Archive for the 'Tournament of Rock' Category
Results: It was only a matter of time: there are now officially no Gen Xers left in the ToR, as a great Boomer legend waxes U2 … by nearly a two-to-one margin. Wow, on so many levels. The numbers: #5 Neil Young 65%; #1 U2 35%. NY moves on to the Great Eight.
Up next, our search for the greatest Baby Boomer band of all time takes you to the Hollywood Bowl region where the heavy favorite awaits another challenger. Can Elvis pull off the biggest upset ever?
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Results: I know. It’s only rock & roll. But I like it. So, too, do our voters, although it was a pretty good race from wire to wire. The numbers: #2 The Rolling Stones 54%; #3 David Bowie 46%. The Stones move on to the Great Eight.
Up next, our search for the greatest band of all time takes you to the Red Rocks region. In the red corner, a band that’s had the same lineup since day one. In the blue corner, an artist who has established his greatness in three different incarnations. Get your thinking caps on, kiddies.
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Update 2: The poll is closed. For some reason PollDaddy is having technical issues and as a result you can still vote. However, we have a final tally as of 11 am MST and no further votes are being accepted. Sorry about this.
UPDATE: As much as we love The Police, we never expected this match to be so close. But here it is – 8am, neck-and-neck. We’ll leave the polls open until around 11, so if you haven’t yet voted, please step into the booth…
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Results: Can it ever be an upset when the favorite wins? Honestly, even though they’re seeded higher, it has to be a bit of a surprise that The Clash managed to beat “the voice of Generation X.” Or maybe it isn’t… The numbers: #2 The Clash 55%; #3 Nirvana 45%. I don’t klnow about the Casbah, but The Clash will be rocking the Great 8. Full Story »
Results: It was a see-saw battle where each artist surged dramatically, but Zep surged hardest and latest. The numbers: #1 Led Zeppelin 60%; #5 Jimi Hendrix 40%. Led Zeppelin is into the Great 8.
Up next – since our quest for the greatest band of all time tortured Boomers in the last pod, it seems only fair that we provide equal opportunity for Gen Xers to tear their hair out trying to decide between two of the bands that defined th-th-th-their generation. There aren’t any wrong answers here, although there are lots and lots of bad reasons. Let the anguish commence.
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Results: I suppose when a #3 seed beats a #2 seed and the #3 seed is one of the most important and influential bands of all time it’s hard to call it an upset, huh? The numbers: #3 The Who 66%; #2 Bruce Springsteen/E Street Band 34%. The Who are our first band into the Great 8.
Now let’s truck the tournament to name the greatest band of all time out to the Fillmore region and see if we can’t incite fans of incendiary hard rock guitar into a galloping hissy fit.
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Welcome back to the Scholars & Rogues quest for the greatest band of all time. Let the Sweet 16 commence. It’s now one-on-one, and our first head-to-head features two of the most dynamic bands – both in the studio and in concert – in history. Your contestants:
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Our last pod ended the Great 48 on a subdued note. Nirvana won handily, but voter turnout was low. Does this mean trouble for “the voice of Generation X” at the next level? We’ll know soon enough. The numbers: #3 Nirvana 56%; #8 John Mellencamp 32%; Los Lobos 12%. Full Story »
 Results: About what you’d expect – The Stones laid an Altamont on all comers. Maybe they’ll find stiffer competition at the next level. The numbers: #2 The Rolling Stones 80%; #7 Bob Marley/Wailers 13%; #10 The Sex Pistols 7%. Stones advance to the Sweet 16.
And now, the final Great 48 pod in our search for the greatest band of all time. Let’s head out to the Red Rocks region for a throwdown hosted by one of the most important game-changers in rock history.
Polls close tomorrow. Full Story »
 Results: Boomer legend nard-stomps Xer legend. In other news, sun rises in East. The numbers: #5 Jimi Hendrix 67%; #4 REM 24%; Joan Jett/Blackhearts 10%. Jimi advances to the Sweet 16.
Up next, our quest to find the greatest band of all time slides over to the Budokan region, where one of the stronger candidates to unhorse The Beatles looks to start it up.
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 Results: Surprise! The Beatles win! *ahem* Okay, so maybe we all saw that coming. Still, Zappa thumping The Beach Boys this hard for second? Interesting things happen in the battle for second, too – not that it impacts the rest of the competition, of course. The numbers: #1 The Beatles 72%; Frank Zappa 22%; #6 The Beach Boys/Brian Wilson 6%. Fabs advance to the Sweet 16. (By the way – we’ve had a couple of Pope John Pauls. Why no Pope George Ringo?)
Three pods left in the Great 48. So let’s head our search for the greatest band of all time out to the Fillmore region, where the band that defined the Southern Gothic sound for the Alternative era hosts what promises to be a very challenging match. (Once again, let’s see if we can make voters hate themselves…) Full Story »
 Results: Not only was this one of the tightest contests yet in terms of victory margin, it was also a case where the arguments to be made in favor of one artist or another were anything but definitive. In the end, Elvis nudges The Ramones. Hey, we asked for drama. The numbers: #4 Elvis Costello 43%; #5 The Ramones 39%; ZZ Top 18%. Mr. McManus advances to the Sweet 16.
All the drama is wearing us down, so move our search for the greatest band of all time to the top of the Hollywood Bowl region where four lads from Liverpool begin their ritual march to a preordained coronation. Or do they? Let’s see if we can’t make it a little hard on them, at least. Full Story »
 Results: Top-seeded U2 looked poised to be our highest-ranked upset victim yet as of last night, but then put on a strong finishing kick to win one of the strongest pods we’ve seen yet. The numbers: #1 U2 56%; #6 Queen 37%; #12 Black Sabbath/Ozzy Osbourne 8%. U2 advances to the Sweet 16.
Our search for the greatest band of all time now moves to the Hollywood Bowl region and an artist who walked away from the music that had made him one of the biggest names in the world to follow his own curious muse. Full Story »
 Results: Well, the top seeds are on a roll now, and this time there wasn’t even a hint of drama to be had, as “Which one’s Pink?” Floyd administered the worst butt-kicking we’ve seen so far. The numbers: #2 Pink Floyd 88%; The Kinks 9%; Robert Palmer 2%. Floyd advances to the Sweet 16, where hopefully they can find a little competition.
Speaking of competition, we may encounter a little now as our search for the greatest band of all time heads out to the Red Rocks region. There, the band that defined Red Rocks in the minds of millions hosts a pod that’s packed with peril. Full Story »
 Results: Wow – two very close match-ups in a row. Bowie jumped out to an early lead, only to see Janis Joplin close hard. In the end, though, the top seeds make it five in a row. The numbers: #3 David Bowie 48%; #8 Janis Joplin 45%; Creedence Clearwater Revival 7%.
Up next, our search for the greatest band of all time moves out to the Fillmore region, where the groundbreaking band that more or less invented atmosphere hosts a pod that looks like a mismatch on paper. But as they say, they don’t play ‘em on paper. Full Story »
 Results: Finally, a bit of drama. And controversy. Followed by a two-day intermission. Sorry about that, RockHeads. In a match that produced lots of comment and way too little respect for some great artists, The Police surge late to nip Billy Joel at the wire. The numbers: #4 The Police 48%; Billy Joel 46%; #5 Graham Parker 6%. The Police move on to the Sweet 16. (Quick trivia – five bonus points to the first person who can tell us where they got their name.)
Up next, our search for the greatest band of all time riffs over to the Budokan region and the artist of a thousand faces who fell to Earth. Is another upset in the offing or will the top seeds continue their recent run of success? Full Story »
 Results: The past week provided ToR fans with about as much drama as the 4th quarter of the Patriots/Titans game, huh? In our most recent match the band currently famous for providing CSI theme music simply poleaxed some pretty good competition, making it four in a row for the favorites. The numbers: #3 The Who 82%; #9 AC/DC 16%; Queensryche 2%.
Maybe we can give voters something to think about this week. Let’s start in the Budokan region, where perhaps the greatest band of the New Wave hosts the Piano Man and arguably the most underappreciated artist in rock history. Full Story »
 It’s been a pretty good week for the top seeds. Despite the upset threat posed by a couple of exceptional challengers, Zep scores early and often to post a decisive win. The numbers: #1 Led Zeppelin 69%; #6 Eric Clapton 25%; #12 Rush 6%. Led Zeppelin advances to the Sweet 16.
Our quest for the greatest band of all time now heads over to the Hollywood Bowl region for our second straight smash-mouth smackdown. Your host: the band that put the “power” into “power pop.” Full Story »
 Results: For the second pod in a row, we had a clean win by the top seed. Clearly this is just too easy. The numbers: #2 The Clash 54%; Fleetwood Mac 35%; #10 Crosby Stills & Nash12%. The Clash advances to the Sweet 16.
Fine. Let’s steer our search for the greatest band of all time over to the Fillmore region and see if we can’t stir it up a little. In this pod, one of the most important and influential bands in rock history throws down with … well, two other important and influential rock icons. Power on power, smash-mouth rock, here we come. Full Story »
 Results: Wow. Total lack of drama in this one. Dylan runs off and hides. The numbers: #1 Bob Dylan 86%; The Smiths/Morrissey 7%; The Doobie Brothers 7%. Dylan advances to the Sweet 16.
Let’s mosey our quest for the greatest band of all time over to the Red Rocks region and see if we can find some competition there. Ah – here’s a good one. “Punk icons face a two-front battle vs. Classic Rock mainstays.” This ought to be fun.
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 Results: In a pod that pretty much encapsulates everything we’ve come to expect of ToR voters, the ’60s Classic Rock hero wins (narrowly), the popular ’80s band takes second and the critically acclaimed contemporary artist finishes dead last. Anybody see a trend? The numbers: #5 Neil Young 39%; Devo 37%; #4 Radiohead 24%.
Our quest for the greatest band of all time now slides over to the Budokan region. In this pod we meet our first #1 seed, a folk-rock legend who once released a Live at Budokan album. Full Story »
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