¤ milky moon ¤

Thank you under a CPell and Headless_Caboose for your votes, and also to Byron - not sure how I missed thanking you in the first batch. You also win the prize for the first known Occident quote in a JNST thread ... and if you're in the UK and the 3:51am timestamp is accurate, it's certainly true to say that, for you, the night is long.



Update: with sincere apologies to Headless_Caboose: all prizes to her of course!

My votes for the First Round Proper ...

Group 1 Monkey & Bear (2) || Instrumental 1999 (1) || Intermission (aka I The Province) [P]
Group 2 Prepared Harp Improv. || Erin (1) || Bridges And Balloons (3)
Group 3 Ribbon Bows (3) || Through The Trees [RF/LM] || Look And Despair (1)
Group 4 Autumn (1) || Sycamore [BC] (1) || Sprout And The Bean (2)
Group 5 Good Intentions Paving Company (2) || Lifetime [RF/LM] (1) || new harp song ["Hay and a clean stall"] (1)
Group 6 Swansea (1) || Swift Nude [P] || Cassiopeia (2)
Group 7 Ring The Living Bell [JN/S/WW] || Emily (3) || Exit (aka Orderly Manor) [P] (1)
Group 8 ’81 (1) || Our Anniversary [S] || This Side Of The Blue (3)
Group 9 In California (3) || Against The Sky [VB] || Another Day [RH/JN] (1)
Group 10 Easy (3) || Rock Bottom Riser [S] (1) || Don't Make Things [P]
Group 11 If You Can Afford It [P] (1) || Man’s Road || Cosmia (3)
Group 12 The North Star Grassman And The Ravens || Little Picture Of You [KB] || Only Skin (3)
Group 13 On A Good Day (2) || Sympathy [GS] || You And Me, Bess (1)
Group 14 Three Little Babes (1) || Secret [P] || Go Long (3)
Group 15 Angel (1) || Occident (1) || The Book Of Right-On (2)
Group 16 Kingfisher (3) || Good Heart, Money And Rain [MB] || Little Wing
Group 17 Jackrabbits (2) || Amour Fou [V] (1) || Colleen
Group 18 If I Were [VB] || Have One On Me (3) || River Guard [BC] (1)
Group 19 The Fray (1) || Never Come Home [P] || Clam Crab Cockle Cowrie (3)
Group 20 Soft As Chalk (3) || Inflammatory Writ (1) || We Are The Doctor [P]
Group 21 The Honey, The Power, The Light [GS] (1) || The Diver’s Wife (aka Diver) (2) || Does Not Suffice (1)
Group 22 Yarn And Glue || Sadie (3) || No Style [P] (1)
Group 23 "En Gallop" (aka En Gallop!) (3) || new piano song ["...space of half a day"] || Oh Canada [P]
Group 24 What We Have Known (3) || No Provenance (1)|| Kindness Be Conceived [TG]
Group 25 Do You Know Who You Are? [GS] (1) || Esme (2) || Peach, Plum, Pear (1)
Group 26 Ca’ The Yowes To The Knowes (1) || Flying A Kite (3) || Bring Me Down [GS]
Group 27 The Man Who Ran The Town [HS/JN] (1) || I'm Already Gone (aka Already Gone) [P] || Baby Birch (3)
Group 28 Tom Bombadil || About Me [P] || Sawdust & Diamonds (3)

Some of the 2nd/3rd places were quite hard to split for me - Group 7 for example: two very different songs to decide between, and neither of them are going to get anywhere near winning the tournament, both each strangely interesting.

Hi - I'm on course to close the voting for this round at midnight (UK time) tonight, so if you're intending to vote please don't delay as there are less than 9 hours left! Thank you

Sorry a little later than intended, but here are the ....



The thirty-two songs qualifying for the next round are shown underlined - more details in the next posting.

Group 1
20 Monkey & Bear
7 Instrumental 1999
0 Intermission (aka I The Province) [P]

Group 2
15 Bridges And Balloons
11 Erin
2 Prepared Harp Improv.

Group 3
16 Look And Despair
12 Ribbon Bows
0 Through The Trees [RF/LM]

Group 4
15 Autumn
11 Sprout And The Bean
2 Sycamore [BC]

Group 5
17 Good Intentions Paving Company
10 new harp song ["Hay and a clean stall"]
1 Lifetime [RF/LM]

Group 6
18 Swansea
9 Cassiopeia
0 Swift Nude [P]

Group 7
21 Emily
3 Ring The Living Bell [JN/S/WW]
2 Exit (aka Orderly Manor) [P]

Group 8
17 ’81
10 This Side Of The Blue
1 Our Anniversary [S]

Group 9
20 In California
3 Another Day [RH/JN]
2 Against The Sky [VB]

Group 10
21 Easy
4 Rock Bottom Riser [S]
1 Don't Make Things [P]

Group 11
21 Cosmia
3 If You Can Afford It [P]
3 Man’s Road

Group 12
21 Only Skin
6 The North Star Grassman And The Ravens
0 Little Picture Of You [KB]

Group 13
15 On A Good Day
12 You And Me, Bess
0 Sympathy [GS]

Group 14
21 Go Long
7 Three Little Babes
0 Secret [P]

Group 15
16 Occident
10 The Book Of Right-On
1 Angel

Group 16
21 Kingfisher
4 Little Wing
1 Good Heart, Money And Rain [MB]

Group 17
14 Colleen
12 Jackrabbits
1 Amour Fou [V]

Group 18
21 Have One On Me
2 If I Were [VB]
2 River Guard [BC]

Group 19
19 Clam Crab Cockle Cowrie
8 The Fray
1 Never Come Home [P]

Group 20
18 Soft As Chalk
10 Inflammatory Writ
0 We Are The Doctor [P]

Group 21
13 Does Not Suffice
12 The Diver’s Wife (aka Diver)
2 The Honey, The Power, The Light [GS]

Group 22
21 Sadie
6 Yarn And Glue
1 No Style [P]

Group 23
16 "En Gallop" (aka En Gallop!)
11 new piano song ["...space of half a day"]
0 Oh Canada [P]

Group 24
18 No Provenance
9 What We Have Known
1 Kindness Be Conceived [TG]

Group 25
14 Peach, Plum, Pear
13 Esme
1 Do You Know Who You Are? [GS]

Group 26
14 Flying A Kite
13 Ca’ The Yowes To The Knowes
0 Bring Me Down [GS]

Group 27
21 Baby Birch
3 The Man Who Ran The Town [HS/JN]
1 I'm Already Gone (aka Already Gone) [P]

Group 28
21 Sawdust & Diamonds
1 Tom Bombadil
1 About Me [P]


The best perfroming songs in the past which have NOT made it through to the next round are thus
Sprout And The Bean (21st best in past years), The Book Of Right-On (24th), and perhaps most
surprisingly (to me at least) What We Have Known (28th), followed by This Side Of The Blue (30th) and Erin (33rd).
It was a poor showing for the MEM and early era songs. All 5 Ys songs are there, together with all 18 from HOOM (aided by having 4 of the 6 'best runners-up), but only six from MEM. The balance is made up of:
1 pre-MEM (Flying A Kite)
1 uncollected (Colleen)
3 unreleased (Look And Despair, Ca' The Yowes To The Knowes, The Diver's Wife/Diver)

Draw and instructions for the Second Round follows shortly.

Thank you so much to those of you who have voted, but I have to face the facts that interest has been
very low this year. The levels do not really justify a protracted and slow final phase, so it'll be a straight knockout from here on in, encompassing the 28 group winners and what was intended to be the four best runners-up.

Calculating the runners-up on the basis of proportion of points obtained within their group, however, gave
Esme and Ca' The Yowes To The Knowes as the best two (each with 13 points, representing 48% and 46% respectively), and then a tie between three songs all on 12 votes / 44%, namely You And Me, Bess, The Diver's Wife (aka Diver), and Jackrabbits. As only one other song garnered 12 votes, Ribbon Bows (43%), I thought it fairest to include that as well. Best runners-up are marked * in the draw.

This means that instead of 16 pairings, there will be 14 pairs, and two groups of three.

Instructions are dead simple this time - just indicate which song you prefer from each pair or triplet. It's a straight choice: just pick one, no points or anything to be allocated.

The draw has been carried out using points / percentages gained, and prior rankings, to seed the songs in
much the same way as a tournament at lawn tennis, and from here on in, the grid remains fixed.

I intend to keep each round open for ONLY ONE WEEK (ending at a minute to midnight on successive Monday evenings, London time). Because of my lateness today, this round will be half a day shorter: apologies for that. From the next round onwards, you'll also be asked to vote on the eliminated songs to
determine the minor placings.

Tie 1 - Colleen - v - Flying A Kite
Tie 2 - No Provenance - v - In California
Tie 3 - Cosmia - v - Occident
Tie 4 - Does Not Suffice - v - Swansea
Tie 5 - On A Good Day - v - Go Long
Tie 6 - Kingfisher - v - Peach, Plum, Pear
Tie 7 - Clam Crab Cockle Cowrie - v - Soft As Chalk
Tie 8 - Ca’ The Yowes To The Knowes* - v - Sawdust & Diamonds
Tie 9 - "En Gallop" (aka En Gallop!) - v - Easy
Tie 10 - Emily - v - Autumn
Tie 11 - Have One On Me - v - Esme*
Tie 12 - Look And Despair - v - Bridges And Balloons
Tie 13 - Jackrabbits* - v - Only Skin - v - The Diver’s Wife (aka Diver)*
Tie 14 - Good Intentions Paving Company - v - Sadie
Tie 15 - Monkey & Bear - v - Ribbon Bows* - v - You And Me, Bess*
Tie 16 - Baby Birch - v - ’81

Tie 1 - Colleen
Tie 2 - In California
Tie 3 - Cosmia
Tie 4 - Swansea
Tie 5 - Go Long
Tie 6 - Kingfisher
Tie 7 - Soft As Chalk
Tie 8 - Sawdust & Diamonds
Tie 9 - "En Gallop" (aka En Gallop!)
Tie 10 - Emily
Tie 11 - Have One On Me
Tie 12 - Look And Despair
Tie 13 - Only Skin
Tie 14 - Sadie
Tie 15 - You And Me, Bess*
Tie 16 - Baby Birch

Tie 1 - Colleen
Tie 2 - In California
Tie 3 - Cosmia
Tie 4 - Does Not Suffice
Tie 5 - On A Good Day
Tie 6 - Peach, Plum, Pear
Tie 7 - Clam Crab Cockle Cowrie
Tie 8 - Sawdust & Diamonds
Tie 9 - Easy
Tie 10 - Emily
Tie 11 - Have One On Me
Tie 12 - Look And Despair
Tie 13 - Only Skin
Tie 14 - Good Intentions Paving Company
Tie 15 - Monkey & Bear
Tie 16 - Baby Birch

Thank you, Claire, for being the first to vote in this round.

MY VOTES FOR ROUND TWO
Tie 1 - Flying A Kite
Tie 2 - In California
Tie 3 - Cosmia
Tie 4 - Swansea
Tie 5 - Go Long
Tie 6 - Kingfisher
Tie 7 - Soft As Chalk
Tie 8 - Sawdust & Diamonds
Tie 9 - "En Gallop" (aka En Gallop!)
Tie 10 - Emily
Tie 11 - Have One On Me
Tie 12 - Bridges And Balloons
Tie 13 - Only Skin
Tie 14 - Sadie
Tie 15 - Ribbon Bows*
Tie 16 - Baby Birch

Ties 4 & 7 posed the hardest choices for me.

My votes... a few of these were pretty tough!

Tie 1 - Colleen
Tie 2 - In California
Tie 3 - Cosmia
Tie 4 - Swansea
Tie 5 - Go Long
Tie 6 - Kingfisher
Tie 7 - Clam Crab Cockle Cowrie
Tie 8 - Sawdust & Diamonds
Tie 9 - "En Gallop" (aka En Gallop!)
Tie 10 - Emily
Tie 11 - Have One On Me
Tie 12 - Bridges And Balloons
Tie 13 - Only Skin
Tie 14 - Sadie
Tie 15 - Monkey & Bear
Tie 16 - Baby Birch

Tie 1 - Colleen
Tie 2 - No Provenance
Tie 3 - Cosmia
Tie 4 - Swansea
Tie 5 - Go Long
Tie 6 - Kingfisher
Tie 7 - Soft As Chalk
Tie 8 - Sawdust & Diamonds
Tie 9 - Easy
Tie 10 - Emily
Tie 11 - Have One On Me
Tie 12 - Look And Despair
Tie 13 - Only Skin
Tie 14 - Sadie
Tie 15 - Ribbon Bows*
Tie 16 - Baby Birch

This is getting difficult already! I’m so glad Ribbon Bows made it through though! Tie 15 is being very suspenseful at the moment, wow. A couple of hard decisions here, Tie 2 was especially tricky for me, both are among my top Joanna choices, I really can’t decide between them but after listening through both, No Provenance came on top. I’d probably vote differently tomorrow.
The second tough one was Tie 10, my initial gut feeling was actually to vote for Autumn because I’ve loved it so thoroughly the last six months or so. I think ‘04:58 – ‘06:08 on Autumn is better than anything on Emily, or at least the album version of Emily, but I don’t think the lyrics on Autumn are particularly good, while Emily is beautifully written. String band Emily came on top in the end..

I’m sad to see Esme go but couldn’t vote down the title track. Thanks again for still running this Steve, I don’t mind the low voting outcome, I’m having fun, and perhaps we’ll get a more “eccentric” result seeing as it might be less representative, who knows!

Tie 1 - Colleen
Tie 2 - In California
Tie 3 - Occident
Tie 4 - Swansea
Tie 5 - On A Good Day
Tie 6 - Peach, Plum, Pear
Tie 7 - Soft As Chalk
Tie 8 - Ca’ The Yowes To The Knowes
Tie 9 - Easy
Tie 10 - Autumn
Tie 11 - Have One On Me
Tie 12 - Look And Despair
Tie 13 - Only Skin
Tie 14 - Good Intentions Paving Company
Tie 15 - Monkey & Bear
Tie 16 - ’81

Tie 1 - Colleen
Tie 2 - No Provenance
Tie 3 - Cosmia
Tie 4 - Swansea
Tie 5 - Go Long
Tie 6 - Kingfisher
Tie 7 - Soft As Chalk
Tie 8 - Sawdust & Diamonds
Tie 9 - Easy
Tie 10 - Emily
Tie 11 - Have One On Me
Tie 12 - Look And Despair
Tie 13 - Only Skin
Tie 14 - Sadie
Tie 15 - Monkey & Bear
Tie 16 - Baby Birch

Wow, some tough choices this time! Tie 5 and 14 were especially hard for me. I love the paired down simplicity of On a Good Day, but Go Long is one of my favourite of her more complex songs. Good Intentions is such a distinct song in her catalogue that it's hard to compare it to the others. I love the energy of that song, but not quite enough to vote for it over one of my favourites from MEM.

Thanks for continuing with the tournament Steve. Even with the low turnout I like the idea of having a yearly record even if there isn't much new material. It's always fun to think about the different qualities of her songs.

Tie 1 - Colleen
Tie 2 - In California
Tie 3 - Cosmia
Tie 4 - Does Not Suffice
Tie 5 - On A Good Day
Tie 6 - Kingfisher
Tie 7 - Clam Crab Cockle Cowrie
Tie 8 - Sawdust & Diamonds
Tie 9 - Easy
Tie 10 - Autumn
Tie 11 - Esme
Tie 12 - Look And Despair
Tie 13 - Jackrabbits
Tie 14 - Good Intentions Paving Company
Tie 15 - Ribbon Bows
Tie 16 - Baby Birch

Thank you for your votes ragtag, solfatara, Alex Ysoltsev, and Headless_Caboose. I am glad that we're getting a better turnout this round, and very gratified by the kind comments about the tournament.

Solfatara's last comment, and Headless_Caboose's last-but-one are very true, and these factors contribute to the fun of running it, even though this year's has been a difficult one for me for a few reasons.

It's also interesting to read each person's comments about the choices they had to make - which were hard, which easy, etc. I would make more comments myself, but I wouldn't want anyone to think I was somehow prejudicing the outcome - but I very much support other voters doing so. All I'd say at this point is that - after initially feeling good that one of my very favourites (which never quite seems to break into the top echelons) was going through, the latest votes have turned it around!

I try to make a point of re-listening to each song, in pairing order, before voting, as I find it sometimes shakes my preconceptions as to which way I might vote. Even the most well-worn tracks can come into a different focus when you simply have to concentrate on comparing it against just a couple of others. Headless_Caboose makes a really good point about how difficult it can be to compare such different songs, and how some of them (like GIPC) really don't fit into any sort of "periodic table". Some artists work to a formula, and all their songs seem to conform to one (or a small number of) set types. I think Joanna is less like that than most, although for me there is a definite difference between the songs in each of the three main albums. A game I sometimes play is with Ys: I think M&B is the odd-one-out on that album, so I ask myself which other song from her catalogue would have been more of a piece with the other four? It usually comes down to two - one each from MEM and HOOM - but I don't think Colleen (the other song from that era) would fit with the others either.

Thank you all again for your votes, and please keep them coming over the next four days.

Tie 1 - Colleen
Tie 2 - No Provenance
Tie 3 - Cosmia
Tie 4 - Does Not Suffice
Tie 5 - Go Long
Tie 6 - Peach, Plum, Pear
Tie 7 - Soft As Chalk
Tie 8 - Ca’ The Yowes To The Knowes*
Tie 9 - Easy
Tie 10 - Autumn
Tie 11 - Have One On Me
Tie 12 - Look And Despair
Tie 13 - Only Skin
Tie 14 - Good Intentions Paving Company
Tie 15 - You And Me, Bess*
Tie 16 - ’81
I didn't find it so hard this time, only Tie 14, as Sadie is one of my most favourite songs from MEM. But I really love GIPC so went with that.

Thank you to first-time voter gerry2 for your votes, and also to under a CPell, who (along with claire) is one of only three people who voted in the very first round of JNST1 to have also done so in this round.
For anyone else pondering their choices for this round, please note that you have just under 37 hours to cast your votes (midnight at the end of Monday, London time).

Voting is now closed for the Second Round of the JNST4.

However, one of the ties has ended level, and as this was a group of three, I have contacted those voters who selected the other song, to ascertain their second choices. I had not catered for this eventuality in the rules, but it seemed the fairest approach, so long as the delay isn't too long.

Please check back later for the result, and for the opening of voting for Round Three as soon as I list the ties.

Sorry for the inconvenience!

Much as it pains me to see You and Me Bess go, I'll switch my vote to Monkey & Bear for the tie break.

I think the problem has now been resolved with Claire changing her vote? My second favourite was going to be Ribbon Bows, so I don't think that would have been any help, if Claire had chosen Monkey and Bear as her second favourite...

Thank you claire and under a CPell for your updates. With each of you choosing a different song for the tie-break, I considered putting Monkey & Bear through since Ribbon Bows has an asterisk beside it (carried forward from the last round because it was one of the 'best runners-up') but I think it will be fairer to send both of them into the next round anyway. I'll give them ½ a point each, and an asterisk!

Here, then, with the qualifiers underlined, are the



Tie 1
7 Colleen
1 Flying A Kite
Tie 2
5 In California
3 No Provenance
Tie 3
7 Cosmia
1 Occident
Tie 4
6 Swansea
2 Does Not Suffice
Tie 5
6 Go Long
2 On A Good Day
Tie 6
6 Kingfisher
2 Peach, Plum, Pear
Tie 7
6 Soft As Chalk
2 Clam Crab Cockle Cowrie
Tie 8
6 Sawdust & Diamonds
2 Ca’ The Yowes To The Knowes*
Tie 9
5 Easy
3 "En Gallop" (aka En Gallop!)
Tie 10
5 Emily
3 Autumn
Tie 11
7 Have One On Me
1 Esme*
Tie 12
6 Look And Despair
2 Bridges And Balloons
Tie 13
7 Only Skin
1 Jackrabbits*
0 The Diver’s Wife (aka Diver)*
Tie 14
5 Sadie
3 Good Intentions Paving Company
Tie 15
3½ Monkey & Bear
3½ Ribbon Bows*
2 You And Me, Bess*
Tie 16
6 Baby Birch
2 ’81

And here is the draw for the next round. Rules are exactly the same - please pick one song from each tie. The voting is intended to end at 23:59 London time on Monday 22nd September 2014, so - because of the delay with this round, there are only about 6½ days for this round.

There is also a "consolation round", which I will detail underneath.



Tie 1 - Colleen - v - In California
Tie 2 - Cosmia - v - Swansea
Tie 3 - Go Long - v - Kingfisher - v - Ribbon Bows **
Tie 4 - Soft As Chalk - v - Sawdust & Diamonds
Tie 5 - Easy - v - Emily
Tie 6 - Have One On Me - v - Look And Despair
Tie 7 - Only Skin - v - Sadie
Tie 8 - Monkey & Bear * - v - Baby Birch



In addition, I am listing the songs eliminated in the round just completed, and I invite you to list them in your order of preference (favourite at the top), so as to form the basis of deciding the lower placings. This will be continued through to the end of the tournament. I will allocate 20 points to your first choice, 19 to the next, and so on. However, you also have the option of introducing three "blank lines", to indicate where you think there is a clear division, and if you use these, I will skip a score (so, if your choices begin with Song A first, then Song B, then "----", then Song C, I will allocate 20 to A, 19 to B, and 17 to C, and so on. Finally, the figure shown in the left column will be carried forward as a "bonus" score, according to a formula which I will describe a bit later on. A small group of leaders (probably 3) will go forward to join the songs eliminated at the main Round 3 in the next Consolation Round.

9·75 Good Intentions Paving Company
9·50 "En Gallop" (aka En Gallop!)
8·25 You And Me, Bess*
8.00 Clam Crab Cockle Cowrie
7·25 Does Not Suffice
7·25 No Provenance
6·75 Bridges And Balloons
6·75 Autumn
6·50 Peach, Plum, Pear
6.00 ’81
5·75 On A Good Day
5.00 Flying A Kite
4·50 Ca’ The Yowes To The Knowes*
3·50 Esme*
3.00 Occident
2.00 Jackrabbits*
0·25 The Diver’s Wife (aka Diver)*