Music Madness: Charlottesville Sweet 16

Slowly, slowly, slowly getting through this. The end is near. Not really, but it's that much closer. And it shall be even closer after I blow through these two interesting matchups.

Box Score Keys: EC (Entire Collection - 3 pts), DA (Defining Album - 2), PC (Personal Connection - 2), DS (Defining Song -1), HI (Historical Impact -1)

(1) Dave Matthews Band v (5) Billy Joel

How They Got Here:
DMB: def (16) Queen 8-1, (8) Elvis Presley 8-1
BJ: def (12) Rage Against the Machine 6-3, (4) U2 5-4
Box Score:
EC: Admittedly a strong case could be made for either. Billy Joel cut his last new album (River of Dreams) within months of DMB's first (Remember Two Things). In the last 5 years, I've drank overpriced beer in the presence of both. However, there are so few chinks in Matthews' armor, and they've kept on keepin on for so long now that despite the tough competition, this one goes their way. ADV: DMB
PC: I got my first Billy Joel album, Storm Front, for Christmas in 1989. Early in 1990, I bought the double-cassette Greatest Hits Volumes 1 & 2. Remember those bulky motherfuckers? They wouldn't fit in a standard cassette holder/case unless it had a few slots specifically defined for them, hence making it impossible to sort your collection in any semblance of order? Reason #175 why I prefer digital music collections. Back to the point. Billy carried on through high school and college, the collection of impacting tunes litters my memory: "Piano Man", "Goodnight Saigon", "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant", "Only the Good Die Young", "Downeaster Alexa" and so on and so forth. But Matthews is something different. Something spiritual. I'll explain in the next round, because by taking this  category, he's already advanced. 
ADV: DMB 
DA: In the list of Sweet 16 defining albums, The Stranger checks in at  14. Crash makes the Top 5. ADV: DMB
DS: "Piano Man" may not be my favorite BJ tune, but as I had previously mentioned, sometimes the song picks the artist. He's known as The Piano Man for Christ's sake. An artist like DMB, there's more latitude - which isn't always a good thing because trying to come up with one is a recipe for spending $5 on a bottle of Excedrin. I went with "Two Step", and it checks in at #4. 11 spots ahead of "Piano Man" ADV: DMB
HI: DMB's yet to win this and this is their best chance yet. However, stepping away from my bias, Billy Joel ranks among the best of the singer/songwriters that defined much of the 1970s. Actually, he is THE best. The Piano Man avoids the shutout. ADV: Billy Joel
 
FINAL SCORE: DAVE MATTHEWS BAND 8 - BILLY JOEL 1
 
 

(2) The Doors v (3) Pink Floyd

HOW THEY GOT HERE:
DOORS: def (15) Dropkick Murphys 9-0, (10) Jay-Z 5-4
FLOYD: def (14) Arctic Monkeys 9-0, (6) Phish 9-0
 
EC: What a battle of heavyweights we got going on here. Starting with this category and extending all the way through, these are almost as close as you can get - nothing comes easy. Obviously neither is contributing to their collections anymore (or recently for that matter) but there's no way to over-state how stellar both are. The Wall. L.A. Woman. Dark Side of the Moon. The Soft Parade. Wish You Were Here. The Doors. Animals. How do you pick a winner here? I'm going Doors but if you disagree, I don't blame you. Tomorrow I could say Floyd. I just think every single Doors album is a masterpiece. Then again, most Floyd is too.
ADV: Doors
DA: Another one that's  very close. I have Dark Side of the Moon three spots ahead of The Doors. And I feel dirty about picking against either.
ADV: Pink Floyd
PC: Oh I don't know how strongly I can go into my personal connection to Pink Floyd, this being the Internets and all. Just take my word for it. Especially if you ever spent 6 hours sitting in a Pine Hall bathroom with the black light on listening to Pulse. The Doors, different story. It was actually the Oliver Stone 1990 movie that turned me on to them. For the first time ever, I was seeking out music that wasn't played on Z-100 or Power 95. I was chastised by nuns for making Jim Morrison the centerpiece of an art project. Fucking nunts. I'm not saying they're the most influential band of my life, but they were personal pioneers. They take this down, and with it, they move on.
ADV: Doors
DS: Just as close as personal connection. I barely, barely, barely have "The End" edging out "Shine On You Crazy Diamond". So barely. If it were anymore bare, it would be arrested for indecent exposure.
HI: Yet another tight one. And really, I feel horrible for Pink Floyd because they're coming up short in the box score but each category was so close. I think the Doors were the first ever "Fuck You" band. And I like that. ADV: Doors
 
FINAL SCORE: THE DOORS 7 - PINK FLOYD 2
 
 
 

Music Madness: Charlottesville Region: Round 2

One extremely competitive match between two heavy hitters, but the other three contests were so lopsided that President Obama would be jealous. The only thing of import there is that the 1 seed in the region has yet to record a shutout. Is that a harbinger of things to come?

As the framers would say, Rules and Criteria can be found here.

SHUTOUT 
(3) Pink Floyd v (6) Phish. Phish pays the bill for their controversial Round One victory over Public Enemy. There's no category here that they're remotely competitive in. I'd explain about personal connection to Floyd, but the internets really isn't the best place for that. 
FINAL SCORE: PINK FLOYD 9 - PHISH 0

BLOWOUTS 
(1) Dave Matthews Band v (8) Elvis Presley. For the second straight round, DMB concedes the historical impact category. Maybe it's just the draw. Maybe it's a potentially fatal flaw. Lucky for them, it's only 1 point, while they rank at or near the top in "connection". They move on. 
FINAL SCORE: DMB 8 - ELVIS 1 

(2) The Doors v (7) Jay-Z. I give Jay Z the Impact. You kind of have to. Being older doesn't mean being better. I also give him the Song. Boy it's tough to go against "Empire" isn't it? But the Doors take the Album, The Doors,  the collection, since everything they've cut is a timeless classic, and the personal connection, as I remember being told by a nun in 8th grade that "Jim Morrison is not a positive role model". I'd love to have that conversation with her today, as my retort would be  at least he was never a Nazi.
FINAL SCORE: THE DOORS 7 - JAY-Z 2

NAIL BITER
(4) U2 v (5) Billy Joel. This was probably the closest "Entire Collection" decision to this point. Both contestants rank really high, like Top 15 high or better if you were to rank the whole field 1-64. After spending about a full commute thinking about it, I have to give the category to the Piano Man. There are no real holes in his collection, as U2 has a pretty gaping one, in my mind, from 1993 - 2000. Granted Billy Joel hasn't exactly been churning out the albums for the past 20 years, but at least he doesn't have any that suck (*cough* Zooropa and Pop). 3 for the Pride of Long Island. 
The Irish strike back though, when we get to the album category. Joshua Tree - by a margin so thin you'd expect anorexia - over The Stranger. 2 points to U2. Seriously, Joshua Tree might be in the Top 10 all time. U2 also claims victory when it comes to the defining song. I love a lot of Billy Joel songs, and my favorite just might be "Leningrad". But it's impossible to say his defining song is anything other than "Piano Man". And as much as I love that as well, I prefer the anthem "Pride (In the Name of Love)".
Impact was another tough decision, but I go with U2 simply for their global appeal. Billy Joel may be a bigger name in the States (debatable, cause I am prone to a very justifiable NY bias). But U2's arguably the biggest active band in the world.
All of this brings us to a 4-3 lead for Bono and company, with only personal connection left. I have a strong connection to U2. One of the 10, maybe 5 best concerts I've ever seen (though Billy ranks nearly as high). They're Irish. They're political. But I bought Billy Joel's Greatest Hits: Volume I & II at the Sam Goody in the Paramus Park Mall in 1989 and I don't think I've gone more than 2 weeks in my life w/o listening to Billy since. "Scenes from an Italian Restaraunt" was one of the 5 most played songs after Midnight of my collegiate life. "We Didn't Start The Fire" is the same for gatherings with my in-laws. Billy is King.
FINAL SCORE: BILLY JOEL 5 - U2 4

The Sweet 16 in C-Ville:
(1) DMB v (4) Billy Joel. I smell some serious vulnerability for the top dog.
(2) The Doors v (3) Pink Floyd. I'm facing some Long, Seriously Deep thinking on this one.

Music Madness 2010: Charlottesville 1st Round

All Rules and Criteria can be found here

CHARLOTTESVILLE REGION: FIRST ROUND ACTION
(1) Dave Matthews Band v (16) Queen. Actually giving Queen the 1 point for "Historical Impact". Saving them from a shut out.
FINAL SCORE: DMB 8 - QUEEN 1

(8) Elvis Presley v (9) The Band. The King gets the Collection and Historic Impact. The Band gets album (Ophelia) and song ("Cripple Creek"). Personal connection is the deciding factor, and it goes to...Elvis. I was on a path to becoming one of those freaky candlelight-vigil-at-Graceland-people until I expanded my horizons musically (among other ways)
FINAL SCORE: ELVIS 5 - THE BAND 4

(4) U2 v (13) Poison. Brett Michaels' recent brush with his own mortality not withstanding, Poison wins the personal connection here. I've enjoyed them for what they are for over 20 years. But that's all they win. An Irish asswhoopin here.
FINAL SCORE: U2 7 - Poison 2

(5) Billy Joel v (12) Rage Against the Machine. A rare type of defeat, as Rage takes Album and Song and loses the rest.
FINAL SCORE: Billy Joel 6 - Rage Against the Machine 3

(3) Pink Floyd v (14) Arctic Monkeys. I loved the Monkeys' debut album. But it wasn't Dark Side. Shut Out.
FINAL SCORE: PINK FLOYD 9 - ARCTIC MONKEYS 0

(6) Phish v (11) Public Enemy. The easy parts: PE gets the Album, Fear of a Black Planet, and song "Welcome to the Terrordome". They also take the Historical Impact without any question. Phish, with their history, takes the collection. It comes down to Personal Connection. That's where it gets tricky. Try as I might to run from it, I can't deny the connection I've had with Phish over the last 15 years and change. Mainly because of my wife. But I have to be honest, even when it hurts. As much as I loved Terrordome during Fat-Out Fridays in college.
FINAL SCORE: PHISH 5 - PUBLIC ENEMY 4.

(7) Flogging Molly v (10) Jay Z. Molly takes album, Drunken Lullabies, and personal connection because they're so, well, Irish. Sean Carter takes down Impact, obviously, and the collection that goes with it. Defining Song is the tiebreaker, and in an upset, I just can't pick against "Empire State of Mind".
FINAL SCORE: JAY Z 5 - FLOGGING MOLLY 4.

(2) The Doors v (15) Dropkick Murphys. Not a good day for Irish-punk.
FINAL SCORE: DOORS 9 - DROPKICK MURPHYS 0

So when we finally get to round two, our matchups will be:
(1) Dave Matthews Band v (8) Elvis Presley
(4) U2 v (5) Billy Joel
(3) Pink Floyd v (6) Phish
(2) Doors v (10) Jay Z

This bracket looks heavily tilted towards the favorites, but you know what they say: "That's why I play these games in my head"