I see some hands over here...
No real comments other than gratuitous Mavs cheering.
Kinks
Byrds
Skynyrd
Allman Brothers
1. Kinks. Clippy breaks my heart once again. I want badly to support Def Leppard. And I would vote for Def Leppard if not for the fact that the Kinks are the band in this bracket that (IMO) most deserves to reach the Elite Eight. Superb hit songs in three different decades, and lots of great stuff most people haven't heard.
2. Either way, David Crosby gets thru, huh? I'm more likely to listen to CSN(Y) than to the Byrds. I have this vague feeling that the Byrds "should" win, and it's not like I don't enjoy their songs as well. Put me down for the Byrds.
3. Supremes. I don't hate all Skynyrd songs ("Workin' For MCA" and "I Ain't The One" rock the house), but I do tend to dislike the ones I hear most often. Since I would like to keep this appropriate for a family audience, I'll refrain from commenting on "Sweet Home Alabama."
In my world, classic rock stations would play "You Keep Me Hangin' On" or any of a dozen Stevie Wonder songs as often as they play "SHA" in this world.
4. Allmans. Every classic rock fan has one "staple" band whose appeal somehow eludes him or her. For me, that band is CCR. I don't get it. I don't hate them or anything - I even sorta like a few of their songs - but I just don't get what the big deal about CCR is. I like Santa Clara over Stanford here - give me the Allmans. Every damn time.
1. The Kinks. Living on a Thin Line is the best Bada Bing! song ever. Imagine a stripper grindin' to a band with a one armed drummer, that's just weird.
2. I Love CSNY (best protest song ever), but I have to respect the Byrds who did the impossible and made Dylan's music MUSICAL rather than just magical words in a gravelly voice.
3. Since I hate southern crackers, and the Supremes are the only Motown group with a prayer of winning, they move on.
4. "it went on for hours and hours...like the Allman brothers band!" too long for me, CCR has it despite lacking a #1 hit.
And for god's sake, shoot the western conference if Dallas moves on. They have no prayer against the Lakers, and that's the only reason a team should move on.
4.
Damn it, I need more sleep.
Santa Clara over Arizona, not Stanford.
1. The Kinks, although I'm not opposed to Def Leppard moving on.
2. Wow, never thought I'd have to use this. Oncoming Traffic. (Thanks for the explanation Joe)
3. Skynyrd on the strength of Gimme Three Steps
4. The Allman Brothers
I'm rather new here, but solo artist does make for an interesting tourney. Soundtracks might as well although I can see some people calling Fraught! (Soundtracks can be instrumental, or some movies have multiple soundtracks, some are just random songs thrown together, others are like a hits album for a featured band) Hey it's just a suggestion. I've got nothing better at 9:30 in the morning. If I come up with something better I'll let you know. For now I'll just sit in my own little corner of the world and wait for the domination to begin.
1. The Kinks, because I always associate Pour Some Sugar On Me with junior high, and the less said about that the better.
2. Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. I don't have any strong feelings about either, so go with the band where one member has done the near-impossible. In this case, making Melissa Ethridge a mommy.
3. The Supremes, because other than Cam Bonifay, nothing has ruined more Pirate games for me than "Sweet Home Alabama" winning the audience applause contest to pick between-inning incidental music.
4. CCR, because I don't know squat by the Allmans.
1.) The Kinks. My dislike for hair-metal type bands should already be clear.
2.) I powerballed the Byrds. I own two old Byrds records, plus a Gram Parsons retrospective CD, plus the Gram Parsons tribute. Is there any question which way I'm going here?
I'm also honor-bound to note that one of the more fucked-up things I've seen lately was the CSNY-scored IMAX coral reefs film. At one point, you hear a familiar sounding song with steel drums. Then you realize it's a chorus singing the film's leitmotif -- "Teach Your Children Well" -- in French.
3.) The Supremes.
4.) I think I gotta go for the Allmans here, given that they *are* from the town where I grew up. Middle Georgia reprazent!
future polls:
Soundtracks are indeed Fraught. In addition to the Score vs. Soundtrack dilemma, you'd also have problems with films that used choice songs that weren't licensed for a soundtrack album, or that didn't have a soundtrack album at all (Ferris Bueller's Day Off, f'rinstance).
Other options:
Best album
best songwriter(s)
Best cover song
WORST cover song
onto Part 2 of the Freedom Rock bracket...
Kinks. I have my Pyromania tape, and that's all I need from Def Leppard.
The Byrds, for being one-third of the big Robyn Hitchcock influencers.
Skynyrd. Any band that can churn out a redneck anthem AND a gun-control anthem deserves points for complexity.
CCR.
The Kinks. Not even close. Hell, "The Destroyer" could take Def Leppard's entire oeuvre, and it didn't even make the highlights list.
CSNY: This, on the other hand, is close. CSNY has more depth off the bench, though.
Diana Ross and the Supremes: As this contest is for bands, I'm not considering Ms. Ross' post-Supremes career. Otherwise, Lynyrd Skynyrd would advance. And nobody wants that.
CCR: "The Midnight Special" is a better "a man in prison laments his misfortune" song than anything the Allman Brothers did- and that's their home turf.
Damn these matchups!
The Kinks.
CSN(&Y). The Terry Melcher connection favors the Byrds, and the Kent State connection favors CSN&Y. Ultimately, I guess the fact that CSN&Y was a supergroup that lived up to its advance billing and promise is the deciding factor here.
Much as I can't stand Diana Ross (the person, not the singer) and the needless and vengeful crap she has dished out to her former bandmates, the Supremes are so far ahead of Skynyrd that comparison is futile.
This last matchup sucks. Can't we have a lucky loser advance or something? John Fogarty is one of my favorites. But Duane Allman was on a whole other level. I vote with the glass Coricidin bottle and for the Allman Brothers.
1. Kinks
2. Byrds
3. Skynyrd
4. CCR
Def Leppard. Very happy memories associated with them, plus I've seen them twice in concert (most recently in March!)
CSNY. This needs explaining?
Skynyrd. Yeah, I powerballed the Supremes but that was more for historical reasons. I had no idea they'd face Skynyrd.
CCR. Yes, I like them but I think my father would kick me out of the house if I didn't vote this way.
More future poll ideas:
* Best one-hit wonder
* The NIT (Who's the 129th best band ever- Massive Attack, the Moody Blues, the Animals or the Wu-Tang Clan?)
1. The Kinks.
2. Crosby, Still, Nash (and Young). Although the thought of perptuating David Crosby's genes leaves with the thought - Why would you want to?
3. Diana Ross and the Supremes.
4. The Allman Brothers Band. I agree with Mr. Young on Creedence.
How about best no-hit wonder -- bands/songs that never cracked the Billboard top 40?
While many of these are good ideas, may I make the humble point that it is preferable to be less obscure rather than more obscure, simply as it makes it easier for me to research and for many of out players to play.
Just something to keep in mind.
Def Leppard.
The Byrds
Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Thus endeth our spelling bee.
CCR
-MMM
I don't have any strong feelings about either, so go with the band where one member has done the near-impossible. In this case, making Melissa Ethridge a mommy.
Umm... that doesn't solve your problem...
The Kinks. I almost voted for the Lepp, but then I realized how ridiculous that would be. Sure, "Pour Some Sugar On Me" is the greatest rock song of the last twenty years (one lump or two?) but upon a closer inspection of the catalog there isn't much there.
The Byrds. Just so we are clear... there is no CSNY without The Byrds. Everything they did was built upon what Crosby and Parsons started. It's amusing that they met in the first round, but it will be sad if CSNY advances.
The Supremes. Gimme a break with the Skynyrd. Their greatest achievement was to pave the way for Georgia Satellites.
CCR. Hey, is this the Freedom Rock bracket? Well, turn it up man!
For the record, I think Best Album (1960- 1999?) would be the most logical, easiest to organize, and most fun for the most voters.
I would also suggest raising the limit to 4 per group.
Oh... and if we do Best Album...
NO live albums
NO best of...
NO compliations
NO tributes
NO soundtracks (unless it's an album of all original material by one artist; e.g. Purple Rain)
I still think one-hit wonders would be more accessible. Not everybody is going to be familiar with the deep cuts on every album. I for one can't claim familiarity with the deep cuts on "Exile on Main Street," "Tusk" or "Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols," all of which would be legitimate entrants. But I do know what "American Pie," "For What It's Worth," "Mexican Radio" and "Wild Thing" sound like, and I bet everyone else here does too.
The only problem I can see is that "one hit wonder" is a bit like pornography- you know it when you see it. Nobody would call the Grateful Dead one-hit wonders, even though they had only one top 40 hit. The Troggs had only one top 40 hit in the U.S., but a number in Britain- does this disqualify them? But this shouldn't be insurmountable.
If you're looking to battle obscurity, Best Album isn't going to work, either. More people than you think will be unfamiliar with more albums than you think. Ultimately the albums will largely be judged on their singles.
How about best 80s song? Or best music video?
1. Kinks. Though DL is fun.
2. CSNY. Mainly due to the alternative, though Southern Cross is a great song.
3. Skynyrd. More of a band than a singer with backup and I like their best stuff more than I like the Supreme's best stuff.
4. CCR. John Fogarty's best song, however, remains Centerfield.
Kinks
CSN(and sometimes Y)
Supremes (Joe makes the point against Skynyrd)
CCR
1. The Kinks
2. Te Byrds
3. Supremes
4. Allman Bros. Band
For what it's worth---am inclined for either best cover match-up or best one hit wonder.
P.S. Really sad Wilco lost in the last round
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