Music Madness 2010: San Francisco 1st Round

On the surface, this isn't that competitive a region, as the random placements of the seeds out here in San Fran seemed to spoil a lot of drama. Shame on that seeding committee in my head.

All Rules and Criteria can be found here

For the sake of expedience, I'm going to blow through the shutouts, which is 50% of this region, 9-0 for each of these matchups:

SHUTOUTS
(1) The Grateful Dead over (16) Smashing Pumpkins. Pumpkins not competitive in a single category.
(4) Bob Marley over (13) The Killers. Killers can complain about a poor seed and a poor draw, because they can be competitive in Song and Album against many. But not Marley
(6) Allman Brothers Band over (11) O.A.R. O.A.R just isn't as strong on paper as they are when I'm listening to them. Nothing sticks out. And that ain't a recipe for success against the Allmans.
(2) Bruce Springsteen over (15) Beach Boys. Why the hell were the Beach Boys even invited to the dance?

BLOWOUTS
(3) Simon and Garfunkel vs (14) The Pogues. I sincerely give the Pogues the Defining Song, as "Fairytale of New York" is arguable the greatest holiday song out there. Probably not, but in the Top 5. But that's it.
FINAL SCORE: SIMON & GARFUNKEL 8 - THE POGUES 1

NAIL-BITERS
(8) Janis Joplin v (9) Green Day. Janis sweeps the one pointers. In a close one, she takes the Historical Impact, having remained relevant (in my mind) to this day. She also brings down the Song as "Me and Bobby McGhee" ekes out "Holiday". Because of Mr. McGhee, that personal connection also goes to my favorite Texan (not a lot of competition). Christ that was such a go-to song in college (really, I'm in my 30s, not 50s, I swear). But Green Day's American Idiot gets revenge by beating out Pearl in the album category. Really was the quintessential album of the Bush Error. So what that means is all of this is comes down to who's got the better overall collection. And that's why it pays sometimes to not drop dead at 27.
FINAL SCORE: GREEN DAY 5 - JANIS JOPLIN 4

(5) Nirvana v (12) Motley Crue. Cobain and Company reluctantly take the Impact, regardless of how short it was. And they have to have the album with Nevermind edging out Dr. Feelgood. Side note: I always assumed Girls, Girls, Girls was better till I actually thought about it. Crue gets the song nod, with "Girls, Girls, Girls". Yes, for the most part I enjoy strong lyrics, depth, relevancy and societal observations. But there's also something to be said about the primal joy of a coke fuelled bender. Oh, and tits. Much to my wife's dismay, the Crue has the personal connection, as I've been listening to them at unhealthy decibels for parts of three four decades now. Finally it comes down to the deciding factor - again - of "Entire Collection". And while it's true, Vince Neill died before Cobain ever cut a single song, I reiterate that is pays to not drop dead at 27. We have an upset.
FINAL SCORE: MOTLEY CRUE 6 - NIRVANA 3.

(7) Eminem v (10) Cat Stevens. This is a funny matchup. But I'm tired. The Terrorist gets the Entire Collection and the defining song because "Wild World" is fucking awesome. But Eminem takes the rest down for the narrow victory. Very narrow, as The Eminem Show barely beats Tea for the Tillerman, I have a pretty solid personal connection to both, and the historic impact can be debated to a degree. But there's a group of artists very similar to Al-Cat. Slim? Not so much.
FINAL SCORE: EMINEM 5 - CAT STEVENS 4

Looking Ahead:
(1) Grateful Dead v (9) Green Day
(4) Bob Marley v (12) Motley Crue
(3) Simon & Garfunkel v (6) Allman Brothers Band
(2) Bruce Springsteen v (7) Eminem