Welcome to the state of California, USA, hosting the July competition!
Driving between Sequoia trees - Photo by Azzazello on flickr
The Hollywood Hills - Photo by Gregg Jaden on flickr
Kit Harrington, Rose Leslie and Richard Madden speaking at the 2013 San Diego Comic Con International, for Game of Thrones. - Photo by Gage Skidmore on flickr
Its difficult to sum up San Diego Comic Con International in one picture, but people who like pop culture will usually find something they like there. 
Attending Comic Con is arguably
the most reliable way that an ordinary person can interact with the
people who create films, comics, media and entertainment within the
relevant genres.
Attending Comic Con is arguably
the most reliable way that an ordinary person can interact with the
people who create films, comics, media and entertainment within the
relevant genres.
Vineyards in Napa Valley - Photo by Gregg Jaden on flickr
Night
view of the Silicon Valley from the Mt. Hamilton Grandview restaurant -
Photo by Peter Thoeny - Quality HDR Photography on flickr
Santa Monica beach and pier.
Note
the Ferris wheel and roller-coaster in the upper left. California
beach culture is notable for having more than simple sunbathing at the
beach, whether that be rides like this, or the social activities at
Venice Beach
- Photo by mugatik on flickr
Evening fog rolling in off the ocean in San Francisco - Photo by David Yu on flickr
The Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland - Photo by Andy Castro on flickr
Characteristic
view of the Big Sur area on the Central Coast of California.
California has either 1,350 km or 5,515 km of coastline, depending on
whether you measure point to point, or measure along the beach. - Photo
by Dhilung Kirat on flickr
But now, enough about the location. Its time for some music!
Pre-selection - TC June 2014
As usual, the preselection contains a mix of songs intended to be interesting, competitive, or representative, listed in alphabetical order.
THE CONTESTANTS
(1) - Augustines - "Weary Eyes"
(2) - Beck - "Turn Away"
(3) - Marissa Nadler - "Firecrackers"
(4) - Michelle Williams featuring Beyoncé & Kelly Rowland - "Say Yes" By Request
(5) - Robert Ellis - "Chemical Plant"
(6) - Snowmine - "You Want Everything"
(7) - Sun Kil Moon - "Ben's My Friend" By Request
(8) - The Casket Girls - "Same Side" By Request
(2) - Beck - "Turn Away"
(3) - Marissa Nadler - "Firecrackers"
(4) - Michelle Williams featuring Beyoncé & Kelly Rowland - "Say Yes" By Request
(5) - Robert Ellis - "Chemical Plant"
(6) - Snowmine - "You Want Everything"
(7) - Sun Kil Moon - "Ben's My Friend" By Request
(8) - The Casket Girls - "Same Side" By Request
(9) - Wild Moccasins - "Sponge Won't Soak"
(10) - Xiu Xiu - "Botanica de Los Angeles"
The pre-selection songs on YouTube
(1) - Augustines - "Weary Eyes"
(2) - Beck - "Turn Away"
(3) - Marissa Nadler - "Firecrackers"
(4) - Michelle Williams featuring Beyoncé & Kelly Rowland - "Say Yes" By Request
(5) - Robert Ellis - "Chemical Plant"
(6) - Snowmine - "You Want Everything"
(7) - Sun Kil Moon - "Ben's My Friend" By Request
(8) - The Casket Girls - "Same Side" By Request
(9) - Wild Moccasins - "Sponge Won't Soak"
(10) - Xiu Xiu - "Botanica de Los Angeles"
The voting format is the same as in the Countdown International, 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1
points: the highest number of points for the song you like best, the
lowest number of points to the song you like least. Just send a message
or post a comment with your votes.
If you have enough free time, go ahead and write the reasons that you like and dislike particular songs, or parts of songs (but only if you want to).
Suggestions for future pre-selections are also very welcome.
