Music Madness: Liverpool Region: Round 2

Two Shutouts, One Blowout and a surprisingly competitive match in front of the Liverpudlians. Love that word. Rest assured however, that the Sweet 16 will be awfully more competitive than Round 2.

Rules and Criteria can be found here

SHUTOUTS
(1) Beatles v (8) Wolfetonnes. Oh it pains me so. This cruel fate for the Rebels, to go out in a bloodbath at the hands of the British, on English soil. I'd have liked to avoid the shutout in principle, but the fact of the matter is, nothing was even close.
FINAL SCORE: BEATLES 9 - WOLFETONNES 0

(2) Led Zeppelin v (10) Willie Nelson I initially had Nelson taking the impact. Then I realized I must have inadvertently been smoking what he was . Not a chance. 
FINAL SCORE: LED ZEPPELIN 9 - WILLIE NELSON 0



BLOWOUT
(3) Pearl Jam v (6) Rolling Stones. The Stones obviously take Impact. Pearl Jam obviously takes everything else. This 3 seed is sneaky good. Don't take them lightly. An epic matchup with Zeppelin awaits...
FINAL SCORE: PEARL  JAM 8 - ROLLING STONES 1

NAILBITER
(5) Johnny Cash v (12) Sublime. Sublime already knocked out one legend in Jimi Hendrix. Is the Man in Black next?  Even though I believe that Cash's American IV: The Man Comes Around was the best album of the past decade,   I ever so slightly favor 40 Oz To Freedom. Sublime takes the album. As much as I love JRC, the connection I have to Sublime spans just as long, probably includes more people, and some of my best memories, be it the first time I heard "Waiting for My Ruca" (of which I shall plead the fifth on details) or the shared laughs over the orgasmic "Uhhhhhhh" in "Caress Me Down" at my brother-in-law's college graduation bash. As much as I cherished getting out of class at noon on Wednesdays in my last semester and going out for beer and wings and listening to "Boy Named Sue", Sublime takes the connection. 4 Points.

I don't think anyone can argue Cash's historic impact or entire collection. There's his 4 points and making the tie breaker the "defining song". As much as I love Cash's "Hurt", most people consider it a Nine Inch Nails tune and we'll leave it at that. Conversely, my favorite Sublime song is a Grateful Dead cover in "Scarlet Begonias". So it becomes "Walk the Line" head to head "Waiting for My Ruca". And I can't fathom this, but using the methodology I set out with from the start, we have a major upset. I mean, Christ, I have Johnny Cash on my personal Mount Rushmore of great musicians. Looking at the bracket, I thought he had a shot to beat the Beatles. But we officially have ourselves a Cinderella.
FINAL SCORE: SUBLIME 5 - JOHNNY CASH 4.

Looking ahead to the Sweet 16:
(1) Beatles v (12) Sublime. We can no longer underestimate them.
(2) Led Zeppelin v (3) Pearl Jam. Epic, Epic matchup.

Music Madness 2010:Liverpool 1st Round

All Rules and Criteria can be found here

LIVERPOOL REGION: FIRST ROUND ACTION
(1) The Beatles vs. (16) Kings of Leon. Ringo beats them on his own. Next.
FINAL SCORE: BEATLES 9 ~ KINGS OF LEON 0

(8) Wolfe Tones vs. (9) Joan Baez. Who on the selection committee thought it would be funny to send the Rebellious Wolffe Tones to Liverpool? Tough matchup even if the score doesn't indicate it. Spent many a night falling asleep to Ms Baez back in the day and she may have the most beautiful voice on earth. I'm giving her "Song" for "Diamonds and Rust" and Historical Impact, but the Wolffe Tones are just that good that they sweep the rest.
FINAL SCORE: WOLFFE TONES 7 ~ JOAN BAEZ 2

(4) Johnny Cash vs. (13) Tom Petty. Strong case can be made that Petty deserved a better seed. And a  better fate. Generously, I give Petty the Song with "American Girl" and I'll even stretch it and give him Personal Connection for playing half-time of The Greatest Super Bowl in History, but the rest isn't even a contest. The Man in Black moves on.
FINAL SCORE: JOHNNY CASH 6 ~ TOM PETTY 3

(5) Jimi Hendrix vs. (12) Sublime. Gus Johnson's calling this one and he's losing control. Is there an upset in the making? Two careers that were shorter than they should have been. Hendrix narrowly takes the "Entire Collection" category, the big kahuna of them all and the 3 points to go with it. But 40 oz to Freedom takes the Album by a nose over Are You Experienced? Two cover songs go head to head for the Song point, with Sublime's "Scarlet Begonias" (Grateful Dead) beating Jimi's "All Along the Watchtower" (Dylan). Hendrix wins the Historical Impact hands down, taking a 4-3 lead and setting up Personal Connection (2 pts) as the deciding factor. And Lo and Behold, thanks to the many, many memories from 1996 - 2005 that I can recall, Sublime pulls it off. The importance of having a scoring system is clear now, cause my gut woulda said Jimi hands down.
FINAL SCORE: SUBLIME 5 ~ HENDRIX 4

(3) Pearl Jam v. (14) Radiohead. Warning to the Beatles and Led Zepplin: Beware the Jam.
FINAL SCORE: PEARL JAM 9 ~ RADIOHEAD 0

(6) Rolling Stones v. (11) Neil Diamond. I wanted Jewish Elvis to advance, I really did. Always found the Stones to be a tad overrated. I give the Diamond my Personal Connection and Song for "Cracklin Rosie" but that's as far as it can go. I guess You Can't Always Get What You Want.
FINAL SCORE: ROLLING STONES 6 ~ NEIL DIAMOND 3.

(7) Elton John v (10) Willie Nelson. Another nail biter. On the surface you'd think that Elton takes the Entire Collection, but then you realized that early in the 1980s, he got sober and started writing lame ass Lite FM 106.7 crap. Willie's always been Willie. Elton does take the Album for Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and song, "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters". He also get's the Historical Impact. But the personal connection seals the minor upset for Willie Nelson. Every road trip I took from the age of 3 to 16, he was the soundtrack, and I've been trying to restart that tradition. Can't wait to take my kids on a 4 hour ride and torture them with "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys"
FINAL SCORE: WILLIE NELSON 5 ~ ELTON JOHN 4

(2) Led Zepplin v (15) The Ranonteurs. A sweep. Good for Jack White though, he's got to get some rest so he can try and carry the White Stripes to the Final Four.
FINAL SCORE: LED ZEPPLIN 9 ~ RACONTEURS 0

So when Liverpool starts up again, we're looking at:
(1) The Beatles v (8) Wolffe Tones. This one's going to hurt me. A lot. So cruel.
(4) Johnny Cash v (12) Sublime. Can Cinderella knock off another icon?
(3) Pearl Jam v (6) Rolling Stones. Stones have impressive stats. Beware the entire collection.
(2) Led Zepplin v (10) Willie Nelson. Personal Connection could be a factor.

NEXT UP: CHARLOTTESVILLE REGION. A quick preview of our next bracket:
(1) Dave Matthews Band v (16) Queen. Historical Impact is a weakness for this 1 seed. Personal Connection isn't.
(8) Elvis Presley v. (9) The Band. Honestly have no idea how this plays out.
(4) U2 v (13) Poison. A very strong 13
(5) Billy Joel v (12) Rage Against the Machine. This gives me a chuckle
(3) Pink Floyd v (14) Arctic Monkeys. British Civil War
(6) Phish v (11) Public Enemy. Another unintentionally funny matchup 
(7) Flogging Molly v (10) Jay Z. Ditto
(2) The Doors v (15) Dropkick Murphys. Jim and Co have a tough road.

My 30 Best Albums of the Decade: Number One

Well, this is it. I have to admit that I was astonished at the quality as well as the quantity of music recorded this decade. I really can't help but credit the digitilization of music, after all, all information yearns to be free and accessible, the way we acquire our music in this day and age is very conducive to establishing a very diverse and entertaining collection.

In retrospect, there may be an album or two I should have ranked a bit higher, The Rising comes to mind. But overall, I'm pleased with the way the list shakes out, even if #1 is a bit unconventional.

#1. American IV: The Man Comes Around - Johnny Cash

Huh? Johnny Cash? In the time of the Dave Matthews Band, The White Stripes, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Eminem, Pearl Jam, etc? Johnny Cash?

Absolutely.

If you had to decide who the Greatest American Musician was, would Johnny Cash not be in the conversation? Would he not be the favorite? Elvis Presley was an historic icon, there’s no doubting that, but he was more of a performer. As much as I love The King, he didn’t write his own music. Frank Sinatra would have been Elvis if television was as popular in the 1940s as it was in the late 50s, but as much as we love Frank, there really isn’t an argument for him to be The Best. Buddy Holly, the VASTLY underrated pioneer, just didn’t have the catalog. Other mega-stars and legends like The Doors, the Grateful Dead, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen and Skid Row are legendary in their own right, but don’t quite have the iconic staying power as The Man In Black. There are jazz icons and country singers that have made an everlasting mark on the Great American Soundtrack, however they didn’t cross as many disciplines as those who would follow later, although many were prevented from achieving their ultimate potential thanks to societal norms.

No, I believe the discussion is boiled down to two competitors. Johnny Cash, and his friend and sometimes collaborator Bob Dylan. Personally I’d chose Dylan, but the argument can be made for Cash and even then, there’s no shame in being the runner up to Bob Dylan.

Do I think that I consider The Man Comes Around as a lifetime achievement award? Definitely – but not the way you might think. It’s not a case of “Let’s finally give Scorcese an Oscar”. It’s more along the lines of wow – what a fan-fucking-tastic treat this man bestowed upon us.

The crux of the album is Cash’s acceptance of his fate, the realization that his time on Earth is coming to a close. Instead of spending his days writing new material however (there are only 3 original Cash songs), he chose a collection of previously recorded works, some very well known and some obscure, that spoke to his bevy of emotions, his gratitude, and his regrets as the end drew near. In selecting songs that we already had familiarity with, he was able to convey these feelings in ways that new material wouldn’t have, at least not as substantially.

What separates this from being a run of the mill cover album? The depth and clarity with which he chose these songs. Limited to neither genre or period, the legendary musician spanned the globe as well as history to put together this farewell. In the process, he only happened to make the greatest music video in the history of music video’s with his cover of the Nine Inch Nails single “Hurt” – undoubtedly the most memorable of his performances on The Man Comes Around.

Beyond “Hurt”, Cash may be at his best on his home turf, country western music, in the way he tackles the traditional cowboy ballad “Streets of Laredo”. I mentioned earlier that I have a fascination with our own mortality and there’s no need to dive deeper into that, but the way that Cash slowly builds towards the end of the song, the cowboy’s acceptance that his time has come and he will not have time to right his wrongs is just gut-wrenching in its beauty. You know, if something beautiful can also be considered gut-wrenching.

Personally, his cover of the traditional Irish folk song “Danny Boy” shakes me to my core. I own multiple versions of the song, but what separates this one from the 345,376 different recordings is the raw and unrefined way in which it is being sung – and who’s singing it. The lyrics tell a simple, time honored story of a dying man bestowing his best wishes on a loved one he’s leaving behind. Often it’s sung by a healthy and strong tenor – which is fine, and often beautiful. But here we have a dying man, his deep and strapping voice fading and raspy bidding a farewell.

While the whole album is worth mentioning, especially his rendition of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus”, one last cover I’d like to pay homage to is the Beatles’ “In My Life”. Probably my favorite Beatles song, the Cash version is 180 degrees different and like “Danny Boy” – is a contrast to the song we’re accustomed to hearing. While the original was recorded while the legends were in their prime, and decades later remains a staple at weddings – the ultimate symbol of looking forward to the future – lyrically this song was made for a situation like the one this great icon found himself in, as if the great John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote this 35 years early specifically for him. Like more than a few tracks on the disc, you can’t help but appreciate the unique love he had for his wife June, mourn its loss, and if your belief system allows, appreciate the fact that they are at eternal peace together.

I would be remiss to neglect at least one original Cash recording, and of the three, the title track is most likely to be have eternal staying power. While it basically plagiarizes the Book of Revelations (the man was old, cut him some slack), it tells the tale of the pending Apocalypse that may or may not happen in 2012 with great fervor, and the acknowledgement that one man will be facing his Final Judgment soon.

Three pages later and I still feel I haven’t done this album justice. I can’t think of any comparison to such a great gift being left to us by such a figure. Like #2 on this list, the album was produced by Rick Rubin and he deserves many kudos and accolades. But it’s the aura, career, emotion and ability of Johnny Cash that makes this album what it is. To me, American IV: The Man Comes Around is the #1 Album of the Decade. To you – if you’ve ever loved or lost, mourned or rejoiced – it’s worth a listen.

Johnny Cash made his mark on American cultural history over the span of half a century and in his final hour, he thanked us for allowing him to do so. Humbly, Mr. Cash, may I say that the pleasure was all ours.