Summer Psychosis: Results of the Third Round

Hello everyone,

I watched the Opening Ceremony to the London Olympics over the weekend. Since the Olympics haven't been in London for over 70 years, now was the first time to celebrate U.K. popular music from the 60's to today in a global television event. The whole segment was a little sketchy and about social networking for some reason, but you still got healthy glimpses of great British bands. At least ten bands from Britain made it into the Third Round. Anyway, what I'm getting to is that Summer Psychosis is very British, but that's only a small part of the intrigue for the Third Round. All of the #1 seeds and most of the #2 seeds have survived to this point. But will strong three, four or five seeds take them down?

The Beatles 5, Queen 0

"Here’s where the votes become a bit unfun. Not that the bands I vote for aren’t good (I wouldn’t vote for them if they weren’t), but that not voting for one hurts almost more then voting for them. The Beatles were really important for me as a kid. They were one of the first bands where I would listen to albums from beginning to end, which is really important for understanding and appreciating music. They were also some of the first guitar parts I learned, as well as the first bands I read about. For a lot of people, the Beatles were the first band worth absorbing. They are a gateway into music study as well as appreciation." - Mark

So far, it's still a breeze for the Beatles. A clean sweep of the last Cinderella with lots of support? That's pretty impressive. The London Opening Ceremonies featured both of these artists, but the Beatles were much more prominent. I couldn't find a video for that, but I did find Mr. Bean. Good old Mr. Bean.

The Velvet Underground 4, Elvis Costello 1

"When the VU's manager arranged for them to play at Summit High School for $75, their current drummer Angus MacLise quit the band, protesting what he considered a sellout. They replaced him with a girl. Truly a band after my hipster heart." - Elliott

If you have a hipster heart, you must feed it. And buy its clothes. Hey wait, that kind of looks like Elvis Costello. Now I'm just confused...

The Rolling Stones 5, James Brown 0

"While the 'selling out' The Rolling Stones (working with Will.I.Am? Mick, you’re better than that) in the last few years has certainly hurt their image in my eyes, no body puts on a better show, even Mr. Brown. And let’s not forget some of the greatest song writing from that era." - Eric

James Brown had strong support, but the Stones just rolled over the Godfather of Soul. Yea, I guess working with Will.I.Am. is selling out, but you could argue that Jagger's been doing that a lot lately.

Marvin Gaye 3, The Clash 2

"My love of Marvin Gaye has been documented by this tournament before, and it doesn’t stop here. The Clash is good, but they’re no Marvin Gaye. No one invents the slow jam after making doo-wop and gospel music, looks that good, and causes a million births without making it to the Sweet Sixteen." - Eric

I honestly did not expect this at all. The Clash are punk, but go beyond that and therefore had strong support across the board. Yet sweet baby-making music prevails. Let's go at this from an Eric angle. Kanye West sample!

The Doors 4, Prince 1

"I’m going to assume that Prince’s reign is going to end here. Of all the musicians I have ever listened to, I think Prince is the only one that I have ever considered to be too weird to listen to, and that is really saying something. Between changing his name to an unpronounceable symbol to his haircut, it’s just too much. It’s hard to imagine a normal person doing any of those things, and it makes most of his songs totally un-relatable. Take "When Doves Cry" for instance. Doves can't cry. They don’t have tear ducts, I googled it; http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100710162002AAiJvLD. Anyway, I’m going with The Doors here." - Steve

I've already said a lot about the Doors being awesome, so instead I'll torture Steve and continue Prince's reign of terror (not that he's forced to watch this or anything). Prince crashing The View!

Pink Floyd 4, The Who 1

"'Tommy' is a poor man's 'The Wall'. Also, 'CSI' kinda killed the Who for me. I can't listen to 'Won't Get Fooled Again' without seeing David Caruso putting on his shades and making a corny joke." - Elliott

Tommy is a poor-man's Wall? Fighting words, Elliott. Luckily, David Caruso is here to diffuse the situation.

Beastie Boys 3, Radiohead 2

"SOMEONE’S gotta vote Beasties! Radiohead, ya I get the hype. A lot of my musical peers know Radiohead’s whole discography and have got a lot personally from it, but for whatever reason I’ve never loved them as much as the next guy. Beasties were my first hip-hop group, and their consistency and camaraderie is something to be emulated. One other thing that Radiohead can never say is the Beasties never took themselves too seriously, and while that’s not always the best quality for some bands it allows you to stay grounded, and help make music that your fans will always have fun with." - Mark

Someone certainly did, Mark! I thought Prince might go down, but wow! But then again, it's probably easier to vote for a great band who is fun-loving and humorous rather than grim. Can you imagine Radiohead ever doing something like this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evA-R9OS-Vo&feature=related 

Creedence Clearwater Revival 3, Kraftwerk 2

"I'm sorry, but you don't beat out Bob Marley just to lose to Kraftwerk. Also, CCR IS America. Voting against them is a vote against America." - Elliott

The folks behind "Team America: World Police" (a.k.a. the South Park writers) didn't play CCR for their All-American movie, but it's close enough. Sorry Kraftwerk, sometimes blind patriotism beats influence.

David Bowie 4, Michael Jackson 1

"After last weeks Bowie matchup, I went back and listened to some of his stuff. I listened to 'The Rise and Fall...', I listened to 'Hunky Dory', and I listened to 'Space Oddity'. 'Space Oddity' made me cry. That is one of the most emotionally driven songs with a strange concept that I have ever heard. When I think about Bowie, I see a guy whose voice is downright crappy, whose lyrics are pretty good but not as good as some of the other guys from his era, and I think, how the hell did he make such good music? On the other hand, Jackson was a guy who had literally all the talent in the world, but still couldn’t make music as good as Bowie." - Steve

The incredible thing about Bowie is that his discography goes much deeper than what Steve described. He's also had a hand in bands from The Stooges to TV On The Radio. And he does a little acting on the side! This matchup is kind of like how 'The Prestige' went, if Bowie was Thomas Edison and MJ was Nikola Tesla.

Neil Young 4, Stevie Wonder 1

"Sigh, Stevie Wonder did more for women's and disabled people's rights then any other person in history. The story about how her teacher tought her how to write by running water over her hands is incredibly touching. However, Neil Young is just a far more impressive musician." - Elliott

They say that everything has a silver lining. The silver lining for the elimination of Stevie Wonder is that Elliott can't troll me in public anymore. Trolling is a serious business, and sadly I have been victimized. Well, Stevie Wonder too, for being mistaken for Helen Keller. But that doesn't affect him.

Talking Heads 3, Bruce Springsteen 2

"Springsteen deserves the praise he gets, from NU JOIZ and everywhere else. A long and great career. But there’s something about Talking Heads and their dynamic dance/punk/funk hybrid. They really carved out their own niche in music history. Well done. Also, they have 'Remain In Light.'" - John

You know, David Byrne is like David Bowie in way. He's not just androgynous, but also has worked with many great bands such as Brian Eno, Dirty Projectors and St. Vincent. It would be interesting to see those two go head-to-head. As for this matchup, another strong #1 seed has gone down, but just barely. We know about Springsteen's legendary live shows, but Talking Heads is probably dead even. Holy crap.

Jimi Hendrix 5, Sonic Youth 0

"There is an old quote that I read somewhere (I don’t remember where) about Jimi Hendrix, involving the song 'Little Wing.' 'Little Wing' was covered pretty heavily during its day, and the quote goes something like 'Everybody wanted to play 'Little Wing,' everybody wanted to play its opening exactly like Jimi played it, that is everyone except for Jimi himself.' Hendrix was the most creative Guitarist to ever live, bar none. I give credit to Sonic Youth for their ability to find innovative ways to play the guitar after Jimi Hendrix had pretty much done everything one can possibly do to an instrument. I actually think of the two as similar in a lot of ways, the way they would play their live shows, the way they would innovate every time they got in the studio. But I can't pick Sonic Youth here. Jimi is just too good, and even while I don’t think his music is as interesting to listen to he still gets my vote." - Steve

Even our biggest Sonic Youth supporter did not vote for them when Hendrix opposed them. Says a lot about the power of Hendrix's music. Just listen to Little Wing and ponder how Hendrix has wreaked havoc on this bracket.

Led Zeppelin 5, Miles Davis 0

"I wrote something about Zeppelin last time in the vain of how they rock so hard other people rock hard as a result…ya that about sums it up." - Mark

There's no doubt Miles Davis is fantastic. But let's just say this is a more rock-oriented blog, so unfortunately Davis's departure was expected. Also, I agree that Zeppelin rock so, so hard. It's funny that they don't have their own Rock Band game so you can rock as them. Or maybe they will?

Nirvana 4, Elvis Presley 1

"It’s funny that we have the top two (or three?) best-selling posthumous artists of all time competing against each other. Cobain passed Presley a couple of years ago. That’s kinda how it feels for me, that we all know Presley is an all time great singer, performer and icon. But Nirvana led the Seattle grunge movement by writing their own songs and changed rock in the process." - John

While my 'top two best-selling posthumous artists' claim may be a little dubious, their legendary status after death is certainly not. What's amazing is that Nirvana only had 7 years of activity, a third of Elvis's time. Here's a interesting list from the same posthumous vein. Guess who's on it?

Bob Dylan 5, Public Enemy 0

"It’s a shame that Public Enemy has to go, but hey, at least they made it much further than I thought they would, and they lost to someone I have going to the Final Four at the very least." - Eric

Public Enemy had a great run as protest titans, but Bob Dylan's just been at it better and longer. But at least political rap just got a great parody/homage.

The Beach Boys 3, Beck 2

"The Beach Boys and Beck both have a later period that I haven’t been that familiar with, so they’re close in that way. But the whole 'Smile' saga is so fascinating. How can I ignore that?" - John

It's a testament to Beck's musical prowess that he nearly beat the Beach Boys. Sea Change-era Beck and late-60's Beach Boys are both on my list. Not kidding though, the whole released/cancelled/finally released saga of Smile is really fascinating to me.

What a week to get down to the Sweet 16! You had the last Cinderella story ending, #1 seeds going down and 'favorites' of voters being forced to leave. One of the big blog favorites to go is the Clash. They had a legitimate chance to beat the Stones and dare I say, the Beatles. No more, thanks to Marvin Gaye. The biggest fan of the Clash within the blog has always been Mark. His love letter to the band on their departure has to be the BMO for this week.

Best Minority Opinion: Mark

"No contest! While the Beatles were the first band I really explored, The Clash were the first band I used the newfound musical fondness to peruse a Ph.D in Loving The Clash. John mentioned in my last Clash testimonial that there is 'No King in Punk', but I still disagree. Maybe king is the wrong word, but the Clash gave punk a legitimacy and rallying point that helped it go from a self destructive 'flash in the pan' to one that is still alive and well today. Joe Strummer was so instrumental to that. If not king, then he's the father or director. Punk wasn’t about 'no leaders.' It was about 'new leaders.'"

The great thing about the Clash is that they lead the way by just experimenting with their sound and doing what they do best. That's why many people view them as more than just a punk band and instead as an all time great band.

Best Minority Opinion, Runner Up: Steve

I had no idea how Kraftwerk was going to be received by this blog. All of us were not very familiar with the German electronic group. Yet the band's influence propelled them to face CCR, a populist American rock band. Basically, the antithesis of Kraftwerk. Steve draws this juxtaposition nicely while making a good case for the eliminated German group, and for that he gets the Runner Up BMO.

"One of these bands was one of the most creatively artistic bands of all time; the other is Creedence Clearwater Revival. Why does that line fly again? I'm not sure. I honestly don’t know who will win this one. Here are two bands, one with all the creative power in the world but none of the accessibility, and one with all of the accessibility in the world but none of the creativity. I honestly don’t forsee either of these band continuing past the next round considering who the winner here will be up against, but it will be interesting to see who that band is."

I hope it was very interesting, Steve, because it was for me. Three #1 seeds going down? This week is what Summer Psychosis is all about. And it only gets crazier from here.