BRACKET #21

#1 (12) R.E.M. vs. #16 (1013) OLEANDER

Hall Of Fame rock band and the band credited with the development of college radio… “Radio Free Europe”, “Losing My Religion”, “Drive” and “The One I Love”.

Post-Grunge band from late 90’s/early 00’s… “Why I’m Here”, “I Walk Alone” and “Are You There?”

#8 (501) THE RASCALS vs. #9 (524) THE RACONTEURS

60’s pop band… “Good Lovin’”, “Groovin’”, “People Got To Be Free” and “A Beautiful Morning”.

Alternative Rock band, debuted in 2006... “Steady, As She Goes”, “Level”, “Salute Your Solution” and “Broken Boy Soldier”.

#5 (268) STAIND vs. #12 (757) WHODINI

Post-Grunge, hard rock band known for power ballads… “It’s Been Awhile”, “Outside”, “So Far Away” and “Right Here”.

Rap group that gained notoriety in the mid 80’s with “Magic’s Wand”, “Friends”, “Five Minutes Of Funk” and “Freaks Come Out At Night”

#4 (245) MADNESS vs. #13 (780) SEVENDUST

British pop/ska/new wave band… “One Step Beyond”, “It Must Be Love”, “Our House” and “The Prince”.

Hard rock/heavy metal band from the late 90’s up to present day… “Too Close To Hate”, “Denial”, “Angel’s Son” and “Enemy”.

#3 (140) LENNY KRAVITZ vs. #14 (885) DAN FOGELBERG

Neo-psychedelic blues rock that fits multiple formats… “Are You Gonna Go My Way”, “Fly Away”, “It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over” and “Let Love Rule”.

“You kids with your loud music and you’re…Dan Fogelberg!!!” … “Part Of The Plan”, “Longer”, “Same Old Land Syne” and “Run For The Roses”.

#6 (373) THE OUTFIELD vs. #11 (652) THE CHURCH

British power/pop band that was way more popular in the states than in their homeland… “Your Love”, “Since You’ve Been Gone”, “Voices of Babylon” and “All The Love In The World”.

Australian alt/rockers best known for their 1988 hit “Under The Milky Way”. Others include “Reptile”, “Metropolis” and “The Unguarded Moment”.

#7 (396) THIRD EYE BLIND vs. #10 (629) FINE YOUNG CANNIBALS

Late 90’s alt/rockers .. “Semi-Charmed Life”, “How’s It Going To Be”, “Jumper”, “Never Let You Go”.

Pop band born out of the ashes of The English Beat… “Johnny Came Home”, “She Drives Me Crazy”, “Good Thing” and “Suspicious Minds”.

#2 (117) BRITTANY SPEARS vs. #15 (908) KURTIS BLOW

Pop star… “Baby One More Time”, “Toxic”, “Oops! I Did It Again” and “Womanizer”.

Groundbreaking rapper with his 1980 hit “The Breaks”. Others include, “Basketball” and “If I Ruled The World”.

R.E.M.... Easy winner
The Rascals... More songs than Jack White & the boys.
Whodini... Too many power ballads... must avoid...
Madness...
Lenny Kravitz... The only good thing about Fogelberg... um... you get to quote 'Baseketball'...
This is a tough one, how many times have you been in a bar and had 100 drunkards singing 'Your Love' way off key, but I enjoy The Church much more sober so they get my vote...
FYC...
Blow...Can't vote for Brittany, ever!!!

R.E.M.
The Raconteurs
Whodini
Madness
Lenny Kravitz
Kurtis Blow

#1 (12) R.E.M.
#9 (524) THE RACONTEURS
#12 (757) WHODINI
#4 (245) MADNESS
#3 (140) LENNY KRAVITZ
#11 (652) THE CHURCH
#10 (629) FINE YOUNG CANNIBALS
#15 (908) KURTIS BLOW

Bas-ket-ball

BRACKET #21
#1 (12) R.E.M.
#8 (501) THE RASCALS
#12 (757) WHODINI
#4 (245) MADNESS
#3 (140) LENNY KRAVITZ
#11 (652) THE CHURCH
#10 (629) FINE YOUNG CANNIBALS
#15 (908) KURTIS BLOW

#1 (12) R.E.M. (easiest one of the tournament so far)
#8 (501) THE RASCALS
#5 (268) STAIND
#4 (245) MADNESS
#3 (140) LENNY KRAVITZ
#6 (373) THE OUTFIELD
#7 (396) THIRD EYE BLIND (guilty as charged)
#15 (908) KURTIS BLOW

1. R.E.M.
9. The Raconteurs
12. Whodini
4. Madness
3. Lenny Kravitz
11. The Church
10. Fine Young Cannibals
15. Kurtis Blow

(I’m on record that I think Britney, though an obvious lightweight, gets way too much crap from critics, and there are a lot of 2/15 matchups in which I’d be happy to vote for her. Not this one, however.)

****

MOST UNDERRATED
Today? Nobody.

MOST OVERRATED
Whodini (UMT 757, AM 2019); Lenny Kravitz (UMT 140, AM 572); Britney Spears (UMT 117, AM 411).

NOT AM RANKED
Staind, The Outfield, Third Eye Blind, Sevendust, Dan Fogelberg, Oleander.

…AND A BUNCH OF CLOSE ONES
R.E.M. (UMT 12, AM 15); The Raconteurs (UMT 524, AM 511); The Rascals (UMT 501, AM 529); Kurtis Blow (UMT 908, AM 959).

#1 REM - "It's The End of the World as we Know It"
#8 The Rascals - "Good Lovin'"
#4 Madness - It surprises me they never really caught on in the US...they had a great sound and 1983 was a perfect time for them to cross the pond. I love "Our House"!
#14 Dan Fogelberg - yes, I went there. I really don't like Lenny Kravitz. "It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over" was one of the most annoying songs of the 90s.
#6 The Outfield - power pop? Really? I don't know what power pop is, but I didn't think they were it.
#7 Third Eye Blind - This was a tough one..."She Drives Me Crazy" was a great record, but TEB's debut was a stronger album. Both acts disappointed after massive early success.

And finally...well, UMT, this pick boils down to a philosophical question: what do you want to be? Do you want to be a referendum on the worth of manufactured pop princesses and boy bands? Or do you simply acknowledge that such is the way of the world, and in the free marketplace of music, the worthy and unworthy compete side-by-side for our $ and our attention?

I think the seeding system reflects that we do not live in the ideal world, and so...
#2 Britney Spears (you misspelled poor Britney's name, btw)

#1 R.E.M.
#8 The Rascals
#12 Whodini
#4 Madness
#3 Lenny Kravitz
#11 The Church
#10 Fine Young Cannibals
#2 Britney Spears

#2 Britney Spears (you misspelled poor Britney's name, btw)[/quote]


Shows how big a fan we are...

#1 R.E.M.

Important.

#8 THE RASCALS

I'm feeling poppy today, as much as I love Jack White.

#12 WHODINI

I don't hate Staind. I don't like them either.

#4 MADNESS

Good times.

#3 LENNY KRAVITZ

Intermittently very good.

#6 THE OUTFIELD

On reconsideration, I maybe should have voted for “Your Love” in the songs poll. It's that good of a pop masterpiece.

#10 FINE YOUNG CANNIBALS

Feel pretty weak about both of them.

#15 KURTIS BLOW

Hit Me Baby One More Time or whatever it's called is a fine song. Most of her other hits are not good, and overrated by pop-oriented critics. Particularly the unimprssive Toxic. Kurtis Blow's voice on The Breaks is authoritative.

#1 (12) R.E.M. vs. #16 (1013) OLEANDER

I liked Oleander briefly. But compared to REM?

#9 (524) THE RACONTEURS

Overrated by some, underrated by others.

#4 (245) MADNESS vs. #13 (780) SEVENDUST

This one's tough for me. Our House is better than anything Sevendust ever did. But Sevendust was one of my favorite bands when I was in high school, and I think I'd still appreciate them now. Anyway, Madness is going to win, so I'll abstain out of nostalgia.

#7 (396) THIRD EYE BLIND

I *really* like Semi Charmed Life. I think the rest of their stuff is okay. I can't stand Fine Young Cannibals.

#1 (12) R.E.M.
#8 (501) THE RASCALS
#5 (268) STAIND
#4 (245) MADNESS
#3 (140) LENNY KRAVITZ
#11 (652) THE CHURCH
#10 (629) FINE YOUNG CANNIBALS
#2 (117) BRITNEY SPEARS
Every vote for Kurtis Blow in the final matchup is a non-vote for Britney - geez,she's not that bad. Well,maybe I'm biased cos when she came out she was 17 and I was 12 and was just um,exploring things...

Overall I have had 53 different voters and on any given day about 22-31 voters for each bracket. I just wanted to take a quick second and thank everyone on this board for participating. Here are the winners for bracket #21...

R.E.M. 100% / Oleaner 0%
The Rascals 61.5% / The Raconteurs 38.5%
Whodini 62.5% / Staind 37.5%
Madness 74.1% / Sevendust 25.9%
Lenny Kravitz 96.0% / Dan Fogelberg 4.0%
The Church 62.5% / The Outfield 37.5%
Third Eye Blind 51.9% / Fine Young Cannibals 48.1%
Kurtis Blow 66.7% / Brittney Spears 33.3%