Desert Island Album Game II: Semi-final 1

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Which tracklist do you prefer?

  • LemonMacPhisto's tracklist

    Votes: 22 59.5%
  • Lancemc's tracklist

    Votes: 15 40.5%

  • Total voters
    37
  • Poll closed .
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Axver

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Please vote for the tracklisting you LIKE THE MOST.

If you are not familiar with the songs, leave your e-mail address and we will help you hear the songs so that you can vote for the tracklist as a whole!

Welcome to the first semi-final of the Interference Desert Island Game II! The premise of this game is that all of the Interferencers have been stranded on a desert island and we can only take up to 160 minutes of music with us (either as a continuous iPod playlist or two 80 minute CDs or any other format of our choosing). The object is to see which forum member can fit the most musical goodness into these 160 minutes.

The fourth quarter-final was one of the tournament's closest contests and also featured the highest voter turnout we've had since the heats. Axver just snuck by XHendrix24 by the slim margin of 20-19. Accordingly, Axver will meet U2VertigoFly in the second semi-final.

This semi-final features tracklists by LemonMacPhisto and Lancemc. The winner progresses to the grand final; the loser enters the third-place play-off. Below, you will find the contestants' tracklistings. If you are unfamiliar with the songs included, we can help you hear them! Just leave your e-mail address.

THE TRACKLISTINGS!

Forum name: LemonMacPhisto

1. U2 – “Where the Streets Have No Name” – The Joshua Tree (5:40)
2. Bruce Springsteen – “Born to Run” – Born to Run (4:22)
3. The Strokes – “Juicebox” – First Impressions of Earth (3:15)
4. The White Stripes – “Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine” – Elephant (3:17)
5. The Rolling Stones – “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” – Out of Our Heads (3:48)
6. The Police – “Roxanne” – Outlandos d’Amour (3:14)
7. Feist – “Mushaboom” – Let It Die (3:44)
8. Marvin Gaye – “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” - I Heard It Through the Grapevine (3:16)
9. Ray Charles – “You Don’t Know Me” – Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music (3:14)
10. Pearl Jam – “Better Man” – Vitalogy (4:28)
11. The Who – “Substitute” – Substitute [Single] (3:47)
12. Paul Simon – “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” – Paul Simon (2:43)
13. Electric Light Orchestra – “Don’t Bring Me Down” – Discovery (4:04)
14. The Flaming Lips – “It Overtakes Me / The Stars Are So Big, I Am So Small... Do I Stand a Chance?” – At War With the Mystics (6:15)
15. Bob Dylan – “Blowin’ in the Wind” – Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (2:44)
16. Lou Reed – “Walk on the Wild Side” – Transformer (4:07)
17. R.E.M. – “Find the River” – Automatic for the People (3:49)
18. DeVotchKa – “How It Ends” – How It Ends (6:59)
19. The Beatles – “Tomorrow Never Knows” – Revolver (2:58)
20. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – “Foxey Lady” – Are You Experienced? (3:19)
21. David Bowie – “Queen Bitch” – Hunky Dory (3:19)
22. The Clash – “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” – Combat Rock (3:06)
23. The New Radicals – “You Get What You Give” – Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too (5:02)
24. The Arcade Fire – “Rebellion (Lies) – Funeral (5:10)
25. Journey – “Faithfully” – Frontiers (4:26)
26. Pink Floyd – “Comfortably Numb” – The Wall (6:24)
27. The Smashing Pumpkins – “Mayonaise”
28. Sonic Youth – “Teen Age Riot” – Daydream Nation (6:55)
29. Prince – “U Got the Look (ft. Sheena Easton” – Sign o’ the Times (3:45)
30. Michael Jackson – “Beat It” – Thriller (4:17)
31. The Beastie Boys – “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party)” – License to Ill (3:27)
32. Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Otherside” – Californication (4:15)
33. Oasis – “Live Forever” – Definitely Maybe (4:38)
34. Queen – “Somebody to Love” – A Day at the Races (4:52)
35. The Shins – “New Slang” – Oh, Inverted World (3:50)
36. Radiohead – “Fake Plastic Trees” – The Bends (4:50)
37. Muse – “Knights of Cydonia” – Black Holes and Revelations (6:01)

2:39:34

Forum name: Lancemc

Lance writes: My playlist was originally envisioned as a showcase for the beauty of music. It included the entirety of Beethoven's 5th Symphony spread out throughout the playlist. It opened with Beck's Sexx Laws, and followed with the first two movements. It was funny. The third movement divided the playlist in half, and the final movement closed the playlist, with R.E.M.'s "Find the River" as a sort of Coda at the very end. I thought it was beautiful, and probably a more cohesive playlist than what I'm currently offering. It worked well as a solid unit. But the problem was that I could only fit in like 25 other songs. I needed more. That and the fact that a lot of people probably wouldn't appreciate 50 minutes of classical music, and that would probably hurt my chances in the competition. So I scratched the idea, and started anew. This time I just tried to fit in as many songs I could from my favorite artists. The songs I selected aren't necessarily my favorite song from each individual artist, but I feel they represent everything I love about each artist as a whole (also keeping in mind the time constraints, which limited my choices a bit). Then I did my best to make a listenable 160 minute playlist out of all this junk. Not a whole lot changed as far order goes once I had my artists in line. Specific songs continued to switch in and out during the whole process though. And a few quick deadline decisions were made just hours before I finalized the playlist (including swapping R.E.M's "I Believe" for "Electrolite", Bob Dylan's "Simple Twist of Fate" for "Shelter From the Storm", Pink Floyd's "Sheep" for "Time", and the very late addition of a Wilco track). Overall, I think this current incarnation is the best my playlist has ever sounded, though I could probably continue to tweak it forever. Why is my playlist the best? Well, I tried to keep it accessible, with some of the most beautiful song's I've ever known. I let a few odd balls in, like the Sugarcubes and Brian Eno tracks, but they're good for depth. And I couldn't possibly think of a better way to end such an epic musical journey than with The Boss's most beautiful song, "New York City Serenade". So sit back, relax, enjoy the rockers when they come, and enjoy my music.

1. Beck - "The Golden Age" - Sea Change (4:38)
2. The Who - "5:15" - Quadrophenia (4:59)
3. Led Zeppelin - "When The Levee Breaks" - IV (7:07)
4. Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Get on Top" - Californication (3:18)
5. Rilo Kiley - "I Never" - More Adventurous (4:33)
6. George Harrison - "Wah-Wah" - All Things Must Pass (5:39)
7. Bob Dylan - "Shelter From the Storm" - Blood on the Tracks (5:02)
8. Daniel Lanois - "The Maker" - Arcadie (4:13)
9. Elvis Costello - "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding" - Armed Forces (3:46)
10. The Decemberists - "July, July!" - Castaways and Cutouts (2:53)
11. The Pixies - "Debaser" - Doolittle (2:52)
12. David Bowie - "Teenage Wildlife" - Scary Monsters (6:56)
13. Radiohead - "No Surprises" - OK Computer (3:48)
14. Modest Mouse - "Gravity Ride Everything" - The Moon and Antarctica (4:19)
15. The Beatles - "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" - Rubber Soul (2:05)
16. The Flaming Lips - "Do You Realize?" - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (3:32)
17. Brian Eno - "Everything Merges With The Night" - Another Green World (3:59)
18. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - "Nature Boy" - Abattoir Blues (4:54)
19. Talking Heads - "Life During Wartime" - Fear of Music (3:41)
20. The Rolling Stones - "Sympathy for the Devil" - Beggar's Banquet (6:18)
21. Bjork - "Human Behavior" - Debut (4:12)
22. The Arcade Fire - "Headlights Look Like Diamonds" - Us Kids Know (EP) (4:25)
23. Bright Eyes - "At The Bottom Of Everything" - I'm Wide Awake It's Morning (4:34)
24. Interpol - "Say Hello to the Angels" - Turn On The Bright Lights (4:28)
25. Wilco - "Jesus, Etc." - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (3:51)
26. The White Stripes - "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself" - Elephant (2:48)
27. PJ Harvey - "Angelene" - Is This Desire? (3:34)
28. Coldplay - "Shiver" - Parachutes (4:59)
29. Sugarcubes - "Birthday" - The Great Crossover Potential (4:00)
30. R.E.M. - "Electrolite" - New Adventures in Hi-Fi (4:05)
31. Sufjan Stevens - "Casimir Pulaski Day" - Illinoise (5:54)
32. Pink Floyd - "Time" - Dark Side of the Moon (7:06)
33. U2 - "Bad" - Live From the Point Depot (7:31)
34. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band - "New York City Serenade" - The Wild, The Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle (9:55)

Total Runtime: 2:39:54

UP NEXT: U2VertigoFly vs Axver

Competition master list.

Competition rules.

Competition format diagram.

Have fun!
 
This one's a tough call. Neither tracklist really makes me leap with excitement, but I'm leaning towards LMP. For the moment, I'll hold back and consider my vote further.

However, what I would like to discuss now are possibilities for the next tournament. Here are some discussion points:

1. Tracklist length. Keep it at 160 minutes (2 hours 40 minutes, 2 CDs) or extend it to 240 minutes (4 hours, 3 CDs)? I personally favour an extension.

2. The reduction of contestants from 24 to 12, or at most, 16. Preferential entry to those who haven't competed? To past semi-finalists? First come, first served?

Or at my discretion? :wink:
Introducing: Axver's Desert Island Prog Album Game!

3. A new format to quicken the tournament. As long as I am running the show, everyone will get to compete in two rounds. We could stick with the current system featuring a repechage, or we could switch to a grouping format like the World Cup where contestants play all other members of their group once and the two overall highest scorers progress to the quarter finals. I personally would like to try some form of the latter.

4. Whether the "no repeated songs" rule will be waived for those who have competed in both tournaments. Should it be waived at all? If so, maybe only limit it to, say, five repeated songs, or only repeat songs from the first tournament? My preference is to keep this rule, simply because it will make it easier to thin down potential entrants to 12.
 
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I like the reduced contestant count, but I'm not sold on the length extension yet.

And I'm also not entirely sure who I want to vote for. :wink:
 
These are my two favorite setlists left in the tournament. Should have been on the final! Will have to think about it, though I'm leaning towards Lance...
 
I had to go with Lancemc on this one. Though the thought of a LMP dynasty would be interesting. :hmm:

Axver said:
2. The reduction of contestants from 24 to 12, or at most, 16. Preferential entry to those who haven't competed? To past semi-finalists? First come, first served?

Or at my discretion? :wink:
Introducing: Axver's Desert Island Prog Album Game!

3. A new format to quicken the tournament. As long as I am running the show, everyone will get to compete in two rounds. We could stick with the current system featuring a repechage, or we could switch to a grouping format like the World Cup where contestants play all other members of their group once and the two overall highest scorers progress to the quarter finals. I personally would like to try some form of the latter.

If we went with the World Cup style format, 16 contestants would make more sense than 12.

Don't tease me with the Prog Album Game, Axver. :wink:
:shifty: Though it might hold people over until the next competition starts. :hmm: I'm convinced. :wink:
 
Screwtape2 said:
If we went with the World Cup style format, 16 contestants would make more sense than 12.

Don't tease me with the Prog Album Game, Axver. :wink:
:shifty: Though it might hold people over until the next competition starts. :hmm: I'm convinced. :wink:

Right, that's why I added the "at most, 16" part as I figured that format would probably work better with four groups of four rather than four groups of three. My only concern is that threads for such a format could potentially end up very lengthy with all the tracklists to be displayed.

The problem with a prog game is that we could extend the time limit out to 7 hours and still get submissions with only 10-15 entries. :wink:

I'm actually working on a Metal Desert Island tracklist just for fun, as I like the variety I can get out of these tracklists. Now I might have to make a prog tracklist and send it to you for your consideration. :hmm:
 
Axver said:

Now I might have to make a prog tracklist and send it to you for your consideration. :hmm:

I might have to send you one too. It would be neat though to have Liamcool and GG make prog tracklists as well and have a mini-Desert Island Game. If nothing else it might turn a few Interferencers into prog fans. :yes:
 
Screwtape2 said:


I might have to send you one too. It would be neat though to have Liamcool and GG make prog tracklists as well and have a mini-Desert Island Game. If nothing else it might turn a few Interferencers into prog fans. :yes:

I completely agree. I'm concerned that following this game with the third installment straight away would be overkill, so a Prog Album mini-tournament could be quite a good idea.

Also, we could probably rope in some other people. My guess is that both phanan and AcrobatMan would be able to compile something too.
 
Axver said:


I completely agree. I'm concerned that following this game with the third installment straight away would be overkill, so a Prog Album mini-tournament could be quite a good idea.

Also, we could probably rope in some other people. My guess is that both phanan and AcrobatMan would be able to compile something too.

Let's do it then. We could also bump them up to 240 minutes to sort of test out the extension.
 
Screwtape2 said:


Let's do it then. We could also bump them up to 240 minutes to sort of test out the extension.

Yeah, I was thinking that too. Perhaps we could just limit it to four contestants and we could run it as a test of the new system to see what works. Whoever emerges the overall winner by points will be declared the winner.

Somehow I suspect it won't be me as I'll pull out all the stops. :wink:

Well, maybe not all of them. Although Porcupine Tree's longest song is Moonloop at 40:07 (or, if you take it as one track like it was meant to be, Voyage 34 at over 63 minutes), the band has better songs that I'd rather include.
 
Axver said:


Yeah, I was thinking that too. Perhaps we could just limit it to four contestants and we could run it as a test of the new system to see what works. Whoever emerges the overall winner by points will be declared the winner.

Somehow I suspect it won't be me as I'll pull out all the stops. :wink:

Well, maybe not all of them. Although Porcupine Tree's longest song is Moonloop at 40:07 (or, if you take it as one track like it was meant to be, Voyage 34 at over 63 minutes), the band has better songs that I'd rather include.

I think we should allow more than one song per artist because of the time and genre restriction. Some of us only have half an hour long songs. :wink: This should be fun. :hyper:
 
Screwtape2 said:


I think we should allow more than one song per artist because of the time and genre restriction. Some of us only have half an hour long songs. :wink: This should be fun. :hyper:

Alright, I wouldn't have trouble with that, though I personally will stick with the old rule. When you have 85GB of music, those sorts of rules make life a bit easier!

Due to how narrow the topic is, I'd be willing to allow repeats too (though I don't intend on repeating anything at this stage), and selections in this tournament would not mean that the songs cannot be used in future.

Personally, I'm working on a tracklist at the moment; I'm just going through my library alphabetically to select potential tracks. I've hit the end of the letter M and have already got 3 hours 15 minutes of music here!
 
Oh yeah, and I suppose those of us who'll do prog tracklists should keep in mind the 101 rules of prog metal! :wink:

Especially the following:

1. Insist that your definition of prog metal is sacred and that the only progressive bands are the one you deem to be so.
2. Accuse anyone who disagrees with you regarding rule 1 of lacking musical intelligence and not being a true prog fan.
18. A song under four minutes is NOT prog. If you are stuck with a song under four minutes, insert a phrygian solo trade-off between the guitarist and keyboardist as long as needed.
27. Riffs in 4/4 are not progressive. If you happen to come up with a cool riff in 4/4, alternate between 4/4 and progressive time signatures like 7/8 every other measure to ensure the musical complexity synonymous with prog metal.
56. The best songs are those that are over 15 minutes, have multiple named sections, and have solos by everyone in the band INCLUDING the drummer.
77. Remember, faster=more progressive. Slow songs cannot be progressive, best example would be Pink Floyd.
81. Write epics.
82. In case you didn't know, epics must be about adolescency, concerning a legend, or a deep dystopian tale where a cheesy fictional city/world/pizza shop serves as a metaphor for this world.
96. In case you wondered, Dream Theater is and will always be the benchmark for prog metal. The more something sounds like Images and Words, the more progressive it is.
97. Proclaim Rule 96 to people with a straight face in all seriousness. This is not optional.

:lmao: Holy shit, this stuff is amazing. :lmao:
 
Screwtape2 said:


:lol: Brau is going to pass out when he sees this.

:lmao:

The best part? I omitted some of the longest stuff because I knew I'd need the time (e.g. my Dream Theater song is 13 minutes long rather than 23 or 42).
 
Axver said:
This one's a tough call. Neither tracklist really makes me leap with excitement, but I'm leaning towards LMP. For the moment, I'll hold back and consider my vote further.

However, what I would like to discuss now are possibilities for the next tournament. Here are some discussion points:

1. Tracklist length. Keep it at 160 minutes (2 hours 40 minutes, 2 CDs) or extend it to 240 minutes (4 hours, 3 CDs)? I personally favour an extension.

2. The reduction of contestants from 24 to 12, or at most, 16. Preferential entry to those who haven't competed? To past semi-finalists? First come, first served?

Or at my discretion? :wink:
Introducing: Axver's Desert Island Prog Album Game!

3. A new format to quicken the tournament. As long as I am running the show, everyone will get to compete in two rounds. We could stick with the current system featuring a repechage, or we could switch to a grouping format like the World Cup where contestants play all other members of their group once and the two overall highest scorers progress to the quarter finals. I personally would like to try some form of the latter.

4. Whether the "no repeated songs" rule will be waived for those who have competed in both tournaments. Should it be waived at all? If so, maybe only limit it to, say, five repeated songs, or only repeat songs from the first tournament? My preference is to keep this rule, simply because it will make it easier to thin down potential entrants to 12.

I favor the reduction of contestants, but I'm not sold on extending the tracklist length. I think 160 minutes is a good snapshot.

I also find the World Cup format idea intriguing and think it would go quicker that way.

I would also keep the "no repeated songs" rule, as I think it creates more diversity in track listings.
 
:lmao: So true.

35. Don't worry about if your band name makes any sense or not. Since 90% of your fanbase is from Brazil and Japan, you can safely ignore conventional English grammar and instead focus on what´s really important: The lyrics (see rule 36).

40. Release a live-album called "Live in Tokyo".
 
Axver said:


I completely agree. I'm concerned that following this game with the third installment straight away would be overkill, so a Prog Album mini-tournament could be quite a good idea.

Also, we could probably rope in some other people. My guess is that both phanan and AcrobatMan would be able to compile something too.

Oh, I could do this.... :drool:

And if you did a prog tournament, than 240 minutes works!
 
phanan said:


I favor the reduction of contestants, but I'm not sold on extending the tracklist length. I think 160 minutes is a good snapshot.

I also find the World Cup format idea intriguing and think it would go quicker that way.

I would also keep the "no repeated songs" rule, as I think it creates more diversity in track listings.

I was talking to Liam off Interference earlier this evening and he actually suggested that we do the opposite of an extension: reduce the limit to just 80 minutes. That would make it a really bloody tough challenge, but his opinion was that it would compress the goodness and could foster some even better tracklists.

I agree on the "no repeats" stance.

And I'm glad you're in! The 240 minute limit for the prog mini-tournament is already proving to be hell for me. I'm at the letter S right now and have 47 songs with a total runtime of just over 5.5 hours. How the hell am I going to cut out 1.5 hours?!
 
Oh hell, now I'm really screwed. No prog tracklist is complete without Jesus's favourite song, Stranger In Your Soul by Transatlantic. Only problem is, it clocks in at 26:06.
 
Watch as it turns from fun to torture. I'm working on reducing mine down to the time limit now.

Let's see if we can give Brau a heart attack. :wink: Currently, I have 44 songs with a length of 5 hours 40 minutes.

Oh, and Screwtape: you are going to LOVE my opening trio. I've surprised even myself with how well this works.
 
I am perfectly happy with the current 160 minute length. It's very simple and is indeed a good snapshot. Also, why would you want to use a 12 contestant format when a much, much easier 16 format is also a possibility? Personally, I think your system now is way too complicated. Seriously, any imbecile could put together a functioning 16 contestant bracket. :der:
 
LemonMelon said:
Also, why would you want to use a 12 contestant format when a much, much easier 16 format is also a possibility? Personally, I think your system now is way too complicated. Seriously, any imbecile could put together a functioning 16 contestant bracket. :der:

Go :der: yourself. The original tournament had 16 contestants and proceeded 16 --> 8 --> 4 --> 2. Only two problems with that. The first was demand, which was addressed with the expansion of this edition of the tournament to 24 contestants, but as we've seen, that has made it too long-winded.

The second was that after putting lots of time and effort into tracklists, people were getting kicked out in difficult match-ups right at the start, so we introduced the repechage format. I think this tournament has demonstrated just how useful it is in avoiding the elimination of finalists. The new group system with either 12 (4 groups of 3) or 16 (4 groups of 4) contestants will hopefully address that even further. Tracklists have a better chance of being competitive and the strongest go through - not just those with lucky draws or lucky wins.
 
Axver said:


Go :der: yourself. The original tournament had 16 contestants and proceeded 16 --> 8 --> 4 --> 2. Only two problems with that. The first was demand, which was addressed with the expansion of this edition of the tournament to 24 contestants, but as we've seen, that has made it too long-winded.

The second was that after putting lots of time and effort into tracklists, people were getting kicked out in difficult match-ups right at the start, so we introduced the repechage format. I think this tournament has demonstrated just how useful it is in avoiding the elimination of finalists. The new group system with either 12 (4 groups of 3) or 16 (4 groups of 4) contestants will hopefully address that even further. Tracklists have a better chance of being competitive and the strongest go through - not just those with lucky draws or lucky wins.

Take 4 groups of 4. :shrug: I agree with the the repechage system, and I think it's very useful, but I've never thought the tourney was too long-winded. Heck, it's almost over already. :( I can't see shortening it helping matters. I'm just another opinion in the crowd, but I must say that I prize thoroughness above all (though I suppose agreeing with the current 160 minute system would seem contrary to that).
 
Will there still be a regular one? I was looking forward to participating. Although if it got extended I'd have to really rethink my track list. Plus it would be hell to upload.
 
Tarvark said:
Will there still be a regular one? I was looking forward to participating. Although if it got extended I'd have to really rethink my track list. Plus it would be hell to upload.

There will still be a regular one. Axver is going to put some space between the end of this one and the start of the next regular one. The prog game is small version during the wait.
 
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