I’d rather have U2 than The Police in the finals, but I’m not going to go on and on about it. I hope.

Psst Jim… I have 10 of the songs they did.

Is “Lovers That Never Were” not the most awesome unreleased song by anyone ever?

Howe and Strauss do talk about those defining moments you note, by the way. They conclude, after studying the history of generations in America, that those kinds of things tend to be cyclic, as well. Complex stuff. Boring for many, probably, but fascinating for me….

I voted for The Beatles. And I looove EC. He’s the Dylan of modern rock.

But The Fabs are like no one else – for me, anyway….

But that’s just me. And you, I guess.

1961 was the first year of X. The 1946-1964 frame doesn’t work very well once you consider the Howe & Strauss critique. But yes – a true Xer band would involve people who were Xers. U2 had two members born in 1960 and two in 1961, so you could argue that they’re technically half-and-half, I suppose. But you get in trouble when you take those cusp lines too seriously. They’ve always struck me as quintessentially proto-X in just about every way imaginable (except Bono’s sense that he can save the world – that’s pretty Boomer). The Police weren’t Xers. However, the early phase of ANY generation will be shaped by artists from the previous generation.

…and assuming that most bands don’t make it big until the members are at least in their early 20s, the earliest Xer band would have to have made it big in, say, 1986. At the earliest.

Boy was released in 1980.

Would that make all music up until 1986 “boomer music”? If so, it’s news to me. I was living in Seattle in the 80s and seeing grunge bands live, and I never considered grunge to be boomer music because I was seeing it before 1986 .

The question might be phrased thusly: when we use a term like “Boomer band,” do we mean a band comprised of Boomers or a band whose primary audience is Boomers? If the former, then The Beatles weren’t a Boomer band – three of the four were born priot to 1943. So these terms are flexible, I suppose.

So, if the Clash and the Police aren’t Xer bands, and if they’re not boomer bands (and I really, really don’t think they are), then what are they?

The technically explicit answer, if we agree to map American generational breaks onto the UK, is that they’re typical cusp bands – members of one generation whose primary audience are members of the next generation.

So, if the Clash and the Police aren’t Xer bands, and if they’re not boomer bands (and I really, really don’t think they are), then what are they?

Elvis Presley? Oh wait… was the King of Rock & Roll even in this tourney?

And no, Elvis Costello can’t, and even he’d be embarrassed if he did. Although EC (and props to The Attractions) has several masterpieces in his catalog, especially the classic ‘Imperial Bedroom’ which was produced by Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick, he falls just short of the level of greatness the Beatles attained. He compares readily with John Lennon and Paul McCartney (with whom he’s unofficially recorded–there’s an awesome bootleg out there) … but George Harrison is the difference that makes the Beatles greater.

Oh, you thought we were going to get down to one band without you having to vote against somebody you like? You thought we could name a winner without any great bands having to face each other?

Silly boy.

And if you think about who’s over in the Fillmore, you’ll realize that would solve all your problems, anyway….