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AM Survivor: Week 25

Out in the drink:

16. Johnny Cash (50)
15. The Clash (47)

Still on the beach: Stevie Wonder (39), Radiohead (36), The Kinks (34), Jimi Hendrix (34), R.E.M. (29).

Here’s a decade breakdown of our remaining artists:
1960s: 8 (Beach Boys, Beatles, Dylan, Hendrix, Kinks, Stones, VU, Who)
1970s: 3 (Bowie, Stevie, Neil)
1980s: 2 (Prince, R.E.M.)
1990s: 1 (Radiohead)

(I chose what I thought was each artist’s best decade.)

Only fourteen left:

The Beach Boys, The Beatles, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, The Kinks, Prince, Radiohead, R.E.M., The Rolling Stones, The Velvet Underground, The Who, Stevie Wonder, Neil Young.

And now…Week 25.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

1) [5pts] Neil Young
2) [4pts] The Beach Boys
3) [3pts] The Kinks
2) [2pts] The Who

and...
1) [1pt] Prince. Out of my top ten (of the ones left), Prince means the least to my life. I love 'Sign O' The Times', and I really like 'Dirty Mind' and 'Purple Rain', but I guess there's been a lot of filler in and around the classics. A consummate performer, one of the great songwriters, and a style icon.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

same 5

1. REM : I listened to "Murmur" for the first time this week end : good album
2. Radiohead
3. Velvet Underground
4. Kinks
5. Beach Boys

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

Excellent! An opportunity to do something else than what I should be doing.

Here's what really happened at the island:

1. (5p) Jimi Hendrix - Tired of his guitar wanking, the rest of the contestants ate Himi's hands believing them to be octopuses.

2. (4p) Neil Young - Neil Young got voted off when the other contestants realized that creepy sound outside the tent wasn't a wild beast or the howling wind; It was Neil Young singing.

3. (3p) Radiohead - Desperately wanting to be the freaky outsider, but ending up as everybody's pet, Radiohead left the island on their own will.

4. (2p) The Kinks - Always seen close to The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who, but never actually seen with them. Shouted loud a couple of times, but Prince and David Bowie (the closest we get to females around here) always cared more for the other bands.

5. (1p) Prince - Eventually, everyone got tired of that little mutt trying to hump their leg.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

1. The Beatles
2. Radiohead
3. Stevie Wonder
4. Velvet Underground
5. The Kinks

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

Same as last week:

5 pts - Radiohead
4 pts - Stevie Wonder
3 pt. – David Bowie
2 pts – Prince
1 pt. - Jimi Hendrix

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

Rune :

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

Squeaky bum time on the island... but I think Strummer and Cash are going to have a fine time together on the boat back to the mainland.

Returners:

1. R.E.M.
2. The Beach Boys
3. Jimi Hendrix

New votes:

4. Neil Young -- An artist of uncommon integrity and intensity... and in _After the Goldrush_ he delivered what I believe to be the most beautiful rock album of all time. I also take into consideration my admiration for his work with Buffalo Springfield and CSN&Y (see, for example, "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" and "Helpless")

He is, at once, a limited and limitless artist. Or I should say, he became limitless in his _capacity_ for grace, power, beauty, and scathing spite because of his sheer force of will to overcome his limitations. That screeching, straining voice --so much less of an instrument than Dylan's oft-maligned voice -- has very few shades to it. It is a result of his passion and his often superb songwriting that his voice moves the listener (or many listeners) so effectively.

But to my ear those limitations have led him to be a very inconsistent artist. When with Crazy Horse, he could straight-up rock with garbagey power better than any pre-punk band this side of the Stooges and the Who. But his influential proto-noise rock feels too primitive when compared with later, more consistent practitioners (particularly Sonic Youth and Pavement). A lot of those rockers from Young leave me cold(ish).

1. Stevie Wonder -- Yes, he is hurt by his 80's output. (Perhaps unfair, why do I subtract more from his placement based on later output than I am doing for the Stones? Did the Stones really start that much higher than Wonder? I guess so.) But even before then, his capacity for schmaltz too often overwhelms his finer, more genius-like musical instincts.

So let's just concentrate on the good... do you have a few hours? No? Okay, I'll try and keep this short. The fact is he has multiple tools in his arsenal to transport the listener musically to a very happy place. He can do it with just his voice, as he did often in the 60's ("We Can Work It Out," "Uptight"). He can deliver raw, yet intricately arranged funk ("Superstition," of course, but also the even-better "I Wish"). He can even deliver a sweeping power-ballad ("As"). Even his troubling songs (whether political - "Living For the City" - or romantic - "Superwoman") have that patented Wonder brand of exuberance.

Many might indict him for that failure to emotionally deliver the sad with the happy (same indictment people throw at the finest jazz singer of all time, Ella Fitzgerald). I don't care. That happy place is a good place to be. If it means there is too much schmaltz in his work, well, I'll knock him down a few pegs on the Survivor ladder and keep happily listening.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

Squeaky bum time?

I’m saddened but not surprised to see the Clash—a top three artist for me—eliminated.

1. THE KINKS
2. RADIOHEAD
3. THE BEACH BOYS
4. THE WHO
5. JIMI HENDRIX. I think Jimi’s slightly misunderstood. Yes, his primary influence is as the ür-guitar god, but his songwriting takes a back seat to few. The brilliant thing about Hendrix was that he had a deep understanding of (then) forty years of blues tradition, but he re-imagined the blues to create music that sounded—and still sounds—cutting-edge, futuristic, and apocalyptic, not to mention lascivious (and, unlike such folks as Clapton and Zeppelin, he did it without sounding utterly silly). That’s genius. That’s rock and roll.

The only reason I’m voting for him now is because the peak of his career lasted less than two years. But in that short time, he embodied, in a way nobody else (including Prince) ever has, the Dionysian foundation of rock.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

"squeaky-bum time" -- first coined by Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, has been defined as "the tense final stages of a league competition, especially from the point of view of the leaders".

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

Repeats:

1. Stevie Wonder
2. Prince
3. Jimi Hendrix

New:

4. The Kinks - I never got into them like many of the bands similar to them. Their 60s output was nice, but it just wasn't groundbreaking or interesting. While I can say that almost everyone else still on the island had an amazing album, the Kinks only have some very good ones, the best being "Village Green..."
5. David Bowie - This vote is probably because I'm too enamored with what I feel is "pretty" and "melodic." To me, much of Bowie's work has neither with harsh guitars and strange sounds. So, nothing against Bowie's work, it just isn't my style. In fact, what I've just said are simply pop sensibilities, of which I probably have too much of.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

Repeats:
5 Points - The Beatles
4 Points - The Rolling Stones
3 Points - Stevie Wonder
2 Points - The Kinks
New:
1 Point - R.E.M.
Too much of the same stuff for too many years.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

1. The Who
2. The Kinks
3. R.E.M. (my all-time #75)

4. The Beach Boys (#51) - I've seen other survivor posts saying that they made one incredible album and a whole bunch of incredible singles, but that it's no longer enough to keep them on the island. Yes, I agree with that.

5. The Velvet Underground (#38) - In my world, they never made an album with consistently great songs. Still, they're #38 on my list. I think it has to do with influence.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

Another week gone by and still not fed to the fish:
5 pts - Jimi Hendrix
4 pts - The Kinks
3 pts - The Who
2 pts - Prince

Delia's gone. She's now saying "I'm waiting for my man":
1 pt - The Velvet Underground (my #29 artist)

A refreshing salad mix of Reed and Cale, at Sunday mornings topped off with a fine Nico dressing. Solo they never performed as good as the band could in '67-'70. The banana album and the albums that followed in those 4 years are all classics and almost perfect. Well almost, for there are times that I'm not in the mood to listen to them.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

Bonus, now I can search for my ballot to copy and paste every week and not have to hit next after every Johnny Cash!

5 points. Stevie Wonder
4 points. Prince
3 points- The Who
2 points- Neil Young- So many good albums and so many bad albums. Once we got down to about 35-40 artists I always had him in the back of my mind for all those albums I don't like at all, but kept him back there because of all the albums I like a lot.
1 point- Rolling Stones- For me, the Stones are a singles band. I know that sounds ridiculous but I like about 30-40 of their songs but I am never able to make it through one of their albums without skipping tracks. Most of that is because I am not a huge blues fan but part if it is because they have a lot of filler on their albums. Still, they were (stress were) a great band with amazing songs. With only 10 left after my other 4 picks they just don't stack up.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

1. Bob Dylan
2. R.E.M.
3. Stevie Wonder
4. The Beach Boys
new:
5. Radiohead - are they *really* good enough to be in the top ten? Really?

Oh and by the way:
"1970s: 3 (Bowie, Stevie, Neil)"
all three had hits in the 60s, y'know

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

Good, my first two options are gone.
Now:

5 points - Stevie Wonder
4 points - Neil Young
3 points - Prince

new:

2 points - The Kinks: A couple of great songs, but at this point it's getting wierd to have them still around. They need to be out ASAP.

1 point - The Rolling Stones: Some really good songs and singles, but i've never considered them to be that great. From my point of view, they weren't as innovative as say The Beatles and have done the same thing for many years. Also they've released a lot of bad stuff in the last 30 years.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

5 – Prince
4 – Stevie Wonder
3 – The Velvet Underground

New:

2 – David Bowie – I own the 2CD “Best of Bowie” set, and don’t get me wrong, some of my favourite music is in that set (“Space Oddity,” “Ziggy Stardust,” “Life on Mars?,” “Heroes,” “Changes,” “Modern Love,” “I’m Afraid of Americans,” “Young Americans,” “Suffragette City,” “Under Pressure,” “All the Young Dudes,” “The Man Who Sold the World,” “Ashes to Ashes,” “China Girl,” “Sound and Vision,” and I could probably go on (I also love other songs not included on the set [“Rock and Roll Suicide,” “1984,” “Starman,” as well as his version of “Sorrow”]), but there are a handful of songs on the “Best of Bowie” set that I find to be just okay, and often skip over (“TVC15,” “DJ,” a majority of Disc 2 [which covers his later years], and that awful version of “Dancing in the Street” with Mick Jagger)

1 – R.E.M. – I absolutely love “Automatic for the People” and I love every song from “In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003,” so I can’t complain too much about them other than there are 9 other artists left that I like more.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

I've voted for the Beatles the past 2 weeks but will just leave them aside for the meantime

1)R.E.M:For the most part,too dull and vague for my liking - and hardly as cool as the alternative bands from across the Atlantic...
2)The Who:Too inconsistent and their early stuff sounds rubbish
3)The Kinks:Well I have liked almost everything I've heard by them and I like their brand of storytelling but I just don't think they were all that innovative
4)The Velvet Underground:Have some great moments but some pretty bad ones as well. 'Black Angel's Death Song'. I really don't like the album 'White Light/White Heat' much and Sister Ray is boring as hell for 17 minutes
5)Neil Young:OK so I have about 5 of his albums. Love about 3 of them - not so worried about the other two. But I don't listen to him too much so can hardly call him a favourite...

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

5P -Prince - Dont like him
4P- Stevie Wonder - Dont know how he made it this far but whatever. This list became kinda stupid once the Talking Heads made there exit.
3P- The Kinks -Really?. I mean are you sure?
2P- Jimi Hendrix - He made 3 good albums. does that makes him a top 15 contender. Where is Nick Drake, he made 3 amazing albums. Jimi Isnt even the greatest guitarist of all time. Duane Allman anyone?
1P-The Who- Okay...I really enjoy the who "Who's Next" is a top 100 album. But nothing else as a whole really makes my eyes shout.

God Save Radiohead

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

5 points - Prince
4 points - R.E.M.
3 points - The Beach Boys
2 points - Bob Dylan

1 - Neil Young : well, I just like him much less than the 9 others which are all part of my favourites... on this point it becomes easier to explain why I want to keep the others than why I vote him out

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

1. Prince
2. Stevie Wonder
3. The Kinks
4. The Beach Boys - I was never a big fan of theirs. Just lately, in the past few years, I've come to enjoy their stuff more. 'Pet Sounds' is good, quite a few of their singles I like but compared to those artists I've yet to vote for, I'm a much bigger fan of the others.
5. The Who - I was big on the The Who way back and then lost interest. Now I'm starting to reacquaint myself with them. I prefer the early Who as opposed to the majority of you who like the 'Who's Next' version. Personally, I don't care for anything after 'Tommy'. Good band but I prefer the others.

P.S. Daniel - TVC15 is a very good track. One of my favourites on Station to Station.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

3 #1 votes for Prince in a row? C'mon - that guy is top 5

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

4 if you count the one right before your post, midaso

fuck

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

Looks like Prince may be sailing off this week. I was hoping he would make top 10, but I'm actually pleasantly surprised he made the top 20, given my perceptions of how well-received he is in this forum.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

I'll end the streak, but maybe not in the way you want.

Also, I'm very sad to see the Clash go. A lot of people seemed to fault them for not having a whole, whole lot outside of London Calling. For me, that album is as important as any cultural movement since it jumps around stylistically in so many great ways. London Calling is a genre of music. They were my 2nd favorite band remaining and they will be missed.

5 points - Jimi Hendrix

4 points - Prince

3 points - Neil Young

2 points - Stevie Wonder

1 point - The Kinks - Well, as a result of Survivor, I finally started listening to Kinks LPs instead of just the greatest hits and the Kink Kronicles. They're great, they're just really great. If anything, they may just suffer from being so unassuming. They create good solid pop music without the pretension and grandiosity of some of the other bands that are remaining. I could very well see the Kinks falling off my ballot again as I continue to gain more familiarity with them.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

Just you know,by the way the only artist left that wasn't in the Rolling Stone 100 greatest artists of all time list is R.E.M

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

Seems this is the theme of the round, even if it's TOTALLY untrue! Well, maybe the eating part...

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

Hello everyone, I'm back. I've decided that Egyptian music sucks beyond anything I've ever heard, but gladly I did take my own mp3's with me. I don't think my puppet master voted for me this week yet, so here goes.

1) Jimi Hendrix
2) Radiohead
3) Stevie Wonder
4) The Beatles

NEW:
5) 8) The Kinks – Now we’re getting into the regions where artists reside that I absolutely love everything about (they’re #19), so the only reason I’m voting the Kinks out is because they don’t have a masterpiece album in my opinion. They’ve got several great ones, but they’re just short of being masterpieces.

And now it's time to catch up with everything on the forum, compile a whole bunch of lists for 1982, post the topic for 1983 and I think I won another CD while I was gone. Always good to come home to that.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

1) R.E.M. (5 points)

This one goes out to the one I love... This one goes out to the one I've left behind... A simple prop... To occupy my time... This one goes out to the one I love. FIIIIIIIIIIIIRE!!!!!!!!

(I've always thought they were kinda silly too often.)

2) David Bowie (4 points)

Everyone blames Prince for things they should blame Bowie for more. Prince is black, make no mistake about that - therefore he is exonerated.

3) Neil Young (3 points)

I mean, he's great and all, but every now and then he becomes sooooo tuneless...

4) Jimi Hendrix (2 points)

Well... Because his albums are too long for him, and always leave me hanging with a "wait, that's it?".

5) Radiohead (1 point)

They're sorta really self-parodic now because all the kids love them and go on and on about them.

But I guess their presence here stems from their own version of The Beatles Question.

Person 1: "Are The Beatles really the best pop musical artists of all time? Seriously?"
Person 2: "Yes."
Person 1: "But... c'mon. They're not GOOD enough to be the best. There has to be someone else."
Person 2: "Well. Find someone."
Person 1: "It just doesn't make sense that they would be the best, ya know?"
Person 2: "They have their flaws, yeah. And they have their moments of bad timing and miscalculation. And much of their earlier music is pretty annoying. But can you really think of anyone else? Just listen to that damn Abbey Road again."
Person 1: "How about someone like Prince? He went in as many directions as them, if not more."
Person 2: "Yeah, but he was still very Princey in all he did. In his own big niche in the cavern of genius, I mean. But The Beatles, man! The darn Beatles. Listen to With A Little Help From My Friends again."
Person 1: "The Beatles had their own niche too. Whereas Prince had everything from AIDS songs to ones about sexy mofos. Let's be serious for once."
Person 2: "No, The Beatles were not all over the place, and sometimes they can really piss you off if you're in a bad mood, or if you have a beatleose intolerance. Yet they're the ones who had the most jewels of pop semi-perfection's echelons. Don't believe me? Count them all over again."
Person 1 (of Moonbeam princeportions?): "But. Seriously now. Prince even beat Murphy at basketball. And, as if that wasn't enough, does anything The Beatles ever did even compare with I Would Die 4 U or Slow Love or any of that stuff?"
Person 1: "You know. History aside, a la The Beatles were there first, so they cast big big shadow!, let's say for once that maybe not. But if you listen to all of The Beatles' albums back-to-back, you're bound to have a better taste in your mouth than if you do the same for all of Prince's, and you'll lose fewer neurons too, Planet Earth and all..."
Person 1: "OMG STFU"
Person 2: "Hey, come on. And the same goes for Bob Dylan, and those others on that list too. All The Tired Horses?Wigwam? You have to be funking kiddin' me."

Erm, anyway. Radiohead is like a smaller Beatles, at least in that respect.

So Radiohead are pretty great, in the end (I mean, there had to be a properly good band in the present too, right?).

I'm just voting for them because the kids piss me off.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

(Or, if you like, you can call it the Shakespeare question, and substitute Shaw for Prince...)

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

Mismaiome - I think that dialogue up there has just inspired me to bring the Beatles back onto my list - possibly 5 points...

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

Hahahahaha. That's gonna be funny.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

5 pts: R.E.M. (holdover)
4 pts: The Kinks (holdover)
3 pts: Neil Young (holdover)
2 pts: The Velvet Underground (holdover)
1 pt: Jimi Hendrix - I love Jimi, but we're in the superleague now, and even 3 great albums isn't enough to hold the line at this point.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

Mismaiome - If you had a blog, I'd read it.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

Johnny Cash's departure opens up a new spot.

Led Zeppelin's exit means a new entry is in order.

1. The Who
2. The Beatles
3. Bob Dylan
4. The Beach Boys
5. *NEW* Radiohead- At this stage of the game, I think they've run their course. They have some amazing songs, for sure, but barring Neil Young, whose catalogue I know far too little to toss out, they don't seem to hold their weight against the others.

Re: AM Survivor: Week 25

5 points Hendrix
4 R.E.M.
3 Stevie Wonder
2 The Kinks

New 1 point Velvet Underground; Hugely influential but don't have enough A/B material to fill two discs, the others all do.