What do we know about music? Everything—and nothing.
We’ve heard music all our lives, and we know what we like. But that doesn’t mean we know anything about it, really. Great composers—all of them—confess that music is a mystery. Everyone will tell you that all the “music theory” in the world will not write a memorable tune.
In contests such as Scarriet March Madness—songs competing against songs—we are certain that it’s all a matter of someone’s judgment (in this case, the Scarriet Editors).
It’s not a “real” contest, we say. The college basketball March Madness—that’s “real.”
Uhh…no. Every contest in the world is predetermined.
The best team/song/side had to win? Correct?
Maybe.
Any mind which is forced into comparing two things and choosing which is better—is essentially enacting the very same thing which an actual, physical contest enacts.
Accidents—a star player breaks his leg, a player gets sweat in his eyes and he goes up to make a key shot—are more random and prevalent in a physical contest than in the sanctity of mild thought, but the judgment—the mind—can overlook something, can make an error, too.
In the Kilgallen bracket, we have Led Zeppelin’s “Thank You,” a great song off their second album, the no. 1 seed, pitted against an obscure song by Donovan, “Teas,” recorded at a time when the guys who would go on to form Led Zeppelin were back-up musicians for Donovan. Does this matter? Well, of course it does, if it’s in the mind of the judge! If the judge has heard both songs—how do we know how that mind will hear both songs, and what sort of considerations will be made based on everything known by that mind?
And then think of all the things which go into judging a song—taste, which most admit cannot be quantified, knowledge of when, historically, something was produced; it may be good, but how original is it? How does the song begin and how does it end? Are the lyrics trite? Does the playing and studio engineering make it sound like a better song than it really is? What sort of mood are you in when you are listening to the song? How many times have you heard the song before? These are the “accidents” of judgment which shape the result (the winner) in the same way, really, that any sports contest, which plays out physically in real time, is determined.
If 99 out of 100 listeners believe “Thank You” will defeat “Teas,” well, we’ll just have to see, won’t we?
Having said, that, we will post the results of the first round eliminations for the Kilgallen bracket tomorrow.
We’ve linked the songs for you.
Led Zeppelin—Thank You
Herb Albert & the Tijuana Brass—This Guy’s in Love With You
Simon & Garfunkle—Fakin’ It
Fifth Dimension—Aquarius/Let the Sun Shine In
Sugar Loaf—Green Eyed Lady
Doors—Shaman’s Blues
Beatles—Fixing A Hole
The Spinners—I’ll Be Around
Rolling Stones—Lady Jane
Vanity Fare—Hitchin A Ride
Zager & Evans—In the Year 2525
Jefferson Airplane—Comin’ Back To Me
The Who—Melancholia
Bee Gees—And the Sun Will Shine
Erik Darling—True Religion
Donovan—Teas
Your enjoyment will be determined by your judgment and by how much you know these songs.
The results themselves could be determined by what you don’t know about these songs—by what you are not hearing. This may not be enjoyable—and may even contribute to the pain which many of us experience when accidents undermine the teams that we love.
#marchmadnesssongs