Our first finalist -- and a new faceoff

Rollicking soul vs. a punky indie romp.

Published November 6, 2006 1:00PM (EST)

Week 1 winner

Week 1 winner:: In last week's first faceoff, you ignored the plea of our expert judge Rob Thomas and gave the nod to the Caterpillars' "Motorbike" over Colorform's "Green and White Stripes," by a 54 percent to 46 percent margin.

Congratulations, Caterpillars! You are our first finalist for the $5,000 Song Search prize.

Week 2 brings a shift in pace and style, with twinges of punk and a serving of modern-day soul. You know the drill -- download, listen and vote! Remember, voting is open until 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, and check back later in the week, when Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie will be giving his pick.

Week 2: Eli Reed vs. Hallelujah the Hills

(Click song titles to listen or download)

"I'll Roll With You," Eli Reed and the True Loves

Eli Reed is a 23-year-old from Brookline, Mass., who has a voice that sounds imported directly from an earlier era of Motown. Tofu Hut wrote, "Oddly engaging Fauxtown in the Daptone vein from a white boy who sounds like he's got more 45's than you do," while Blair from Music for Robots loved it: "Holy crap! THIS is my favorite song on here, absolutely, hands down the best. Why don't more bands make soul music anymore? Real soul music like this. Fucking fantastic."

"Hallelujah the Hills," Hallelujah the Hills

Hallelujah the Hills is a Boston band that recently formed out of the ashes of the Stairs (who were nearly also Song Search contenders). Of their crackling eponymous entry, Blair said, "Weird! Not bad -- very '90s, i.e., Flogging Molly or similar."

Use the ballot to vote:

vizu_poll_id = 16427; vizu_category_id = 0; vizu_border_color = "#cc0000"; vizu_bg_color = "#FFFFFF"; vizu_bgTwo_color = "#ffffff"; vizu_question_color = "#FFFFFF"; vizu_answers_color = "#000000"; vizu_button_color = "#ccff00"; vizu_buttonText_color = "#000000"; vizu_panel_width = 400; vizu_simple = 0; vizu_panel_height = 198; vizu_panel_base_url = "http://www.vizu.com/";
Create Free Polls

What's your take -- should Reed's smoky vocals win, or is "HTH" the better song? Use the comments below!


By Salon Staff

MORE FROM Salon Staff


Related Topics ------------------------------------------