march vladness: the tournament of goth

March Vladness, which took place in March 2019, was the latest in our series of yearly March-Madness-style tournaments of essays about songs. Writers & musicians each take on a song from the 64-song field, and we play the tournament off, essay vs essay and song vs song, each game decided by popular vote, until we crown a champion at month’s end.

If you’re here late to the game, which you probably are, it’s worth mentioning that you can read all 64 essays in this year’s tournament under GAMES above or under the March Vladness tab. Plus we have more original ESSAYS and POEMS relating to Vladness (or previous Xnesses). Hit em up above.

We’ll be shifting over to the 2020 theme, March Badness, being the worst songs to crack the Top 5 of the US Billboard Hot 100, 1970-1989, in June. More details on that longlist to come, but if you have an interest in writing for the tournament, you’ll want to tweet at us or hit us up on email. We’ll be doing a draft in the summer for the 64 spots, since we anticipate having more interest. So send us your interest ASAP to get involved. We often have a waitlist in case folks bail later, too, so you can get on that if you miss the draft.

Signed, The March Xness Selection Committee

Complete youtube playlist 💀💀💀 Spotify (mostly complete) playlist.

past games / results

(all games begin and end at 9am Arizona time)

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And while you’re here, check out some of our pre- and post-tournament essays on goth-adjacent material. Or if you want to write about something goth-adjacent, we’ll be publishing essays through the early summer, so pitch us.

The bracket is set. we welcome discussion.

And if you'd like to write for the tournament, hit us up on twitter or email ASAP. At this point we’ve already assigned all the songs for the 2019 tourney, but we sometimes need backup folks in case someone bails on their assignment. We also welcome essays and poems on songs not included in the bracket, or goth-adjacent subjects. Pitch us, as we'll publish essays and poems in the months leading up to the tournament.

We welcome submissions or pitches for essays and poems relating to goth or any of these bands, or arguing for a band's (or song's) inclusion. We publish original essays and original and reprinted poems on related subjects before the tourney starts, so hit us up with your arguments for Valor-era Christian Death or why the Sisters of Mercy totally sold out after First and Last and Always, or essays about classic goth clubs or experiences or trying to make sense of this brilliant era of music and lifestyle and fashion and ethos.

Have a pitch or a suggestion? Hit us up on twitter or email.

march vladness: the tournament of goth

past games / results

(all games begin and end at 9am Arizona time)

the consolation match — april 1

the championship — MARCH 29

final four — MARCH 27

final four — MARCH 26

the elite 8 — MARCH 25

the elite 8 — MARCH 22

the Sweet 16 — MARCH 16

the Sweet 16 — MARCH 18

the Sweet 16 — MARCH 19

the Sweet 16 — MARCH 20

SECOND ROUND — MARCH 11

SECOND ROUND — MARCH 12

SECOND ROUND — MARCH 13

SECOND ROUND — MARCH 14

First Round — March 1

First Round — March 2

First Round — March 3

First Round — March 4

First Round — March 5

First Round — March 6

First Round — March 7

First Round — March 8

The bracket is set. we welcome discussion.

Want to get email updates on all things March Vladness during February and March? Join the email list: