UPDATE: Paul Steel has maintained a consistent (and at times massive) lead, but in the last 24 hours Asobi Seksu fans have gotten into the game. Polls close Friday at midnight – let your voice be heard.
_______________________
In last week’s second semifinal, Asobi Seksu pulled away to defeat Rose Hill Drive by a 75%-25% margin. The outcome was very much in doubt until the last day of voting, and we congratulate RHD on a great showing.
And now, The Finals.
New York City’s Asobi Seksu are in the vanguard of a vibrant contemporary shoegazer movement, and their most recent disc (this year’s outstanding Hush) makes clear that they’re not interested in simply reproducing the droning guitars that have defined the genre since My Bloody Valentine. They defeated The Dreaming, Black Mountain and Rose Hill Drive to reach the finals.
Listen: MySpace / Last.FM / Lala / eMusic
Their opponent ran an equally intimidating gauntlet en route to the championship round, dispatching Adele, Gogol Bordello and IAMX, one of the pre-tournament favorites. Paul Steel, who at 20 years old is one of the brightest young stars of the Power Pop Underground genre, continues to draw rave reviews for his infectious brand of tuneful guitar pop.
If you would, click on the Listen links and then use this poll to vote for who you think deserves to be crowned champion of the inaugural Tournament of Rock.
The current ToR bracket looks like this:
Related posts (automated):
- Tournament of Rock: Asobi Seksu vs. Rose Hill Drive
- Tournament of Rock: Asobi Seksu vs. The Dreaming
- Tournament of Rock: Asobi Seksu vs. Black Mountain
- Tournament of Rock Finals: Paul Steel is the champion!
- Tournament of Rock: IAMX vs. Paul Steel
Print This Post
1 Trackbacks/Pingbacks
- Pingback: Not Enough Time In The World « From Laurel Street on July 11, 2009
Went with the shoe gazers again.
Not sure what that means. Is it like navel gazing? Or like when Catholic school boys stared at girls’ patent-leather shoes in hopes of seeing their panties reflected in them? (Showing my age.)
It’s cause they stare at their shoes while they sing. Cause, like, the world sucks and stuff.
I am ashamed to say that I had not heard of any of the bands in this competition. The last time I went to a concert was in 1998. I took my 10-year-old daughter to a Hanson concert. The less said about that ordeal, the better. I have to get current, but now I know where to start..
I’m late to this particular party, but in my opinion Gogol Bordello was robbed.
I don’t think it has anything to do with the world sucking, so you can keep your revisionism to yourself.
However, the term DID arise as a result of the on-stage demeanor of many early shoegaze bands, who seemed to stare at their feet a lot while playing. This genre has been around since the late 80s and has as its genesis bands like My Bloody Valentine, Jesus & Mary Chain and Cocteau Twins. The lines get a little blurred, actually, because shoegazer overlaps considerably with a similar genre known as dreampop. Lush bounces back and forth, as did Space Team Electra (a huge favorite with some around S&R – in fact, STE is where I met Mike Sheehan; so you might argue that without shoegaze there would be no Scholars and Rogues).
More here…
I don’t remember Myshel staring at her feet and I doubt she thinks the world sucks. Therefore, ergo, ipso facto, STE is dreampop, not shoegaze.
Thanks for dropping by, Mike. I’ve been sitting around all morning wishing that some idiots would post something.
Nice to see I have a fan base.
Assuming it’s good-natured ribbing between Ubertramp and Dr. S. Meanwhile, shoe-gazing is nothing compared to musicians who turn their back on their audience, as Miles Davis was known to do on occasion.
Mike enjoys antagonizing me. The hassling I take here is nothing compared to the abuse he dishes out in e-mail.
Don’t let him fool you, Russ. I’m the nicest guy ever. A blues singin angel.