The Quizbowl Resource Center

ValenciaQBowl

Hey, it's that time of year again! With the expectation that a bunch of mildly corrupt Swedes will designate someone as worthy of lifetime prize on Thursday, we have less than 48 hours to publicly select the wrong person, so let's hurry. I'm switching from my usual standby of Ladbrokes to Nicer Odds...

ValenciaQBowl

I've got enough science writers now, so I'm no longer seeking. However, if you're still interested, I'll likely need to hire out for some science questions for the Florida College System Activities Association Regional and State tournaments scheduled (tentatively) for early February and late March, ...

ValenciaQBowl

I'm pleased to say that I've already gotten commitments for all of the biology, and about 15+/25 of the chemistry, physics, and other. If you're reading this and would like to write around 10/7, please contact me at the e-mail address listed in the above post.

ValenciaQBowl

Howdy! So I'm looking for some young writers looking to make a name for themselves on these tough quiz bowl streets (or more experienced writers who are bored and/or who want to make some dough) by writing some novice-level science questions. I'm planning to scale back Delta Burke to just ten rounds...

ValenciaQBowl

I wanna see you kids try to buzz in on this toss-up opener presented in a question in the third link above:

"Class Mammalia consists of nineteen separate orders."

I remember those days.

ValenciaQBowl

I"m chrome wheeled, fuel injected and steppin' out over the line.

I'm gonna have to go out and find 15 people who haven't been part of this bracket to come in and vote for Bruce in a callback to Fred's fantastic basketball survivor bracket.

ValenciaQBowl

Stairway to Heaven vs. Wish You Were Here Superstition vs. Born to Run In terms of selecting four artists as the potentially greatest of the '70s, this is a pretty good group. It certainly leaves out punk and disco, so there are historical issues, but in terms of what you'd actually hear on the radi...

ValenciaQBowl

I find the lyrics of "What's Going On" kind of insipid and vague and naive in terms of its overall message; but then again, it's not the 60s (or even the 70s) and we're in a different world. But what's inexcusable is that they waste half the song with scatting and pointless chit-chat. The...

ValenciaQBowl

Wish You Were Here vs. Ohio --I'm warming to the idea that this could win the whole tournament, even though there's not a chance I would've said it's the best song of the whole decade. I'm starting to see this tournament like the NCAA tournament: a song can get hot, get some favorable matchups, and...

ValenciaQBowl

Huh, I went to look up that question, Arthur, smug in my certitude that I would've included no such prompt, but obviously you're right! The question instruction directs the mod to prompt on "Australia" till "Dutch settlers" are mentioned, which indeed seems overly (and bizarrely)...

ValenciaQBowl

Proud Mary vs. Long Train Runnin’ --I can't believe I have to vote for this song at this stage of the tournament. Born to Run vs. Layla --I reckon "Tangled up in Blue" would've lost to "Born to Run," and I would be at peace with that. At this point I'm pretty sure I won't vote ag...

ValenciaQBowl

At Valencia practices, I almost always have "steals" as bonus parts in effect, as it's a good way to ensure players stay engaged and learn stuff when the other team is answering a bonus. Or sometimes, if one team is significantly better, I only allow the weaker team to steal. It doesn't ta...

ValenciaQBowl

Wow, thanks, Isaac! As we're sharing fanship, let me say I brought some of my Valencia players to watch your Yale team win the ICT, and we all dug your cool shirt and fun demeanor during such a stressful match. PS--Can't wait till tomorrow to hear Dylan's new album Rough and Rowdy Ways. "Murder...

ValenciaQBowl

Psycho Killer vs. Ohio --Man, Psycho Killer is going to get to the round of eight! Won’t Get Fooled Again vs. Wish You Were Here --I absolutely love both of these bands and both of these songs, but The Who's song really brings it. Stairway to Heaven vs. The Chain --I was sorely tempted to pick a Fl...

ValenciaQBowl

What I will be regretting, if not for the rest of my life at least for the next few hours, is how benighted y'all are to be knocking Dylan out of this thing at this stage. Weeeeeeak. Beast of Burden vs. Me and Bobby McGee What’s Going On vs. Zombie Midnight Train to Georgia vs. Goodbye Yellow Brick ...

ValenciaQBowl

Hey, I know some of you from the June 6 (2020) HS mirror have been added to this forum, and I hope you'll feel free to offer any thoughts on the questions. I'd love to know how the questions worked (or didn't!) for HS players. As always, I'm open to both constructive and destructive criticism.

ValenciaQBowl

Long Train Runnin’ vs. Maggie May --Two songs I would be unbothered if I never heard again, but could probably sing in their entirety. I'm surprising myself by picking Rod, but if I try to forget how overfamiliar I am with "Maggie May," I hear a fun song, sung with cheeky rakishness. And g...

ValenciaQBowl

There will be 1 question per packet in the category of "Southern, rural, or blue-collar interest"

Hmm, I guess I get the first two modifiers there, but what exactly is culture of "blue-collar interest"?

ValenciaQBowl

The Chain vs. War Pigs --I don't love them now, so I will never love them again. Stairway to Heaven vs. Free Bird --Oy, it would take a lot of lighters to listen to both of these back to back live. No Woman, No Cry vs. American Girl --Excited to see this Petty song get this far. Let It Be vs. Just W...

ValenciaQBowl

Billy Joel concerts exist solely to be filled up by 55 year old accountants who rode their Harley there from a Trump rally.

This is the kind of analysis I'm here for.

ValenciaQBowl

Bohemian Rhapsody vs. Psycho Killer --Both are great, but I'll stick with the song I'd usually rather listen to. Lola vs. Ohio --"Well, that's the way that I want it to stay/And I always want it to be that way for my Lo-o-la." London Calling vs. Wish You Were Here --Oooof. I strongly disag...

ValenciaQBowl

Me and Bobby McGee vs. Black Magic Woman --Not a huge fan of either, but will go with Carlos's guitar work. Beast of Burden vs. Mr. Blue Sky --Laid-back, louche Mick is the best Mick (though I like "Waitin' on a Friend" even better). Ain't No Mountain High Enough vs. Zombie --Going with Fe...

ValenciaQBowl

I'll take Layla over Dylan in the next round if given the opportunity.

Maybe voting is a privilege, and not a universal right, after all.

ValenciaQBowl

I don't imagine this post will be popular, but for fully online tournaments are lunch/dinner breaks really necessary? I've played in four full-day tournaments now, and all of them had a 45 minute or hour lunch break, which seems unnecessary when one is probably just going to the fridge and making a ...

ValenciaQBowl

The Gambler vs. Maggie May --This is one of the only Rod Stewart songs I can stand. Turn the Page vs. Long Train Runnin’ --Boy, this is about the most '70's classic rock radio matchup that could possibly exist. Let’s Stay Together vs. It’s Too Late --Al Green! Proud Mary vs. I’ve Seen All Good Peopl...

ValenciaQBowl

Joe wrote:

American Pie is boring and nothing happens in it, not really sure how someone can criticize music for being "ponderous" while praising American Pie.

I find "American Pie" quite jaunty in the long middle section, actually.

ValenciaQBowl

Wow--"they say styles make fights," and this bracket has more matchups between radically different sounds/genres than any of the previous, I think. Dancing Queen vs. War Pigs --Case in point! I have to guess that the overlap of the Venn diagrams of people who really like both of these song...

ValenciaQBowl

Joe is correct that

Sultans of Swing is something like the fourth best song in this group.

Welcome to the podcast.

ValenciaQBowl

Bohemian Rhapsody vs. Riders on the Storm --When my nearest-in-age older brother brought home Queen's album A Night at the Opera (I think I was in third grade), we listened to it every day for weeks. We had never heard anything like it before. "Bohemian Rhapsody" has gotten so played out ...

ValenciaQBowl

Our six subscribers would really dig it. Let's get it going.

ValenciaQBowl

this Gordon Lightfoot sounds like music for wusses

When physical distancing restrictions are lifted, I will fly to where you are and wreck you like the Edmund Fitzgerald.

ValenciaQBowl

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough vs. Lawyers, Guns, and Money --"Lawyers, Guns, and Money" is Zevon at his most incisive and funny. It's like a Leon Golub painting. But I reckon its run is done. Killing Me Softly with His Song vs. Move On Up --"Killing Me Softly" is pretty inert com...

ValenciaQBowl

Black Magic Woman vs. Pink Moon --Santana's guitar is so crisp on 'BMW,' but "Pink Moon" is a melancholy delight. Me and Bobby McGee vs. Wild World --Early Cat Stevens is awfully good. Mr. Blue Sky vs. I’ll Be Around --Not a huge fan of either of these, but I never got ELO. No rough edges,...

ValenciaQBowl

Born to Run vs. Cars --"Born to Run" is certainly a contender for best song of the 70s. I Will Survive vs. Surrender --"I Will Survive" is a bigger and probably more music-historically important song than "Surrender," but I loved the album Heaven Tonight when I was in ...

ValenciaQBowl

Live and Let Die vs. The Gambler --This song was playing on the speakers during Trump's trip to visit the manufacturer of masks in Arizona earlier this week. Jus' sayin'. Maggie May vs. Radio Radio --Exciting to see this Elvis song go so far. Family Affair vs. Turn the Page --This is a rather turgi...

ValenciaQBowl

Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress) vs. I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home) --I like both of these, but the former is the best Hollies song: too bad, Graham Nash. No Woman No Cry vs. Fly Like an Eagle --Tough call, and this isn't my favorite Marley song, but yeah, it's got to win. Bang a Gong (Get It ...

ValenciaQBowl

Chris Borglum didn't grow up on Black Sabbath, *I* grew up on Black Sabbath

Sabbath Bros 4 Lyfe, Mik.

ValenciaQBowl

Dancing Queen vs. Smoke on the Water ABBA sucks. FERNANDO is the best ABBA song, and it's very bad. War Pigs vs. California Uber Alles --I was raised on Sabbath by older brothers and had to find punk on my own. I figure "War Pigs" will win, so I can support Jello here. Runnin’ with the Dev...

ValenciaQBowl

London Calling vs. More Than a Feeling --By any metric, any assessment, any principle, any aesthetic Run Through the Jungle vs. La Grange --I agree that these are maybe not the most representative songs for these groups in the '70s, especially for CCR, which on Cosmo's Factory features the fun ode ...

ValenciaQBowl

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw2t2rwqky0

"Used to be in the Eagles/Now he whines like a wounded beagle"--three chords and the truth!

And Joe Walsh is excellent.

ValenciaQBowl

you can only deny the immanent greatness of "Hotel California" if you are blinded by prejudice against the Eagles Don't you tell me what I can deny, Mik! --Who drinks pink champagne? And if you were to do so, why in god's name would you put it on ice??? --So they gather for a feast, but t...

ValenciaQBowl

Oh, god, "Pancho and Lefty" is faaaaaantastic, like nearly everything Townes ever did.

At least Yes made it in.

ValenciaQBowl

Hey Fred, was/is there a Jethro Tull song in this field? I might be forgetting a vote or missing it in the bracket, but I don't find one. Terrible flute bro injustice, if so.

ValenciaQBowl

Yes, entirely sure.

ValenciaQBowl

Bohemian Rhapsody vs. Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood --If it was the original by The Animals, I'd be voting against Queen here. Also, it's worth noting that the best song on A Night at the Opera is certainly "Death on Two Legs." Riders on the Storm vs. Heart of Glass --"The Gypsies ha...

ValenciaQBowl

If You Don't Know Me By Now vs. The Tears of a Clown
It's sappy, but so is the other song.

I have to disagree with my age-cohort colleague here; The Beat version of "Tears of a Clown" is an upbeat groover!

ValenciaQBowl

Drift Away vs. Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels) If You Don't Know Me By Now vs. The Tears of a Clown --The English Beat (the name they had to take after some lawsuit) is fantastic. Even today they still put on a great and energetic live show. Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love) vs. ...

ValenciaQBowl

Dang, this is even more brutal than two slates ago. Walk on the Wild Side vs. Funk #49 --This song has to be top ten of the 1970s. Even though this song is so overplayed, it still can command attention when it comes on at a bar or other public place. Lawyers, Guns and Money vs. Brandy (You’re a Fine...

ValenciaQBowl

Stay with Me vs. Rapper's Delight --Probably overrated historically, but still important. O-o-h Child vs. $1000 Wedding --Through no fault of its own, "O-o-h Child" has been kind of ruined for me by oversaturation. I'm Just A Singer (In A Rock And Roll Band) vs. Ballroom Blitz --Not my fav...

ValenciaQBowl

II agree with those above who have said this is a brutal set of choices. Cruel to Be Kind vs. The City of New Orleans --Love both of these, but the perfect pop backing vocals push me to Nick Lowe. Ramblin' Man vs. Radar Love --Aaagh, by far the hardest pick for me so far. I'm a Southern Rock guy, bu...

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