"EBB" is for "Even Bigger Bracket"

      So Ken has continued the trip through his iPod with a wonderful conceit for the songs that start with "B". He created a March Madness bracket that led to his Final Four of "B" songs, and I can't resist joining him (i.e., ripping him off again. I'll have to come up with something clever for the "C" songs before Ken does or lose all of my blogger cred). Once again I have too many songs to copy him exactly, so what I did was create a 128 song bracket of "B" songs in four regions of 32, each region randomly seeded. Then I looked at song #1 and song #32 and decided which was "better"--i.e. which one I liked more at that particular moment. Then #2 vs. #31, etc., all the way through the bracket to generate a Final Four. I couldn't bear to choose a single champion among the 128 songs, and in fact I feel compelled to reveal the entire Sweet Sixteen, just because I feel bad for some of the songs that didn't make the highly subjective, gut reaction cut. Because the seedings were random, some great songs fell prematurely to other great songs.
      Yes, I need to get a life. Here we go.

North Regional Quarterfinals

• "Bottle of Smoke" by The Pogues
• "Bedshaped" by Keane
• "Brad and Suzy" by Jude
• "Black" by Pearl Jam

There were some good songs in this bracket, but the issue was never really in doubt. Like Duke or UNC, "Black" blew through to the Final Four without a serious challenge.
Region Winner: "Black" by Pearl Jam
Most Valuable Line (tie): "Twenty-fucking-five to one, me gambling days are done; I bet on a horse called "Bottle of Smoke" and my horse won." (The Pogues) and
"She was a professional teller machine user, he was your basic beautiful loser; they had no worries, all they ever had was Cool." (Jude)

East Regional Quarterfinals

• "Breathe" by Maria Mckee
• "Being Somebody Else" by Del Amitri
• "Blood and Fire" by Indigo Girls
• "Breaking Us in Two" by Joe Jackson

This was a tough bracket--lots of very different genres went head to head, and "Brass in Pocket" took an early exit because of a deadly matchup. I was pulling for "Banditos" by The Refreshments, but they ran into pop juggernaut Joe Jackson. Ultimately, the passionate, voice-nearly-gone performance of "Blood and Fire" proved too much for the competition.
Region Winner: "Blood and Fire" by Indigo Girls
Most Valuable Line: "I was scared when you came into my room; the walls became the sea, your voice was the moon." (Maria McKee)

South Regional Quarterfinals

• "Brick" by Ben Folds Five
• "Beyond Belief" by Elvis Costello
• "Blue" by The Jayhawks
• "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon & Garfunkel

Somehow this turned into the lyricists' bracket, making it very hard to pick the Most Valuable Line. How can a pop classic like "Bridge Over Troubled Water" fail to win its bracket? I don't know; ask the Patriots.
Region Winner: "Blue" by The Jayhawks
Most Valuable Line (tie): "It's hard to sing with someone who won't sing with you." (The Jayhawks) and
"She's a brick and I'm drowning slowly..." (Ben Folds Five)

West Regional Quarterfinals

• "Be My Downfall" by Del Amitri
• "Big Fat Blonde" by The Rainmakers
• "Birdhouse in Your Soul" by They Might Be Giants
• "Be Good" by Hothouse Flowers

"Big Fat Blonde" and "Birdhouse" are two favorites from way back, but they're just a little too silly to be bracket winners, I think. Del Amitri found their mature sound on the album "Waking Hours," but they proved it wasn't a fluke with "Be My Downfall," the very first track on the followup album "Change Everything."
Region Winner: "Be My Downfall" by Del Amitri
Most Valuable Line (tie): "And when faced with temptation, you know a man should stand and fight; but you will be my downfall tonight." (Del Amitri) and
"I want a big fat blonde to hold my hand, to keep this skinny boy from blowin' away in the wind." (The Rainmakers)