Archive for the category "Tournament of Rock"
Scholars & Rogues wants to thank our music-loving readership for making this the most successful Tournament of Rock yet, and we’d especially like to say a huge thanks to all the bands who participated. ToR3 featured a number of surprises and upsets, but in the end we hope that everybody found a new band to love.
So, the Finals represented our biggest turnout ever and the margin was incredibly close. The Blueflowers and The Lost Patrol asked their fans to vote and they did. When the last chad was unhung, the winner by a 52-48% margin was… Full story »
When ToR3 started some of you probably looked at the relative popularity of the bands involved, reflected in things like the size of their Facebook communities and the numbers of people they draw when they’re on tour, and figured the Finals would wind up featuring either The Horrors or The Postelles facing off with either The Raveonettes or Eilen Jewell. But, now that The Blueflowers have defeated Doco in the second semi-final, we’re looking at a battle we maybe didn’t expect: two bands that are somewhat lower in national profile (although hopefully that’s changing). And who are actually very good friends when they aren’t in the ring (it was Ed, TLP’s manager, in fact, who turned me on to The Blueflowers several months ago).
Major congrats to Doco, by the way. They’re one of those no-frills acts that does nothing but practice and tour and thrive on the energy of their fans and the live show. Great run, guys, and we’ll see you here shortly in our Best CDs of 2011 series.
And now, let’s go ring announcer Michael Buffer…. Full story »
Good friends Dotsun Moon and The Lost Patrol squared off in our first semi-final. TLP surged to an early lead, only to have DM mount a furious comeback. In the end, though, TLP was a little too much, holding on for the win and a spot in the Tournament of Rock finals. They await the winner of….
Doco: ”Short version: a fusion of funk, rock, rap, white-boy reggae and blues from three kids who can by god play their instruments. I once wrote, in a ten-second music review for my mobile content service, that they ‘burned with an intensity no single genre could contain.’” - Scholars & Rogues LISTEN Full story »
Our fourth quarterfinal match lacked the drama of the previous one, as Doco handily dispatched Rose Hill Drive to move into the semifinals. And now, we move into the semis, where it starts to get personal. See, our next two bands know each other and play together sometimes. You might even say they’re friends. Although, maybe for the next couple of days we can make frenemies of them.
Dotsun Moon: ”The band has labeled their music as ‘dream beat.’ I don’t think I could think of a better description even if my life depended on it. I love Mary Ognibene’s voice. She can make the little hairs on the back of your neck stand straight up one minute and put you in a trance the next. ” Ear Candy LISTEN Full story »
First off, wow. Our previous match, The Blueflowers vs. Eilen Jewell, saw Jewell jump out to an early lead. Then The Blueflowers blew past her and established a huge advantage. Then Eilen’s fans battled back and re-took a late lead, only to see Blueflower fans mount a late surge to nip Jewell at the wire. This match saw the largest turnout in any ToR match to date (that includes all three tournaments) and final margin was a scant few votes. The irony, of course, was that Jewell was nominated for this tournament by none other than Blueflowers mastermind Tony Hamera. So, again, wow. Congrats to both artists and thanks to their fans for such a truly fantastic show of support.
The gauntlet has been thrown down. We’ll see how fans of our next two bands respond. Full story »
In our second quarterfinal match, Dotsun Moon made quick work of Snake Rattle Rattle Snake. Congrats to SRRS for making the quarters, and again, I love the new CD. We’ll see you again in our upcoming best of 2011 review.
Up next, a quarterfinal match between two acts working the neo-Americana side of the street.
The Blueflowers: ”With [Kate] Hinote leading the lines, the result is an album that is as haunting and soul-invading as it is enthralling. Songs like the title track and ‘Fragile’ give the listener the impression that they’re in on a secret, like they’re reading Hinote’s diary. That level of refreshing honesty, some damned fine tunes and the stellar musicianship of the band is what makes In Line With the Broken-Hearted such a tremendous piece of work.” - Metro Times LISTEN Full story »
In the first match of round 2, The Lost Patrol handily defeated Baron Bane to advance to the semifinals. They await the winner of today’s throwdown, and my inner conflict continues unabated….
Dotsun Moon: …”Dotsun Moon’s secret weapon is the soulful and authoritative voice of Mary Ognibene. On tracks such as the breathy, skipping opener, ‘And I Rest,’ the riveting , floor-thumping standout ‘Savages, and the languid ‘Glory,’ her powerhouse pipes repeatedly amaze. Though well suited for dance club PAs, 4am is also varied and intriguing enough for intent home listening.” The Big Takeover LISTEN Full story »
In the final match of round one we had a close encounter, with Rose Hill Drive finally easing by The Raveonettes. Now, it’s on to round 2, and from this point forward I’m going to be in a state of constant conflict. Here, for instance: two bands I love, two bands that produced CDs that are among the year’s best.
Baron Bane: ”LPTO is truly a lovely listen front to back; while its energetic moments drift unassumingly by, however, it is the quiet that resonates the longest.” – Pop Matters : LISTEN
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As it turns out, today is the birthday of Doco guitarist Trev Booth and the band’s fans have handed him a nice present in the form of a resounding win over Viva Voce in round 1. They advance to face the winner of today’s match.
Speaking of which, we now have a clash of styles to consider.
Rose Hill Drive: A very un-Boulderlike band from Boulder, CO – hard-rocking, fun-loving, no-frills party rock – raw, emotive, organic. LISTEN
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In our biggest margin of victory so far, The Blueflowers overwhelmed The Amends and move on to face Eilen Jewell. Should be a slobberknocker, given the support each received in round 1.
Our next match features an old favorite facing off with a new discovery.
Doco: Heavy rocking Blues/Soul/Funk/Hip-Hop/Reggae fusion – Josh and Trevor Booth are descended from both John Wilkes Booth and Robert E. Lee! – Intense musicianship in service to a groove. LISTEN
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Our previous match perhaps proves that there’s no justice in the world. To be sure, Eilen Jewell is a worthy winner, but the turnout in this contest way outstripped what we’ve seen so far in ToR3, to the point where Paul Lewis, in a losing effort, racked up more votes than any of the winners in the previous four matches. So congrats to Jewell and thanks to Paul and his fans for making it exciting. And by the way, both of these artists gave us outstanding CDs in 2011, so if you’re thinking about giving music for holiday gifts, we recommend both of them.
Now, our next showdown, which features two bands that I really like.
The Blueflowers: Detroit-based seductive, soothing folk-noir – “a weepy but wonderful wall of sensuous sounds, sad but strengthening, emotionally deep without being a downer” – elements of Americana, folk, ’60s girl-pop and psychedelia. LISTEN Full story »
In our previous match, Snake Rattle Rattle Snake easily defeated Repeater to advance. Dotsun Moon awaits.
In today’s showdown we have a couple of solo artists with distinct, signature sounds.
Paul Lewis: former front man for YNOT?! – soulful, bluesy modern rock – gifted tunesmith – versatile, intense, occasionally funny. LISTEN
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In our previous match, Dotsun Moon pulls off something of an upset, bouncing The Horrors. DM moves on to face the winner of our next match.
Snake Rattle Rattle Snake: Denver-based band reflects the influence of New Order, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Can, LCD Soundsystem – Hayley Helmericks frequently reminds us of early Grace Slick - propulsive rhythms, mesmerizing grooves. LISTEN Full story »
In the second match of round 1, The Lost Patrol comfortably defeats The Postelles by a 78%-22% margin. TLP moves on to round 2, where they will face Baron Bane.
Our third match features two bands that are alike in some ways and very different in others.
The Horrors: UK neo-Post-Punkers – minimalist, edgy – sounds range from sharp and edgy to brooding and melodic. LISTEN Full story »
In our first match of round 1, Baron Bane eases past Able Archer and advances to the second round. Many thanks to Matt Huseman and AA (a and we really love a lot, by the way) and best of luck with the new CD, which is one of our favorites of 2011.
Our second match features a battle between a couple of NY bands – one we’ve known and loved for several years vs. one we just recently discovered and loved right away.
The Lost Patrol: epic retrofuturism – neo-Americana twang/surf guitars that fill the landscape – heartbreaking melodies from the divine Mollie Israel. LISTEN Full story »
Welcome to the long-awaited third installment of the S&R Tournament of Rock. This competition will pit 16 bands and solo artists against each other in a standard single-elimination format. The rules are simple:
- Selection criteria were informal: we picked 16 acts we liked that released new music in 2011. Then we drew names out of the hat and matched them randomly.
- Special thanks to Art Jipson (of WUDR Radio’s outstanding Tuesday afternoon indie showcase), The Blueflowers’ Tony Hamera and Ed Colavito, manager of The Lost Patrol, for recommending some worthy participants. We thought Tony and Ed might at least take the opportunity to suggest competition that sucked, thereby making things easier on themselves, but they responded by pointing us to some really good acts that we’d never heard of before. So no fear of a challenge there, and we respect that.
- We’ll post a match-up with links so that readers can give the bands a listen.
- At the bottom, click on your choice. Winners advance, and losers depart with a copy of the home version of our game and a year’s supply of Rice-a-Roni, the San Francisco treat. Full story »
To quote one first-round upset victim, what a long, strange trip it’s been. Believe it or not, we have finally reached the end of the road.
And now, the winner of the Tournament of Rock – Legends, by a comfortable margin of 68% to 32%… Full story »
198 bands and solo artists, 66 posts, nearly five months of listening, debating and voting, and finally here we are. We ask you to give them another listen, think critically about what it means to be a great band instead of merely a favorite band and cast your vote for the winner of the Tournament of Rock – Legends. Your contestants: first, the winners of the Budokan region, #2 seed The Rolling Stones. Their opponents, winners of the Fillmore region, #2 seed Pink Floyd.
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Perhaps it says something about perceived influence at the present time, or maybe it just means that people like listening to Pink Floyd more than they do The Who (although the producers of the CSI franchise would surely take issue). In any case, the results of our second semifinal are in, and I don’t think anyone is terribly surprised. Results: #2 Pink Floyd 65%; #3 The Who 35%.
On Monday morning the Grand Final will commence.
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Our first semi-final was a tough, hard fought, back-and-forth affair. When the smoke cleared, The Stones had prevailed, and now advance to the Final. The numbers: #2 The Rolling Stones 54%; #5 Neil Young 46%.
In our second semi, the band that invented “Power Pop” (they’re probably more remembered for the “power” part) tees it up with the band that invented atmosphere. Cue: house lights down…
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