening-round-closed/441308/18 "2008-03-15T04:27:28Z")
A Radio Free Europe Wolves, Lower We Walk Pilgrimage Pretty Persuasion (Don’t Go Back To) Rockville Feeling Gravitys Pull Life And How To Live It B Begin The Begin Fall On Me Superman Finest Worksong Disturbance At The Heron House King Of Birds Stand Get Up C Half A World Away Country Feedback Drive Nightswimming The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? Strange Currencies How The West Was Won And Where It Got Us I didn’t vote in Bracket D at all because I’m not familiar enough with it. Bracket A was a killer, you have _no idea_ how long it took me to decide on some of the match-ups (but also fun because I listened to some of the songs to figure out which ones to vote for). If you combine Brackets A and B, it’s possible I spent more time deliberating those choices then I have spent on the presidential election so far. ---
**Author:** ![Ichbin\_Dubist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2008, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-r-e-m-madness-opening-round-closed/441308/19 "2008-03-15T16:30:05Z")
A Sitting Still Wolves, Lower Gardening At Night Moral Kiosk Harborcoat (Don’t Go Back To) Rockville Feeling Gravitys Pull Driver 8 B Begin The Begin Fall On Me Superman Finest Worksong Exhuming McCarthy King Of Birds Pop Song 89 Get Up C Half A World Away Me In Honey Try Not To Breathe Nightswimming Man On The Moon What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? Strange Currencies How The West Was Won And Where It Got Us D Daysleeper At My Most Beautiful Sorry for the omissions, I hope some of the other ballots balance it out. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_and\_a\_Half\_Inches\_of\_Fun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea666f/32.png) [@Two\_and\_a\_Half\_Inches\_of\_Fun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_and_a_Half_Inches_of_Fun)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2008, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-r-e-m-madness-opening-round-closed/441308/20 "2008-03-15T17:12:22Z")
A Radio Free Europe No vote No vote no vote no vote no vote no vote Driver 8 B Begin The Begin no vote Superman It’s The End Of The World As We know It (And I Feel Fine) no vote The One I Love s Pop Song 89 Orange Crush C Losing My Religion Country Feedback Drive Everybody Hurts Man On The Moon Crush With Eyeliner Tongue How The West Was Won And Where It Got Us D Electrolite No vote No vote No vote The Great beyond Beachball Animal Wanderlust [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-r-e-m-madness-opening-round-closed/441308.md?page=2)