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AM Survivor: Week 19

Mama said knock you out:

32. Aretha Franklin (34)
31. Sonic Youth (33)
30. Beck (28)

Survive and advance: Pixies (24), Tom Waits (23), Nirvana (23), Sly and the Family Stone (22), James Brown (21).

I hope last week didn’t scare anyone off, because the choices are getting very, very interesting.

And this week, your choices are among these 29 artists:

The Beach Boys, The Beatles, David Bowie, James Brown, Johnny Cash, The Clash, Elvis Costello, Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Marvin Gaye, Jimi Hendrix, The Kinks, Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, Pixies, Elvis Presley, Prince, Radiohead, Otis Redding, R.E.M., The Rolling Stones, Sly and the Family Stone, Bruce Springsteen, Talking Heads, The Velvet Underground, Tom Waits, The Who, Stevie Wonder, Neil Young.

Week 19 is now underway.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

1. (5p) Sly and the Family Stone - I just can't relate to this music. I'm more into the works of a different Sly.

2. (4p) James Brown - Finally, people seem to be catching up with me. I'm looking forward to voting for artists I really like, but as long as James Brown and the gang are still here, I'm unable to do so.

3. (3p) Marvin Gaye - I'm definitely not part of the Gaye Parade.

4. (2p) Neil Young - Last week I got some support for my comment on Neil Young having a voice like a steel guitar. Previously I've compared him to my nagging mother. This week I'll compare him to backstreet cats, and see where that'll take me.

5. (1p) The Clash - I kind of like The Clash, at least parts of what they've done. Especially the part called London Calling. The rest is kind of messy.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Now we're getting somewhere. 3 people voted off, including the 1 I had on #1 since the start of the game.

Lonely harbour-hoggers:
1) Nirvana
2) Jimi Hendrix

New in the queue for the mainland:

3) Radiohead - I've probably listened to OK Computer more than some albums I actually like, and I've really tried to like Yorke and companions, but it didn't get past a 7.5.
4) James Brown - I like his music, but I agree with most people on here that it's all a little too much of the same (I know, I know, he's done a lot of different stuff too, but most of the good stuff is a little silimar) to enter the top 25.
5) Miles Davis - My favorite jazz artist, yes. A great artist, yes. My cup of tea, no. I know it's a lame excuse to vote someone off because you don't like his/her style, but what else is there to judge these artists on now? Pretty much everyone remaining (maybe except for Nirvana :P) is/are a great artist(s), so all we can judge them on now is personal preference.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Same as last week:

1. Bob Dylan
2. Bruce Springsteen
3. Pixies
4. Elvis Costello
5. The Clash.

Bubbling under:
Nirvana, R.E.M.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

1. Beatles
2. Pixies
3. Nirvana
4. Radiohead

New

5. Talking Heads - I was in my mid-teens, on my way to a gig, stoned nearly senseless, the first time I heard Remain in Light, and I almost shat my pants - out of sheer terror. It was the last couple tracks, Listening Wind and The Overload that caused the problem. And it's been one of my favorite albums ever since, even though (or maybe because) I haven't smoked any grass for at least 7 years.... I also think it's one of the most "perfect" albums ever recorded. It has a great crescendo/descrescendo to it, cool, atmospheric touches from Eno and Belew, metronomic basslines from Weymouth throughout, and the best lyrics Byrne ever wrote.

None of their other albums come close - a few songs here and there - This Must Be the Place and New Feeling come immediately to mind. As Nicolas has said, it's that Kraftwerk-styled coldness, rigorous non-emotion, exaggerated quirkiness...just leaves you, well, cold.

My favorite Byrne quote: The better a singer's voice, the harder it is for you to believe what he's saying.

I mostly agree.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

1. TOM WAITS
2. LED ZEPPELIN
3. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
4. MARVIN GAYE. “Let’s Get It On” and “Sexual Healing” are the pinnacles of their genre (I’m not feeling saucy enough today to give that genre a good name, but I will take suggestions). I do believe that What’s Going On is overrated; there’s too much sameness throughout, and nothing on the album holds a candle to the best socially aware soul (“A Change Is Gonna Come”) or gospel (“People Get Ready”). But Brother Marvin was a treasure…he’s one of those artists about whom I wish he could have had as much happiness in his own life as he gave other people.
5. THE KINKS. I prefer the gut-bucket, slightly dumb, proto-metal Kinks of “You Really Got Me,” “All Day and All of the Night,” and even “Lola.” The wry proto-Britpop* of Something Else and Village Green Preservation Society leaves me a little colder…I like it, but I probably just came to it too late in my life for it to really mean much to me.

* - No, that’s not the best way to describe it, but you know what I mean.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Missed this week's ferry to neverland:

5 pts - James Brown
4 pts - Miles Davis
3 pts - Jimi Hendrix
2 pts - The Kinks

Ready to leave as well:

1 pt - The Who - Yes, the Who's next, which happens to be my favorite hard rock album. Brilliant live concerts, as long as you keep your ear plugs stand-by (or in), and as long as you stay away from the rock operas, their albums are quite worth a listen. They're not quite of 'My Generation', but that is a cool Who song.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

My eulogy for Beck can be found in the proper thread. I also shed tears for Sonic Youth.

Returning vote-getters:

1. Tom Waits
2. Elvis Presely
3. Miles Davis
4. Pixies

New:

5. Nirvana -- Why don't I switch the most prominent practitioners of the "soft and then VERY VERY LOUD" form of rock-craft? I am tempted to. In fact, I don't see them sharing much more than that. Pixies have far more humor and quirk to their work. Nirvana too often plod through their predominent emotion - angst. However, when they quiet-up the angst, as Cobain did on Unplugged, there is a depth that Pixies never achieved. When it comes time to rock, the rock comes forward pretty straightforward and effectively. I don't think Cobain was as good a songwriter as others seem to think, but clearly a notch above most of his contemporaries on the "Modern Rock" charts.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Oops, neverland should be nowhereland. I didn't mean to send them for a cup of tea to Michael's place ...

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Repeats:
5 Points - Pixies
4 Points - Sly & The Family Stone
3 Points - Talking Heads
New: (at this point it's just getting rid of the ones I like the least, of the best)
2 Points - Radiohead
1 Point - Tom Waits

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Ooh, that sucks that Beck was voted off. He lasted awhile though so it's ok.

5 points. Tom Waits
4 points. Johnny Cash
3 points. Bruce Springsteen
2 points. Elvis Costello- I do like a lot of Costello songs but I can't get through a whole album. It's the kind of 80's music I'm just not into. It's funny though because I like a lot of bands that compare to Costello from that time but I just can't get into him and I've tried to a lot.
1 point. Miles Davis- Like I was saying in another post, I have about 150 jazz records I like. I think I have two Miles Davis records I like (Workin' and Cookin') and I don't think either of those would be in my top 50 jazz records. So, I really should have had Miles on here awhile ago but jazz needed to be represented.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

1. Prince
2. Sly and the Family Stone
3. Marvin Gaye
4. Led Zeppelin
5. Nirvana - It's been a long time since I've had the desire to listen to these guys. Lost interest.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

5 points Springsteen
4 Tom Waits
3 James Brown

New

2 Elvis Presley
1 Johnny Cash

Legendary figures both but one can only claim around twenty songs I like and a couple of albums, the later about a 50% on that.

SLy, Byrne and Stipe are on my watch list too. If it comes down to the wire I'm going to hold Accelerate against REM as well but not until the week it's out.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

1. The Who
2. The Clash
3. Otis Redding
4. The Kinks
5. Led Zeppelin

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Well, I didn't help vote anyone off last week, but that will change. By the way, I like the new R.E.M. album a lot, and won't hold it against them.

1) James Brown - I didn't realize he had enough support on AM to make it this far. He's got some from-the-gut funk and has been fairly influential, but he really wasn't consistent or diverse enough.
2) Tom Waits - I like ol' Tom, and he's had a pretty consistent career. He's just not as good as everyone else who's left.
3) Miles Davis - It's a genre thing, because I do appreciate Miles, I just don't enjoy actively listening to him very often.
4) The Kinks - When it comes to the British invasion, I consider them fourth string behind the obvious three, and it's not even close.
5) The Pixies - Although they're all good to great, I'm not sure I would declare any of their albums masterpieces. Their only song to make my top 200 was "UMass" from my favorite of their albums, Trompe Le Monde. A guess I'm an a-typical Pixies fan.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

5 pts. - James Brown - He is a very funky man, but I never feel the need to listen to his stuff, a lot of which I am kind of sick of by now.
4 pts. - Otis Redding - Catalog not deep enough to hang with competition at this point.
3 pts. - Nirvana
2 pts. - Sly And The Family Stone
1 pt. - Radiohead

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Talking Heads 5
Pixies 4
E Costello 3
Sly & F Stone 2
New : Miles Davis 1 : I'm not a huge fan. I love "Kind of Blue", it's a grower, but I don't dig Bitches Brew that much. His brand of jazz is too intellectual for me.
Apart from that, he's an immense artist.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

1. [5pts] Bruce Springsteen - Overrated, always was, always will be.

2. [4pts] The Rolling Stones - Mick is an icon, alright. An icon of Annoying. Dance Police should have arrested him way back in the 60's...

3. [3pts] Marvin Gaye - Really not a fan of this type of music here.

4. [2pts] James Brown - Not nice to beat up a dead man, but he beat up his wife back when he was alive. I would respect a junkie artist more.

5. [1pts] R.E.M. - While they still have a decent song every now 7 then, they're just not what they used to be [which is understandable].

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Keith, I remember you once said that Prince should be locked up in a zoo. So I get it, you don't like his persona. But give the musical genius in him a chance.

I started out disliking him, like you, and ended up at Moonbeam-esque levels of appreciation for him.



As for my votes.

1) Bob Dylan - 5 points

1986's "Knocked Out Loaded":

- retroactively made World War 2 take place.
- permanently afflicted my best friend with priapism.
- caused worldwide inflation.
- made me lose faith in God.
- clogged up the toilet for weeks.

I can't help but hold it against him. For the deeds of 1970 "Self Portrait" and 1973's "Dylan," refer to previous threads.

2) Bruce Springsteen - 4 points

Indeed overrated. He wouldn't have made it so far without Jon Landau's overwhelming support.

3) Led Zeppelin - 3 points

I honestly think they're boring, and all style no substance.

4) Jimi Hendrix - 2 points

The most amazing gimmicks, but I'm not so fond of gimmicks really.

5) David Bowie - 1 points

He's got beautiful songs scattered around, like "Heroes" and "Ashes to Ashes," but I could never last through an album nowadays.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Wow. A vote for the Stones.

...and with that, the last artist standing who has received no votes, at no time, no how, is:

David Bowie.

(What, nobody's deducting points for Tin Machine?)

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

And he held the title for 20 whole minutes...

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Hahaha.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Let's let Bowie win, he is the coolest guy ever duh >.>

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Well, I'll vote on Monday this time for a change:

5 points - James Brown

4 points - Nirvana

3 points - Led Zeppelin

2 points - Jimi Hendrix

1 point - Prince - Well, since I don't have a great list of my favorite songs of all time, I've been using my iTunes playcount list and Prince is the first artist I'm voting for with a song in my top 1000. Like a lot of the artists I've voted for, I prefer his singles to his albums and "Little Red Corvette" has helped him immensely in making it this far without a vote. I've picked up a couple more of his albums for the 1980s lists, so he may not even make a repeat appearance next week.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

1. TALKING HEADS
2. ELVIS PRESLEY
3. THE VELVET UNDERGROUND
4. SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE

*final entry* 5. JOHNNY CASH

A giant of country music, a gifted songwriter and storyteller, and a musical legend. The guy was an outlaw; his deep voice and all-black wardrobe made him seem tougher than a three-dollar steak. Folsom Prison remains an essential live document, but let's call a spade a spade and admit that about half of the American Recordings are a waste of time. But I'm just nitpicking - Cash was the last truly great artist of a genre that has since become a tired and cliched parody. Modern country music is a joke.

And with that vote, I graciously withdraw from further participation in this game . I've reached an unfortunate point where running down the list of remaining artists and attempting to strain the few flaws from otherwise amazing careers is a frustrating, exhausting and overall meaningless endeavor. I feel like I'm inventing weaknesses rather than celebrating greatness. Furthermore, I'm finding that my level of "taking it too seriously" is directly proportional to this game's duration and to the number of new participants that have entered recently (schleuse: perhaps you'll consider placing some restrictions on participation for the upcoming game? ie. no new contributors after x number of rounds/days/weeks.) and at the end of the day, I just can't justify giving votes to any of the remaining artists.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

5 Points Sly and the family stone - Its alright but not as good as the rest of the bands left
4POints The clash - London calling is good but thats about it
3Prince- I just hate him, the music doesnt agree with me
2points stevie wonder - take em or leave em
1pointelvis costello - Great songwriter, just dislike his voice...lol...I still like the music though

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

1) Radiohead- I don't get it..I really don't. And I have tried. 5 pts.
2) Pixies- As a medium-Nirvana acolyte, I'm supposed to worship at their altar as well. I can hear the influence and the soft/loud dynamics, but I just don't like the songs as well. 4 pts.
3) Talking Heads- Musically, I like 'em. Lyrically, they're usually a miss for me. 3 pts.
2) Miles Davis- Wish he'd put more air into his horn. That "breathy" tone bugs me. Sorry for everyone who loves him. 2 pts.
1) Velvet Underground- Like some of their stuff but only a little. Knowing they're "influential" isn't the same as believing they're great to listen to. 1 pt.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Judging by the 5 you have listed, you really dont get much at all do you?

If radiohead doesnt finsh in the top 5 in this poll, then there is something seriously wrong with people...lol

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

So you say, Kevin.

(Anthony, I'm sorry you're leaving. For what it's worth, I'm not taking this seriously at all.)

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Not taking the "let's pretend great artists are bad" affair seriously, I mean. (It's sort of funny to be so stuck-up that nothing pleases you in the end.)

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Anthony, instead of voting based on made-up weakness, why not rank them based on greatness and then vote for the least great? Surely there are varying degrees of greatness.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

You guys have to stop taking this so seriously. It's supposed to be a game and therefore fun, right? We're not writing any definitive books here, just some good old fashioned round table discussion. Let's keep this fun! None of these games should be exhausting or mean-spirited but rather a place to talk and disagree about what good music is.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Seriously! These Canadians be all kindsa flippin' out!

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

If radiohead doesnt finsh in the top 5 in this poll, then there is something seriously wrong with people...lol

Why is that Kevin? Because people don't agree with you? I personally think Radiohead doesn't even belong in the top 50 and I, like Gregg, have also tried really hard, because people on these boards with great tastes seem to like them a lot. Saying someone doesn't "get a lot" is just another case of attacking someone's opinion. I thought we agreed to not do that anymore?

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Kevin, it's all about top 20, darling, not the top 5.

Seriously, though, I could assert that something is "seriously wrong" with you for hating Prince, as I think he's the greatest musician ever, but what good would it do?

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Anthony, I’m not a politician, so it would be unseemly of me to beg for votes…but I do hope you’ll take Paul’s suggestion to heart and make this into a countdown of great artists rather than an exercise in nitpicking (that’s exactly what I did about a month ago when the choices got too difficult).

Survivor was always meant to be a little bit goofy and bitchy (or, as I said at the outset, “evil”…little did I know). There have been a few times when the tone has gotten a bit nasty—and I’m not totally innocent on that score, myself. There have also been times when I’ve wondered how I got myself into this…it sometimes feels like that limbo at about 22 miles of a marathon, when you really want to stop, but realize it would be silly to bail after coming this far.

Besides, I can’t wait to see how it comes out!

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

By the way, Anthony, since you brought it up, I will say that Philadelphia (for newbies, that’s the totally meaningless code-name for my next project after Survivor) will be something completely different. Where Survivor is about expelling artists and “inventing weaknesses,” Philly will be about celebrating artists and discussing why they’re great. Whereas bracketology and Survivor, each in their own way, virtually guarantee that there will be some negativity, negativity in Philly will be...pointless.

And, rather than placing formal restrictions on who can participate, as you suggest (and which I’ve also considered), the very nature of Philly will probably make it unappealing to people who don’t know music very well. Or at least, it'll encourage people (including me) to find out more about music they don't know well.

Which brings me to my final point: one of my dearest hopes for both bracketology and Survivor was that many voters would take the opportunity to discover music they hadn’t appreciated before. There’s been some of that, but there’s also been a fair amount of “I’m voting for [Brand X] because I just don’t know their work.” Which is not really what I had in mind. Philly, on the other hand, will encourage horizon-broadening like crazy.

Hope those hints will tide you over for a few more weeks. These are some of the reasons I think it's gonna be great, but there are more great things about Philly that I can't reveal yet...in case it's not obvious, I’m really excited about it.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Sounds great Schleuse!

I agree Anthony, you can do whatever you want but we're such a small community (and I love that we are) that we need everybody to participate. I hope you decide to continue: Nobody ever said that the comments have to be why you don't like the band!

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Thanks schleuse - your candid honesty is refreshing and compelling. To be honest, I was actually wondering if you, the game's mastermind, was even having second thoughts about the purpose of it all (given that this game has generated certain negative situations that I'm sure nobody - not even you - had anticipated).

I also appreciate the marathon analogy (as a fellow distance runner, I can certainly relate), however, I don't have any qualms about "bailing" at this point, because the two are quite different. During my last marathon (Feb. '07), I came quite close to giving up at at the 33km mark, but somehow I was able to dig deep and find the energy to continue (and eventually finish). And the reason I finished was simple - the act of completing the race meant a lot because of the hard work and struggle that had gone into it; the responsibility had been solely mine, and therefore, the reward of finishing was 100% mine as well. Not finishing would be a huge personal disappointment, and was just not an option.

In contrast to this game, where I feel that there has been far too much outside influence from subpar voting (in my estimation, at least). By this, I mean that certain votes seem to come from the proverbial left-field, with not even a hint of critical awareness being taken into consideration. It's this type of voting that has tainted the results, and accordingly, the eventual outcome - to the point where the "winner" no longer seems meaningful to me. schleuse - your enthusiasm about the outcome is infectious, but is it possible that it's also a bit, with all due respect, naive?

And again, I can hear the cries "but don't take it so seriously, it's just a game!". True, however... there's a fine line between playful/fun voting and sabotage (and I realize that bracketology may have been slightly victimized in this regard as well, but at least it was positive by nature). Don't get me wrong - this game has been a lot of fun; if it wasn't, I would've stopped contributing a while ago (a decision that I briefly - and in retrospect, immaturely pondered after Oasis was voted off). However, it's reached the point, FOR ME, where it has ceased being fun. And I appreciate the suggestions to continue (and the suggestion of changing my perspective; thanks Paul and John) but at this point, stick a fork in me....

On the subject of Philadelphia, no surprises here.... I'm intrigued and excited. "...the very nature of Philly will probably make it unappealing to people who don’t know music very well." Well, that's certainly something to get excited about - a game that takes a cue from bracketology and separates the wheat from the chaff. Thanks for the temporarily quenching my insatiable thirst for hints, schleuse (and I think I speak for most here when I say, your enthusiasm is fantastic).

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Kevin,

I second Greg Rumpff. he just pointed the hypest groups nowadays, but not the greatest : Radiohead, Talking Heads, Pixies and VU are good bands, but if you look at am's artist list they are not so high. They are just the most quoted artists in rock interviews since about 2005, that's all, the champions of rock name-dropping nowadays
If he had said Beatles, Stones,Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Springsteen you could have said "you don't get much at all", but not there
Vu, Pixies, TH and Radiohead all belong to the same genre : pre or post-punk critic and college-friendly pop-rock
Not that I don't like them, they're all important, but let's put things in their context

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Radiohead are probably my second favourite band of all time but I still think if they make the top 5 it would just be wrong - why? Well I just know their impact doesn't compare to the likes of the Beatles,Elvis,Bowie

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

I apologize if my votes have ever offended someone.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Here's my 2 cents on the value and fun of Survivor:

First, I remember when this first kicked off, there was a lot of discussion of whether the results would be tainted if a cabal of evil-minded (or at least wrong-headed) individuals voted off the Beatles early. Well, we now have the top-30 for Survivor set, and only one AM top-20 artist (#15 U2) is out. And personally, I happen to really like the list of artists that have pushed their way from outside the AM top 30 into the Survivor top 30 (for the record, they are: Beck, James Brown, Johnny Cash, Miles Davis, The Kinks, Pixies, Otis Redding, Sly and the Family Stone, and Tom Waits).

So I'm left in the surprising position where I may like the Survivor list better than the AM list (although I reserve judgment until the final order is set). I say surprising because I thought, like many of you did, that this game would too quickly remove polarizing artists and reward safe artists. To a certain extent that may be true (early exits for hard rock/metal acts, I'm sure other examples), and may become more true as we delve into the top-30. But I think by and large that has not been borne out.

And frankly, that has probably happened because of larger than I expected participation -- including the voters that have come in with out of left field votes. They haven't succeeded in removing the most acclaimed artists yet, but they diluted my own out-of-left-field votes (such as, apparently, Tom Waits).

In the end, though, the final list is not the point for me. The value in this Survivor game -- and why I enjoy all of these polls and games that have been really humming on these boards over the past nine months or so that I have been here -- is that it is a formalized chance to really think about where my opinions come from, and to justify them to myself before trying to explain them to you all.

I don't begrudge those, however, who come in with less extensive reasons for their own judgments. We've all got lives to lead and work to do, and each person's participation on these boards is welcome to me at whatever level they care to or are able to participate. (With the proviso, though, that I reserve a higher level of appreciation for those who actually take the time to run and calculate these polls and games... and of course Henrik.) Many quick hit votes in this game have been worthwhile. For me it's worthwhile even if it leads me to chuckle, shake my head, and say, "I don't agree with that one bit."

In the end, it's about what this forum will do for my own musical appreciation. The lasting thing that I will come away with from Survivor is that there's so much more music for me to discover. To know that I contiune to vote Tom Waits week after week, and that not a sufficient number of intelligent and passionate people join me in that vote, is proof positive that I need to get to know his music better.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Schleuse, after all the negativity that has come out in this game, I want to laud it completely and without reservation. A couple weeks ago, I made all my comments snide little remarks that prompted a quick rebuttal from Anthony (who was correct, btw). The fact is, every single band/artist that was and still is in Survivor has had one piece of music I liked (even Eminem and Patti Smith going back to my first votes on week one).

In the end, this game is valuable to the people who think most about their votes and explore artists before really voting for them. I spent 3 weeks trying to listen to more Ray Charles before voting for him, but was able to confirm the fact that I really don't like him that much. To the contrary, exploring Curtis Mayfield's catalog made me find a new artist that I love. Hell, I'm even discovering more Prince songs that I like.

The value of the game is that it makes you analyze to the degree that you like these artists. All art forms do this and it's important to do so even in pop music. The general consensus may not align with yours, but that doesn't really matter now does it?

Two of my five favorite artists (New Order & Blur) have been voted off and the vitriol that people had when voting those two off was pretty irritating (mostly for Blur). Another member of that top 5 group looks like he's going down this week (Springsteen). But hey, if people don't want to appreciate them, their loss. Additionally, the fact that I love those artists without reservation and that other people seem to hate them, in some odd way, makes them more a part of MY musical tastes. I kind of revel in that in some weird way.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

I wish I'd been around when Blur and New Order were kicked out. Maybe I could have done something to rescue them for a longer time.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

schleuse thanks Slush and Schwah (say THAT five times fast).

The game's supposed to be about the journey, not the destination.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Slush wrote: "But hey, if people don't want to appreciate them, their loss."


Having made it this far in the game, it would be quite safe to say he (Springsteen) and any other survivor, is being appreciated.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

"For me it's worthwhile even if it leads me to chuckle, shake my head, and say, 'I don't agree with that one bit.'"

Schwah - that's an admirable position, but in a nutshell, it's the difference between you and me. Actually, it's probably the difference between everyone else and me. Whereas most here are able to chuckle at ridiculousness, my brain is hard-wired in such a way as to prevent me from finding enjoyment in that. My personality is just not conducive to certain moments and situations - this stage of the Survivor game being one of them.

I don't mean to beat a dead horse here, and I'm certainly not looking for some perverse honor in "look at me, I'm quitting!!", but I'm just trying to shed light on where I'm coming from. I completely understand that the journey is the most important aspect of something like this, however, the journey is just not worthwhile to me at this point, but that's not an insult to the game or its creator - just an indication of my personality and admitted intolerance for certain things.

On that note, play on. May the most "least-hated" artist win! (Oh, riiight.... they will).

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

5 pts Nirvana - (repeat)

4 pts Beck - (repeat)

3 pts Talking Heads - (repeat)

2 pts The Clash - (repeat)

1 pt Pixies - I've just grown tired of them at this point. Plus, even their best records had far more filler than their fans will ever admit. Still an amazing band, but all of 'em ought to be at this point, right?

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Beck? Already gone. Got another, sonofsamiam?

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

A sad sad week for survivor. I don't think I can understand any music released 1988 onwards without Sonic Youth and Beck.

1. Elvis Costello
2. Otis Redding
3. Stevie Wonder
4. Elvis Presley
5. Tom Waits - Like I said last week, everything's good from now on, since I have a record from all the remaining artists (as long as greatest hits count). So Mr. Waits has to go. One of the most unique voices remaining for sure, but Rain Dogs has never been on repeat for me.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Hmm, my first venture into this game on this site, and lo and behold, my second favorite band of all time is voted off (Sonic Youth). Sad. And just curious, were The Cure ever in this?

1. (5 pts) - The Clash
2. (4 pts) - Bruce Springsteen
3. (3 pts) - Sly & the Family Stone
4. (2 pts) - Elvis Presley
5. (1 pt) - Prince

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Yes, The Cure survived until week 11, to end up at a worthy spot 63.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Beck? Already gone. Got another, sonofsamiam?

I really need to pay better attention.

5 pts Nirvana - (repeat)

4 pts Talking Heads - (repeat)

3 pts The Clash - (repeat)

2 pts Pixies - I've just grown tired of them at this point. Plus, even their best records had far more filler than their fans will ever admit. Still an amazing band, but all of 'em ought to be at this point, right?

1 pt Elvis Presley - Love the Sun Sessions, love the Memphis period, even appreciate the hits, but how often do I break 'em out an play 'em? Rarely.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

1)The Pixies:God Only knows why this forum has elevated them to one of America's greatest bands when the iconic likes of the Doors and the Ramones are gone...
2)Talking Heads:Remain In Light - killer. The rest of their career - too much filler
3)Nirvana:Overrated
4)Tom Waits:Can't last an album
5)Miles Davis:Huge respect for him as an artist - maybe he has the greatest catalogue of anyone. I'm just not a jazz fan.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

1 Bruce Springsteen
2 The Clash
3 Led Zeppelin
4 Radiohead
5 Neil Young: call me an idiot, but he's got a voice like a steel guitar.

Incidentally, The Pixies were one of the greatest American bands ever, regardless of their AM Forum profile-a classic example of a band transcending its limitations, making a virtue of the musicians' lack of technical virtuosity.
Much as I like The Ramones, they were a one-trick pony if ever there was one, and as for The Doors...Christ, Saddam Hussein was iconic but he was no great shakes in the entertainment department.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

1. The Who
2. Elvis Presley
3. The Beatles
4. *New* Bob Dylan- Yeah, I know. He's legendary and he changed the face of music. As much as I can appreciate that, I can't overcome my own shortcomings to actually like the music. I'm one of those idiots who feels that he can't sing a lick. It also doesn't help that I don't like folk music. I think I could appreciate his songs a lot more with different arrangements and a different singer, but other than that, a book of his lyrics would suit me much better than actually listening to his music, sadly.
5. *New* Johnny Cash- Another great musician for whom my admiration greatly outweighs my desire to listen to his music. I don't think it's a secret around here that I'm not a country fan, and the remaining artists have at least released something that I would enjoy independently of any critical awareness.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

In my humble opinion, Prince deserves to win. No one else has something as cool as "Sexy M.F."

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19



Prince does deserve to win!

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Moonbeam, I think we have diametrically opposite musical taste.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Probably, Paul!

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

oh my
Bruce is going
I expected that on this site but not that soon
The boss doesn't fit here
Old punk fans and young indie rock lovers don't like him, that's not a mystery
But he's the 6th acclaimed artist of all time, so...
What this site lacks is a little more classic rock lovers

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

oh this game ...
Hard to see one's favorite going especially when the only thing people say is that he's "overrated"
I mean lots of newcomers came and dropped his name at the head of their list without much explanation
That's why I overreacted
This game is hard because it is about what we cherish the most... our music.
Time for retaliation

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Yeah, it's kinda sad to see him go so fast.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

i almost can't talk about it, i get too emotional...i'm done proselytizing when it comes to the boss...if you don't get him, it's your loss!

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

I'm sorry, Nicolas. It's just that, for me, there's a bit of a peine à jouir when it comes to Bruce, every now and then.

He's somewhat too American and working class for me. I adore certain songs of his, though, and I do like him a lot, but this game has always required that we pretend to be meanies.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Sinder brings up a good point. I've always though of Bruce as a quintessential American artist and I can kinda see how people outside the States don't like him quite as much. Obviously, he has some resonance, but maybe he resonates more as a top 30 artist than a top 10 artists (or top 5 for me).

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

I have been off for a few weeks and it really hurts to see that Talking Heads and Tom Waits is still around.

5p. Talking Heads
4p. Tom Waits

New!
3p. Elvis Costello - Beutiful songs, but i can not remember when i took the time to listen to a Costello song before i decided to add him to this list.
2p. Bruce Springsteen - Nostalgy can only take you so far. Lately the only Springsteen work that gets played by me is the Seeger sessions.
1p. The Kinks - Did they make it this far?

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

I too am surprised that anybody outside of USA likes Bruce. He is a bit too AMERICAN for me and I live here.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

That's funny - people say he's too American,say The Kinks,Blur and Pulp are too British - I love 'em all. Springsteen is probably top ten for me(possibly even top 5)

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

I've voted for Bruce every week, the definition of an overrated act.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

I love him in part BECAUSE he's very American. I love American music.

And please rather than saying Bruce is overrated which doesn't mean a thing, just say why.
It is easy to say of somebody you don't like that he's :

- "over rated"
- "dated"
- "repetitive"

but it makes no sense.
This site is a critics' academy. One thing I know about music critic is that it is too easy to hide behind general, historical false statements like those above. The best is to explain why you don't like or love an act, which is more interesting.

Why ? Because if for instance I say I don't like Black flag because I find them too aggressive, I know there'll be people who love them for the same reasons and there'll be no misunderstanding.

Now as a general thought I don't think this site should be just the place to express our own almighty music geek egoes (I love this i like that this is my own musical universe and all the others should go to hell), but rather to meet other people's opinions and exchange.

It is fun to play mean, but after a few weeks I think it is more interesting to discuss and try to understand each other - and ourselves by the way.
Sorry for preaching again

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

Amen, nicolas. If I were king, I might ban the use of “overrated,” “dated,” and “repetitive”…at least, unless they’re contextualized.

My take on Springsteen’s Americanness is that he was fine until he got too self-conscious about it. His first three albums are good, beat-poetry-meets-bubblegum stuff, with a wonderful band. But in the last 25 years or so, I think he’s vacillated wildly between Woody Guthrie and John Mellencamp. He’s still a compelling songwriter and performer, but in general, it’s better to find your own muse, rather than borrowing someone else’s.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

OK let me clarify

Bruce Springsteen is #6 on the artist list here at AM. I think this and The Doors placement of #30 are the two that constantly make me scratch my head. I like some Springsteen stuff sure but he is number sis on the list. Therefore I think he is rated too highly (possibly as the period he emerged was a cool period for that kind of rock music he has little to compete with in that era) and am happy to say he is overrated.

His positioning essentially says he is one of the ten most important persons to play pop/rock music. Again I think this is plain wrong as it places him above the likes of Brian Wilson, Hendrix and so on.

I really don't know how to express the concept without using the word overrated, maybe I won't use it if people stopped using the word 'hype' about every band who release new music or NME everytime a British band come up without a clue as to whether the magazine covers them or not.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

I agree with you but I would put the limit a little later (1984). I seldom listen to any of his post-84 albums (except the live one and the Seeger project)
But what he wrote before was rellay great, and I don't think he borrowed too much from Guthrie (at least less than Dylan).

Re: AM Survivor: Week 19

nicolas, I think we're pretty much in agreement (except that you love Bruce's pre-1984 stuff, while I just really like it a lot).

Vis-a-vis Woody Guthrie, I think the difference is:

- Dylan idolized Woody as a young man, but then found his own unique voice.

- Springsteen had his own unique voice as a young man, but later spent way too much of his career trying to be Woody. (Possibly, as some have suggested, because he listened to too many music critics!)