Summer Psychosis: Results for Part 2 of the Second Round

Hey everyone,

We were at 150 artists not too long ago, but now over 75% of them have been eliminated. It's staggering to think how this bracket will move along at an exponentially increasing rate. But for now, we are just finishing up the Second Round. Here was an action-packed Part One: http://frogsonaloginabog.blogspot.com/2012/07/summer-psychosis-results-for-part-1-of.html

So, remember when I said that going into the Second Round you should expect more tight matchups? Yeah, apparently our voters didn't get that memo. Only four (!) matchups were decided by a single vote. On the other end, five matchups were sweeps while rest were by a comfortable 4-1 margin. Still, some heavyweights were challenged by some storied and beloved Cinderellas. Was anyone upset? Keep reading to find out!

David Bowie 3, The White Stripes 2

"If I hypothetically told you that two people in music were space aliens, and you had to guess who they were, Jack White and David Bowie would be a pretty good guesses. Sticking with that metaphor, David Bowie is a Predator to Jack White’s Xenomorph, a Mother Brain to White’s E.T. Bowie has simply been in the game longer and has had a career that few other artists could ever hope to have." - Steve

Most one seeds (with the exception of Prince) have not been challenged in this early going, but Bowie just escaped the White Stripes here. One of the greatest bands of the 2000's, Jack and Meg White get lots of love from this blog and deservedly so. That's why they nearly beat David Freaking Bowie.

Michael Jackson 3, Elton John 2

"Now, I love me some Elton John. Tiny Dancer, Candle in the Wind, even a little Crocodile Rock will get me feeling alright. But how the King of Pop is ranked so low is beyond me. I mean, he’s considered the most successful entertainer by the Guinness Book of World Records (look it up). MJ has a better voice, better dance moves and arguably a better show than Elton John. And let’s not forget the legions of fans he inspired to get into music." - Eric

Elton John was another serious Cinderella contender, but he barely goes down to the King of Pop. Oh by the way, I did look it up and MJ does have a long list of records. But he doesn't have the best-selling single of all time.

Stevie Wonder 4, Frank Zappa/The Mothers of Invention 1

"Lance Armstrong (that blind guy on the tuba). Did you know that guy won the tour de france 7 times straight?!?!" - Elliott

There are so many levels of an understanding fail in that sentence as to the identity of Stevie Wonder...I can't even begin to explain it. But it's ok, Elliott. Failure is a big part of Engineering: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/books/to-forgive-design-by-henry-petroski.html

Neil Young 5, Metallica 0

"Now I've talked about my opinion that Metallica’s overall career greatly hinders the enjoyment that I receive from their absolutely phenomenal early albums, so it shouldn’t be that much of a surprise to see that I'm going with Neil Young. Neil has brought class-A songwriting for some forty odd years now, and I can say with definite certainty that some of his material is more hardcore than Metallica’s newer outings." - Steve

The first of a surprising amount of sweeps, Metallica suffered from diminishing returns on their metal origins. A fair point, but is some of Neil Young's recent stuff really more hardcore than Metallica's latest output? You be the judge.

Bruce Springsteen 4, Ray Charles 1

"I think Springsteen is underrated. This view is almost an oxymoron because the guy has nothing but adoring fans. I think as a musician he is underrated. He’s a pretty good guitar player, and ever since he changed the direction of his band's sound he never really shows it off. Of course his song writing is phenomenal, but I think there’s something to be said about having the all around package: rocking the mic and shredding a few strings." - Mark

Both artists know how to play and sing, that's for sure. It's just that the Boss has all of New Jersey (or NU JOIZ as I like to pronounce it) behind him, which gives him nearly automatic backing from two of our voters. It's a shame that Bruce and Paul McCartney were cut short in Hyde Park not too long ago.

Talking Heads 4, Sex Pistols 1

"Animal Collective (if i am the deciding vote, Talking Heads). This was tough because Talking Heads are a really good band with some really good hits under their belt. Yet where Talking Heads have amazing tracks,
Animal Collective has amazing ALBUMS." - Elliott

Animal Collective? Oh right, a phantom vote. Well, at least they have been avenged. But burning down Sex Pistols' house? That's a little mean. Eh, I blame Deakin.

Sonic Youth 4, U2 1

"Sonic Youth are like the exact opposite of U2. Where U2 played their songs exactly the same way every time at live shows, Sonic Youth transformed their songs into distorted caricatures of what they sound like on album at every single concert. Where U2 could probably convert all of their material into one mega-album that would be disturbingly consistent in sound but not quality, any single Sonic Youth album could be called disturbingly consistent in quality but not sound. I'm going with Sonic Youth." - Steve

How much of a band's live act factors in to their greatness? That's never really been addressed directly in Summer Psychosis, but it clearly does have some value. It's pretty awesome that Teenage Riot can dissolve into feedback with strange Zildjian chimes after 5 minutes. U2's most recent tour featured a giant and constant stage setup. And wait, did they standardize their setlist? http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/80s/content/u2s-unveils-creepy-impersonal-2009-tour-stage-and-setlist. You can start laughing maniacally again, Elliott.

Jimi Hendrix 5, OutKast 0

"Sorry OutKast, but you brought a Polaroid to a guitar fight." - Mark

Not true Mark! Andre 3000 plays a few notes on the guitar in "Mrs. Jackson". So yes, OutKast still lost badly. Also, irony! It was mentioned several times that Andre 3000 is playing Jimi Hendrix in a biopic. Sorry Andre 3000, but you're playing no Hendrix songs in a Hendrix biopic.

Led Zeppelin 5, Tom Waits 0

"Tom Waits has quintessential grit and experimentation, no doubt about it. But Zeppelin is quintessential hard rock, mysticism, drumming, guitar, studio wizardry, 70’s and more." - John

It really says something that Zeppelin managed to sweep an artist as beloved by this blog as Tom Waits. There are so many things I could link here, but for now it's just the studio tricks: http://www.led-zeppelin.org/reference/index.php?m=assorted11

Miles Davis 5, Sly and The Family Stone 0

"Sly and The Family Stone is a fantastic band. Helped paved the way for the psychedelic soul I love so much. But again, Miles Davis was the ultimate pioneer. How can you shift so radically from "Kind of Blue" to "Bitches Brew" in 11 years and still be so good? Only Miles." - John

For whatever reason, most voters were pretty meh about this vote. So they ended up taking Billy Madison's advice.

Nirvana 4, Lou Reed 1

"Lou Reed is important. When attached to The Velvet Underground. Nirvana, on the other hand, is important all the time, every time. Yes, Lou Reed did what he could to make sure that he was progressive and artsy and hipstery as possible, but Nirvana did what they could to rock your world and make you believe in the power of grungy, dirty people." - Eric

If this doesn't make you "believe in the power of grungy, dirty people", then nothing will.

Elvis Presley 3, Parliament/Funkadelic 2

"My god...the original hearthrob still makes me swoon. And I am a 20 year old male from 50 years in the future." - Elliott

So, Elvis was/is your original/past/future man crush? Mr. Presley would be proud, and I'm sure this man is quite jealous.

Bob Dylan 4, Simon and Garfunkel 1

"There is a great story about Dylan’s early days. It was 1961 and a young Robert Zimmerman ran away from home to visit a dying Woody Guthrie in the hospital. If ever there was a metaphor of the passing from one generation to the next, that story is it. Dylan is the second half of the century’s Woody Guthrie and considering the century in question that is really saying something." - Steve

A great story indeed. You know what else is a great story? The Sounds of Silence made into a hit by Bob Dylan's backing band.

Public Enemy 4, The Kinks 1

"Honestly, I have no idea why The Kinks are on here. Yeah, they had their hits, but the fact they were still releasing music past 1965 blows my mind. You could say the same for Public Enemy (they released an album this year, and have been releasing albums on a relatively regular basis), but they at least had a pretty big influence on hip-hop, influencing the dress, attitude, beats, lyrics, flow and delivery of many hip-hop acts." - Eric

With all due respect to the Kinks, it makes sense that they were the first of the major British invasion bands eliminated. It might be a while before another goes down. By the way, NJWB-style dissertation on Public Enemy? Feast your eyes.

Beck 3, Randy Newman 2

"When I looked at how the First Round was set up, I could already see that some great acts weren’t getting past the First Round. Most notably (in my opinion) were Tom Waits, Pavement, Simon and Garfunkel, and Randy Newman. Of course I can’t vote against Beck. He single handedly introduced me to more types of music, just by listening to a few of his albums then most bands do in their whole discography." - Mark

One thing Beck definitely has going for him is his versatility. Just listen to a few minutes of Odelay and you'll know the types of music that Mark is talking about.

The Beach Boys 5, Ramones 0

"People can say whatever they want about the Ramones, punk and the musicianship of both. Their best songs are classics. With the Beach Boys, people don’t tend to knock their musicianship. I would argue that their harmonies are the best in rock history, and I am ok with "Pet Sounds" being the most recommended album of all time." - John

Wow, original Punk giants are dropping like flies. Not to worry though, I think everyone's fine that a band with unreleased harmonies like this is advancing.

Best Minority Opinion - Elliott

As I said before, the White Stripes have a rabid fanbase with our voters. But that idolization reaches beyond one little blog. Elliott displayed that fact perfectly by quoting Japandroids on their opinion of the White Stripes, and for that he gets the BMO:

"To quote the Japandroids in their interview with Pitchfork: 'I don't know if you can aspire to be [Jack White] necessarily. In some respect, Jack White became that because he's Jack White. If you listen to the early White Stripes records, it's the same Jack White. That voice is the same. The songwriting ability is there. The guy just has that special thing. People like us cannot aspire to be that; you have to accept that it's OK not to be a Jack White. It's unfair to put that burden on yourself...If you lock Jack White in a room with an acoustic guitar, he's gonna come up with something great.' David Bowie is indeed an amazing musician and I respect anyone that votes for him. But Jack White's ability to compose music is almost magical. He could write a hit song, a real classic, in 20 minutes and make it look easy. I am pretty sure he has done that."

Have we done a piece on Japandroids? Somebody better get on that if we haven't. These guys have some good taste.

Best Minority Opinion, Runner Up - Eric

One thing that I've learned about Eric as he writes pieces for the blog is that once he likes an artist, he sticks by them with conviction. We all know he's got Yeezy's back, and now it's safe to say that Zappa has that same protection. After an excellent track of the moment/career retrospective of a Zappa song, that love for his music was all the more apparent:

"I’m a bit biased here, given my fantastic and semi-well researched article on Frank Zappa. But goddammit, he’s just so good. I mean, look at the career the man had. And, if you read my article (which you totally should, by the way), you’d see that he was worked harder than the Hardest Working Man in Music, who won last week against John Lennon of all people. And that musical talent. Stop me now before I recite my last article, word for word."

Good thing we did, Eric. Because you were about to repeat what you said about what I said...about what you said? Nevermind, I'll stop confusing myself.