Showing posts with label Clash. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Clash. Show all posts

Monday, 14 April 2014

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.  

Sunday, 6 April 2014

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

Sunday, 30 March 2014

Battle Of The New Wave Bands - Sweet Sixteen (Round 2)

The results for Battle New Wave Bands (Round 1) have been tallied and 32 core acts have been reduced to 16 worthy of consideration for little of Most Popular New Wave Band as selected by your Votes.

Simply send a Comment  (enter Name only in Name/URL drop-down option) to this post with your selections, ie A) 1, 3   B) 1, 2  etc......

As a reminder, when voting take into account the Artist/Band's legacy to the New Wave genre and their entire body of work.

The winners for Round 2 will be announced in one weeks time, so DEADLINE is Sunday April 6th, 6 pm EST.   Good Luck and make your VOTES Count!


A) El Mocambo

B) CBGB




1. English Beat A Winner 1 vs 4
1. Ramones
4. Cure
B Winner 1 vs 4 4. Depeche Mode




2. Blondie A Winner 2 vs 3
2. Smiths
3. Police
B Winner 2 vs 3 3. Joe Jackson








D) 100 Club

C) Roxy




1. Sex Pistols D Winner 1 vs 5
1. Clash
5. Duran Duran
C Winner 1 vs 5 5. Pretenders




2. Elvis Costello D winner 2 vs 3
2. New Order
3. Talking Heads
C Winner 2 vs 6 6. Undertones

Battle of New Wave Bands - Round 1 Results

The Votes are cast, and the winners of Battle of New Wave Bands Round 1 are tabulated below.

In the end, a baker's dozen UK bands advanced as well as three seminal New York acts that received their first breaks at CBGBs.

With early returns it appeared that Devo, Gary Numan, Billy Idol and Talk Talk were poised to upset their much higher seeded opponents.  However the heavy final Sunday selections pushed them all out of contention.

Nonetheless, #6 Undertones advanced and #5 seeds Pretenders and Duran Duran won handily.  The only unanimous choice was the Sex Pistols (perhaps due to relatively unknown Toronto punk opponent, the Diodes) with Police and Clash nearly perfect.  However the match-ups in the 'Sweet Sixteen' Round 2 will been increasingly more difficult.  Good Luck to all remaining New Wave Bands!!!

A) El Mocambo

B) CBGB




1. English Beat 1.English Beat (64%)
1. Ramones
8. Devo
1. Ramones (86%) 8. Jam




4. Cure 4. Cure (64%)
4. Depeche Mode
5. Eurthymics
4. Depeche Mode (86%) 5. Madness




2. Blondie 2. Blondie (71%)
2. Smiths
7. B-52s
2. Smiths (64%) 7. Simple Minds




3. Police 3. Police (93%)
3. Joe Jackson
6. Human League
3. Joe Jackson (64%) 6. Gary Numan




D) 100 Club

C) Roxy




1. Sex Pistols 1. Sex Pistols (100%)
1. Clash
8. Diodes
1. Clash (93%) 8. Boomtown Rats




4. Cars 5. Duran Duran (71%)
4. Kraftwerk
5. Duran Duran
5. Pretenders (71%) 5. Pretenders




2. Elvis Costello 2. Elvis Costello (57%)
2. New Order
7. Talk Talk
2. New Order (64%) 7. Billy Idol




3. Talking Heads 3. Talking Heads (71%)
3. Specials
6. Joy Division
6. Undertones (64%) 6. Undertones

Sunday, 16 March 2014

Battle of New Wave Bands (VOTING DEADLINE: Sunday March 30th 5pm EST)

Borrowing a page from the NCAA College Basketball 'March Madness' tournament, I have created a Battle of New Wave bands (punk, synth, power pop, ska) ranked bracket of 32 artists/bands grouped into four 'concert venue' categories.

Simply send a Comment  (enter Name only in Name/URL drop-down option) to this post with your selections, ie A) 1, 4, 3, 2  B) etc...

When voting take into account the Artist/Band's impact to the New Wave genre and entire body of work.

The winners for each round will be announced in a few weeks after enough votes are collected.  Then the voting continues..... until ONE Champion New Wave Artist/Band is Selected by Popular Vote.

Good Luck and keep the Votes coming in!

A) El Mocambo

B) CBGB




1. English Beat A Winner 1 vs. 8
1. Ramones
8. Devo
B Winner 1 vs. 8 8. Jam




4. Cure A Winner 4 vs. 5
4. Depeche Mode
5. Eurythmics
B Winner 4 vs. 5 5. Madness




2. Blondie A Winner 2 vs. 7
2. Smiths
7. B-52s
B Winner 2 vs. 7 7. Simple Minds




3. Police A Winner 3 vs. 6
3. Joe Jackson
6. Human League
B Winner 3 vs. 6 6. Gary Numan




D) 100 Club

C) Roxy




1. Sex Pistols D Winner 1 vs. 8
1. Clash
8. Diodes
C Winner 1 vs. 8 8. Boomtown Rats




4. Cars D Winner 4 vs. 5
4. Kraftwerk
5. Duran Duran
C Winner 4 vs. 5 5. Pretenders




2. Elvis Costello D Winner 2 vs. 7
2. New Order
7. Talk Talk
C Winner 2 vs. 7 7. Billy Idol




3. Talking Heads D Winner 3 vs. 6
3. Specials
6. Joy Division
C Winner 3 vs. 6 6. Undertones

Thursday, 5 April 2012

COVERS - Jamaican vs. UK Ska & Reggae

Take the music Challenge below and Vote on the Original vs. Cover Version of important Ska & Reggae songs. Hopefully this will expose you to the relatively unheralded masters who crafted these classic songs that have captivated a future generation of musicians!

Check out the Specials and Clash live videos to get a sense of the crazy kinetic energy of the music and concerts at that time!!!

Let us hear your thoughts!

To enjoy the Full audio / visual experience of this great music, please select the Full Screen option and the far bottom right hand corner on the videos.


1. Monkey Man - Toots & The Maytals (1969) vs. The Specials (1979)



2. Police & Thieves - Junior Murvin (1969) vs. The Clash (1979)