I'm going to be on the losing side of both of these. I'm going with St. Elmo's Fire on the first one, I'm with Keith's argument that the 80s excess is just too much to be denied. It is an objectively bad song, which I happen to love for some stupid reason (I actually own that soundtrack). Despite being in an iconic 80s movie, and being for me a very experiential 80s track, Don't You (Forget About Me) just isn't as representative of 80s-ness as St. Elmo's Fire. It kills me, I'm a big Simple Minds fan, I'm one of those people that actually own their records. It's close, but I have to go the the beautiful awfulness of John Parr. (Even worse on that very same record is the sappy Love Theme from St. Elmo's Firs - For Just a Moment which, yes, I also embarrassingly love)
Axel F is easier to go with because it is one of the most memorable movie themes of the decade. View to a Kill isn't even Duran Duran's most 80s song. (I still don't understand why Duran Duran wasn't represented by Rio in this tournament)
Yes! I agree on all counts. I'll probably be on the losing side of both, and I LOVE Don't You Forget About Me, but St. Elmo's Fire and Axel F just seem more representative of the 80s.
It was a really tough call, it's SO hard to vote for lesser songs that you're embarrassed to like. But that's where we are. IF St. Elmo's manages to pull the upset, I will play "For Just a Moment" for you (and other SEF fan Beth Rush) in the next episode.
Thanks for putting yourself out there in the comments!
Sorry about that, Alejandro! Irene was really awesome, sorry to see her go. And as is mentioned elsewhere in this thread, we are working on a better tiebreaking protocol for next season and beyond! --Keith
Tough call on the first pairing. Don't You (and Breakfast Club) are both of the 80s and also transcend the 80s for me -- both still resonate as being great. St. Elmo's Fire -- ooh, did not age well. Man in Motion is better than the movie, and also seems much more "stuck" in the 80s.
Much easier to vote View to a Kill. The song is totally 80s, and while synth ruled the 80s, the all-synth Axel F could be of another era. Gotta take the movies out of the equation, because BVC was a far better movie.
Great takes, Chris. At this point, it's hard to say anyone is "right" or "wrong," instead it is super-interesting to me to just hear people talk out how they arrived at their votes. Thanks for doing it out loud for us! --Keith
I think I might start experiencing real anxiety in the final rounds of voting. I start some of these shows absolutely not knowing how to vote. Surprisingly, the back-to-back listens sometimes really does help me figure it out. --Keith
I think you will get your chance at Rio in the Legends bracket. The only reason Duran Duran was inserted here was to fill out the Movies Region. They really belong in Legends. "Rio," "The Reflex," "Hungry Like the Wolf," are all excellent choices, IMO. I am working behind the scenes on a way to crowdsource the song choice for The Legends Bracket, so Joe and I will provide the list of Legends, and hypothetically, the audience can help choose which song will represent them. --Keith
With these first three comments, I am sensing a trend that I think will sweep these songs into the Regional Final...but don't get too comfy on early voting results! --Keith
I'm going to be on the losing side of both of these. I'm going with St. Elmo's Fire on the first one, I'm with Keith's argument that the 80s excess is just too much to be denied. It is an objectively bad song, which I happen to love for some stupid reason (I actually own that soundtrack). Despite being in an iconic 80s movie, and being for me a very experiential 80s track, Don't You (Forget About Me) just isn't as representative of 80s-ness as St. Elmo's Fire. It kills me, I'm a big Simple Minds fan, I'm one of those people that actually own their records. It's close, but I have to go the the beautiful awfulness of John Parr. (Even worse on that very same record is the sappy Love Theme from St. Elmo's Firs - For Just a Moment which, yes, I also embarrassingly love)
Axel F is easier to go with because it is one of the most memorable movie themes of the decade. View to a Kill isn't even Duran Duran's most 80s song. (I still don't understand why Duran Duran wasn't represented by Rio in this tournament)
Yes! I agree on all counts. I'll probably be on the losing side of both, and I LOVE Don't You Forget About Me, but St. Elmo's Fire and Axel F just seem more representative of the 80s.
(Ax-el F! Ax-el F!)
Because we liked the idea of Bond vs Bond, man.
It was a really tough call, it's SO hard to vote for lesser songs that you're embarrassed to like. But that's where we are. IF St. Elmo's manages to pull the upset, I will play "For Just a Moment" for you (and other SEF fan Beth Rush) in the next episode.
Thanks for putting yourself out there in the comments!
And Joe already covered the Duran Duran thing.
--Keith
Simple Minds and Duran Duran should be overwhelming winners making an interesting match up for the finals.
Man, the coin toss proved to be very unfair towards Irene!
I'll go with two amazing bands on this one: Simple Minds and Duran Duran!
Sorry about that, Alejandro! Irene was really awesome, sorry to see her go. And as is mentioned elsewhere in this thread, we are working on a better tiebreaking protocol for next season and beyond! --Keith
I think you guys really need to cone up with a better tie breaker. The best way would be, of course, to go with "whichever one Deni voted for wins."
But barring you actually agreeing to that maybe something related to chart position?
We are workshopping that for Side B, we promise. But we were thinking maybe, "Whatever would piss Deni off more."
Yeah, that sounds about right. Or goal differential.
Tough call on the first pairing. Don't You (and Breakfast Club) are both of the 80s and also transcend the 80s for me -- both still resonate as being great. St. Elmo's Fire -- ooh, did not age well. Man in Motion is better than the movie, and also seems much more "stuck" in the 80s.
Much easier to vote View to a Kill. The song is totally 80s, and while synth ruled the 80s, the all-synth Axel F could be of another era. Gotta take the movies out of the equation, because BVC was a far better movie.
Great takes, Chris. At this point, it's hard to say anyone is "right" or "wrong," instead it is super-interesting to me to just hear people talk out how they arrived at their votes. Thanks for doing it out loud for us! --Keith
These may be the toughest votes so far - by design, of course - but I give the slightest of edges to Simple Minds and Duran Duran. So fucking close.
I think I might start experiencing real anxiety in the final rounds of voting. I start some of these shows absolutely not knowing how to vote. Surprisingly, the back-to-back listens sometimes really does help me figure it out. --Keith
This feels like the setup to a Chuck Norris joke: "Keith once tried being anxious, just to see what it felt like."
100% on Rio
I think you will get your chance at Rio in the Legends bracket. The only reason Duran Duran was inserted here was to fill out the Movies Region. They really belong in Legends. "Rio," "The Reflex," "Hungry Like the Wolf," are all excellent choices, IMO. I am working behind the scenes on a way to crowdsource the song choice for The Legends Bracket, so Joe and I will provide the list of Legends, and hypothetically, the audience can help choose which song will represent them. --Keith
I still believe in Axel F all the way, but the comments so far seem to be going the other way. BRB, gonna whip some baby Gen X votes on Facebook....
You MIGHT be able to find enough folks who agree, but good luck getting them all to subscribe!🤣 --Keith
You have at least one so far!!
With these first three comments, I am sensing a trend that I think will sweep these songs into the Regional Final...but don't get too comfy on early voting results! --Keith