share.triangle.com - Music Madness bracket - How did we do? - Comments

Yep, you are right on this

geremy — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:06:38 -0400

Yep, you are right on this one, they are the moguls of rock music and they should be considered in very rock list. As a note of novelty young rock artists deserve a good reservation on that list too. I recently got a Paramore cd and it really got my attention, those kids have a lot to give.

So true...

Phuzzball — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 15:30:07 -0400

And the Eagles were a 14? James Brown a 1? Aerosmyth a 0? Like the song says, "If there's a Rock-n-Roll heaven, you know they've got a hell of a... beef ..."

Music Madness, or just madness...

Phuzzball — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 15:26:04 -0400

It turned out pretty much as expected. The Baby Boomers, [they are not a band youngsters] boom the loudest right now. One of which I am, right at the tail-end. The Beatles deserve the trophy, regardless. Michael Jackson belonged in the final too. However, Aerosmyth should have faced off with the Beatles in the final 4. Led Zepplin should've, as well, in the elite 8. Did you enjoy your sober laser show Matt?

Next year? I have a thought. You've done TV, music, movies. Do sports' stars. Your participation rate would probably, much like a Pujols homer, go through the roof. Imagine it; Bob Gibson vs. Michale Phelps, Dean Smith vs. Vince Lombardi, Michael Jordon vs. Wayne Gretsky... I predict the finals would pit Babe Ruth against, let's see, either Lance Armstrong, Lawrence Taylor or maybe, oh of course, Dorothy Hamel, whom you put in the "Olympics'" bracket, in place of Muhammed Ali. Nah, Carl Lewis would run away with it, hmm, unless you include Secretariat! ... But how about it. Good idea?

Hendrix!?

FurbishLousewart — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:13:47 -0400

Like many others here, I am outraged. Not so much as exclusions from the tourny but from the placement of the one and only Jimi Hendrix! Seeded 9th?? And LOST in the first round!? I am shocked. Shocked! I have Jimi going all the way... I mean, come on, the best guitarist ever. The best guitarist ever loses in the first round to the most influential rock-band ever who play simple chords. What you have here is influence over talent, BUT Hendrix was also extremely influential. I think lots of influence plus greatest guitar player ever beats most influence plus little talent.

Are the winners decided by popular vote of entries? Just curious, it seems to be that way from what I've read here. If so I'm still angry about Hendrix.

EDIT: Don't feel like rewriting this because my fury remains despite errors of facts! Hendrix lost in the first round to Bob Dylan, not in the second round when he would have faced The Beatles. This is even MORE infuriating!

The Thunder From Down Under

jasonedge — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 08:32:46 -0400

AC/DC has got to be the most underrated, overlooked and underestimated rock band of all time and I am tickled as a pickle to see them advancing in this fun, frivolous game. AC/DC's Black Ice debutted at #1 in 29 countries this past year including selling 2 million in the US in just a couple of months. Worldwide they have sold over 200 million albums with Back In Black selling 40 million on its own and being the 2nd best selling worldwide album ever. For the past few years they have been the 2nd biggest selling act overall and this year they are now outselling the Beatles to take the #1 spot.

Every power chord and every power riff attempted by any band since the mid 70's owes something to this straight-ahead, peel the paint off the walls, rock force led by Angus Young. AC/DC has blasted their rock n roll assault for three decades now, refusing to alter course in the midst of disco, punk, grunge, rap, or whatever the "fad" of the day is. I was at their recent concert in Charlotte in Dec. 2008 and have to say the energy and excitement was the same if not more than the concert I had seen 20 years prior at Reynolds Colliseum in Raleigh, and 30 years prior at Cumberland County Auditorium in Fayetteville, NC. I don't know any other band on the planet with the same longevity, energy and consistency. When I heard songs such as "Spoilin' for Fight', 'War Machine' and 'Rock N Roll Train' off the new album last fall I thought "Wow, no once even comes close to this band."

As far as the tournament, what is outrageous is AC/DC being seeded at #14 and far behind Guns N Roses and Metallica. This just reinforces the statement they are often overlooked and underestimated. For as much as I appreciate Led Zepplin, Metallica and some of the other hard rock bands, AC/DC are the true torch barriers for Hard & Heavy Rock N Roll! Long live Rock and Roll and the "Thunder from Down Under!"

And Just Beyond The Black Stump

Java55 — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:19:30 -0400

We have Jazz! No bracket can even contain it. Woot! :-)

addendum

hmmercer — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 03:01:56 -0400

I also wanted to say that of course this bracket is in no way scientific or "makes sense" - it's a music bracket and it's for fun. It's based on readers' opinions and is just a way for people to share theirs, compete, and win a prize...who doesn't love doing any of those?! Don't complain about something so obviously ridiculous to criticize...

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

hmmercer — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 02:58:18 -0400

The Good - It seems that (although in my opinion it wasn't done in the best manner) there was at least an attempt made to include a wide array of artists, including many essentials - The Beatles, MJ, Elvis, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, The Stones, and The Boss - to name a few.

I know a lot of people seem to disagree, but I think that with a lot of the names others have mentioned, it's ludicrous to say that Dylan should have been excluded. Without Bob Dylan many artists, even some in the bracket, wouldn't have had hits.

The Bad and The Ugly - The front page of the Lifestyle section for March 16th poses the question "Which act is the greatest in pop-music history?", then goes on to say that acts have been seeded "across the rock 'n' soul spectrum". Things should have been narrowed down a little more. To ask specifically (and stick to it) "Which act is the greatest in rock 'n' soul music history?" or "Which act is the greatest in pop-rock music history?" could have done that, I believe, and would have made it easy for an act who *could* span both sides to move into the number one spot, making it a more "fair" fight - there are some great soul-rockers (and pop-rockers - and even a few soul-pop-rockers - in music history). Instead, the bracket tries to span such a broad spectrum that it seems to have made it nearly impossible to make a really great bracket. Narrow it down some!

We couldn't believe that Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, Billy Joel, and Aerosmith were left out. Others we were surprised weren't included (considering we read it as "pop-rock" in the left column) were Bon Jovi (who could have matched up well with G n' R, maybe - no, he may not be worthy of being called the best musician in history, but his presence as a huge pop-rock icon and his perfomance value should be acknowledged) and RHCP (who have had tons of hits since the late 80s, still put out great tunes, and have a distinct sound). We were also shocked to see Madonna listed as a rocker and to see DMB on the list. Really?

The hardest thing about narrowing down our bracket to our final picks, was not knowing how other people were thinking about their picks. Maybe next time listing some criteria upon which to dwell before making selections would make things easier. Remind people to not only think of what names they know, or what songs they like, but who is truely a better band or musician - as far as talent goes - and performer - as far as their entertainment value. Both are fundamental to being a great "act". I understand, for example, those who say that Bob Dylan should have been excluded, because of his lack of existence as a huge rock/pop performing sensation, just as I understand the inclusion of Justin Timberlake even though he may not be a phenomenal singer or even guitar player. Dylan could write songs, and his contribution historically is huge, but as a pop-music act, I agree that he doesn't cut it to beat out a lot of the others in the bracket. That's why so many artists others listed were left out, I think. It also appears that finding enough "post 1980 r&b" artists was a stretch...

To those who continually mentioned country music, I wholeheartedly agree that country music has an important place in music history and that there are many country musicians who should not be forgotten in a list of "greatest" musicians, but it specifically said "We'll save country and hip-hop for another tournement" in the paper.

2nd Round

Phuzzball — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:05:12 -0400

Bob Dylan? How on earth did he even make the original 64? In his brand, or genre of music, this should've been Neil Young, or Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. I cannot believe Bobble-head Dylan moved on. Perhaps the bracket cedes were kind of ZZ Toppled from the start. You know, arbitrarily pulled from one's "Tush". But woulda'-shoulda', I'll lay that to rest. In retrospect, the voting is pretty sensible. Biggest flaw? Putting the Eagles as a 14 cede is a flagrant foul. Their CD, "Hell Freezes Over" is top 5 all time. But even so, as it is, the Who trumped them. The Who is bionic-great, but cannot be selected ahead of the Eagles. They are atomic-bionic-volcanic! Hit to hit, they rival the Beatles. The Who is nowhere near either. This is a good demographic study too, I guess, depicting the ages of N&O readers. I admit, I'm not a spring chicken, but I must cry 'fowl'. Because sadly, I am a grounded Eagle...

Zepplin

Phuzzball — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 08:14:39 -0400

That was a definite "communication breakdown". You really missed excluding Aerosmyth too, however.

Music Madness

scurrin — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 10:44:30 -0400

I thought it very cruel of you to make me decide between the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix so early in the bracket. The Beatles laid so much framework for modern music that they just can't be left out, but Jimi was the one who set my personal direction and preferences early. Mix those two together and that's where I am!

Ditto for James Brown and Al Green, the two titans on that side of the board, IMO.

HOWEVER!!! No excuse for omitting Led Zeppelin, and to only a slightly lesser extent, Yes and Jethro Tull (I'm a rock flutist, can't say enough about Ian Anderson...) and Traffic and on and on....

And, you list Post-80's rock, but where are Journey, Foreigner, all the "big hair" guys? (shameless plug here for the new Broadway show "Rock of Ages", you will never have so much fun on BW, and the prices are right, plus you can order drinks at your seat, something new for Broadway... I saw the show off-Broadway, you can sing along to all the 80s faves...)...

I had trouble in my head separating who I thought contributed most to the music scene, and who I liked better.

If you ever have the time to devote, we should do brackets like the real tournament, submit one level and see who wins, then submit the next, etc.

That would be tons more fun, and a little more competitive too!

2009 Music Bracket

TerriLee — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 09:37:13 -0400

Hey, guys - lighten up!!! This is just for fun!!!

Good picks: Beatles - All the Way!(I have more faith in the Fab Four to ace the Final Four than I do Carolina!) The Stones, The Boss, and Brother Ray

Forty lashes with a guitar string for leaving out Pink Floyd, Led Zep (I just read your mea culpa), Queen in the Rock region, and Marvin Gaye in the R&B.

And where are the women??? The Post-80's R&B region is the only place with a significant female presence. What about Bonnie Raitt? Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders? Diana Ross and the Supremes (talk about a diva!)?? Tina Turner, for goshsakes - she could go in Pre-80's and Post-80's!!

Hey, Matt - I know you did the best you could. I love these alternative brackets and look forward to them every year. Rock On!!!

Ehlers brackets are awful

cwebb — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 09:00:27 -0400

I agree The Beatles, Dylan, Hendrix, The Who, Eagles and The Beach boys should be in the pre-1980 rock bracket, but no way should The Allman Brothers Band be left out. They ARE southern rock. Live at Fillmore East is the best live album ever made in my opinion. They have sold out The Beacon Theatre in New York for a 3-week run every year for the past at least 10 years and this year are celebrating their 40th year as a band with 3 weeks sold out at the Beacon; they have 4 of Rolling Stones Top 100 guitarists (Duane Allman, Warren Haynes, Dickey Betts, Derek Trucks) and I could go on forever. Maybe you're too young, but you need to go back through the discography of both bands and really listen to the music. Lynyrd Skynyrd is a bar band. Go to one of their concerts and you won't see a shirt collar (or even perhaps a shirt) in the crowd, just a bunch of drunk rednecks yelling "freebird." Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying they are bad, they just are not up to the standard of quality of The Allman Brothers Band. As an avid music fan since 1964, granted I am more strongly opinionated about the pre-1980s brackets, which in my opinion pretty much suck. You left out The Allman Brothers, Led Zepplin, Cream, Grateful Dead, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Fleetwood Mac, Santana, Van Morrison, ... God I could go on forever, you obviously don't know your '60s-'70s music. As far as the R&B pre-1980s how anyone could leave out Marvin Gaye is impossible for me to understand, not to mention the Supremes. I can't comment on the post-1980s, because I thought most of the '80s new music sucked. I do however continue to listen to new music and am happy to see it's getting better every day!!!

Yes? No.

rhodent — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:45:27 -0400

Don't get me wrong, I *love* Yes and have most of their pre-1981 albums (I even own "Drama", which IMO is one of the most underrated albums there is). But the pre-1980s Rock field is crowded enough as it is, and Yes just don't quite make the cut. They were super big at the time, but today their fan base is much smaller than the ones who made the cut.

I do think they should have pulled CCR and Dylan to make room for Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. In the post-1980 field, Madonna (since when is she rock?) should have been left out in favor of Genesis.

Did Country Music Not Want Any Of That???

KWCorona — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:19:27 -0400

When you can't even find a place for Garth Brooks, Johnny Cash, George Strait, or Alabama...That's just wrong. From Murphy to Manteo, the most popular music format without question is country.

Music Madness bracket - How did we do?

MattEhlers — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:22:18 -0400

For this year's pop-culture bracket, we decided to tackle the world of music. But with only 64 slots, plenty of acts were left out.

The Clash? Didn't make it.

Neither did The Allman Brothers, Wilson Pickett or Motley Crue (a personal favorite of mine).

What did we get wrong? What did we do right? Let us know below, and don't forget to fill out the bracket. The player who picks closest to the consensus will win something fun.

For this year's pop-culture bracket, we decided to tackle the world of music. But with only 64 slots, plenty of acts were left out. The…