General discussion, rules & questions

Welcome to the Peel Session Cup 2009, a song-against-song knock out competition for all Fall songs recorded at John Peel Sessions (including Job Search).

Each week I'll open a series of head-to-head polls of Peel Session songs. You vote for your favourite. The one with the most votes progresses to the next round, until we have a winner.

The starting line-up is as per the tracklisting of the Peel box set - see the discography page for the 97 songs.

In the first round, we have 33 matches (66 songs) and the remaining 31 songs - picked at random - get a bye and go straight through to the second round. We'll do round 1 over 2 weeks, ditto for round 2, thereafter one round per week. By my calculations, in 9 weeks time we'll have our winner.

Each round will be re-drawn at random, and I'll only put up the polls for the current week, so as not to give away what's coming ahead.

I think that's about all you need to know. If there are any questions, fire away.

So... dig out that Peel box set and listen to the songs head to head before you cast your vote.

I've set up this forum so the polls will always stay in number order on the index page, rather than the one with the latest post going to the top (as all other forums operate and as we've had in past competitions). If this is too confusing, let me know and I'll change it back to the other system.

Bloody hell Conway, I was going to get some work done today.

These contests are the reason that I registered here. Thanks from New York for this year's edition . . . I'm rooting for Session Twelve (Deadbeat, Cab, Squid and Curious).

I will make this easy for me-

The Fall Complete Peel Sessions is my favorite musical release.
And Words of Expectation is my favorite song.

Carry on.

Stuck on a deserted island forever? You'll never regret taking this box as your only listening. Electric version of New Puritan's only appearance. Greatest song EVER anywhere. Greatest among greats.

Who will win this year's Cup?

I predict it will be either New Puritan (my personal choice) or Blindness with Winter and Garden as dark horses.

Can't see anything touching New Puritan, but voters are strange - Athlete Cured is currently losing out to Gross Chapel (both excellent, granted), so who knows?

Your usage of the word "was" indicates that you have your priorities right!

Any other tips or predictions, let's have them here.... I'm thinking Blindness might give some of the old classics a run for their money.

Rather predictably, I think 'New Puritan', 'Blindness' and 'Garden' will slug it out for top spot.

..which would be fine by me...

I would like to see Eat Y'Self Fitter win, alas it will not. I guess Garden and Blindness will be up there. Few others I would like to see do well are Guest Informant and Austrailians In Europe and Masquerade and Clasp Hands and Middlemass and (I'll stop now....)

I will do no such thing as stop now. My perfect Round Of 8, with hierarchical implications:

Garden
Service
Winter
The Mixer
Cruiser's Creek
Theme from Sparta F.C.
The City Never Sleeps
Kimble


And the dark horse alternates:

Oleano
Return
Whizz Bang
This Perfect Day
Job Search


Which is to say that all told, The Complete Peel Sessions is one of the three or four greatest catalogue releases ever issued.

I had to use my casting vote in week 3's match Cruiser's Creek vs Service as it was tied at the close of play. My vote gave Service the win and a place in the next round.

Attaboy!

One prediction only.
The winner: Blindness.
It's a freak, that song.

Because of this Cup I'm listening to them all alphabetically right now, I'm into the Cs.

AND I LOVE THE PEEL SESSION CONTRAFLOW!!!

The choices being made seem more varied than in previous cups, down to the last 32 and still a good number of sessions represented. Only sessions 13, 14, 18, 19 and 22 have completely gone.
Whilst on the other hand, session 3 could see all four songs through to the last 16.

No complaints from me if that were to happen!

A couple of close ones this week. And just wait till you see the draw for next week!

I had to use my casting vote again in match 99 - Jawbone And The Air-Rifle vs Eat Y'self Fitter - to put Eat Y'self Fitter through to the next round.

Arghhhhh! Hey, Conway, take a look at your post two above!!!

That was an easy week for me.

Ha ha, caught me out! Actually, I wouldn't complain about any of the current remaining songs winning the cup. (That still gives me freedom to vote for some things over others though.)

Well, the big surprise of week 6 - the upset of the competition - Blindness has been knocked out by Garden! I really expected to be seeing Blindness slugging it out in the final...