The Old Acclaimed Music Forum
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Here we go... down to 32. Vote for your winners, results posted tomorrow:
The Beatles vs. The Who
Led Zeppelin vs. David Bowie
The Rolling Stones vs. Jimi Hendrix
Stevie Wonder vs. Bob Dylan
Radiohead vs. Arcade Fire
The White Stripes vs. Eminem
Wilco vs. Blur
The Smashing Pumpkins vs. OutKast
The Beatles
David Bowie
Radiohead
Stevie Wonder
The Rolling Stones
Bob Dylan
Jimi Hendrix
The Smashing Pumpkins
Blur
The White Stripes
Led Zeppelin
OutKast
Eminem
Arcade Fire
The Who
Wilco
The Beatles
David Bowie
The Rolling Stones
Bob Dylan
Arcade Fire
The White Stripes
Wilco
OutKast
Beatles
David Bowie
Rolling Stones
Bob Dylan
Radiohead
White Stripes
Blur
OutKast
The WHO - I would have voted for The Beatles against VU though...
Zeppelin - This is tough, depends on what kind of a mood I am in, today feels more like a Zeppelin kinda day...
Stones - Hate voting against Jimi, but I kinda have to in this one...
Stevie -
Radiohead - When I revise my top 200 artists list later this year, Radiohead will still be top 5, but Arcade Fire should be just outside the top 10. Like Dylan, Hendrix and Bowie before, it is a tough bracket to have to vote aginst Arcade Fire as well...
White Stripes - Yeah, I know Eminem does not belong here, just the way the bracket turned out...
Blur -
OutKast -
The Beatles
Bob Dylan
Stevie Wonder 
Jimi Hendrix
The Rolling Stones
The Who
Led Zeppelin very tight win vs...
David Bowie
Wilco
Radiohead
Outkast
Arcade Fire
The White Stripes
Eminem
Smashing Pumpkins
Blur
The Beatles
David Bowie
The Rolling Stones
Bob Dylan
Radiohead
The White Stripes
Blur
OutKast
Blur vs Wilco was especially tough. My number 9 artist of all time vs my number 11 artist of all time.
The Beatles
David Bowie
The Rolling Stones
Bob Dylan
Radiohead
The White Stripes
Blur
OutKast
The Beatles
David Bowie
The Rolling Stones
Stevie Wonder (crappy matchup for Stevie)
Radiohead
The White Stripes (the fact the White Stripes and probably the Pumpkins will advance and Stevie won't makes me sad)
Blur
OutKast
Stevie Wonder
Bob Dylan
The Beatles
Radiohead
David Bowie
The Who
The Rolling Stones
OutKast
Led Zeppelin
Jimi Hendrix
Blur
Wilco
The White Stripes
The Smashing Pumpkins
Arcade Fire
Eminem
1. Bob Dylan
2. The Rolling Stones
3. The Who
4. David Bowie
5. Led Zeppelin
6. Stevie Wonder
7. The Beatles (see, I don't hate them)
8. OutKast
9. Arcade Fire
10. Eminem
11. Wilco
12. Jimi Hendrix
13. The Smashing Pumpkins
14. The White Stripes
15. Blur
16. Radiohead
The Beatles
Bob Dylan
Arcade Fire
Radiohead
Led Zeppelin
Wilco
The Who - That would be seven of my Top 9.
The Rolling Stones
Eminem
David Bowie
White Stripes
Smashing Pumpkins
Blur
Jimi Hendrix
OutKast
Stevie Wonder
The Beatles
David Bowie
The Rolling Stones
Bob Dylan
Radiohead
The White Stripes
Wilco
OutKast
Thanks!
THE BEATLES. So here’s Moonbeam’s nightmare matchup. There are artists in the 50s/60s region who would merit a very close look against the Beatles: Bob Dylan, the Velvet Underground, maybe the Stones and Bowie. But the Who, although a great band, suffers from an apples-to-apples comparison here. They’re the third- or fourth-best British group of their era; no way can they compete with the best one.
DAVID BOWIE. Another no-brainer; Zeppelin is easily my least favorite remaining 60s artist, and Bowie pretty much defined a decade.
THE ROLLING STONES. I like Hendrix a lot, but I respect great songwriting more than virtuosic playing.
BOB DYLAN. Stevie is the best thing Detroit ever produced, and eminently deserving of his status as a legend. But nobody out-legends Dylan.
RADIOHEAD. Once again, an act that I love runs into the Radiohead buzzsaw. Next!
THE WHITE STRIPES. I like both of them, but this pairing is a pipsqueak compared to the other seven today.
BLUR. I’m with Nick…I don’t rank artists, but if I did, Blur and Wilco are probably both around #9 or #10 for me, and I haven’t struggled with any other choice as much as this one in this tournament. It comes down to this: Blur are a *slightly* more versatile band than Wilco, and they’ve been important in my life longer than Wilco has.
OUTKAST. Should be a blowout. Probably won’t be.
Beatles or Radiohead
Beatles or Radiohead
David Bowie
Bob Dylan
Blur
Wilco
OutKast
The Rolling Stones
Arcade Fire
The Who
Stevie Wonder
Jimi Hendrix
The White Stripes
Smashing Pumpkins
Led Zeppelin
Eminem
The BEatles
Bowie
Stones
Dylan
RAdiohead
Stripes
pass
Outkast
The Beatles
Bob Dylan
Radiohead
David Bowie
The Rolling Stones
Arcade Fire
OutKast
The White Stripes
Stevie Wonder
Blur
Wilco
Jimi Hendrix
Eminem
The Who
Led Zeppelin
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Beatles
Led Zeppelin
The Rolling Stones
Stevie Wonder
Radiohead
pass
Blur
The Smashing Pumpkins
The top of this bracket is completely loaded, and all the matchups are extremely close.
The Beatles
Led Zeppelin
The Rolling Stones
Bob Dylan
The bottom of this bracket also has some heavy hitters, but also some good but not great hitters.
Radiohead
The White Stripes
Wilco
(Pass, too close to call)
The Who
David Bowie
The Rolling Stones
Bob Dylan
Radiohead
The White Stripes
Wilco
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Beatles
David Bowie
Jimi Hendrix
Stevie Wonder
Radiohead
The White Stripes
Wilco
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Beatles
Somebody should check in on Moonbeam and make sure he hasn't had a stroke.
Led Zeppelin
Close call.
The Rolling Stones
Damn it. Two of my all time favorites against each other. Hendrix has my two favorite albums between the two groups, but the Stones have a longer golden period.
Bob Dylan
All time favorite
Radiohead
Easy.
The White Stripes
Very easy.
Wilco
Even easier.
OutKast
The Beatles
David Bowie
The Rolling Stones
Stevie Wonder
Radiohead
The White Stripes The Only easy choice of the day.
Blur
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Beatles
Bob Dylan
Radiohead
Led Zeppelin
The Rolling Stones
Stevie Wonder
Jimi Hendrix
David Bowie
Eminem
The Who
Arcade Fire
Outkast
The White Stripes
Blur
Wilco
The Smashing Pumpkins
First time I think I've ever put Zeppelin below Dylan or Radiohead.
Beatles (DAMN!)
Led Zeppelin
Jimi Hendrix (CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Dylan
Radiohead
White Stripes
Wilco
Outkast
The first five were hard choices, the other three...not so much.
The Who
Led Zeppelin
The Rolling Stones
Bob Dylan
Radiohead
Eminem
Wilco
The Smashing Pumpkins
David Bowie: A real gem! Hopefully he can take out Zeppelin, lest I be faced with yet another nightmare matchup.
Stevie Wonder: It's a shame he's up against Dylan, because I feel like he would have had a chance to pull an upset against some other acts. When I think of the phrase "musical genius", he's one of the very first to come to mind.
Radiohead: Intriguing band, but still one I haven't found a way to love yet.
Jimi Hendrix: He's gone up in my esteem lately after listening to Are You Experienced? again. I should put on Axis and Electric Ladyland again while I'm at it.
OutKast: At least Eminem isn't the only rap act left. These guys deserve to be acclaimed, although I do feel it goes a bit overboard sometimes.
Arcade Fire: A pre-Suburbs vote would have had them easily beating Radiohead.
Blur: If only Gorillaz was here instead. I guess that may be a bit unfair - I've only heard their self-titled album in full. Any other recs?
The White Stripes: I've got White Blood Cells, but haven't warmed to it at all. Is Elephant very different?
The Rolling Stones: I mostly just tolerate them, although I do quite enjoy "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and "Miss You".
The Smashing Pumpkins: I would have enjoyed them a lot more with a different vocalist.
Wilco: I know only a few songs of theirs, but nothing has jumped out at me.
Bob Dylan: I have a lot of respect for Bob Dylan, but I'm not about to go buy his albums.
Eminem: I can't believe he made the final 32.
Led Zeppelin: They'd be near my bottom 5 of the top 200 most acclaimed artists.
The Beatles: Congrats, AM and emailers! You actually created a matchup where I was forced to vote for The Beatles. I feel so, so dirty.
The Who: At least this way, one of my bottom 25 artists will be gone.
Can we get this posted on the home page?
Blur: If only Gorillaz was here instead. I guess that may be a bit unfair - I've only heard their self-titled album in full. Any other recs?
The White Stripes: I've got White Blood Cells, but haven't warmed to it at all. Is Elephant very different?
Blur's a top 10 band of all time for me, and I've heard almost all their works. their self-titled is really good, but in my opinion the best introduction to Blur is their best of album called "Blur: The Best Of", which is a fantastic primer to one of the most ever changing bands of the 90's/ early 2000's. It's sort of hard to narrow down what kind of music you'll like, so I'd start with that best of and then listen to the albums that your most favorite songs come from. Also, that best of album was released before their album "Think Tank", so I'd check a few songs out from that album as well, specifically the heartbreakingly awesome single,"Out of Time".
As for The White Stripes, "Elephant" is pretty similar to "White Blood Cells". If you at least liked "White Blood Cells" I'd give "Elephant" a fair listen, but it's not too different overall.
Beatles
Led Zeppelin
Jimi Hendrix
Stevie Wonder
Radiohead
White Stripes
Blur
Outkast
Blur: If only Gorillaz was here instead. I guess that may be a bit unfair - I've only heard their self-titled album in full. Any other recs?
Nick's recommendation is good, although I would suggest their more recent compilation, Midlife. It leaves out some hits (like the missable "Country House") in favor of more interesting material. And it's 30 songs.
I have also never gone wrong breaking out Parklife at a party. I don't think it's their best album, but it's their most acclaimed, and might be the easiest entry point among their studio albums (and it sounds almost nothing like s/t).
Elephant is pretty similar to White Blood Cells, but it has more variety in tone. A little less energetic, a little more songwriting-oriented.
Check out In The Cold Cold Night.
RESULTS:
The Beatles 74.4% / The Who 25.6%
Led Zeppelin 53.5% / David Bowie 46.5%
The Rolling Stones 72.1% / Jimi Hendrix 27.9%
Bob Dylan 62.8% / Stevie Wonder 37.2%
Radiohead 83.3% / Arcade Fire 16.7%
The White Stripes 61.9% / Eminem 38.1%
Blur 54.8% / Wilco 45.2%
OutKast 59.5% / The Smashing Pumpkins 40.5%
AM/EMAIL Splits:
Bowie (15-10AM) / Zeppelin (13-5E)
White Stripes (20-4AM) / Eminem (12-6E)
OutKast (17-7AM) / Pumpkins (10-8E)
Check out In The Cold Cold Night.
The best album of the White Stripes is "Get behind me satan" but I really love all there albums.
Fuck for Bowie ! It's unfair.
I'm not surprised Blur won, but I'm surprised they had both majorities.
13-11AM / 10-8E... Oddly enough one of the E-Mail voters was ready to quit for Wilco getting knocked out. This would have been the last matchup I thought would stir up such emotion. I did get alot of grief from 2 other e-mailers this morning about Stevie & Jimi getting eliminated. No way to avoid this at this point in the tourney!!!
Led Zeppelin 53.5% / David Bowie 46.5%
Shameful.