We think it's obvious, but there are plenty of ways to play March Fadness, depending on whether you're reading, listening, and thinking during the actual running of the tournament or after the fact. Suggestions here:

sign up for the mailing list to get notifications of new games in Feb and March
listen to the songs: via spotify (see playlist above) or on your kickass 5-cd changer or watch the embedded videos
read the essays: Each song is introduced by a writer we like, who provides analysis, autobiography, close reading, or other sorts of context
think, rethink, reminisce: who were you then? who are you now? what is good or terrible or notable or indelible about this song?
choose: which song is better? which song makes you feel better? which song transports you most effectively? which song deserved your love then? which song deserves your love now? which essay makes you feel the best about the song (or in spite of the song)? which is more one-hit-wondery? which is most epic? which is most hateful? Which is greatest (not necessarily to say "good")? Which you listening to these songs do you prefer? What is the nature of fame? Who are you? What does pop music or taste even mean? (Any of these are questions that may guide your vote.)
vote: games are decided by a combination of two polls: 1> on the game page itself, assuming the game is still live, and 2> on the marchfadness twitter
the winner advances to the next game; repeat until we have a winner crowned on the last day of March
after-the-fact: as you may notice, the (sorta democratic...sound familiar?) outcome isn't the important part of this; the important (and fun) part is what listening to the songs does to you and what you think about them and about the listening; some matchups will be increasingly difficult as the tournament goes on. The harder the answer is, the more it potentially reveals about you. So this can be easily played after March ends over the course of a couple nights with your partner or spouse or one-night-stand or kids or parents or editor.
be in touch with us and let us know what you think

*you might also enjoy the March Sadness experience from 2016)