OK, shit, I just realised we need to modify something. At the moment, there are three non-album groupings for the eighties, each getting two songs in the semi-finals. My original idea was to run the albums through a series of quarter-finals to get the number of songs down, then bring the top album and top non-album songs together in the semis. But I expect it would just be a predictable case of the non-album songs going to the semis and losing the first few rounds. Might be more fair a fight if they made the quarters ... only problem is, their categories (1978-81, 82-85, 87-89) do not correlate to the quarters (1980-83, 84-89).
So here's my idea: splitting up 1982-85 to send the 1982-83 tracks to join 1978-81, and the top two from that division going to the early eighties quarter final. Then joining the 84-85 tracks to the 87-89 group to create a massive supergroup of all the big-name b-sides that actually gets four songs in the late eighties quarter final. I'd designed everything so that there wasn't a group longer than the longest album in the game (Passengers), but this one would be. I want to keep the same number of songs progressing from the miscellaneous categories as before, but honestly, the 1978-81 stuff is going to get smashed anyway, so keeping it at just two seems reasonable even if expanded out to 1982-83, and letting 1984-89 get both of the extra two slots to give it four finalists. This change also allows me to give the quarter-finals extra slots in the semis.
OK, that may have made little sense. The fact I am half asleep cannot be helping! So let's illustrate this.
WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED UNDER THE ORIGINAL PLAN
Here's the breakdown of the original categories:
U2 Feedback - View Single Post - Best Song Survivor: Boy Round I
Early eighties quarter final: 8 songs (3 from Boy, 2 from October, 3 from War), 4 semi-finalists
Late eighties quarter final: 10 songs (4 from UF, 4 from JT, 2 from RAH), 4 semi-finalists
Eighties semi-final: 14 songs (4 from early eighties, 4 from late eighties, 2 each from three misc. categories)
WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO
See below for breakdown of misc. categories
Early eighties quarter-final: 10 (3 from Boy, 2 from October, 3 from War, 2 from 1978-83), half to semi-final
Late eighties quarter-final: 14 (4 from UF, 4 from JT, 2 from RAH, 4 from 1984-89 supercategory), half to semi-final
Eighties semi-final: 12 (5 from early eighties, 7 from late eighties)
I think this is fairer.
Categories:
1978-83 NON-ALBUM (2 quarter finalists)
Street Mission
The Fool
Boy/Girl
Another Day
11 O'clock Tick Tock
Touch
Things To Make And Do
Saturday Night
Speed Of Life
J. Swallow
A Celebration
Trash, Trampoline And The Party Girl
Treasure (Whatever Happened To Pete The Chop?)
Endless Deep
Angels Too Tied To The Ground
1984-89 NON-ALBUM SUPERCATEGORY (4 quarter finalists)
Boomerang I
Boomerang II
Love Comes Tumbling
The Three Sunrises
Sixty Seconds In Kingdom Come
Bass Trap
Luminous Times
Walk To The Water
Silver And Gold
Sweetest Thing '87
Silver And Gold
Race Against Time
Deep In The Heart
Beautiful Ghost
Drunk Chicken
Desert Of Our Love
Wave Of Sorrow
Rise Up
Hallelujah Here She Comes
A Room At The Heartbreak Hotel