Yerrrrr OUTTA here:

29. Tom Waits (31)
28. James Brown (31)
27. Bruce Springsteen (31)

Working a two-strike count: Pixies (30), Talking Heads (30), Nirvana (25), Sly and the Family Stone (24), The Clash (17), Elvis Presley (17).

(This week’s results brought to you by Opening Day of the 2008 baseball season, which is appropriate, since our three evictees are all, in their way, American icons. If the three of them could jam together, that would surpass Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance.)

Three-quarters of the crowd we started with are now gone. The remaining 26 are:

The Beach Boys, The Beatles, David Bowie, 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, Talking Heads, The Velvet Underground, The Who, Stevie Wonder, Neil Young.

Week 20 starts now. Play ball!

hard to take. 3 of my very favorite gone !
Time to kick some indie and punk ass

1. Talking Heads 5
2. Pixies 4
3. Elvis Costello 3
4. NEW : Radiohead : One good album (1997) but the rest doesn't move me. Too plaintive, too claustrophobic music for me. And I'm not very interested by bands who turn a studio into a scientist's lab. Apart from that, yes, they are good musicians, especially that Johnny something on the guitar. Yorke's voice is too full of self-pity. Sometimes you just want to tickle him to see if he's gonna laugh (but that might made him cry instead)
5. Sly & The Family Stone

1. (5p) Sly and the Family Stone - Still an act I've never bothered much about, and things aren't likely to change.

2. (4p) Marvin Gaye - Probably another week of vote wasting. But I'm not a fan yet.

3. (3p) The Clash - Too much of the stuff I don't like.

4. (2p) Neil Young - He still sounds like katzenjammer.

5. (1p) Otis Redding - I quite like what I've heard, but I have limited knowledge about Otis. Sadly not enough to keep him on the island.

Great week for me, final got rid of Springsteen!!

Here's my five.

As last week,

5 Elvis Presley
4 Johnny Cash

New

3 Otis Redding
2 Nirvana
1 Talking Heads

We are down to the last quarter now and it's time these bands were shifted off, I was quite happy to see them a few weeks back hold on but if it's a choice between Nirvana and Pixies it's Nirvana to go. Otis, sorry just not enough material to keep you in. Sly and the Family Stone likewise to an extent but you are hanging on on the account of two great albums and everyone else is hanging on by at least three.

Hendrix, Elvis Costello, Marvin Gaye and Talking HEads are in my sights as well.

1. LED ZEPPELIN
2. MARVIN GAYE
3. THE KINKS

New:
4. MILES DAVIS. Time to recycle what I said about Coltrane and Zappa and Beefheart—I still really don’t know what to do with Mr. Davis. Put it this way: I’ve run out of A-minus artists, and—somewhat arbitrarily—I decided to stick him in the gap between A-minus and A. I understand more now about what his stuff has in common with main rock tradition here, but he’s still working on a different planet, musically.

He gets a lot of respect from rock-critic types for being the embodiment of cool. But for sheer talent in arranging music, Miles is almost unmatched among those still left on the island. The only people who are even close to him are John Cale, Prince, Brian Wilson and Thom Yorke. Maybe Hendrix (the Beatles had George Martin). Like a lot of our island dwellers, Miles could be a very unpleasant person sometimes, but he wasn’t an all-purpose jerk—he was more like a very hard-headed baseball manager: he could abuse people terribly, but it usually had something to do with putting a better team on the field.


5. RADIOHEAD. Nothing but indisputably great artists from here on out. Radiohead is at the bottom of that group. If I’m in the right frame of mind, I can listen to them for hours, but they’re the least approachable of all the remaining acts. And, yes, the fact that their catalogue often seems to be one giant monument to alienation and self-doubt is a serious limitation.

But, see above: the fact that I’m willing to put Yorke in the same sentence as Miles Davis is the best tribute I can give him.

One final thought: has anyone else ever thought that Radiohead are the ultimate 80s band? Not that they’re Culture Club or anything, but they sometimes seem to be the culmination of a tradition starting with the Smiths, Sonic Youth, the Stone Roses, the Pixies, and so on.

With James Brown gone, 4 artists move up one spot:

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

To repeat some of you: I like all remaining artists.

Close call to vote off the next one. Based on my album ratings it should be Prince or Sly and the Family Stone. So last week, I listened to 3 albums from each of them, and the vote goes to:

1 pt - Sly And The Family Stone.

Party fun, party funk, trippy at times, I guess at their peak in 1970 at Woodstock, with an excellent album - Stand! - released just before and an even better album - There's A Riot Going On - released right afterwards. Prince wins this battle, 'due' to his diversity and the fact, that he is a musical genius (who else can play so many instruments and perform a one-man-show like he does?).

1) Elvis Presley
2) Miles Davis
3) Pixies
4) Nirvana

New vote:

5) R.E.M. -- Sorry Schleuse (and many others).

I find that my enjoyment of R.E.M. runs counter to a lot of people's. There is a great middle ground appreciation for the indie spin on jangle pop that they do (did?) so well. I join in that. Thir 80's run was fantastic. But whereas most people's prefer them to depart from there toward a gentler, more introspecitve, more modd-based place; I find that I don't enjoy R.E.M. in those moments as much. So while many conider _Automatic for the People_ to be fantastic, whole swatches of it don't appeal to me s much. I actually prefer it when they rock out a bit more. So I may be one of the few people to actually really like _Monster_. Maybe I'll like the new one as well. It's for the moodier work that I am forced to throw a vote their way now.

Sheesh. I really need to proof read my posts better. Sorry for all of the typos.

One final thought: has anyone else ever thought that Radiohead are the ultimate 80s band? Not that they’re Culture Club or anything, but they sometimes seem to be the culmination of a tradition starting with the Smiths, Sonic Youth, the Stone Roses, the Pixies, and so on.

Interesting thought, schleuse. But no, never really thought that myself. The band's roots and influences certainly have a strong link to the 80's, more than any other decade, but to call them the ultimate 80s band??

What kind of music style is Radiohead anyway? The term alternative rock is too vague, and it's not really britpop, so can they really be put in one box? I would say no. The styles of the bands you mentioned - e.g. Sonic Youth's experimental rock or the Pixies' trash punk - do not directly relate to Radiohead. I guess it is all alternative rock in the end, but as already said, that doesn't mean much to me.

BTW, we both know that the ultimate 80's band is R.E.M., but that's trivial

Repeats:
5 Points - Pixies
4 Points - Sly & The Family Stone
3 Points - Talking Heads
2 Points - Radiohead
New: (at this point it's just getting rid of the worst of the best)
1 Point - Otis Redding

5 pts - Radiohead
4 pts - Sly Stone & Family
3 pts - Nirvana
2 pts - Otis Redding
1 pt - Prince (Obviously talented, but not something I can relate to all that much. Sorry if this is too cursory a dismissal).

1. Elvis Costello
2. Otis Redding
3. Stevie Wonder
4. Elvis Presley
5. The Kinks – Waterloo Sunset and generally critical has carried them this far. They are a little too quirky, while lacking a sense of epic power that makes some of the best musical acts more timeless.

One more time...

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

Ugh

1. The Beatles
2. Pixies
3. Nirvana
4. Radiohead
5. Talking Heads

Finally! Although it was sad to see James Brown go, I'll take the good with the bad. I'll be very sad to see Sly leave. I've really gotten into them in the past year.

5 points. Johnny Cash
4 points. Elvis Costello
3 points. Miles Davis
2 points. Marvin Gaye- This is the point where I like at least a certain era of an artist a lot. I love early Marvin Gaye but of the remaining artists he has to go.
1 point. Stevie Wonder- Same as Marvin. Absolutely love the Little Stevie Wonder stuff- can't stand it after that. That's not enough at this stage of the game. Gotta go Stevie but you can leave your inner child if you'd like.

1. Prince
2. Sly and the Family Stone
3. Marvin Gaye
4. Led Zeppelin
5. Nirvana

1. Bob Dylan
With Bruce Springsteen gone, my next three each move up a place and gain an extra point in doing so.
2. Pixies
3. Elvis Costello
4. The Clash.
New entry:
5. Nirvana
They were great as an obscure band, success ruined them, as it does many creative people. But they're not among the all time great acts, and so it's time they were gone.

Bubbling under:
R.E.M.

I've said it once and I'll say it a million times - The Smiths are the definitive band of all things alternative and clearly the best band of the 80s

Schwah, nobody needs to apologize to me personally for voting for R.E.M. Actually, I agree with you--I prefer them to be uptempo as well. Or at least to strike a balance between the slower stuff and the rock.

(When it's ALL slow stuff...well, let me bash Around the Sun yet again: it was so languid it sounded like the band wasn't even in the studio. It was elevator music, heard from just outside the elevator.)

Automatic for the People was a great, great album (imo), but it gave them a reputation as sensitive, maybe even wimpy, balladeers. I think this confused them, and they reacted with Monster...which was a decent album, but people don't like being surprised that much.

As for Accelerate, it's a very good (but not great), very energetic album which most people here will like, and which nobody in the U.S. under the age of 30 will hear unless they're music nerds (they seem to do better in Europe, though).

5 pts Nirvana
4 pts Talking Heads
3 pts The Clash
2 pts Pixies
1 pt R.E.M - LOVED them in the '80s, respect Automatic for the People and New Adventures, generally dislike everything since. And both Stipe and Buck have worn thin on me with time. Mike Mills escapes unscathed though -- must be the glasses and the billy-goat beard....

Absolutely love the Little Stevie Wonder stuff- can't stand it after that.

You honestly can't stand his mid-'70s period? I'm just curious why, not trying to flame. Just need a bit more explanation to satisfy my curiosity.

I really don't like that brand of 70's soul and funk. Sly, Funkadelic, James Brown, etc...they all had it right. Then the 70's came along and turned it into this kind of slimeball cheese that makes my skin crawl. Stevie Wonder (and Al Green) was better than most but it's still is a far cry from the origins of both genres and was a turn for the worse. The 70's ruined jazz, soul and funk with the fusion garbage.

Ok, I realize being a newcomer last week I should've justified my choices with explainations, and since I didn't, I'll do it this week.

5 pts - Elvis Presley

I appreciate him, like so many other artists, much more for his influence and legacy than his own actual work. Nothing I've heard of his has moved me even an ounce.

4 pts - The Clash

I just don't get these guys, I'll flat out admit. London Calling is a mess of filler with about 3, maybe 4 songs I genuinely like (not love...like). And anything outside of LC isn't enough to grab me, either.

3 pts - Nirvana

Yep, although one of my favorite bands in high school, I've really outgrown them. LOVE that it caught the mainstream (but not necessarily for the long-term influence), but although they had that extra something that caught on like fire, that fire has dimmed for me.

2 pts - Marvin Gaye

Granted, I only have What's Going On, but even that album has 3 great songs surrounded by filler if you ask me. Great artist, but can't put him above any of the rest.

1 pt - Sly & the Family Stone

This is my vote-out-of-ignorance vote of the week. Sorry.

I wholeheartedly disagree, John. I don't think funk attained its greatness until the 70s, and its peak (for me at least) was between 1975 and 1983.

1. Bob Dylan-
2. Elvis Presley
3. The Velvet Underground
4. The Beach Boys
5. Miles Davis

Welcome, Reuben. If either you or the Jets could explain your choices, I can count your ballot (you only have to do this the first week you vote for a particular artist).

Thanks.

Haha... now that's some funny shit!

Sorry for being late

1. Bob Dylan- lack of good vocals, and listenabilty, and other artists have done better work with his songs, when researching his book on folk-rock Ritchie Unterberger discovered that more artists by far went electric because of the Beatles and not Dylan
2. Elvis Presley- never wrote his music and never made a real classic album.
3. The Velvet Underground- lack of good vocals, listenability, not able to combine melody and songwriting with their overt experimental work
4. The Beach Boys- never rocked hard, not a real consistent albums artists
5. Miles Davis- jazz should have a separate list. Don't know too much about his music.

Oh well,Elvis is gone

Last week hurt. I'm even starting to feel bad for voting for JB since he really got me dancing this weekend.

On a pointless, ridiculous side note...I really hope that I get to vote for the Beatles before this is over. I really thought it would happen at the beginning because I had about 30 artists ahead of them, but now I only have 10 ahead of them and they keep getting votes (yes, Bruce and Waits were both ahead of the Beatles).

Anyway, here goes:

5 points - Nirvana

4 points - Led Zeppelin

3 points - Jimi Hendrix

2 points - Prince

1 points - Otis Redding. Technically, in my point count, Otis is now tied with Neil Young. However, Otis is there because of one single song that is really, really, really awesome and Neil is there for a few more songs. The rest of Redding's catalog just doesn't do it for me. "I've Been Loving You To Long" I kinda like, after that, I can take it or leave.

Rueben & The Jets, I'm not trying to pick on you. Just good natured ribbing, but...

Dylan, Beach Boys, Miles, VU & Elvis! You're killin' me here.

Where would music be without these 5 visionary artists?

Don't mind me...just dragging this thread back up to the top.

1) Nirvana
2) Jimi Hendrix
3) Radiohead
4) Miles Davis
5) Otis Redding - I love Otis Redding Sings Soul, and several of the songs on there. I don't think there's many albums that have so many great songs. However, I prefer other artists' takes on most of the songs, and 1 great album simply isn't enough anymore. Farewell Otis.

Well,there's 3 bands that stand out like a sore thumb:

1)The Pixies
2)Nirvana
3)Talking Heads
4)Miles Davis
(All repeats)
5)Otis Redding:Just not enough high class material to hang on with the other artists here

Holdovers
1) Miles Davis - Blew his own horn too much.
2) The Kinks - Started words with K too often.
3) The Pixies - Too short.

New
4) Johnny Cash - One of the coolest country cats ever, I don't really have anything bad to say about him. However, I don't think his body of original work is quite as good as anyone else left.
5) Otis Redding - A great soul man. If his life and career hadn't been cut short, I'd probably be voting for someone else. But unfortunately he wasn't around long enough.

Bubbling - D. Bowie, E. Costello, N. Young

Same as last week:

1. The Who
2. Elvis Presley
3. The Beatles
4. Bob Dylan
5. Johnny Cash

Here are my rankings, and I'm voting mostly because these artists I know only a limited amount of their music:

1. Pixies
2. Elvis Costello
3. Otis Redding
4. Talking Heads
5. Sly and the Family Stone

Don't mind me...just dragging this thread back up to the top.

You mean, like this?

Oh, and just to clear things up, the list I posted was a ranking, so the Pixies would get 5 points, Elvis Costello 4, Otis Redding 3, Talking Heads 2, and Sly & The Family Stone 1 point. Sorry about any confusion!

Thanks, Daniel...any chance you could post explanations of your votes some time today? I need explanations for your votes to count. (Sorry I've not alerted you sooner...haven't been online much the last couple of days.)

The arcane rule is that you need to explain why you vote for each particular artist--but only the first week you vote for them.