The QB-Chat Singles of the Half-Century

• From: cdbarker
• Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 15:40:24 -0800
• Message-ID: <000S5IU38.00173MB90.12170551-quizbowl_at_...>

Oh, what mighty games are born of innocent mentions in the chat room.

So, Mr.
Showbiz is at it again, but the QB community is hopefully far more pop culture savvy than the
general public, as well, screw it I just wanted to breathe some life back into
QB-Chat.

Here's the deal, Mr. Showbiz has their
"Centurama" Singles of the Century contest wrapping
up at the moment, and because this list
has a number of music aficionados on it, as
well as people who like a good debate, I have set up, on my web page, the nominee lists for
the contest. They can be found at the following addresses:

1950s and 1960s:

<a href=http://www.umich.edu/~cdbarker/singles60.html target=new>http://www.umich.edu/~cdbarker/singles60.html</a>

1970s:
<a href=http://www.umich.edu/~cdbarker/singles70.html target=new>http://www.umich.edu/~cdbarker/singles70.html</a>

1980s:
<a href=http://www.umich.edu/~cdbarker/singles80.html target=new>http://www.umich.edu/~cdbarker/singles80.html</a>

1990s:
<a href=http://www.umich.edu/~cdbarker/singles90.html target=new>http://www.umich.edu/~cdbarker/singles90.html</a>

>From Mr. Showbiz:
"Of the millions of popular songs released since the birth of rock 'n'
roll in the early 1950s, which deserve to be considered the Top 100 Singles of All Time?
Now's your chance to decide. We've compiled lists of 100 nominees from each of four time
periods  the '50s & '60s, the '70s, the '80s, and the '90s  based on chart position (many
hit No. 1), enduring popularity, and/or the general feeling of goodwill a particular song
still inspires.

Be sure to check your final list twice  once it's submitted, you
can't make any changes. Write-in picks are also welcome."

OK, things on my
end:
1). I DIDN'T PICK THE SONGS. I don't know any more about the rubric behind or rationale
for their choices any more than what is written above.

2). Ballots are to be
submitted to qb-chat in the following format:
"Song" by Artist - Year
i.e. "Red Hill
Mining Town" by U2 - 1987

3). You get to vote for 10 songs per "decade" or less, each
vote is worth one point towards the overall standing, so no need to rank within the decades
or anything like that. You get three write-in votes per decade.


4). Yes, the
ballots are public. I think this is a good idea, that way if Funkytown wins best single of the
80s, we'll know who to blame. Besides, what fun is the poll if we can't politely take
umbrage with other people's picks. It might inspire you to make your own. My ballot will go up
next.

5). If you'd like to make commentary on your picks, please do it after each decade block,
so I have an easier time compiling the data.

The Polls will close, let's say
January 3, at the latest. 

I will be posting the ballots on my webpage
at:
<a href=http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cdbarker/ballots.html target=new>http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cdbarker/ballots.html</a>
which will be updated every so often.


CDB
(Thanks to all who inspired this
idea)