Once again, we have expedited service this week: five artists are leaving, rather than the usual four:

47. Björk (24)
46. Van Morrison (23)
45. Public Enemy (20)
44. Chuck Berry (19)
43. The Stooges (19)

(Chuck and the Stooges were exactly tied: each had two first-place, one second-place, one third-place and two fifth-place votes.)

Still waiting in line: Hank Williams (18), Simon and Garfunkel (17), Tom Waits (16), Lou Reed (15), Ray Charles (15), Pink Floyd (15).

Remaining artists? The answer is…42:

The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Beck, David Bowie, James Brown, Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, The Clash, Elvis Costello, Miles Davis, Nick Drake, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, PJ Harvey, Jimi Hendrix, The Kinks, Led Zeppelin, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Curtis Mayfield, Nirvana, Pink Floyd, Pixies, Elvis Presley, Prince, Radiohead, Otis Redding, Lou Reed, R.E.M., The Rolling Stones, Simon and Garfunkel, Sly and the Family Stone, Sonic Youth, Bruce Springsteen, Talking Heads, The Velvet Underground, Tom Waits, The Who, Hank Williams, Stevie Wonder, Neil Young.

Week 15 starts now. Yowsah, yowsah, yowsah.

Still on the island:

1) Beck
2) Nirvana
3) PJ Harvey

Artists whose time is up:

4) Sonic Youth - Never been a fan of either Sonic Youth nor the Pixies, and I've waited a long time before voting for them because I do see their greatness but it's just not for me. Pixies have more songs I like though, and are less towards the noisy side, so they're in 6th position right now.
5) Hank Williams - A great artist with quite a few great songs, and next to Cash the only representatives of my second favorite genre remaining. However, he's out of his league now.

1) [5pts] Al Green. It's beginning to surprise me that his name isn't coming up more often now.
2) [4pts] Simon And Garfunkel. If I'd remembered to vote in last week's round, then I think they'd be out already, so maybe this is the end of the line for them.
3) [3pts] Aretha Franklin. So I admit I only know the songs from a greatest hits cd, and there are several songs I really like, but is her back catalogue really as strong as all the other names in that list?
4) [2pts] Curtis Mayfield. Said it before, but the voice is frustratingly inoffensive.
5) [1pt] Ray Charles. Admittedly more down to general ignorance than to educated evaluation, but I'm struggling that much to pick any weaknesses now that the less familiar are the easiest options. Quite like what I've heard, and heaps of respect for the man, but damn the competition is good now.

1. SIMON & GARFUNKEL. Reprieved for another week! I don’t actually mind; I respect all of the remaining artists.
2. PINK FLOYD
3. TOM WAITS
4. NICK DRAKE
5. AL GREEN. Although I’ve been aware of “Let’s Stay Together” (and the T-Heads’ cover of “Take Me to the River”) since I were a wee lad, I didn’t really start to get into Rev. Al until I read a paean to him written by Nick Hornby. I’ve never really thought of him as bedroom accompaniment (ahem)—that honor in my collection goes to the likes of Roxy Music and Chris Isaak—but I can see why people think of him that way: his voice is sweet and poignant without being cloying (like Smokey Robinson can be). But of the many fine soulsters left on the island, he has the least range and (to my ears) the least funkiness…so I decided he gets the boot before Curtis.

Led Zep haters, they probably show up next week (only one other artist now stands between them and my ballot).

Yowsah, indeed.

Everyone seems to be up and at 'em early this morning.

Hey... I thought "southern gentlemen don't kiss and tell"... lol

1. PJ Harvey 5 pts : Probably the only artist left whose music I don't really like. Have you forgotten her or do you really think she belongs here among the 40-so best artists of all time ? Seriously ?
2. Talking Heads 4 pts : They're growing on me, so they lose 1 pt
3. Pixies : NC
4. E Costello : I'm listening, Paul, I appreciate, I love some songs (New Amsterdam) but it takes time
5. NEW : Aretha Franklin : With Aretha we're going upstairs to a new level : artists i really like. The other day at a party I played "Respect" and "Think" one after the other, and we danced and sang and had a lot of fun (we were only 3 or 4 on the dancefloor, but it was an old guys' party). She knows how to swing. Maybe, like Ella Fitzgerald, she's a little too technical and polished for me to go any further.

1. Sonic Youth
2. Prince
3. Nick Drake
4. Al Green - He's got one of the best voices around but most of his output seems redundant.
5. PJ Harvey - Skilled, innovative and unique aren't adjectives I get to attach to female artists too often, so its a bit of a shame that her songwriting doesn't match her vision.

1. Bob Dylan

With Van Morrison gone (huzzah for that) my 2nd place spot becomes vacant, so the next 3 acts each move up one place, and gain an extra point in doing so

2. Bruce Springsteen
3. Pixies
4. Elvis Costello

And there's a new Number 5, obviously.

5. Nick Drake - I have to confess I had never listened to Nick Drake until recently. I gave him a listen and added him to my "bubbling under" list, he's nothing special - and we're entering Top 40 acts soon, so 'nothing special' just isn't good enough.

Bubbling under:
Bob Marley and the Wailers, The Clash, Nirvana, R.E.M.

1. TALKING HEADS
2. HANK WILLIAMS
3. LOU REED: A proviso vote – any recommendations?
4. AL GREEN: *singing, w/ falsetto* “Al Green/Oooh!/Al Green/Oooh!” (does anyone know the song?) Ok, Al Green. A soul legend; you can’t argue it. His great pipes backed by a utilitarian band resulted in some sultry sounds, but unfortunately, nothing that truly sticks out above the rest.
5. SONIC YOUTH: They say “Daydream Nation” is a stunner. At times, maybe. But as a whole, it’s a muddy, indulgent mess of guitar that seldom impresses and fails to impact. Plus, if you trolled the waterfront of late ‘80s alt/indie noise-rock, you’d find a bunch of indistinguishable fish in your net. SY might be the lone decent catch, but it’s nothing impressive enough to mount on a wall.

1. Hank Williams
2. Al Green
3. Bob Marley and the Wailers
4. Elvis Costello
5. Otis Redding – Unfortunately, I’m going to have to dump on a great deal of soul singers over the next few rounds that I am just unfamiliar with or unenthusiastic about. Honestly, Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay anchors his strength, but I can’t keep him around without hearing more. Sadly, lack of longevity also plays a role in this vote.

Jonah, I'm the same about the soul singers - after my "bubbling under" list is gone, the next bunch on my list are almost all soul singers.

I'm waiting for more Dylan votes to start appearing. How much longer?

About 10 weeks I hope.

Agreed. There are a few artists that I refuse to touch - based on sheer volume/diversity/influence/genius of their work. Dylan is one of them. (Artists whose missteps are few and far between – which almost make them better artists because of it).

Sorry, clarification:

Not better because they made few mistakes, but better because at least they tried. You can tell they were trying to go for something, or had an idea that they were striving for, but it just didn’t work for some reason.

I agree anthony,

With most of these artists I'm just focusing on the music I like as opposed to the entire catalog, because almost all of them had horrible missteps (Dylan, 80s, anyone?). That doesn't negate the value of their stunning achievements. In fact, the only artists immune to putting out crap are the ones who weren't around long enough to not make crap (Nirvana, Nick Drake, Pixies...IMO). I'm sure Nirvana would have done some boring retreads around 1998 or tried Afro-Cuban/Gregorian chants in their music.

To pull a queue from literature, whenever someone asked Joseph Heller why he hadn't written anything as good as Catch-22 later in his career, he would just respond "Has anybody?"

Also "Smokey Robinson. Smokey Robinson. Freddie Jackson. Smokey Robinson. Ashlee Simpson"

1. (5p) Bob Marley and the Wailers - Never cared for reggae, never cared for drugs, never cared for dreadlocks, though I have a soft spot for Haile Selassie.

2. (4p) Marvin Gaye - Come on, people. Somebody else help me vote him off. I can't think of any more to say about him. I know I don't have to, but I want to.

3. (3p) Lou Reed - He's one of the few who have made brilliant music on heroin, but look what he turned in to. A sorry excuse for a previously great rocker.

4. (2p) Al Green - God's help have taken you this far, but the doors will be shut from now on.

5. (1p) Ray Charles - All the blind bonus points are awarded to Stevie Wonder.

Well said, Slush.

And bravo for guessing the song! "Slow Jamz" by Kanye West (a song that references - hell, namedrops! - a couple dozen soul singers).

"Ray Charles - All the blind bonus points are awarded to Stevie Wonder."

From the dark corner of my soul that also makes jokes like that, thanks Rune.

1. Al Green
2. Beatles
3. Pixies
4. Simon & Garfunkel

New

5. Nick Drake - Unlike Elliott Smith, Drake was a handsome guy - why was he so miserable? Pink Moon is by far my favorite of his records, though I think it's top-heavy. "Place to Be" made my Top 200 songs.

Drake was an introverted personality to begin with, but the majority of his depression stemmed from the lack of critical (and to a lesser extent, commercial) success during his career (according to biographers, family/friends, etc.)

As the story goes, towards the end of this life (around the time of Pink Moon) he stated simply that he had nothing left to record. A sad story.

(Sorry, I can’t seem to shut-up today).

Just found this tasty tidbit:

"Nick Drake only produced three albums, so there is no reason not to have all of them in your music library. These works represent the very best of the British folk-rock scene and Drake is a first rate singer-songwriter whose songs of failed romance, mortality, and depression are quite affective. Drake intended "Pink Moon" to be his final album, saying he had nothing left to record. When you lose yourself listening to these songs, you can actually convince yourself that this was true."

"Never cared for reggae, never cared for drugs, never cared for dreadlocks, though I have a soft spot for Haile Selassie."
and a soft spot for clichés as well ?

All three Drake albums are usually priced pretty low too.

Oh Mercy is also a great Dylan album from the 80's. It might have had more to do with Lanois than Dylan though.

1. The Who
2. The Clash
3. Ray Charles
4. Otis Redding
5. The Kinks - The Kinks' support is really strong in this forum, and they certainly made a huge mark in pop history. Without Kinks no Blur (as we knew them in the beginning). Something Else is one of the best slices of England you can possibly get.

5 pts Lou Reed (repeat)

4 pts Simon and Garfunkel - (repeat)

3 pts Pink Floyd - (repeat)

2 pts Nirvana - (repeat)

1 pt Beck - A great chameleon with some wonderful moments, but just not enough of them. His music has gotten disturbingly boring in recent years; a boring Beck is pretty much entirely useless.

nicolas wrote: "and a soft spot for clichés as well ? "


I don't care to think out new prejudgments of reggae artists and fans, I just stick with the old.

5 points. Tom Waits
4 points. Johnny Cash
3 points. Bruce Springsteen
2 points. Lou Reed
1 point. Hank Williams

I'm going to miss Van the man.

1. Hank Williams

Highly influential, but not good enough.

2. Beck

His music just doesn't drag me in.

3. Al Green

It's a political choice.

4. Aretha Franklin

Well. She was a great singer.

5. Lou Reed

As much as I like Lou's silliness, he only had one-and-a-half truly great albums, and a few others that were kinda good if you were in a "I'm going to listen to whatever" mood. And since we're not judging Lou the person & musical innovator, and are instead going after his solo persona, he's got to go.

Sorry, Lou.

1. Aretha Franklin

Highly influential, but not good enough.

2. PJ Harvey

Highly influential, but not good enough.

3. Radiohead

Highly influential, but not good enough.

4. Nick Drake

Highly influential, but not good enough.

5. Curtis Mayfield

Highly influential, but not good enough.

Heh, you crack me up, Paul.

:-)

Same as last week

5 points Sonic Youth
4 Springsteen
3 Simon and Garfunkel
2 Lou Reed
1 Hank Williams

Interesting subject upthread (I've been offline since yesterday morning) about whether we're judging artists on the basis of their entire career, or on the basis of a few favorite or signature works.

It's occurred to me a few times that some departed artists were voted out in different versions by different voters. Blur, for instance--I think most folks who voted for them were voting out the Parklife Blur, but nicolas (iirc), who prefers the early stuff, voted out the Think Tank Blur. And there's gonna be more of this kind of stuff as we get to artists with larger and larger bodies of work.

I have no great point to make about this...just thought it was interesting.

This forum needs a soul thread or something -- the amount of posts stating in one way or another "I'm voting [soul artist] off due to lack of familiarity" is worrying.

This isn't a judgment on anyone either, so please don't take it as such. I used to be the same way; Stevie Wonder was my gateway, and I've not looked back.

Perhaps it's because Blur's discography is such a mess, when you piece it together. (Not bad, just full of "incoherent" stylistical changes.)

I like soul-funk better than soul-pop but Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding are pretty great.

Most artists remaining deserve their top 40 status, but a few don't.

1) Ray Charles - It's a personal thing, I never could get into him. He also took up the most space on "We Are the World."
2) Nick Drake - We're starting to get down to great artists, and he's not one of them.
3) Hank Williams - I'm not the biggest country fan in the world, so while I appreciate ol' Hank, his time has come.
4) Curtis Mayfield - He might be "super," and he's certainly "fly," but I don't think he's "Superfly."
5) Lou Reed - Since Lou and the Velvet Underground are separate entities I'm not going to count VU in Lou's favor. His solo work has its moments, but not enough of them.

Sonofsamian

THis forum needs a soul thread, a country thread, a reggae thread
As soon as someones instead of commenting on the singer comments on the genre (Marley : I don't like reggae; Hank : I'm not into country) this means there is a lack;
So in the next few weeks I'm afraid the non-rock singers are gonna go because these genres are not consensual.

I don't see the problem with soul-, reggae- and country singer being voted off, if people are not into the genre they represent. There's nothing wrong with not being a fan of every genre.

Hank Williams is a great artist, but if people here don't like country music, then why on earth shouldn't he be voted off?

Of course every one is free to elude whole genres if they want to.
Personnaly I like music, not genres.

I like music too, but there's no denying I prefer the music of some genres to other. I know Bob Marley is a great artist, who have written and recorded a lot of great songs, but reggae music just doesn't do it for me, no matter how great the artist is. I might joke about stereotypical reggae fans, but truth is I'm not that ignorant. My only crime is that I've never really liked a reggae song, not by Bob Marley, not by Peter Tosh, not by Black Uhuru and not even by UB40. What you are really representing is music snobbery. You can't be a real music fan unless you look beyond the genres. I believe you can, even if you don't like any reggae, country or soul song. Knowledge is important, of course. It's silly to say you hate a genre based on one song or one artist, but most people, and everybody in here, have heard more than one artists from every genre.

"What you are really representing is music snobbery"

Please explain

"Educating" people who are not fan of particular genres may seem kind of snobbish. You are also saying that voting off certain artists because of disliking the genre is not a reason as good as yours, because you don't care about genres.

I consider myself, mostly, as a rock person, but that doesn't mean I have no knowledge about other genres, and that goes for a lot of people in here, I guess.

Ok now I understand what you meant
I never meant to educate anyone, especially those who don't want to be educated
I just pointed the fact that non-rock genres are less appreciated here, and that IMO that's a pity because they are more or less represented in the AM lists
That was a fact, not a judgement...
I know a lot of people like you who are music lovers but are not interested or don't like certain genres (especially country or reggae or everything 'typical')
I have nothing against that. I don't really understand, but I'm not accusing anybody.
I just don't know why this site attracts a majority of rock fans, but man, I feel like a grandfather telling the same story for the 100th time...
Rune, this is not personal, ok ?

But I keep thinking that liking every genre is a form of open mindness and curiosity. It is not snobbery.
I don't feel superior though because of it , and I don't despise people who are not like that. A lot of my friends are.
I appreciate your straightforwardness when you say you don't like country/reggae/soul. You could pretend you like them because they are acclaimed. THAT (or the contrary, pretending you hate them because they are on AM's lists) would be snobbery.
But being able to know what you like, and why you like it is ok to me. And being able to change your mind too.

But I keep thinking that liking every genre is a form of open mindness and curiosity. It is not snobbery.
I don't feel superior though because of it , and I don't despise people who are not like that. A lot of my friends are.
I appreciate your straightforwardness when you say you don't like country/reggae/soul. You could pretend you like them because they are acclaimed. THAT (or the contrary, pretending you hate them because they are on AM's lists) would be snobbery.
But being able to know what you like, and why you like it is ok to me. And being able to change your mind too.

You've pretty much summed up my thoughts on all of this, Nicolas, thanks.

As far as "educating" people, I think it's less that than feeling absolutely compelled to share stuff that you think is wonderful and that typically gets overlooked. If people try it and don't like it, then so be it. But there is less famous stuff in these genres (just as there clearly is in rock) that might be more appealing to many than what's in "the canon", and I always hope that music lovers like all of the fine people here take that shot at digging a little deeper. Doing that has reaped many rewards for me personally; I just want others to reap those same rewards!

I've always thought that genres were defined by their limitations. Pop-country HAS to have twang. Hip hop HAS to have a rapper. Indie rock HAS to sound like crap. I think one part about getting to enjoy other styles of music is teaching yourself to not rely on those familiarities.

True, jonmarck, genres are defined by their limitations (or "boundaries," to put it less negatively), but people's attitudes to genres have more to do with what they value and what groups they belong to or aspire to. When I was a young punk in high school, I wouldn't have been caught dead listening to Van Halen or Dwight Yoakum. In retrospect, those "tastes" of mine had absolutely nothing to do with aesthetics and everything to do with social attitudes.

Which may be a more complicated way of saying what you said more tersely and pithily.

One of the nice things about this forum is that I think people here have reasons for preferring genres that are more...well, educated than normal. I doubt anybody here dislikes country because many of its fans are reactionary dimwits.

(Oh, and of course I disagree with the part about indie rock...unless you didn't mean it as an insult. A lot of indie rock sounds like crap intentionally, but as I've said too often on this forum, that's not a flaw, it's a feature. YMMV.)

I know a lot of people like you who are music lovers but are not interested or don't like certain genres (especially country or reggae or everything 'typical')


I like country and reggae a lot. You won't find be voting against Cash or Marley anytime soon.

But Hank just doesn't do enough for me, I guess.

You won't be finding me voting against them, I meant. Instead of "be." Darned typos.

Crappy sounding indie rock is definitely very cool! Heck, it's all I'm capable of making!

This brings to mind a great crappy-sounding song (thought it's not really indie rock): Where Eagles Dare by The Misfits. It was in my head all yesterday.

Yeah, I took the indie rock sounding like crap comment as more like a lo-fi, not overproduced sound than actually being crap. For example, something like Guided By Voices, or Bruce Springsteen on Nebraska.

Obviously, it's a crappy distinction because a lot of people would consider My Bloody Valentine indie rock, but that's probably one of the most "technical" albums ever made. Since I love "indie-rock," I agree that genre distinctions are a bit silly, but it's still easier to say "I don't care for reggae" than to say "I don't care for music based on a rhythm style characterized by regular chops on the off-beat, often of a slow tempo and originates from Jamaica and other Caribbean countries." Hence, the labels stick as asinine as they may be.

Actually I consider a lot of MBV stuff to be an excellent definition of lo-fi indie rock. The mixes are always way off (hugely favouring guitar), the dynamics are minimal and the production is very self-indulgent. If it were done in a "commercial" way, like Nickleback or *ack* Simple Plan, it would sound WAY different.

A few minor adjustments

1. Bob Marley and the Wailers- I hope this is the week that does the trick.
2. Pink Floyd- I've voted for them before, but it appears like there is some support behind my vote. I've never liked their brand of prog, impressive as it may be.
3. Simon and Garfunkel- Being merely pleasant shouldn't be enough to garner a top 40 spot.
4. The Who
5. Hank Williams

Back from vacation with the kids at Disney World. At some point I'll do a critical analysis of the Disney songbook.

Lots of movement, and it really feels like we're into a higher eschelon of artists now. Still, sad to see Bjork and (from a couple of weeks ago) P-Funk say goodbye.

Returning vote-getters:

1. Tom Waits
2. Nick Drake
3. Hank Williams

New vote-getters:

4. Pink Floyd -- I'll start out by saying I have never liked Syd Barrett era Floyd, and they would have been one of the first to be voted off by me if I had considered that period solely. As it is, they are still only at #69 on my list. That placement is largely a function of nostalgia and limited respect for Dark Side... and Wish You Were Here. The Wall is a bloated mess with a few standout tracks. Things get even worse with The Final Cut. However, they gain points for being the finest purveyors of power ballads ever (I'm not intending to be snarky with that comment. Their power ballads are really very good songs.)

5. Elvis Presley -- I've had a hard time figuring out where to place the so-called King of Rock (I say it's Chuck Berry, if you're going to give it to a 50's artist). My estimation of him tends to bounce around a lot (but never bounces to a place where I actually believe that he's underrated). It's on a low ebb currently. Let's start with the positives: 1) he had a voice, for sure -- a distinctive, attention-grabbing voice; 2) he had charisma -- I'm not so much of an "art for art's sake" type critic -- this is popular music, and persona and charisma matter; 3) he had a kick ass back-up band; 4) there are some fine songs in his catalog, and he's even credited as a co-songwriter on a few of them (don't know what his real contribution was).

My main criticism is that on too many tracks he either sounds like a parody or is boring. I don't care for most of his ballads (too little soul). I appreciate the hard working showman factor of his later hits (after all, I love James Brown and kinda like (God help me) Neil Diamond). But there is a lack of ease and comfort behind them -- he doesn't sound like a confident singer to me on those later hits. As for the bread-and-butter of his legacy -- the "That's All Right"'s and "Jailhouse Rock"'s and "Hound Dog"'s -- they're hot tracks and hot performances. But they're not cool. Not like Chuck Berry was cool. Not like Jerry Lee Lewis was cool. So if I'm drawing distinctions (and that's what Survivor is all about), Elvis comes up short.

*applause* Thank you, Schwah. Thank you.

(p.s. nice to have you back).

Elvis' songwriting credit can be accredited solely to Colonel Tom, who refused to let Elvis sing a song unless he was credited as a songwriter. Elvis actually had nothing to do with the writing, it was simply another very lucrative source of revenue.

Thanks Anthony.

But if we're referencing the great "Slow Jamz," it's only fair to point out that only Lonesome Panda and I put it on our top songs list.

"Imma play this Vandross
You gon' take your pants off
Imma play this Gladys Knight
Me and you gon' get right"

P.S. I figured Elvis might not have had any hand in the songwriting, but wasn't sure.

P.P.S. Slush, it's Ashford and Simpson, not Ashlee Simpson. It would be even funnier if it was Ashlee Simpson, though.

"She got a light skinned friend, look like Michael Jackson/Got a dark skinned friend, look like Michael Jackson/"

Yes, a great tune. I'm ashamed that it didn't make my list (although, I did have Kanye's "Diamonds from Sierra Leone", which makes me feel a bit better).

Ah crap. I always thought it was Ashlee Simpson and that it was the best joke ever in pop music.

Repeats
1)Lou Reed
2)Hank Williams

New
3)PJ Harvey - Have nothing against her - top 40 is getting into the elite artists,the legends - she doesn't belong
4)Pixies - Love Doolittle and a few tracks on Surfer Rosa - overall,pretty inconsistent
5)Tom Waits - Don't like most of his stuff - his voice works great on 'Downtown Train' but not on many of his other songs...

1. Ray Charles
2. Prince
3. Beck - I can take him or leave him. No strong feelings either way.
4. Curtis Mayfield - same as for Beck.
5. Hank Williams - I have nothing against Hank's music but I feel it's time for him to go.

Does anyone else think that PJ Harvey is just as great as Nirvana? Because I do.

Much better even.

I'm happy Hank made it to 42. We like him a lot more than the critics do.

Not sure.. maybe it's just the method of calculation Henrik uses that hurts him in particular. He gets 6 times 3100 points for not having any albums in the list.

5 points: Ray Charles - Repeat, bumped to 5 points I just think he was more influential than enjoyable

4 points: Pink Floyd - Repeat, bumped to 4 points.

3 points: James Brown - Huh, Goo Gah. AC/DC was voted off because all their songs sound the same. Has anyone besides me noticed that with James Brown? It is a pretty good song though.

2 points: Nirvana - I'm honestly surprised it's taken me this long to vote for them. I never really cared for them a whole lot. Smells Like Teen Spirit is a cool song, so is All Apologies and I even kinda like the Unplugged album as a whole. Yet, I can't remember a single instance in my life when I've listened to Nirvana because I felt like or wanted to listen to Nirvana.

1 point: Bob Marley and the Wailers - Bob has never struck me as a particularly interesting artist because his songs generally sound the same. However, he is the best at what he does and if I'm in a mood for reggae, it is usually Bob that I'll listen to.

Sure, Sinder. 'To Bring You My Love' is on par with 'Nevermind,' and 'Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea' is on par with 'In Utero.'

Schwah - I think Elvis' Sun sides are more "cool" than Chuck Berry. Kind of a subjective measure, I know, but I'm curious what's not "cool" about "That's Alright"?

I like PJ Harvey a lot more than Nirvana, actually!

The longer this thing goes, the more I become convinced that I will never be faced with having to actually vote for an artist I like, as they keep dropping like flies.

1) PJ Harvey is greater than Nirvana.

2) My use of the word "cool" is perhaps unfortunate. It is a very imprecise, and perhaps entirely subjective term. And I'd say Elvis was at his most cool with "That's Alright." But listening to it again there's still a strain in the voice -- leading to a sense that he's trying to hard. Maybe I'm sensitive on this matter, because it's what I always hated in my voice when I used to sing. That sense of trying to hard (much more pronounced in his later work), is the antithesis of cool. I recognize that many others don't hear what I do in Elvis' voice.

I am still very puzzled by the fact that you praise PJ Harvey so much

Please tell me what you find in her music to place her among the 38 best artists

I'll take Nirvana over PJ Harvey anyday.

"Please tell me what you find in her music to place her among the 38 best artists"

I'll try:

Her songwriting is top notch. Thematically, she is far more complex than the public tends to like in their female artists. She'll play the vixen, but not without subversion. Clearly, she often disturbs the listener. However, she does so honestly, by raising emotions and themes that don't often get play, particularly in rock music: the dark side of motherhood, the aggressive side of real female sexuality. That said, she doesn't forget the joy of new love.

In terms of performance and delivery, more than most artists in the mid-range of the top-100 artists, Polly Jean amps up a number of elements in her music: danger, passion, theatricality. She has the same chameleon-like qualities many of us praise in Bowie, while at the same time seeming to remain true to some core inner artistry that is unique. She can flow from aggression to tenderness in the midst of a single song. And with all of her wild passion, she remains firmly in control of her music and her voice. (In my limited experience (I've only seen her once), this is true live as well.)

I will say that I did not care for the rawness of Uh Huh Her and am still sorting out how I feel about the very different White Chalk. But the rest of her albums are all great (including the underrated Is This Desire? and the little known collaboration with John Parrish, Dance Hall at Louise Point).

Why do I prefer her to Nirvana? She grabbed me quicker and more immediately. I will say that Cobain probably is the greater melodist. They are both raw artists. I guess Nirvana's music feels less varied and doesn't surprise me as often. Also, I think my opinion is due to my reaction to Cobain's voice - great screamer, but I am ambivalent about it in his quieter moments. Finally, thematically, Nirvana (with the exception of Unplugged) tends to stay too firmly in the angst and snark boxes.