Same Name / Different Song - No. 66 Dog Eat Dog

[VelvetGuru9]

A while ago we had another musical showdown that featured songs with the same name but different writers/performers. They were one-offs and not done in conjunction with the Rock Wars. Please listen to all the songs, even the ones that you haven't necessarily heard before and then pick your favorites. Some songs may only have two competitors and some may have as many as four or five or six or even seven max. I'll try to weed out the pretenders from the contenders.

Our 66th match-up is DOG EAT DOG (and thanks to Readyeddy? for this suggestion).

As usual, there are a lot of songs on this one, but this will make for a nice time killer while you're working or blogging or whatever it is you do. Just sit back and listen. Give each song a chance, and then decide.

The last matchup featured the song Whatever. My favorite Bastard Fairies started off slow and finished in second place just behind Iggy Pop. It was probably one of the better matches because there were no huge hits and every song had a chance…except for Godsmack.

In the immortal words of DTM - "So what say you all." Who will be the winner in this latest match-up of Same Name/Different Song? Rank the songs from favorite to least favorite as there'll be a points system to decide winners & losers. Also, if you like, put in comments about the songs - good or bad, it's all cool.

220 Volt (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekuClQXXzpA)
Vs
AC/DC (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtwlTyqvd0g)
Vs
Adam and the Ants (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtxuPqjSJDc)
Vs
Joni Mitchell (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jw14-sqItVA)
Vs
Ted Nugent (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY6pTgwJv38)
Vs
Steely Dan (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axay8XSDsVA)
Vs
Weird Al Yankovic (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWhsuqFj8kU)

upcoming titles so far:
No Way Out
Gypsy Woman
Hurt
Today
Yesterday
Tomorrow
The Best of Times
I Am
You Are
My Love
Love of My Life
Black and White
The End
One More Time
In Your Eyes
In My Life
Up
Down
If
Carnival

To see the winners of the first 20 matches CLICK HERE (http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=266922)
To see the winners of matches 21-44 CLICK HERE (http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=273926)
To see the winners of matches 45-60 CLICK HERE (http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=284568)

Match #61 Daydream – Lovin Spoonful (59) beat Ash Ra Tempel (58), Robin Trower (44), Ella Fitzgerald (41), Vinnie Moore (39), Wallace Collection (35), Smashing Pumpkins (32)

Match #62 Alone – Heart (60) beat Ben Harper (48), Pearl Jam (47), Big Country (38), Blood, Sweat & Tears (33), Bullet for My Valentine (29), Buckcherry (25)

Match #63 Getaway – Stereophonics (57) beat Earth Wind & Fire (56), The Music (51), Rossington Collins Band (45), Mon Roe (41), Train (30), Kiss (28)

Match #64 Ramblin’ Rose – MC5 (26) beat Dean Martin (22), Grateful Dead (21), Nat King Cole (21)

Match #65 Whatever – Iggy Pop (53) beat Bastard Fairies (52), Husker Du (52), The Susans (49), Our Lady Peace (45), Oasis (43), Imogen Heap (37), Godsmack (29).

[readyeddy?]

1. Ted Nugent - It was a tough call between this one and AC/DC but I decided to go with sweaty Teddy because of all the hate my second favorite Nuge song got in Rock Wars. You don't have to like his politics to enjoy Ted.

2. AC/DC - Early AC/DC is the bomb raw and unbridled. Rooting for my favorite song by them to overcome that wimpy Clapton song.

3. Steely Dan - First I heard this of this one. A little different then i'm used to from them.

4. Joni Mitchell - Always reliable for a good tune.

5. Adam Ant - The Eighties new wave style ain't my favorite but I can enjoy it on occasion.

6. Weird Al - I've been aware of him since his "My Balogna" days. He's okay in small doses.

7. 220 Volt - This didn't do a thing for me.

[DTM]

1. AC/DC
2. Weird Al Yankovic
3. 220 Volt
4. Ted Nugent
5. Steely Dan
6. Joni Mitchell
7. Adam and the Ants

[songwriterz]

1.) Steely Dan - always a class act, always a fantastic performance
2.) 220 Volt - I had never heard this song before but I really liked it. It had a nice faux-classic rock feel to it.
3.) AC/DC (this was actually a tie for 2nd place. Alphabetically, though, I think numbers come first so 220 got the win.)
4.) Ted Nugent - I wanted to rank this higher, but just couldn't
5.) Weird Al - I found it ironic that I'm slacking off at the office like the slacker in the vid.
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6.) Joni Mitchell - sorry, not this time. a very dull, pedantic, predictable song
7.) Adam and the Ants - ugh

[Surfer13]

Okay, uncle Ted's the pre-listen favorite, let's see how it holds up...


1) Ted Nugent- Nothing changed after listening (or re-listening, as it may have been in some cases) to everything. The best of the bunch.

2) Adam and the Ants- But this was right on it's heels. A good tune.

3) AC/DC- Solid, but it didn't feel particularly inspired.

4) 220 Volt- Did I blink and miss these guys 25 years ago, or just forget them? Either way, the sound is alright, but I can also hear why I may have forgotten them, or why their run may have been so short as to have been missed if I were overseas (or out to sea) when they had their moment in the sun, if they ever truly had such a moment.
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5) Steely Dan- These guys have always been very hit and miss with me, and this is a miss.

6) Joni Mitchell- Wow... 49 views as I listened to it, and I was the fourth person here. After listening, I completely understand why it is so low.
I am not a fan, and this wasn't even one of her better efforts.

7) Weird Al- When it's funny, it's funny, but this wasn't that good an effort, and I will never grade someone that just takes other people's music that highly.
The songs only work because of the originals. If not for Beat it, then Eat it would have mattered. If not for Lola (and Star Wars), then Yoda wouldn't mean anything.

[AlienFlanders]

1. AC/DC
2. Ted Nugent
3. Adam & the Ants
4. 220 Volt
5. Steely Dan
6. Joni Mitchell
7. Weird Al

[VelvetGuru9]

Not my favorite batch of songs, but there were two that stood out for me.

As our missing friend Hail would say...Lets rank 'em


Adam and the Ants - Tribal American rhythms with two drummers and some Marco Pirroni guitar that’s almost reminiscent of Duane Eddy. I bought this album the day it released and this was a favorite then just as it is now, so leapfrog the dog and brush me daddy-o.
Steely Dan – What year did they write this he says as he goes to look it up. This is a far out song for 1968. Time period-wise it’s right there and the musicians as in most Steely Dan songs are hot. I like that the production almost seems a little rough, it adds to the ambience.
AC/DC - More Hokey Pokeyish than It’s a Long Way to the Top. Vintage AC/DC, and with Bon on Vocals too.
220 Volt - There’s a definite George Lynch/Dokken feel to the start of the song, but then they kick into something that’s more their own style. Totally 80s era vocals. Not bad for what it is…that is until that one guy goes all basso and says Dog Eat Dog. That just brought the song down a bit.
Joni Mitchell – Joni is probably the best guitarist you never think of. Her chord changes and usage make her the best thing to come out of Canada, and that’s saying something, because if you’ve never been to a Tim Horton’s…, but I digress. I thought the song progressed too slowly and I was really disappointed in it. There wasn’t a strong Joni-like hook and it left me like a Chinese meal…I was still hungry after listening to it – If that makes sense ::shrugs::
Ted Nugent – I want to start with Ted at 7 and let him work his way up from there. This actually is a decent rocker. Not great, but it’s nowhere as good as Journey to the Center of Your Mind. It’s passable but the chorus is rather lame and uninspired and the solo a bit lackluster for a tune that wants to rock.
Weird Al – This was worst than I was expecting…LAST. Went from Dog Eats Dog to Dog Eats something it left in Anonymouse's yard.

[Shuttle]

1) Weird Al Yankovic - Been a while since I heard anything by him. 'This is not my beautiful stapler' got a real laugh out of me...
2) Steely Dan - A band who's name I've heard, but never really listened to. A pleasing surprise.
3) Adam & the Ants - Brilliant drumwork on this. I'd probably say Kings of the Wild Frontier was better, but this is still good.
4) AC/DC - Bit of a heavy start to this week's entries. This one is the better of them I feel.
5) Joni Mitchell - A bit bland after the others. Nothing terribly wrong with it, but nothing really standing out for me.
6) 220 Volt - Passable enough. Just not the sort of thing I'd pick normally.
7) Ted Nugent - Just not getting anything from this. I get that that's skillful guitar work, but that's all I think it has going for it.

[lensnart]

From a quick look at the artists, I expected my list to look very different, but this week was full of surprises both good and bad.

Steely Dan - From what I know of these guys I expected to hate this with all my heart. So it was really a surprise when I heard this funk-rock gem. I could have lived without the chorus and the guitar solo was annoying, but the rest of this song was actually really solid.

ACDC - You always know exactly what you are getting with ACDC, it really is true that if you have heard one song you have pretty much heard them all. This is just a slight variation on a theme, though I have to admit I do kind of like the theme.

220 Volt - This was obviously not very good, but it was unintentionally hilarious to me. It sounded like the theme song to some awesome 80's cartoon with it's cheeseball guitar solos, generic video game music and "be the best you can be" lyrics. I kind of liked it, but for all the wrong reasons.

Adam And the Ants - I am usually a fan, and fully expected to put them at number one, but this is a sub par tune.

Weird Al - He can be very clever, but this was not his best effort.

Ted Nugent - This was every bit as generically classic rock as I thought it would be. It wasn't awful, but I just finished listening to it 10 seconds and I have already forgotten how it went, other than boring verse, boring guitar solo, repeat.

Joni Mitchell - I usually like Joni alright, but this is awful. The 80's at its worst.

[Gargantua]

1. Adam and the Ants - The opening drumbeats just drew me right in and the percussion and instrumentals kept me intrigued for the whole song.
2. Steely Dan - A good upbeat tune. Quite enjoyable.
3. AC/DC - Never considered myself a fan, but I liked this one.
4. Ted Nugent - Rather like the AC/DC comment, but didn't like it quite as much.
5. Joni Mitchell - I thought I'd be ranking her higher, but really this one did nothing for me.
6. Weird Al - I like a parody. I like novelty songs. I like Weird Al a lot. His parodies range from the clever to occasionally brilliant, and his original songs are often as good and as intelligent anyone's "serious" music, but this one is one of his worst, really. Sorry Al. Wish I could rank you higher, really I do.
7. 220 Volt - Just meh.

[hail_eris]

Let's rank 'em!


Adam and the Ants (Here we go! Oh, '80s. You just make everything better. I spent a good chunk of my college years trying to approximate the Adam look, and let me tell you - the chicks? They dug it. There are darned few outfits that can't be improved with riding boots. Oh, and the music? Yeah, those drums *kill* on a decent club sound system. I spent some time working in an '80s novelty bar - the money was astounding, I assure you - and the DJ would always throw out an Adam and the Ants tune for me. So I'm thinking that this will be sitting comfortably in my number one slot.)

AC/DC (So... Bon Scott. Yeah, that's about all I've got. But, as the competition seems to be endeavoring to outdo itself in a race to the bottom, it looks like this one will finish surprisingly high.)

Steely Dan (Ah, self-indulgent bluesy guitar noodling. Much as I try to avoid condemning Eddie Vedder for his legion of godawful baritone copycats, I will not hold against them the likes of Phish and Widespread Panic.)

Joni Mitchell (Okay, having listened to about a dozen related Adam and the Ants videos, I can get back to the ranking. Let me start by asking - the hell? Kind of sounds a little like a weak Annie Lennox track, and the crazy disconnect between the singer/songwriter lyrics and the "I can has synthesizer" sound is jarring as all heck. She should have gone for truly '80s excess and plugged a sax solo in there.)

220 Volt (Wow. 685 views. That's not so much an endorsement, seeing as at least a few of those must have come from this thread. I can't help but feel that this would sound a lot better being cranked from the factory stereo of a late '70s Mercury Monarch.)

Weird Al Yankovic (Honestly, I think that a Once in a Lifetime parody would have made a lot more sense, say, 30 years ago.)

Ted Nugent (So, umm, I guess lyrics have never been the Whackmaster's strong suit. Because I'm pretty sure that there must have been some in there, but danged if I noticed them.)

[lensnart]

220 Volt (Wow. 685 views. That's not so much an endorsement, seeing as at least a few of those must have come from this thread. I can't help but feel that this would sound a lot better being cranked from the factory stereo of a late '70s Mercury Monarch.)
[/LIST]

As the former owner of a late 70's Mercury Monarch (lovingly called the NAR due to the loss of letters), I can say first hand that nothing sounds better on that factory stereo.

Though for the $100 that I dropped to buy that bad boy I really can't complain. It even came with a free pillow, that nobody would touch even to throw away, and a felt marker that was used by passengers to muralize much of the interior.

[hail_eris]

I had a '77. Mine had an after-market tape deck installed just above the after-market stick shift. Let me tell you - a manual transmission is something that really ought to be installed at the factory. Especially because it had a bench front seat that could only go so far forward before it smacked into the shifter. I'm 5'2", so I had to shove it as far up as it could go, then kind of slide down to depress the clutch (you had to put the thing to the floor - one of the hazards of DIY transmission installation, I'm guessing), slide my body to the right so I could hit the gas, then scoot back up so I could see over the dashboard while I released the clutch. Still, $400 bought you a lot of car in the late '80s.

[markrochip]

Dog Eat Dog

1. Adam and the Ants - Adam Ant is a dork. I like when he went crazy a decade later and released the Wonderful album as a hopeful comeback. FAIL. This is exactly what I expected it to be and quite frankly, I really liked it.

2. AC/DC - This is good AC/DC. Its hard to not feel cool listening to classic AC/DC. This is how rock music should be: makes you want to drive fast, drink hard, find a pretty young thing to sex with all night, and if needed - get into a barfight. Really, AC/DC are one of the only bands that can consistently set that scene.

3. Ted Nugent - Oh, Nuge, you Motor City Madman, you! You do what you do. And you do it pretty well.

4. Weird Al Yankovic - A lot of people just don't get Weird Al. This song is one of his artist style parodies. I think its a great spoof of the Talking Heads. Even David Byrne himself has admitted that his lyrics were purposely nonsensical. Talking Heads, as strange as they were, always were very lyrically yuppy... why shouldn't the parody follow the same guidelines? I'm an Al fan and I get the idea of this.

5. Steely Dan - I always feel like I should hate myself when I like a Steely Dan song. Not sure why. Truth is, SD writes some pretty catchy songs. I appreciate that. I wouldn't be able to find myself listening to this too much, though. Not terrible, though.

6. 220 Volt - This is not good. Not to any decade's standards. Stupid song throughout. I thought this would be dead last, but then I heard the Joni Mitchell song.

7. Joni Mitchell - I'm actually a really big Joni Mitchell fan, but I'm far more fond of her folky-jazz hybrid style. This 80s synth-pop is not a style well suited to her lyrics or her voice. This song is so boring, I can't see it being in anyone's itunes library rotation.