LandPonies JoCo Play-off

edited February 2012 in Forum Games
ETA: Scroll down for the winner!

As promised, here's the daily duel, the ultimate play-off for all LandPonies. To participate, just indicate your personal "winner" in each pair below. (Read: make your choice bold or delete the "loser" in each pair or add a <3 to your favorite songs.) Feel free to discuss your choice, to lobby your personal favorites and to share cake.

This round will last for about 24 hours (only) - then it's on to Round 2.

Have fun!
Jutze


Favorite JoCoCover:

Pair 1:
Baby Got Back
Famous Blue Raincoat

Pair 2:
Don't Talk to Strangers
We Are the Champions

Favorite JoCoCurseWordSong:

Pair 1:
First of May
Kenesaw Mountain Landis

Pair 2:
Mandelbrot Set
None of the above - I hate songs with foul language in them

Favorite Dance Song:

Pair 1:
Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance
Drive

Pair 2:
Je Suis Rick Springfield
Mr. Fancy Pants

Favorite Mellow Song:

Pair 1:
Drinking With You
My Monkey

Pair 2:
Nobody Loves You Like Me
You Ruined Everything

Favorite JoCoFu:

Pair 1:
Always the moon
Big Dick Farts a Polka

Pair 2:
Monkey Shines
Space Doggity

Favorite Underappreciated Stuff:

Pair 1:
Better
The Big Boom

Pair 2:
Not About You
The Princess Who Saved Herself

Favorite Version of Still Alive:

Pair 1:
Artificial Heart (featuring Sara Quin)
Best. Concert. Ever.

Pair 2:
GLaDOS
J.C. Mix

Favorite Live Mainstay:

Pair 1:

Code Monkey
Re: Your Brains

Pair 2:

Skullcrusher Mountain
Shop Vac

Comments

  • Favorite JoCoCover:

    Pair 1:
    Baby Got Back (too iconic to lose)
    Famous Blue Raincoat (tough decision)
     
    Pair 2:
    Don't Talk to Strangers (was never too fond of this cover)
    We Are the Champions (more fond of Queen than Rick Springfield, I guess)

    Favorite JoCoCurseWordSong:

    Pair 1:
    First of May (too classic to lose early)
    Kenesaw Mountain Landis (good, but not as brilliant as FoM)

    Pair 2:
    Mandelbrot Set (a favorite)
    None of the above - I hate songs with foul language in them (fuck that shit)

    Favorite Dance Song:

    Pair 1:
    Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance (the obvious dance song)
    Drive (never a favorite)

    Pair 2:
    Je Suis Rick Springfield (wasted on me; I took German)
    Mr. Fancy Pants (throw-away song turned cult classic)

    Favorite Mellow Song:

    Pair 1:
    Drinking With You (always struck me as a really sweet song; YMMV)
    My Monkey (a classic, but one that never quite struck home for me, fond though I am of the counterpoint.  I guess this is a lyrics vs. music case that comes down in favor of lyrics)

    Pair 2:
    Nobody Loves You Like Me (hauntingly beautiful, if somewhat disturbing)
    You Ruined Everything (sentimental favorite, but doesn't pack the same punch)

    Favorite JoCoFu:

    Pair 1:
    Always the moon (a thing of beauty)
    Big Dick Farts a Polka (beauty trumps fart jokes in my book)

    Pair 2:
    Monkey Shines (clever, but no more meaningful than the songs it parodies)
    Space Doggity (one of those JoCo songs that touches me profoundly)

    Favorite Underappreciated Stuff:

    Pair 1:
    Better (never did much for me; I guess I underappreciate it)
    The Big Boom (a fun song)

    Pair 2:
    Not About You (one of his weaker breakup songs IMHO)
    The Princess Who Saved Herself (fun, positive, clever)

    Favorite Version of Still Alive:

    Pair 1:
    Artificial Heart (featuring Sara Quin) (refreshingly exotic for such a standard)
    Best. Concert. Ever. (too conventional, I guess; familiarity breeds contempt)

    Pair 2:
    GLaDOS (the classic original, blessed by its associations with the game itself)
    J.C. Mix (familiarity again, I suppose)

    Favorite Live Mainstay:

    Pair 1:

    Code Monkey (the first song of his that I heard, which tips it for me)
    Re: Your Brains (really tough decision)

    Pair 2:

    Skullcrusher Mountain (too classic to cut, given the competition)
    Shop Vac (again, a tough decision, even though this one speaks to me, too)

  • Can I just ask you keep time zones in mind? I am in the UK which may give me less than 24 hours to post and given I spend a lot of the time difference between us and the US in bed, eating breakfast and at work, I may not be able to participate in this at all otherwise!

    Other wise here goes. 

    Favorite JoCoCover:


    Pair 1:
    Baby Got Back
    Subversion of a form is always far more enjoyable in a cover than referential homage.

    Pair 2:
    Don't Talk to Strangers
    Only because I am a huge Queen fan and think JoCo over reached in tackling the pomp and might of Messrs Mercury and May. One man with a week just cannot compare to the curly haired one I'm afraid. And May has a degree in Physics now so that kind of trumps JoCo in the nerd stakes too.

    Favorite JoCoCurseWordSong:

    Pair 1:
    First of May
    Oh seriously do I even need to start to justify this one? Last time I looked we didn't have KML day...

    Pair 2:
    Mandelbrot Set
    Bad ass f*cking fractal is to my mind the finest obscenity hurled in a musical manner. Add to the fact that the song is about a damn fine mathematical mind and this one is Nerd Gold dust.
  • Favorite Dance Song:

    Pair 1:
    Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance
    DSJD simply put is the sound of a genius smashing expectations. Were I to put down my JoCo pants and go throw some shapes in the Church Of Dance, DSJD would be belting out of my whistle.

    Pair 2:
    Mr. Fancy Pants
    Mr F. Pants just has that level of daftness and also a great musical line. 

    Favorite Mellow Song:

    Pair 1:
    Drinking With You
    A JoCo one that rings true, every now and again the robot space monkey monsters disappear, banished back to Monster Island by a piece of craftmanship that makes you drop your bacon butty.
    This is one of those.

    Pair 2:
    You Ruined Everything
    I sat and explained what he means in this one to my 10 year old daughter the other day. Again he captures the zeitgeist of any new parent.

    Favorite JoCoFu:

    Pair 1:
    Big Dick Farts a Polka
    Fart! Ha ha ha haaa

    Pair 2:
    Space Doggity
    Clever, enough like the original to be a parody, well written.
  • edited February 2012
    Favorite Underappreciated Stuff:

    Pair 1:
    Better
    One of JoCo's most amazing lyrics, 'A little Darth vader, A little Optimus Prime' genius.

    Pair 2:
    The Princess Who Saved Herself
    Not only does this one rock, the lyrics are really good. And it is funny. It is an all round family song. It is a pixar film in chromatic form.

    Favorite Version of Still Alive:

    Pair 1:
    Artificial Heart (featuring Sara Quin)
    This is the only one I have heard so have to vote for it. I am planning on buying Best.Concert.Ever after payday but too late for this poll.

    Pair 2:
    GLaDOS
    Again the only one I know.

    Favorite Live Mainstay:

    Pair 1:

    Re: Your Brains
    Ooh nasty pairing two greats together, are you my nemesisisesis? I go with Your Brains purely for the Hoi Polloi of singing undead in every chorus.

    Pair 2:

    Shop Vac
    Another pairing of Titans but much clearer for me this one. Shop Vac is the sing along Tubthumper for me.


    Hope I did this right, seemed the most logical way and apologies for the formatting being all over the place, I have no idea what is going on there! Also sorry about multiple posts but I can't be concise if my life depends on it. Perambulation could be my middle name if it wasn't David
  • Love you for doing this Jutze. You present some very difficult choices!

    Favorite JoCoCover:

    Pair 1:
    Famous Blue Raincoat 
    I think it's the less gimicky of the two.
    Pair 2:
    Don't Talk to Strangers
    again, just a straight forward cover.

    Favorite JoCoCurseWordSong:
    Pair 1: 
    First of May
    Tough call because I really like KML
    Pair 2:
    Mandelbrot Set


  • Favorite Dance Song:
    Pair 1:
    Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance
    I like Drive too!
    Pair 2:
    Mr. Fancy Pants
    again just a good song. short but good. (That's what she said)

    Favorite Mellow Song:
    Pair 1:
    Drinking With You
    I really like My Monkey but DWY is a long time favorite.
    Pair 2:
    You Ruined Everything
    It feels like I'm voting for all the pre Artificial Heart stuff. I do like NLYLM but YRE wins out

    Favorite JoCoFu:
    Pair 1:
    Always the moon
    I think it's spot in concerts makes this an obvious choice.
    Pair 2:
    Space Doggity
    Who doesn't like Space Doggity!


  • Favorite Underappreciated Stuff:
    Pair 1:
    The Big Boom
    I wish this song got more play. I think it's great.
    Pair 2:
    Not About You
    a classic Joco self loathing love song. Love it!

    Favorite Version of Still Alive:
    Pair 1:
    Artificial Heart (featuring Sara Quin)
    Look I voted for an Artificial Heart song!
    Pair 2:
    J.C. Mix
    the glados version annoys me a little.

    Favorite Live Mainstay:
    Pair 1:
    Code Monkey
    This one was hard because both these song rank rather low for me.

    Pair 2:
    Shop Vac
    I think SV gets a slight edge because of the hand claps.

    When did we get character limits! @mtgordon how did you answer in one post?
  • When did we get character limits! @mtgordon how did you answer in one post?
    I've been using Twitter.
  • Thank you all so much for participating! Here's the results of Round 1. I've added my vote with a 0.9 count in order to solve ties. Sorry for the tough pairs - most of them are the result of alphabetical ordering and JoCo's Awesomeness.

    Favorite JoCoCover:
    Pair 1:
    Baby Got Back 2.9
    Famous Blue Raincoat 1
    Pair 2:
    Don't Talk to Strangers 2.9
    We Are the Champions 1

    Favorite JoCoCurseWordSong:
    Pair 1:
    First of May 3
    Kenesaw Mountain Landis 0.9
    Pair 2:
    Mandelbrot Set 3.9
    None of the above - I hate songs with foul language in them

    Favorite Dance Song:
    Pair 1:
    Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance 3.9
    Drive
    Pair 2:
    Je Suis Rick Springfield 0.9
    Mr. Fancy Pants 3

    Favorite Mellow Song:
    Pair 1:
    Drinking With You 3.9
    My Monkey
    Pair 2:
    Nobody Loves You Like Me 1
    You Ruined Everything 2.9 (if only for the great live version)

    Favorite JoCoFu:
    Pair 1:
    Always the moon 2
    Big Dick Farts a Polka 1.9
    Pair 2:
    Monkey Shines 0.9
    Space Doggity 3

    Favorite Underappreciated Stuff:
    Pair 1:
    Better 1
    The Big Boom 2.9 (tough, tough, tough - Better's lyrics are ace!)
    Pair 2:
    Not About You 1
    The Princess Who Saved Herself 2.9 (even tougher as I love 'em both - why the hell did I make this pair to begin with?)

    Favorite Version of Still Alive:
    Pair 1:
    Artificial Heart (featuring Sara Quin) 3
    Best. Concert. Ever. 0.9
    Pair 2:
    GLaDOS 2.9
    J.C. Mix 1

    Favorite Live Mainstay:
    Pair 1:
    Code Monkey 2
    Re: Your Brains 1.9
    Pair 2:
    Skullcrusher Mountain 1
    Shop Vac 2.9

    PS: I update each round after breakfast, so this should give everyone 24 hours.
  • edited February 2012
    Round 2

    Here's the second round - given the small number of LandPonies, I decided to not start a separate thread for each round. Again, mark your favorite of each pair and feel free to comment on your choice. I love the feedback so far.

    Favorite JoCoCover:

    Baby Got Back
    Don't Talk to Strangers

    Favorite JoCoCurseWordSong:

    First of May
    Mandelbrot Set

    Favorite Dance Song:

    Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance
    Mr. Fancy Pants

    Favorite Mellow Song:

    Drinking With You
    You Ruined Everything

    Favorite JoCoFu:

    Always the Moon
    Space Doggity

    Favorite Underappreciated Stuff:

    The Big Boom
    The Princess Who Saved Herself

    Favorite Version of Still Alive:

    Artificial Heart (featuring Sara Quin)
    GLaDOS

    Favorite Live Mainstay:

    Code Monkey
    Shop Vac
  • Favorite JoCoCover:
    Baby Got Back (brilliant self-satire)
    Don't Talk to Strangers (still not crazy about it)

    Favorite JoCoCurseWordSong:

    First of May (too classic to drop)
    Mandelbrot Set (tough choice, alas)

    Favorite Dance Song:

    Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance (a much better dance song, really)
    Mr. Fancy Pants (its brevity catches up with it)

    Favorite Mellow Song:

    Drinking With You (still a great song, but somewhat tainted by creepiness)
    You Ruined Everything (feeling sentimental about my kids today, I guess)

    Favorite JoCoFu:

    Always the Moon (good song, but...)
    Space Doggity (some days it feels like this song was written just for me)

    Favorite Underappreciated Stuff:

    The Big Boom (good song, but...)
    The Princess Who Saved Herself (thinking of my daughter, I guess)

    Favorite Version of Still Alive:

    Artificial Heart (featuring Sara Quin) (novelty hasn't worn out yet)
    GLaDOS (getting a bit stale, maybe)

    Favorite Live Mainstay:

    Code Monkey (first JoCo I heard, sentimental favorite)
    Shop Vac (hard choice, as it also speaks to me)
  • Favorite JoCoCover:
    Baby Got Back (the folk-act format is such a huge contrast to the original)

    Favorite JoCoCurseWordSong:

    First of May (like the song, but the joke goes on longer than necessary)
    Mandelbrot Set

    Favorite Dance Song:

    Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance (the world needs more songs involving Terry Gross)

    Favorite Mellow Song:

    You Ruined Everything (I have kids ... and I'm a sap)

    Favorite JoCoFu:

    Always the Moon (I'm married ... and I'm a sap)

    Favorite Underappreciated Stuff:

    The Princess Who Saved Herself (grrrrl pwr!)

    Favorite Version of Still Alive:

    GLaDOS (tough call ... still like the original a tad better)

    Favorite Live Mainstay:

    Code Monkey (I'm a pro coder ... and I'm a sap)
  • Favorite JoCoCover:
    Don't Talk to Strangers 
    I think I'm going to go with the straight cover.

    Favorite JoCoCurseWordSong:

    Mandelbrot Set 
    I like the FoM but Mandelbrot is so much catchier.

    Favorite Dance Song:

    Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance
    No contest here.

    Favorite Mellow Song:

    Drinking With You
    Tough choice!

    Favorite JoCoFu:

    Space Doggity 
    Another really tough choice! Flip a coin.

    Favorite Underappreciated Stuff:

    The Big Boom
    Not sure why, but I'm not a big fan of The Princess Who Saved Herself

    Favorite Version of Still Alive:

    Artificial Heart (featuring Sara Quin)
    No contest for me

    Favorite Live Mainstay:

    Shop Vac 
    the handclaps win again.
  • edited February 2012
    Favorite JoCoCover:
    Baby Got Back
    Subversion, its the future i tell you and soon!

    Favorite JoCoCurseWordSong:
    Mandelbrot Set
    Suspect on the loosing side with this one but the song is just kick ass. Nothing against First of May but it can be a little too much and is a bit 'look at me saying F*ck in a song'. Mandlebrot set just knows it is cool.

    Favorite Dance Song:
    Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance
    Has to be this one for me, the beat heads straight to my rhythm centre.

    Favorite Mellow Song:
    You Ruined Everything
    See my previous comment

    Favorite JoCoFu:
    Space Doggity
    Love this love the original, love it love it love it.

    Favorite Underappreciated Stuff:
    The Princess Who Saved Herself
    Math rock and cuddle core is where it is at!

    Favorite Version of Still Alive:
    Artificial Heart (featuring Sara Quin)
    Only know this one

    Favorite Live Mainstay:
    Code Monkey
    I love the live version of CM. The single guitar is just excellent.
    Also sorted out why the character limit is so big, when I copy and paste I get loads of formatting html appear as characters as well! Sorted this time by deleting that info.
  • Favorite JoCoCover:
    Baby Got Back
    Don't Talk to Strangers (Never been a big fan of Baby Got Back. I don't spin this one up much, but it's pretty haunting. Famous Blue Raincoat still wins for me, though.)

    Favorite JoCoCurseWordSong:
    First of May
    Mandelbrot Set (Tremendously catchy, and somehow also has a message besides, "hey, math.")

    Favorite Dance Song:
    Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance (So far, all I've done is discard the one I consider overrated and keep the one I consider underrated.)
    Mr. Fancy Pants

    Favorite Mellow Song:
    Drinking With You (This one's really tough. I guess I like this one's backstory better, but both are great.)
    You Ruined Everything

    Favorite JoCoFu:
    Always the Moon (Oh, man, ask me again tomorrow and you'll get a different answer... I love both of these. Also, have I mentioned before that the start of each verse especially reminds me of the opening of Social History Theme, both in lyrics and music?)
    Space Doggity

    Favorite Underappreciated Stuff:
    The Big Boom
    The Princess Who Saved Herself (I don't have kids, but I love the theme. But I feel like I should listen to The Big Boom more than I do.)

    Favorite Version of Still Alive:
    Artificial Heart (featuring Sara Quin)
    GLaDOS (I don't have a real preference here, but I think I like the original slightly better.)

    Favorite Live Mainstay:
    Code Monkey
    Shop Vac (Handclaps all the way for me. And honestly, I'm a little tired of Code Monkey (gasp!).)
  • Favorite JoCoCover:
    Baby Got Back - Neither of these are my favorites, really....  Can't believe Famous Blue Raincoat lost!
    Don't Talk to Strangers

    Favorite JoCoCurseWordSong:

    First of May
    Mandelbrot Set - Stands the test of time better, for me. 

    Favorite Dance Song:

    Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance - No one else can fill his shoes!
    Mr. Fancy Pants

    Favorite Mellow Song:

    Drinking With You - Both are great, but always thought this was underrated.  Love the backstory Bry linked to, also.
    You Ruined Everything

    Favorite JoCoFu:

    Always the Moon
    Space Doggity - Both classics, but really, is there anybody who doesn't love Space Doggity?

    Favorite Underappreciated Stuff:

    The Big Boom
    The Princess Who Saved Herself - Easy pick here.  Big Boom has never grabbed me.  Cuddle core ftw!

    Favorite Version of Still Alive:

    Artificial Heart (featuring Sara Quin) - Most pleasant surprise on the new album, for my money.
    GLaDOS

    Favorite Live Mainstay:

    Code Monkey
    Shop Vac - Seriously, the only proper answer to this question is either Skullcrusher or Brains.  What were you people thinking in the first round?  :)
  • edited February 2012
    Thanks again for your votes; mine are indicated by the tie-breaking 0.9. We now have successfully identified the ultimate JoCo Dance Song. Here are the results of Round 2:

    Favorite JoCoCover:
    Baby Got Back 4.9
    Don't Talk to Strangers 2

    Favorite JoCoCurseWordSong:
    First of May 1
    Mandelbrot Set 5.9

    Favorite Dance Song:
    Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance 6.9
    Mr. Fancy Pants

    Favorite Mellow Song:
    Drinking With You 3.9 (tough choice)
    You Ruined Everything 3

    Favorite JoCoFu:
    Always the Moon 2
    Space Doggity 4.9

    Favorite Underappreciated Stuff:
    The Big Boom 1
    The Princess Who Saved Herself 5.9 (cuddle core > apocalypse)

    Favorite Version of Still Alive:
    Artificial Heart (featuring Sara Quin) 4
    GLaDOS 2.9

    Favorite Live Mainstay:
    Code Monkey 3
    Shop Vac 3.9 (both have great fan videos, both are lyrically great, both rock - but live Shp Vacs rocks more imho)
  • Round 3

    Here's the third round (quarter finals?). Again, mark your favorite of each pair and feel free to comment on your choice.

    Cover vs. Cursing:
    Baby Got Back
    Mandelbrot Set

    Dancing vs. Drinking:
    Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance
    Drinking With You

    Science Fiction vs. Fantasy:
    Space Doggity
    The Princess Who Saved Herself

    Still A-Live...
    Still Alive (featuring Sara Quin)
    Shop Vac
  • Cover vs. Cursing:
    Baby Got Back
    Mandelbrot Set (originality triumphs)

    Dancing vs. Drinking:
    Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance (see earlier comment Re: Your Terry Gross)
    Drinking With You

    Science Fiction vs. Fantasy:
    Space Doggity
    The Princess Who Saved Herself ( + > - )

    Still A-Live...
    Still Alive (featuring Sara Quin)
    Shop Vac
  • Cover vs. Cursing:
    Baby Got Back (time to ditch the cover)
    Mandelbrot Set (extra credit for being an original)

    Dancing vs. Drinking:
    Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance (too much fun to ditch)
    Drinking With You (again, the slight creepiness factor is weighing it down)

    Science Fiction vs. Fantasy:
    Space Doggity (I'll probably vote for this over any other song)
    The Princess Who Saved Herself (Still good, but it's up against Space Doggity)

    Still A-Live...
    Still Alive (featuring Sara Quin) (Fun, but doesn't really speak to me.)
    Shop Vac (Much more meaningful)
  • Cover vs. Cursing:
    Mandelbrot Set
    A real toughy that one but even the genre subversion masterpiece cannot trump a dayglo pteradactyl

    Dancing vs. Drinking:
    Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance
    Not contest, the upbeat rockathon is the clear winner in my mind.

    Science Fiction vs. Fantasy:
    The Princess Who Saved Herself
    She ties a dragon to a tree and tells it it was mean, no space fairing doggy can match that,

    Still A-Live...
    Shop Vac
    It's the reason I am a coulton fan, no greater accolade on my shelf than that one.
  • Cover vs. Cursing:
    Baby Got Back
    Mandelbrot Set - Easy pick here.

    Dancing vs. Drinking:
    Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance - He's a machine!
    Drinking With You

    Science Fiction vs. Fantasy:
    Space Doggity - Tough one, two favorites.  But I've always been a sci-fi guy.
    The Princess Who Saved Herself

    Still A-Live...
    Still Alive (featuring Sara Quin)
    Shop Vac - Well done by Sara, but JoCo beats no-JoCo.
  • Looks like Soterios Johnson can't be stopped! Thanks again for your votes; mine are indicated by the tie-breaking 0.9. So here are the results of Round 3:

    Cover vs. Cursing:
    Baby Got Back 0
    Mandelbrot Set 4.9 (what @St_Trousers said)

    Dancing vs. Drinking:
    Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance 4.9
    Drinking With You 0 (love this one, but maybe it has too many verses - or DSJD's groove is just too infectious)

    Science Fiction vs. Fantasy:
    Space Doggity 2
    The Princess Who Saved Herself 2.9 (sorry dog lovers!)

    Still A-Live...
    Still Alive (featuring Sara Quin) 1
    Shop Vac 3.9 (would have been a tougher choice for me if it had been against the GLaDOS version)
  • Semi-Final

    Again, what could be more fun than marking your favorite of each pair? Certainly not being on a Southern Caribbean cruise where JoCo will (most likely) not perform all of the songs left below!

    Benoit Mandelbrot vs. Soterios Johnson
    Mandelbrot Set
    Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance

    New vs. Old
    The Princess Who Saved Herself
    Shop Vac
  • Benoit Mandelbrot vs. Soterios Johnson
    Mandelbrot Set
    Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance (Terry Gross ftw)

    New vs. Old
    The Princess Who Saved Herself
    Shop Vac (far more singable)
  • edited February 2012
    Ack! I missed the quarter final vote! ah well. for the record I would have voted Drinking w/ You so no big change BUT I would have chosen Space Doggity. Too late now. (Hey! Who spilled the milk and didn't clean it up!)

    Benoit Mandelbrot vs. Soterios Johnson
    Mandelbrot Set
    Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance
    What a horrible horrible decision! Now I know how people felt when I ran the last tourney!

    New vs. Old
    The Princess Who Saved Herself
    Shop Vac
    Gotta be! but if it goes this way I'm dreading the final!
  • mtbmtb
    edited February 2012
    Man, I don't check the boards for a few days and look what I miss (probably just as well; I likely would have tried to push "
    None of the above - I hate songs with foul language in them" to finals for the shear novelty of doing so). Well, might as well join in for what I can...

    Benoit Mandelbrot vs. Soterios Johnson
    Mandelbrot Set
    Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance
    Man, what a tough one that is. Mandelbrot Set has so much going for it: mathematical sets, pterodactyls, fractals (badass fucking fractals at that!). But there's no denying the lyrical and musical prowess of Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance.

    New vs. Old
    The Princess Who Saved Herself
    Shop Vac
    The Princess Who Saved Herself is a fantastic tune, but Shop Vac... well, it just hits so very close to home. So close it makes me want to drive my car through the window of my local Starbucks... you know, the good one, not the other one.
  • Benoit Mandelbrot vs. Soterios Johnson
    Mandelbrot Set
    Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance
    Oh dear Bob this is a pairing I would rather not have seen, two of my faves...
    Mandelbrot set has the most amazing little riff going on, and is about maths, and has one of the finest sweary lyrics I have heard.
    DSJD? Well how many songs about the amazing double life of the local radio anchor are there ever going to be?
    Again with great lyrics, it works both acoustically and album version.

    I've got to listen to them both one more time before I can decide...

    ...Sorry SJ, the dance doesn't go on forever, I vote Benoit

    New vs. Old
    Shop Vac
    I've got to stick to my guns with the mid life crisis anthem here. Much as I like Princess it is a little sweet for my liking. Shop Vac just hits the right notes quite literally, it seems joyfully silly at first until you start to listen closely and think about it, when it takes on a much darker tone. Add in a positively anthemic chorus and the fanboy solo and it is a clear winner.
  • Benoit Mandelbrot vs. Soterios Johnson
    Mandelbrot Set (care to guess why this goes through my head when I'm in IKEA?)
    Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance (really tough call)

    New vs. Old
    The Princess Who Saved Herself (still needs a video?)
    Shop Vac (too much of a favorite)
  • Mandelbrot Set (care to guess why this goes through my head when I'm in IKEA?)

    Because the mandatory must-follow path through IKEA is the same as what you find at the bottom of this Mandelbrot Set deep dive?
  • Close! The mandatory must-follow path reminds me of Peano curves, which makes me think of the lyrical reference to Peano space.
  • Results of the semi-finals:

    Benoit Mandelbrot vs. Soterios Johnson
    Mandelbrot Set 3.9 (once again my vote is a bit live-biased - I still vividly remember how JoCo had the audience sing along during the bridge to much laughter)
    Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance 2

    New vs. Old
    The Princess Who Saved Herself 0.9 (I defy the mid-life crisis)
    Shop Vac 5
  • edited February 2012
    Final

    Mandelbrot Set
     vs.
    Shop Vac
  • Mandelbrot Set (still hoping that popular culture to catch up to the Math Rock genre)
  • mtbmtb
    edited February 2012
    Shop Vac (again, hits way too close to home for me not to give it top crown.  Seriously... either raise your voice, or wait til I'm done whatever it is I'm doing)
  • Shop Vac (again, too close to home)
  • Ooooh I tried desperately not to read everyone else's before I got here to post but they were too short not to skim.

    Must try not to be influenced.

    Mandelbrot is an amazing song despite the fact I always spell it wrong at first attempt. I see so many down trodden pure maths A level students trawling off to lesson whenever I here it. It has some mighty fine lyrics and a shout along chorus with as mentioned the best sweary lyric I know of.

    Unfortunately for me it just isn't enough. I can't deny Shop Vac as the thing that brought me to JoCo and is still one of my favourite songs to listen to by him. It's a nerd anthem.
  • So it's Mandelbrot Set vs. Shop Vac.
    Gonna have to go with 
    Shop Vac
  • Not my two favorites, but it's hard to deny they are both JoCo classics, and worthy finalists in this fun little playoff (thanks, Jutze!). 

    I haven't listened to the studio versions of either song much lately, so I just listened to both twice each, just to see which one I would enjoy more.  After doing so I will change the world in a tiny way, and vote for Mandelbrot Set.
  • And the winner is...
    Shop Vac

    with 4 votes.

    Still, Mandelbrot Set was a worthy adversary with 2.9 votes. The decision wasn't easy for me - I love Shop Vac, but I also find Mandelbrot set incredible awesome. In the end, the great live performance of Mandelbrot Set made me vote for it, although I know that Shop Vac is a fantastic live song, as well (just remember the harmony vocals from the audience when he played in the Dublin the last time around).

    Anyway, thank you all for voting and joining this party where we don't need to dress fancy (pants), buy over-priced alcoholic beverages and get sunburned on the deck of some boring cruise ship (that doesn't even have Skullcrusher Mountain on its itinary).
  • I have to say, this is my favorite arrangement of Mandelbrot Set. If this was the way it was recorded I'd have voted Mandelbrot Set all the way! 
  • Can't say I am disappointed in that result!

    Thanks for the diversion Jutze, kept me busy in the times between playing portal!
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