#1 (26) Johnny Cash vs. #16 (999) Bonnie Tyler
#8 (487) Blue Oyster Cult vs. #9 (538) Dinosaur Jr.
#5 (282) Eurythmics vs. #12 (743) MC Hammer
#4 (231) The Shirelles vs. #13 (794) The Sundays
#3 (154) The Animals vs. #14 (871) Johnny Gill
#6 (359) Supergrass vs. #11 (666) Razorlight
#7 (410) New Edition vs. #10 (615) Velvet Revolver
#2 (103) The Offspring vs. #15 (922) The Kingsmen

Johnny Cash
Dinosaur Jr
Eurythmics
The Shirelles
The Animals
Supergrass
Velvet Revolver
The Offspring

JC -- "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" is one of those 80's treasures, but up against Cash it's sac-relig...
Dino Jr. -- Guess what? I got a fever! And the only prescription.. is more cowbell!...
Eurythmics -- Please Hammer... Don't Hurt 'Em...
Sundays -- In the early 90's I fell in love with Harriet Wheeler, and not just her voice...
Animals -- So many great songs...
Supergrass -- Another great Britpop band that got lost here in the States...
Velvet Revolver --
Offspring -- Even though "Louie Louie" is a masterpiece, the offspring have a pretty solid catalog...

#1 (26) Johnny Cash
#8 (487) Blue Öyster Cult
#5 (282) Eurythmics
#4 (231) The Shirelles
#3 (154) The Animals
#11 (666) Razorlight
#15 (922) The Kingsmen

#1 (26) Johnny Cash
#9 (538) Dinosaur Jr.
#5 (282) Eurythmics
#4 (231) The Shirelles
#3 (154) The Animals
#6 (359) Supergrass
#7 (410) New Edition
#15 (922) The Kingsmen

#1 (26) Johnny Cash
#8 (487) Blue Oyster Cult
#5 (282) Eurythmics
#4 (231) The Shirelles
#3 (154) The Animals
#6 (359) Supergrass
#10 (615) Velvet Revolver
#15 (922) The Kingsmen

#1 Johnny Cash
#9 Dinosaur Jr.
#5 Eurythmics
#4 The Shirelles
#3 The Animals
#6 Supergrass
#7 New Edition
#2 The Offspring

Favorite this round - Cash, easily, with love for Supergrass.

Favorite not voted for - ummm.... it's a tie between Hammer's pants and Tyler's hair. The Sundays were all right, I guess.

Johnny Cash
Dinosaur Jr
Eurythmics
Supergrass
The Offspring

#16 Bonnie Tyler - I'll vote for Bonnie because a) "Holding out for a Hero" and "It's a Heartache" are also good songs, b) it's egregiously unfair that she's only a 16 seed, compared to acts like Hanson (#15) and the Sundays (#13), and c) she's Welsh. Not sure why that matters, but I just found that out after she's been around for 35 years.
#9 Dinosaur Jr.
#5 The Eurythmics - tough choice, as I still love the cheesy fun of "U Can't Touch This", but it hasn't aged nearly as well as the Eurythmics catalog; plus they had a longer career and didn't go on The Surreal Life
#4 The Shirelles - "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", an all-time great
#3 The Animals - not a Gill fan, the Animals are alright
pass
#7 New Edition
#2 The Offspring - while the lyrics of "Get a Job" are banal, the instrumental arrangement is brilliant. And "Pretty Fly for a White Guy" was a good track too

Today's favorite: The Eurythmics
Today's favorite I didn't vote for: Johnny Cash
Favorite song from today's bracket: "U Can't Touch This"

1. Johnny Cash
9. Dinosaur Jr.
5. Eurythmics
4. The Shirelles
3. The Animals
6. Supergrass
7. New Edition
15. The Kingsmen (The Offspring are undeniably catchy, and “Self-Esteem” is still one of the funniest songs I know. But the canonical “Louie Louie” beats all of Smash combined.)

A further word about New Edition…I won’t be a bit surprised if Velvet Revolver upsets them. After all, this would seem to be a matchup between:

- An actual rock band with a great pedigree (right down to their name), and
- The first of the “boy bands,” a rockist byword for the fake and manufactured.

This characterization, though, is pretty much the opposite of reality. New Edition arrived on the charts at a time when they were all still living in a Boston housing project. They did not have the benefits of studio wizardry, A&R men, focus groups, or—in 1982—MTV. Whatever you think of their music (and I can take it or leave it), they were the real thing—much more so, I would think, than a “supergroup” of aging rock stars like Velvet Revolver.

****

MOST UNDERRATED
The Kingsmen (UMT 922, AM 289).

MOST OVERRATED
The Offspring (UMT 103, AM 916).

NOT AM RANKED
New Edition, Velvet Revolver, Razorlight, Johnny Gill.

CLOSEST
Supergrass (UMT 359, AM 300); Eurythmics (UMT 282, AM 332).

Johnny Cash
Eurythmics
Supergrass
The Kingsmen

#1 Johnny Cash
#9 Dinosaur Jr.
#5 Eurythmics
#4 The Shirelles
#3 The Animals
#6 Supergrass
#7 New Edition
#15 The Kingsmen

#1 (26) Johnny Cash
#9 (538) Dinosaur Jr.
#5 (282) Eurythmics
Really? MC Hammer? ...Really?
#7 (410) New Edition
#15 (922) The Kingsmen
This is a hard matchup for me. A one hit wonder whose one hit happens to be better than everything the other band ever did. And it doesn't help that the Offspring are one of those bands I was really attached to in high school. But, I just can't vote for the band who did Fly For A White Guy over the band who did Louie Louie.

#1 (26) Johnny Cash
#9 (538) Dinosaur Jr.
#5 (282) Eurythmics
#13 (794) The Sundays
#3 (154) The Animals
#6 (359) Supergrass
#10 (615) Velvet Revolver
#2 (103) The Offspring

WTF - people voting for the Kingsmen who released the most overrated single ever...and nothing else.

16. Bonnie Tyler
9. Dinosaur Jr.
5. Eurythmics
13. The Sundays
3. The Animals
6. Supergrass (they were one of the many neglected britpop bands in the States but that especially included late 90s britpop which for some reason gets a bad wrap. Probably because of Robbie Williams who was also very talented and had tremendously catchy songs)
10. Velver Revolver
2. The Offspring

Johnny Cash
Dinosaur Jr. (Too bad, because BOC is one of the best of the week)
Eurythmics
The Animals
Supergrass
Offspring (surprised to see them seeded this high)

Winners in #51...
Johnny Cash 90.3% / Bonnie Tyler 9.7%
Dinosaur Jr. 56.7% / Blue Oyster Cult 43.3%
Eurythmics 83.9% / Hammer 16.1%
The Shirelles 65.4% / The Sundays 34.6%
The Animals 85.7% / Johnny Gill 14.3%
Supergrass 89.3% / Razorlight 10.7%
New Edition 51.9% / Velvet Revolver 48.1%
The Offspring 71% / The Kingsmen 29%