I see some hands over here...
Dixville Notch, here we come!
Three very easy calls.
1. The Clash. Not quite The Only Band That Matters, but they matter a heck of a lot more than a guy whose chief claim to fame is marrying Julia Roberts.
2. Both of these acts wanted to be funky. Only one of them succeeded. Sly and comapny by a country mile.
3. The Band. In a just world, they and CCR would trade relative airplay and exposure. Steve Miller is the epitome of 70s AOR mediocrity. And that's _before_ you take the awful "Abracadabra" into account.
And the one matchup that gave me pause...
4. Fleetwood Mac. Both they and KISS have their uses, and their influences. Both can make for pleasant radio listening. Both embarass themselves more every year. I'm going with Fleetwood Mac because I think they have a deeper bench.
1. The Clash is the better band. And Lyle Lovett was in Pret-A-Porter - God, that was an awful movie.
Can they, like, lose twice?
2. The end of the Shrek karaoke dance party beats out hardcore Simpsons nudity.
Sly.
3. Steve Miller Band. Guilty pleasure.
4. I've never liked Fleetwood Mac. Kiss wins by default.
1. The Clash. Because they're The Clash. 'Nuff said.
2. Sly
3. The Band, on the strength of The Weight alone.
4. Fleetwood Mac, because Gene Simmons is such an idiot and KISS has never been much more than a business venture.
The Clash.
Sly. It doesn't bode well for them that up until the moment I read otherwise I would have sworn that one of their listed songs was a KC tune.
The Band. I know little of the Band's work, but what I know I like. I know much of Steve Miller's and that's why I'm not voting for him.
You wanted the best and you got the best! The hottest band in the world....KISS!!!
The Clash. And in true punk fashion, I refuse to give a reason why.
I don't know if I'm really funky enough to appreciate Sly and the Family Stone. But one thing I do know is that KC is maybe less funky than I am.
Egad. I wouldn't be horribly distraught if I never heard anything from either of these "Bands" ever again. I vote for KC and the Sunshine Band over both The Band AND The Steve Miller Band, even if they were performing together, or in mime fashion.
In the early 80's, I owned a Ben Cooper "Peter Criss" Halloween costume, and I went Trick or Treating in it; I never had the desire to go as Mick Fleetwood. I've never seen Lindsey Buckingham spit out blood, and only having one potential witch in your outfit doesn't hold a candle to right-wing fundies claiming that you all work for Satan. Finally, when I went to see "Daredevil" at Regal Cinemas, I didn't have to sit through a bad commercial for a KISS album, so I think we have a winner.
1. The Clash. This could be the biggest blowout ever, unless you pit the Beatles against Wang Chung.
Seriously, did Lyle Lovett inspire an all star tribute of London Calling at the Grammies? Did Lyle change punk and music forever? Did Lyle marry Julia Roberts? Well yes, but that was pre-Erin Brockovich Julia.
2. Ok, KC is fun. But really, Sly is the better band. Everyday People inspires more thought than disco music.
3. I'm a huge Steve Miller Band fan, but against The Band, whose entire genius can be summed up in "The Waltz", I have to say no. I guess I'm not a frat boy at heart. It's disappointing these two great groups had to go up against one another.
4. I'm gonna go with Fleetwood Mac, even if their post-Rumours stuff wasn't great. I saw their reunion a few years ago, and it was amazing. KISS just never thrilled me.
The possibility almost existed for an all-Texas slate today, but not quite. Anyway, the votes:
Lyle Lovett & His Large Band - I didn't nominate them in, and it's right, I'm not from Texas (originally), but this vote allows me to earn good karma points w/ the girlfriend. Furthermore, whoever was in charge of the music at this past weekend's North Texas Youth Lacrosse Association playoffs seemed to have a thing for Lovett music, thus bringing together two tastes that normally don't mix. (OK, admittedly the greater likelihood of DMB as lacrosse music isn't exactly a great draw for tournament voters either, but that's OK)
Sly and the Family Stone - Sly has Dallas roots, and the group brings far more funk to the table.
The Band - Steve Miller actually has the Metroplex connection, spending part of his youth at St. Mark's prep school, but it's not enough here.
Fleetwood Mac - No connections, but I'm not planning to be inducted into the KISS army anytime soon.
1. The Clash
2. Sly and the Family Stone. I always thought that K.C. was recycling the same song over and over again. Then they covered "It's the Same Old Song" and the cat got out of the bag.
3. The Band
4. Fleetwood Mac. Do we really know it's the same guys behind the KISS makeup? Maybe they've been licensed and we don't know it. Something like that Holiday Inn Express commercial could actually be true.
The Clash. Curious. How did a 16-song best of list not have "Janie Jones" or "I'm So Bored"? I know we're not supposed to complain, but I'm just surprised.
KC and the Sunshine Band. Nerds be damned.
The Band. Has anyone ever actually seen Steve Miller alive? Is he even a real person?
Fleetwood Mac. One of the Top 5 lyrics of all time: "Lay me down in the tall grass/and let me do my stuff."
1.) The Clash. Duh.
2.) Sly & the Family Stone. Disco was pointless.
3.) Don't care either way.
4.) I was at my friendly local record shop waiting to check out recently, and I was looking at their top 50 albums of the week. The new Cat Power topped the list; there were the Uncle Tupelo re-releases, the new Yo La Tengo, etc. And one name just stood out as not making any sense whatsoever: Fleetwood Mac.
I was joking with the cashier about it, and he said, "You know, it's weird. They just have this power. People will come in and buy the most hardcore shit and buy Fleetwood Mac too. I don't understand it."
I don't know if my neighbors are closet Fleetwood Mac fans or if they're just burning Fleetwood Mac CDs on a gigantic pyre. Either way, I approve, and since I don't really care about either of these bands, I'll give my neighbors my proxy vote.
1. The Clash. A 1 seed seems excessive, but Lyle Lovett and who?! Please, y'all (sorry, forgot where I am--yinz) can stop bitching about Squirrel Nut Zippers now and refocus your energies here.
2. Sly. I argued for disco for inclusion's sake, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna vote hard for it.
3. The Band. OK, so remember the year when Lollapalooza jumped the shark by bringing back older bands including Devo? (1997, '98?) In response a local radio station played fake commercials for the next five years of Lollapalooza lineups, getting more and more comical (Kajagoogoo, Taco...). The penultimate year (2001?) ended with, "and on the second stage, the STEEEEEVE Miller Band"; the last one ended with, "and in the parking lot, the STEEEEEVE Miller Band". That says volumes.
And "The Weight" is my second favorite song whose title is totally opaque to the song's contents. (Creeque Alley beats it by a nose.)
4. Fleetwood Mac in a photo finish over Oncoming Traffic.
One of the personally painful matchups here. I'll vote Lyle this round, then ride the Clash wave to the end. Because if I had a boat, I'd go out on the ocean. And if I had a pony, I'd ride him on my boat.
Sly. Please.
The Band.
KISS. Stevie Nicks is a more contrived persona than any KISS character. Plus Fleetwood Mac never appeared in a Howard the Duck comic.
Clash
Sly and the Family Stone
The Band
Fleetwood Mac
Hmmm, Rough choices today...
1. Gotta go with the Clash. Lyle Lovett was married to Julia Roberts, but that didn't save his music.
2. Sly and the Family Stone.
3. The Band. Solely on the fact that Up on Cripple Creek was covered by Tom Wopat for the Dukes of Hazzard CD.
4. Fleetwood Mac. Stevie Nicks rocks.
Clash
Sly
Miller
KISS (Greg perfectly summarized the vibe I get out of Kraft Fleet and Macaroni ,it's the cheesiest.)
1. Clash
2. Sly
3. The Band
4. KISS
Vote for Lyle for two reasons: 1) I just happened to have dug my LLAHLB cassette out yesterday, and had been listening to it when I pulled up today's update, and 2) There's no way I'm going to vote for the other country group in this thing (Alabama) against their opponent (The Beatles) even thought I'm the one who got Alabama here thanks to my Powerball vote.
Speaking of which, Craig, are you taking guest suggestions for Song Highlights? (The AMG's suggestions miss out on most of the Large Band's first album, which is their best.) It's the least I can do for po' Alabama, who are gonna get slaughtered in a couple of days.
I am more than happy to take guest suggestions (and have occasionally solicited some from my realm of experts).
10-12 songs, go for primarily singles or songs people will likely know from something and get it to me the day before the band is supposed to be up, and yeah, no sweat (and if you want to fix a band's list that won in this round, we'll do that too.)
Good. We can start with Aerosmith, mostly by purging some of their lame '90s output with more stuff from the "classic" era.
Given the choice between hypothetical "greatest hit" CDs as listed on your site, I'd have likely opted for Squeeze's, and I'd have taken Dire Straits with barely a thought. And yet I'm pulling the lever for the boys from Sunapee next round too.
Hmm..did that last sound like an alarming loss of perspective?
Damn, I'm bored here at work.
1. pick up the phone, London Calling.(Sorry--that was horrible)
2. Sly and the Fam.
3. Steve Miller Band--just for Jungle Love.
4. Fleetwood Mac
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