WINNER - Battle of the New Wave Bands

Drum Roll please .....  and the Winner of the New Wave Bands contest ..... by the closest of margins...... is THE CLASH!

The outcome was always in doubt and not determined until the final vote was cast.

Two distinct camps were forged throughout the contest, the synth-goth-emo crowd up against diehard punk rockers.  Depeche Mode, New Order, Cure and Smiths crowd vs. the Ramones, Sex Pistols, Clash and Undertones fanatics.  Kinda like Disco vs. Rock in the 70s.

New Wave music is a vibrant diversified genre, and in light of the narrow victory, I am comfortable recognizing the Finalists as Winners in distinct sub-genres as follows:

The CLASH - Winner in Punk Rock category
The CURE   - Winner in Goth Pop category

Thanks goes out to all the loyal fans of New Wave music who cast votes in every Round!  Without your regular participation this contest would not have been possible!!


P.S.  I am currently ON VACATION but will amend this post with additional materials on the Clash upon my return, i.e. Ranking of their albums and Top 25 Clash songs.

Battle of New Wave Bands - Finalists (Round 5)

The final championship match-up has been confirmed!  The voting was equally split until the very end!!

The two Final Bands standing are:

The Cure (58%)                                   vs.                           The Clash (58%)




The Cure Studio albums

 (courtesy Wikipedia)

• Three Imaginary Boys (1979)
• Seventeen Seconds (1980)
• Faith (1981)
• Pornography (1982)
• The Top (1984)
• The Head on the Door (1985)
• Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (1987)
• Disintegration (1989)
• Wish (1992)
• Wild Mood Swings (1996)
• Bloodflowers (2000)
• The Cure (2004)
• 4:13 Dream (2008)

The Clash Studio albums

 (courtesy Wikipedia)

• The Clash (1977)
• Give 'Em Enough Rope (1978)
• London Calling (1979)
• Sandinista! (1980)
• Combat Rock (1982)
• Cut the Crap (1985)

Simply select the ONE band that is best representative of the New Wave genre and ethos.


Deadline:    Friday April 25th 5pm EST.

Thanks for your ongoing participation throughout the Battle of the Bands!

Make this Final Vote Count.  I suspect a Winner will not be evident until the final submission!

Battle of the New Wave Bands - Final Four (Round 4)

The Final Four have been determined!!!

After a tight even split of votes in the early going, clear favorites emerged in the end.  Below are the winners (and margin of victory) of the four brackets, and the Final Four match-ups:

    

              

A)  The Cure  (64%)              vs.               D)  Talking Heads  (73%)

   

B) The Smiths  (55%)             vs.               C)  The Clash  (64%)

The Final Four are all giants that left an indelible imprint during their heyday:

A)  The Cure debuted in 1976 and Robert Smith created a series of dark, brooding records that planted the seed for goth rock.  Top LP's included Three Imaginary Boys (1979), Head on the Door (1985) and Disintegration (1989).  Controversial song 'Killing an Arab' was based on Camus classic novel 'The Stranger'.

B)  The Smiths were another brooding, melancholy UK band that featured Morrissey, a celibate ironic crooner and Johnny Marr, guitarist extraordinaire.  Formed in 1982 the band released five albums before disbanding in 1987, with high-points being 'Queen is Dead' LP and the haunting 'How Soon is Now' single.

C) The Clash were formed ironically after Joe Strummer saw the Sex Pistols in concert during 1976, but quickly became the definitive UK punk band.  Hard rocking, passionate with a leftist political ideology, their motto was 'the only band that matters'.  Musically the Clash evolved to explore dub reggae, rockabilly and soul/blues in their pinnacle 'London Calling' 2-LP record.  'Clampdown' and 'Guns of Brixton' still resonate.

D) Talking Heads got it's start early opening for the Ramones in the seminal CBGB punk club.  David Byrne came from the art school New York scene, and brought theatrical intellectual edge to the band.  And music that morphed from punk pop to a funk/R&B unique rhythmic hybrid.  Ten LPs were released over a 12 year career, with the first four essential listening.  'Pyscho Killer' and 'Life During Wartime' are personal favorites.


Simply send a Comment  (enter Name only in Name/URL drop-down option) to this post with your selections.  

DEADLINE for Votes:  Friday, April 18th 10 pm.  

Battle of the New Wave Bands - Elite 8 (Round 3)

We are now down to the remaining Elite 8 bands, all influential in their own right.  Several were near-unanimous selections, namely the Cure, Police, Clash and New Order.  Depeche Mode came soooo close to upending the Ramones, but the last vote cast decided the winner!

Now for Round 3, the selections become that much more difficult but the actual voting process is simple: select one winner for each of the four brackets, ie

A)  Cure vs Police

B)  Ramones vs. Smiths

C)  Clash vs. New Order

D)  Sex Pistols vs. Talking Heads

Simply send a Comment  (enter Name only in Name/URL drop-down option) to this post with your selections.  As a reminder, when voting take into account the Band's legacy to the New Wave genre and their entire body of work.

The winners for Round 3 will be announced in this coming weekend, so DEADLINE is Friday April 11th, 10 pm EST. 

GOOD LUCK and MAKE YOUR VOTES COUNT!

A) El Mocambo			B) CBGB
1. English Beat	4. Cure (91%)		1. Ramones
4. Cure		1. Ramones (55%)	4. Depeche Mode
2. Blondie	3. Police (82%)		2. Smiths
3. Police		2. Smiths (64%)	3. Joe Jackson
D) 100 Club			C) Roxy
1. Sex Pistols	1. Sex Pistols (73%)		1. Clash
5. Duran Duran		1. Clash (91%)	5. Pretenders
2. Elvis Costello	3. Talking Heads (64%)		2. New Order
3. Talking Heads		2. New Order (91%)	6. Undertones