But really I'm not actually your friend (But I am.)

Results! One side note--just as there are many ways to decide your vote in this tournament, there are also many ways to not decide. We've been using abstentions mostly, but you also have a tie/draw option, and an "I'd rather listen to my iPod on shuffle than suffer through either of these songs" option. All three were used today....

#19 The Church, Under the Milky Way - 12 votes
defeats
#14 Camper Van Beethoven, Take the Skinheads Bowling - 7 votes
(3 abstentions)

Analyis:
"Under the Milky Way. How many times in this tournament will I have to apologize for voting against one of my mother's favorite songs." - CDB (Does this mean his mom loves "Take the Skinheads Bowling"?!)
"Bagpipes!" - Cranky Uncle Greg


#11 Duran Duran, Girls on Film - 11 votes
defeats
#22 Magnetic Fields, 100,000 Fireflies - 9 votes
(2 abstentions)

Analysis:
"Duran Duran - Just because Stephin Merritt doesn't sing on this song doesn't mean I can't vote against it because I don't like his voice." - Canadian Dave


#10 Nirvana, Lithium - 17 votes
defeats
#23 Everything But the Girl, Missing - 4 votes
(1abstention)

Analysis:
"Nirvana - I really hope that there isn't any lithium missing. That's the sort of situation that can lead to clashes and massive attacks." - Canadian Dave


#18 Guided By Voices, I Am A Scientist - 11 votes
defeats
#15 Tom Tom Club, Genius of Love - 8 votes
(3 abstentions)

Analysis:
Perhaps we have a skewed field:
"GVB--how can I not vote for this? I AM a scientist!" - SRF
"Guided by Voices! (I am a scientist, I seek to understand QCD.)" - He-who-likes-Coke
"I Am a Scientist def. Genius of Love. Some music is timeless. And then there's the Tom Tom Club." - MP


#16 XTC, Senses Working Overtime - 11 votes
defeats
#17 Siouxsie and the Banshees, Cities in Dust - 9 votes
(1 abstention, 1 draw)

Analysis:
"Draw (This would be a fun mash-up, actually.)" - AH

#9 Talking Heads, Once in a Lifetime - 19 votes
defeats
#24 Mudhoney, Touch Me I'm Sick - 1 vote
(2 abstentions)

Analysis:
An old-fashioned whuppin', kept from complete shutout only by the kind-hearted Trip-L.
"You may ask yourself, why am I voting in this contest? You may say to yourself, this is not my music contest, this is not my beautiful blog." -JoRite


#12 R.E.M., Driver 8 - 16 votes
defeats
#21 Erasure, A Little Respect - 5 votes
(1 abstention)

Analysis:
"R.E.M - Hey, I grew up about two hours from Athens. I think I'm required to vote for them. One of their best songs, too." - Bunoich


#13 Kraftwerk, The Robots - 11 votes
defeats
#20 Elastica, Connection - 8 votes
(2 abstentions, 1 iPod shuffle)

Analysis:
"The Robots. I'm obligated to vote for this one because my boyfriend and I have claimed it as 'our song.'" - L (Wow.)

Continuing on... Voting for this round will end at 9:00pm CST Sunday. Comment or email me. We'll post and tally the results then.

From the Great Plains Regional, at the 40 Watt Club, Athens, GA

#14 Madness, One Step Beyond (video)
vs.
#19 Cracker, Low (iTunes)
Could Sandra Bernhard take Madness in a fight?

#11 Flaming Lips, She Don't Use Jelly (video)
vs.
#22 Foo Fighters, This Is A Call (video)
The ones at the Peach Pit and the ones with that airplane video.

#10 Nick Lowe, Cruel to Be Kind (video)
vs.
#23 Tricky, Black Steel (video)
Elvis Costello's first producer has girl problems while fellow Brit and early Massive Attacker Tricky rages about institutionalized racism.

#15 Blur, Girls and Boys (video)
vs.
#18 Ani DiFranco, Napoleon (iTunes)
Ani DiFranco... always should be someone you really love?

From the South Regional, at the Whisky-A-Go-Go, Los Angeles, CA

#16 The Cure, Lullaby (video)
vs.
#17 They Might Be Giants, Birdhouse in Your Soul (video)
This one's gonna kill all the former teenage goths who enjoy a good James K. Polk song.

#9 David Bowie, Heroes (video)
vs.
#24 The Raincoats, No One's Little Girl (iTunes)
If you decide The Raincoats are talking about Bowie, they may be the only people in the 70s who didn't want to sleep with him.

#21 Suzanne Vega, Luka (video)
vs.
#12 PJ Harvey, Down By the Water (video)
Both are songs about troubled women; Vega goes for vulnerable, Harvey for menacing.

#13 Neutral Milk Hotel, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (video of Jeff Mangum performing solo acoustic)
vs.
#20 Marshall Crenshaw, Someday, Someway (iTunes)
The title song of Magnet's best album in its first 10 years is up against a power pop classic.