Song of the Day #3,263: ‘Mad About You’ – Sting

I was shocked to see that today’s Random iTunes Selection has never been featured on this blog. ‘Mad About You’ is not only my favorite Sting song but one of my favorite songs by anybody.

Hearing this makes me feel just fine about (spoiler alert!) Sting’s runaway win over Sinead O’Connor in the first round of Montauk Madness.

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Song of the Day #3,262: ‘Tequila Sunrise’ – Eagles

I deliberately left the Eagles out of Montauk Madness, but now I feel a little guilty about it.

I’ve always considered myself an Eagles hater, based mostly on my dislike of their signature album, Hotel California. But last September I took a dive into their whole catalog and realized I’m actually quite fond of their earlier, more country-folk songs.

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Song of the Day #3,261: ‘Love Shines’ – Ron Sexsmith

Narrowing the first round of Montauk Madness down to 64 artists was a difficult task, particularly when it came to the final dozen or so contestants. To make room for a sentimental favorite like Toad the Wet Sprocket, I have to leave out The Wallflowers, The Who, Walk the Moon, Wilo and The White Stripes. And those are just the W’s.

I made a lot of hard decisions like that, which I could argue either way. If I started over, I might have a whole different lineup of acts filling out the 50-64 slots.

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Song of the Day #3,259: ‘Vicar in a Tutu’ – The Smiths vs. Ben Folds

At long last, here we are at the final matchup of Round One of Montauk Madness! Thirty-two battles to determine which 32 artists will advance to fight again.

Both of today’s contenders have shown up already in Round One in other incarnations: The Smiths’ frontman Morrissey showed up as a solo act, while Ben Folds showed up in the form of his band, Ben Folds Five.

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