Our other matchup should be closer. Party like it's 1988 and the top selling records are New Jersey and Appetite for Destruction.
For the curious among you, all rules, criteria and regulations can be found right here.
Going to switch up the format a tad, provide a bit more background since we're down to 2 matchups in the region.
Box Score Keys: EC (Entire Collection - 3 pts), DA (Defining Album - 2), PC (Personal Connection - 2), DS (Defining Song -1), HI (Historical Impact -1)
On to the action:
(1) Bob Dylan v (5) Red Hot Chili Peppers
How They Got Here: DYLAN: def. (16) Skid Row 9-0; (9) Jack Johnson 9-0
RHCP: def. (12) Aerosmith 8-1; (4) White Stripes 8-1
BOX SCORE:
EC: RCHP have a vast and impressive one. They're still going strong. Bob Dylan's collection is 100 times better. And he's still kicking. ADVANTAGE: DYLAN
DA: Of the remaining 16, Dylan's Blood on the Tracks ranks 3. Blood Sugar Sex Magik is 13. ADV: DYLAN
PC: I haven't ranked these 1-16 yet, partially because I don't want to ruin my own personal suspense, but also because I think more than any other category, this needs to be a direct Head to Head. I have many memories shared with the Peppers contributions to my life's soundtrack. The summer of 2006 was underwritten by "Snow". But being "into Dylan" is life defining. I can't say that I look down upon people who don't get Bob Dylan. Unless they also profess to love music. Then it's inexplicable. Being into Bob Dylan is part of one's character. It doesn't get more personal than that. ADV: DYLAN
DS: "Hurricane" ranks #3. "Under the Bridge" #16. Not even close. ADV: DYLAN
HI: Does not even need to be discussed. ADV: DYLAN
FINAL SCORE: BOB DYLAN 9 - RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS 0
(2) Guns N Roses v (3) Bon Jovi
How They Got Here: GNR: def (15) Weezer 9-0; (7) Stevie Wonder 5-4
JOVI: def (14) Counting Crows 9-0; (11) Metallica 7-2
BOX SCORE:
EC: No real room for debate here, unless you were to argue that proportionately, the Guns' is better. And if not for most of Use Your Illusions I and The Spaghetti Incident and technically, Chinese Democracy, that might be the case. But the Jersey boys have been cutting quality work for almost 30 years now. Wow. 30 fucking years. That's longer than the Beatles work had existed when I first got into them. ADV: BON JOVI
DA: Slippery When Wet was the first album I ever loved. I had three albums before that: Thriller, Born in the USA, and A Different Light. (Use the google for that one). But Slippery was the first one I truly got into. I remember coming home in 4th grade and putting the record (yes, vinyl) on and listening to it all the way through. But about 2 years later, there was Appetite For Destruction. I remember being amazed that you could say "Fuck" in a song. There was something so rebellious about the album at the time. Just as I was coming into my own. Just as I was beginning to define myself and formulating my own opinions. I still listen to both of the albums. Slippery is nostalgic. Appetite still resonates today. Slippery is #8 of all remaining albums. Appetite is 3. ADV: GNR
PC: Much like what I said about Dylan, there's a special class of us who still revere the Guns some 25 years later. Don't matter that Axl's batshit crazy. Don't matter that we're never seeing a reunion. Don't matter that Slash is becoming a bigger pitchman than Billy Mays. There's a sum of 3 albums for the Guns: All of Appetite, all of Illusions II, 1/2 of Illusions I and side B of Lies. If you've been listening to them for the last quarter century, it's impacted you.
Bon Jovi's done the same. When you're from Jersey, you feel a certain ownership of Bon Jovi. Like Springsteen, "The Sopranos", Diners and Joe Piscopo. Interesting (not really) trivia: I danced with my wife to "Never Say Goodbye" at our 8th Grade Graduation Dance, our Senior Prom, and our Wedding. And it was a "focal" song at all three. Not some generic "Chicken Dance". That's not some random occurrance. That's staying power. That's a contribution to my life, to our lives. That is a personal connection. But it's a different connection. Bon Jovi is where you're from. Guns N Roses is who you are. ADV: GNR
HI: Guns N Roses needs 1 more point to move to the Elite Eight. They won't find it here. Their moment was fleeting, while Bon Jovi carries on. They've seen a million faces. And they've rocked them all. ADV: BON JOVI
DS: So it comes down to the defining song. One fluke category for the right to call yourself a "VILLAGE REGIONAL FINALIST IN A MAKE BELIEVE TOURNAMENT OF ONE MAN'S 64 FAVORITE MUSICIANS". Can you feel the pressure building? The tension? The drama? "Living on a Prayer" checks in at number 8. "Estranged" checks in at number 5. And that might be an insult to it. ADV: GNR
A very close matchup. Probably the closest yet. But we keep to seed here. Bob Dylan, "Welcome to the Jungle".
FINAL SCORE: GUNS N ROSES 5 - BON JOVI 4.
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