And so it begins.



Christina Aguilera, performing Ain't No Other Man



3 Doors Down, performing Loser



Kanye West, performing Gold Digger



Avril Lavigne, performing I'm With You



Michelle Branch, performing Are You Happy Now?



Panic at the Disco, performing That Green Gentleman



Kelis, performing Millionaire



Nine Inch Nails, performing Me, I'm Not



Alanis Morrisette, performing Underneath



Lupe Fiasco, performing Streets on Fire



PJ Harvey, performing You Said Something

Now let me explain the rules, again. Each person playing this week will do two things:

• Listen to all of the songs, and post your comments on each of them in this thread
• Send your RANKINGS (not comments) of the SONGS (not artists) to me via PM. You will have until Sunday to do this.

So, this is how it should look:
Random Post
Ain't No Other Man - I've had a love hate relationship with this song ever since its' release, and this week, I'm feeling the hate side. (Much better than "this is trash" or something that has nothing to do with the SONG.)

Random PM
11 - AIN'T NO OTHER MAN (or CHRISTINA AGUILERA)
10 - YOU SAID SOMETHING (or PJ HARVERY)
...
1 - GOLD DIGGER (or KANYE WEST)

WITH ELEVEN BEING THE SONG YOU LIKED THE MOST, AND ONE BEING THE SONG YOU LIKED THE LEAST. THIS WAY OF RANKING WILL MAKE IT EASIER FOR ME TO TABULATE THE VOTES - AND WILL MAKE EVERYTHING RUN SMOOTHLY.

AGAIN, DON'T POST YOUR RANKINGS IN THIS THREAD - SEND THEM TO ME VIA PM.

ALSO: Try to give these songs fair chances. Don't put something at 1 just because you've never heard it before. I put the songs as zshare links so you all could stream them, but it would be better if you downloaded them and listened to them each a couple of times. Sometimes a song doesn't hit you until the fifth listen, and sometimes that fifth listen is all you need to know that song is crap.

LIKEWISE: Vote on the songs, not the artist. If you love Avril but hate I'm With You, don't give her eleven points. vote accurately. If she makes it onto the next round, great. If she doesn't because of song selection, she can always come back next game. THAT GOES FOR EVERY ARTIST.

And here are the eleven artists who need your top fours for next week, BY SATURDAY TIBBITS AND CHRIS.

Rilo Kiley
Muse
Chris Brown
AFI
Amerie
Janet Jackson
Madonna
Garbage
Leona Lewis
Pink
The New ****ographers

And again, the top fours must be titled WEEK 2 TOP FOURS.

3 Doors Down

lol kelis ew

Ain't no other man is so overrated, hurt is a lot better

OMG, I will not do this tonight but you will have my stuff for this week!

what is with these awful choices for these artists Kelis has MUCH better songs, and so do Alanis and PATD

Christina Aguilera, performing Ain't No Other Man
I hate the way she sings screams it and I don't even think the song itself is that good. Fail.

3 Doors Down, performing Loser
What a fitting title. The song is just so boring and unlikable I can't imagine how that was the one people decided to give the most points.

Kanye West, performing Gold Digger
<3 Finally a song I like. Catchy and well-written.

Avril Lavigne, performing I'm With You
One of her best vocal performances, I will always have a soft spot for this song.

Michelle Branch, performing Are You Happy Now?
I can't even explain why I love this song so much, I just do. Take my word for it.

Panic at the Disco, performing That Green Gentleman
Did not like...tried to but did not. I like other songs of theirs but this just seems bland. Bad choice of song.

Kelis, performing Millionaire
Is this some kind of joke? Kelis is barely in this song. I mean I enjoy the 1 minute that she actually gets to herself, but wtf, this is an Andre 3000 song basically, and I think it's sabotage that somehow this made it in over Bossy or even Milkshake. I'm losing all faith in the voters.

Nine Inch Nails, performing Me, I'm Not
Honestly, I probably wouldn't have jumped for joy over anything that was picked but this one really did absolutely nothing for me.

Alanis Morrisette, performing Underneath
Yeah ok. Still annoyed with the song choices. This is pretty okay but she has much better songs from this decade. It's like come on.

Lupe Fiasco, performing Streets on Fire
It just reminded me of some annoying **** by Moby, although I admit this is better. But anyway I really wasn't into it, sorry.

PJ Harvey, performing You Said Something
This one (unlike others above) got better after a couple listens, but I still think she has better songs and in the end I was still not very impressed.

That Green Gentleman and Streets on ****ing Fire?

Give me a ****ing break, really.

"Ain't No Other Man" - I guess that I can't say that I'm shocked that this song was chosen, but I would have went many other ways with Aggy, especially when this song just sounds like your average Aggy single.

"Loser" - I think this choice makes me a happy individual. I'm happy to see this and not a bland, poppy song in its place. Gives me hope that these people know what they're doing.

"Gold Digger" - ...and then, this happens. "Gold Digger"? I mean, REALLY? REALLY?! You have about 30 or so good songs to choose from, and you choose his worst god damn single and the most annoying ****ing song part in any song of the last five years? Great work, ATRL. You've come through yet a-****ing-gain.

"I'm With You" - Not my first choice, but not a bad one, either. It could have been a *lot* worse, and it was the first sign, for yours truly, that Avril had something worthwhile.

"Are You Happy Now?" - Not surprised about this choice, and it's a good enough song, though I'm shocked that my #1 wasn't in its place.

"That Green Gentleman" - I guess I'm not surprised that their most recent single won out, but there are much more interesting songs to choose from. Sorry, but this song was, dare I say, boring.

"Millionaire" - Sorry, I'm just not interested, even if it features Andre 3000.

"Me, I'm Not" - This shocked me, in a good way. I thought, for sure, that this was going to be "The Hand That Feeds". I'm not complaining, though; this was one of the best songs of last year, complete with Trent "The Fonz" Reznor.

"Underneath" - I have to concur with Nick here. Not offensive or anything, but there were better choices from this decade, and I'm, personally, shocked that a song like "Everything" didn't win out. Oh, wait, this song is a very recent single. Maybe not.

"Streets on Fire" - Another recent choice, and this is one where a song from his first album would have been MUCH better. I mean, if we were going for an epic song of his, why not "The Cool" instead? That being said, I still like it. I just wish something from FnL was chosen.

"You Said Something" - An artist that I really want to get into, though I haven't had much time to do so. Sounds decent enough. Nice vocals, average sound, nice, nice lyrics. Might be a winner.

"Gold Digger" gives me no hope for a good AFI choice. Note that I'm not saying Muse, because there is no wrong Muse choice.

Honestly I think people who don't know the artist relatively well should not submit songs for that artist at all in the first part. Remember you don't have to vote for every artist! I just think that we got bad choices in here because people knew no songs by the people they were voting for and they put random recent singles, which is not good We end up with bad songs like we did for a lot of these artists.

Remember guys, that these are the songs that came in fourth place ... so, if the artists make it past this round, the songs will get better and better.

BUT... like, in order to compete, people should have more than four really good songs? And some of the artists .... don't.

oh these are fourth place?! This all makes sense now! This game is so complicated!

And also, some people voted for LADY ****ING MARMALADE. So, you do have a point on people only voting for the singles.

"Ain't No Other Man" - Interesting song, I think it deserves to be here because it is rather unconventional and it was released in a time when everything else sounded pretty much the same.

"Loser" - I agree 100% with Red. I also like its rather slow and mellow opening.

"Gold Digger" - NO! NO! NO! I can't believe people who have listened to Graduation couldn't have found at LEAST 4 better songs.

"I'm With You" - One of her (only) great songs which deserves to be recognized in this competition.

"Are You Happy Now?" - I can't judge by just a couple of plays, so I'll skip this. It doesn't seem bad though.

"That Green Gentleman" - Very predictable song, with surprisingly little soul. I look forward to seeing some better songs on the list.

"Millionaire" - I only heard Kelis for a like 1 minute...Rubbish.

"Me, I'm Not" - Not awesome, but its OK.

"Underneath" - Very weak verses, but the chorus is rather catchy and addictive.

"Streets on Fire" - Yeah, this is actually one of my favourites from today's selection. It's obviously a superior Rap song when compared to other epic rap songs.

"You Said Something" - Its too average in m opinion...

Bump for Roger and Semaforo!

Ain't No Other Man - Even though I found Back To Basics to be Xtina's worst album, I was actually impressed with how this song turned out. It was a pretty big risk to release a song with such a throwback sound at a time when producers were starting to become a lot more experimental and try more futuristic dancey club beats.

Loser - It's far from being 3DD's best song, but that doesn't mean it's bad at all. I actually like its vibe, very easily listenable whether you're by yourself or with other people.

Gold Digger - I've loved this song since I first heard it. You'd think Jamie Foxx repeating the same line over and over again would get annoying, but it really doesn't. Mr. West proved that he was not just still in the game, but ready to dominate with this song, and I think it'll become a classic to be remembered 10 years from now.

I'm With You - This song is the true definition of a new-millennium power-pop ballad. I'm not too fond of the song now, as I got tired of Avril especially after TBDT. But "I'm WIth You" was a rare example of a song I immediately loved at first listen, and I give her credit for that.

Are You Happy Now - I honestly can't see how this is one of Michelle's best songs. If this was the first song I had ever heard from her, I would've seriously underestimated her. I mean, I don't think this song is terrible, but it's certainly far from the excellence that I've heard from her. I have to come off harsh about this song, because Michelle has such a high standard of quality in her music and this song just doesn't live up to it.

That Green Gentleman - P!ATD's sophomore album, "Pretty. Odd." was one of my most anticipated for '08. But, I hate to say it, it was a huge disappointment. None of the songs lived up to the greatness of "I Write Sins, Not Tragedies" or "Lying Is The Most Fun..." This song was a highlight from the new album, which I have to say is pitiful, because I had a hard time getting through it just once.

Millionaire - Very irritating. I don't like it at all, and I don't see any appeal, urban or mainstream, at all.

Me, I'm Not - I think there's a certain mood one has to be in to listen to NIN, and when it fits, it's a great experience. I'm a little shocked that this song ended up being on this list, but I guess it's what was voted. I don't think there's that much to say about this song, it's indescribable like most of NIN's songs.

Underneath - Alanis is one of my favorite artists, and it's depressing that she's fallen so under the radar, but I'm glad that she keeps coming out with great songs like this one, and I have to add that I think the video first perfectly.

Streets On Fire - This is the song that made me respect Lupe on a whole new level. He is educated and really has things to say, which he delivers effortlessly.

You Said Something - I've never heard this song before, and I have to say I really wasn't impressed... it was just too plain for me, didn't really stand out.

Haha, I was about to freaking say. I understand what Bart is doing now, though I'm still confuzzled, a bit.

Christina Aguilera, performing Ain't No Other Man
It was a nice return for her but never the song i expected, it wasn't a good song at all and i still find it a bit annoying.

3 Doors Down, performing Loser
Nice beat, i think the production sounds really cheap although

Kanye West, performing Gold Digger
Bow down. This is a masterpiece, and Kanye is an expert when it comes to that, the featuring was perfect and so was the video.

Avril Lavigne, performing I'm With You
Her best vocals to date in my opinion, the song is beautiful.

Michelle Branch, performing Are You Happy Now?
Michelle's style of pop rock is unique and amazing, she attracts all kinds of audience and this song is the perfect example why. I love it.

Panic at the Disco, performing That Green Gentleman
The piano was the only good thing from this song, i think it was a very average song i have no idea why someone would vote this.

Kelis, performing Millionaire
I always loved this song, i didn't vote for this song and can't believe so many people voted for it over other amazing songs from her. The bad thing about this song was the video, i love the beat.

Nine Inch Nails, performing Me, I'm Not
NIN bores me to death, i know some of you might love them but that's how it is for me, and this is no exception.

Alanis Morrisette, performing Underneath
This song was a good reminiscence of how good Alanis's songs can be, it's a really good song. Well deserved 4th place.

Lupe Fiasco, performing Streets on Fire
Never heard this song before but im glad it did. It's going to my playlist like NOW.

PJ Harvey, performing You Said Something
:s I don't remember hearing anything from her before, i know it sounds ignorant but it's true, i've heard her name before but didn't know her music. So anyways, thanks to this game now i do and i love her sounds. This song is awesome.


WOAH I'm so loving this game!!!!!!!

also people, don't forget to do your FYCs!

FYC:
Rilo Kiley
The Moneymaker
It's a Hit
Does He Love You?
Breaking Up
15
Ripchord

Janet Jackson
Someone to Call My Lover
Come on Get Up
Better Days
I'm Here
Put Your Hands On (two great b-sides)
Rollercoaster
2Nite
So Much Betta

Madonna
Paradise (Not for Me)
Music
Love Profusion
Nothing Fails
Push
Jump
Like It or Not
Future Lovers
She's Not Me
Incredible (in honor of our dear Mazen)

The New ****ographers
Mass Romantic
Wild Homes
Headlines
Electric Version
From Blown Speakers
The Laws Have Changed
Loose Translation
Testament to Youth in Verse
Ballad of a Comeback Kid
Stacked Crooked
Sing Me Spanish Techno
These Are The Fables
Failsafe
All The Things That Go To Heaven
Myriad Harbour