Summer Psychosis: Results for Part 1 of the First Round

Hey everyone,

It's Friday, time to get your brackets out! There was a bit of everything in Part 1 of the First Round. Take a look at the preview if you'd like: http://frogsonaloginabog.blogspot.com/2012/06/summer-psychosis-preview-for-part-1-of.html. Three sweeps, a couple of huge upsets and one F-bomb. Just in time for Father's Day! The updated bracket is here: http://www.bracketmaker.com/tlist.cfm?tid=428801

The Beatles 4, Nine Inch Nails 1

"This one wasn’t that hard by any stretch of the imagination. NIN is good, but if the Beatles were going to get knocked out it wasn’t in the first round." - Mark

So far, The Beatles are for real, handily beating a strong 16th seed in NIN. But be wary, for one of us represents an anti-Beatles contingent that will test their mettle in later rounds.

The Police 3, The Stooges 2

"I think The Stooges are more influential, but the Police are so special to me personally. If I could assemble a "fantasy" band, Stewart Copeland would be my drummer." - John

The Police eked out a win against a terrific band beloved within the blog, despite the presence of Sting. Congrats! You get to face The Beatles next...

Pixies 5, Guns N' Roses 0

"While Guns N’ Roses were huge in America, Pixies were massive in Europe. And while I occasionally do turn into a bald eagle with machine guns for arms and propel myself with explosions, I’m going to have to side with Europe on this one. Not only do I hate hair metal, but I love alternative rock and grunge, which the Pixies helped create." - Eric

Here's the key difference between these two bands that decided this matchup. The Pixies inspired much of great 90's rock. Guns N' Roses likely inspired the Broadway musical and new movie "Rock of Ages", starring Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand.

Queen 4, The Byrds 1

"Queen is probably the only classic rock band I can think of that never went through a lineup change. They all contributed to the music, and created music that genuinely, and consistently rocks to the point no stadium could contain it. That music’s scary good." - Mark

Perhaps more than any band in this bracket, Queen gets terrific support from songs not ranked by Acclaimedmusic.net, making it a very solid 13th seed. That's how they pulled of an upset of a 4th seed, and why Pixies should be on upset alert.

Otis Redding 3, Nick Cave 2

"I’m a fan of all things weird and strange and out there (I listen to Lil B and Squarepusher; do I need to say more?). But I’m just not a Nick Cave fan. Besides, we need a little soul and baby-making music in the next round." - Eric

The dark and fearsome Nick Cave proved to be a challenge, but the legendary soul singer was just able to advance.

Elvis Costello 4, Little Richard 1

"I'll never forget seeing for the first time Elvis Costello on Saturday Night Live from '77. Elvis gets up on stage, stops playing the song right after starting and says “There is no reason to play that song”, then goes into one of the most rebellious versions of "Radio Radio" I have ever heard him play. Costello was cool like Buddy Holly was cool; he simply was not going to do what was expected of him." - Steve

It's not surprising that Elvis Costello advanced with relative ease, but it is surprising that Steve was apparently alive in the 70's.

Arcade Fire 3, Joy Division 2

"When my biggest complaint about any of your songs is that the album order on one of your albums isn't perfect, you know you're good. When your worst album is "The Suburbs", the first indie album to win the Grammy for Album of the Year, you know you're an awesome band. When your best album is consistently rated the number one album of the 00's, you know you are one of the greatest bands of all time." - Elliott

One of the most intriguing matchups came down to the wire, but the present day band on top of its game managed to overcome one of its potential influences.

The Velvet Underground 4, Cream 1

"What made the Velvet Underground great was that they were the perfect embodiment of what was happening politically, socially, and culturally during the time period they were making music, while Cream only embodied what was on the radio at the time." - Steve

If you asked your average music lover 40 years ago if The Velvet Underground or Cream were greater, they would've answered: "Who's The Velvet Underground?" Funny how things change.

The Rolling Stones 5, Jefferson Airplane 0

"In Jefferson Airplane’s heyday, The Stones topped them with "Beggars Banquet", "Let It Bleed", "Exile On Main Street", etc. I love both bands, but it’s a pretty clear decision." - John

Jefferson Airplane fought admirably to get into the bracket, but sadly ran into a band who made better Rock in the same era.

PJ Harvey 3, Al Green 2

"Al Green is overshadowed by other soul singers for me. I know/like Issac Hayes better to be honest. Not much of his stuff seems as iconic to me. PJ Harvey has had a tremendous run of success for nearly 20 years, and in different incarnations. I like PJ Harvey here." - John

These two artists inhabit two different, incomparable worlds, but somehow Harvey won over more hearts than the distinctive 70's crooner.

John Lennon 3, Buddy Holly & The Crickets 2

"As important as the Buddy Holly is, John Lennon is…just John Lennon. Culturally, artistically, socially, musically, he was just so important, influential and prolific." - Mark

Great singer/songwriters populate this bracket, but these two are also huge cultural icons. This matchup was incredibly close, but sadly only one could come out on top.

James Brown 3, Daft Punk 2

"The hardest working man in music for sure." - Steve

James Brown's reputation certainly speaks for itself, and it powered him by Daft Punk. But the French house band's influence on electronic music as a whole made Brown work really hard to advance.

Pavement 4, Madonna 1

"Madonna paved the way for female solo pop artists like Britney Spears and Lady Gaga. Pavement paved (har har har) the way for all of the music that I know and love. Fuck you Madonna." - Elliott

Everyone knows Madonna is influential. The blog just believes the music she inspired isn't very good, especially compared to Pavement. As you can see, Elliott strongly agreed with this sentiment.

The Clash 4, My Bloody Valentine 1

"The Clash is, has been, and always will be my favorite band. If this section isn’t 4 paragraphs in length then John must have shortened it. They are the kings of punk rock that made fantastic albums that spanned into all types of genres, made of fantastic musicians that had very prolific solo careers, and managed to make music that culturally, socially, and politically captured the feelings of youth during that turbulent time. Now I will go into detail album by album why they are so awesome..." - Mark

Yes Mark...I did shorten it. Sorry, My Bloody Valentine. It's hard to compete with a band that spawns rabid fans such as Mark.

Black Sabbath 5, New Order 0

"I'm sorry, but New Order doesn't impress me. Black Sabbath on the other hand wrote 'War Pigs', 'Crazy Train', and 'Paranoid.'" - Elliott 

"Crazy Train" is actually an Ozzy Osbourne solo track, but it doesn't change the fact that Black Sabbath's heavy sound was powerful enough to sweep New Order and advance.

Marvin Gaye 4, The Jesus and Mary Chain 1

"Marvin Gaye. No questions about it. I mean, when your voice has the ability to make men ovulate you deserve to move out of the first round." - Eric

Amen Eric! But you might want to get that checked out...