BSBB Round 1: OneRepublic, “Love Runs Out” vs. Disclosure feat. Sam Smith, “Latch”
Best Song Bracket Battle:View the Matchups|Critics and Rules
Love Runs Out
OneRepublic
Latch
Disclosure feat. Sam Smith
CHRIS PAYNE: I kind of want to say something about how "Latch" was really from like two years ago, but dammit, it's the coolest song on this list so I just can't.
My Vote: "Latch"
MEAGHAN GARVEY: I can't help but hold Disclosure at an arm's length. As a lifelong Chicagoan up until last year, I'm a bit skeeved out that the global face of house music is a duo of British twenty-somethings, and it's especially bittersweet to consider in the year of Frankie Knuckles' death. It's weird, man. But I remember seeing Disclosure perform in late 2012, just after "Latch" initially touched down—and they killed it! I'm not sure what their influence will mean in the long-term: if their take on "classic" house will act as a loving gateway to the real classics, or if the narrative of house will slowly slip away from its original context. But for now, "Latch" still feels singular and special when it comes on the radio.
My Vote: "Latch"
MYLES TANZER: "Love Runs Out" is a great rock song. This is lead singer Ryan Tedder's lane and no one can touch him on a track like this. It's got everything all of the parts you like about Adele's "Rumor Has It" and "Rolling In The Deep" rolled into one. But "Latch" is the future. It's an understated love song with the beat of the year, performed by a quietly gay man. "Love Runs Out" will sound exactly the same in 20 years, but "Latch" will be part of something much bigger.
My Vote: "Latch"
ERIN STRECKER: Sam Smith may have carried my vote for "Stay With Me," but I'll give the edge here to OneRepublic because Smith going to house music makes me uncomfortable and I refuse to support it.
My Vote: " Love Runs Out"
STEVEN J. HOROWITZ: Comparing a vanilla latte to Disclosure and Sam Smith is particularly difficult, especially when it's decaf. Even though "Latch" was released in late 2012, it still towers above most songs that broke into the top 10 — and it's just as strong two years later.
My Vote: "Latch"
OVERALL WINNER:
"Latch"
Best Song Bracket Battle:View the Matchups|Critics and Rules
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