Since Battle of the Bands generated by far the most interest of any recent post I’ve made (with a whopping 7 comments), here’s another shot at it.
- The Who vs The Kinks: The Who. I really like the Kinks, but the Who have whole albums that are better than any Kinks tune. The Kinks would win for best Christmas song though (“Father Christmas”).
- Johnny Cash vs Bob Dylan: Johnny Cash. All of Bob Dylan’s influence and innovation cowers beneath Johnny Cash’s sheer honesty.
- Nirvana vs Pearl Jam: Pearl Jam. One great album, a couple good albums and a bunch of average stuff beats one very good album, one okay album and one crappy album. The luck of being in the right place at the right time doesn’t add up to much other than record sales.
- Allman Brothers vs Lynyrd Skynyrd: Allman Brothers. They were both masters of the Southern rock game, but the Allmans have soul to boot.
- Ratt vs Twisted Sister: Twisted Sister. Neither band is great, but at least Twisted Sister had two great teen angst anthems. And somehow, I can take them a little seriously. Ratt is pop with guitar solos.
- Eminem vs 50 Cent: Eminem. 50 Cent, as I said before, is just Britney Spears shot nine times. Eminem is one of the few really good current rappers.
- The Supremes vs The Miracles: The Miracles. This one is so close, I just made the decision based on each group’s best song. “Tears of a Clown” barely edges “I Hear a Symphony.”
- Husker Du vs Sonic Youth: Husker Du. They’re melodic chaos was still heavy enough on the melodic part to be listenable. Their influence on alt rock is palpable whereas Sonic Youth is often a token favorite thrown in just to prove that you “get it.” Sonic Youth is a great live show though.
- X vs the Germs: X. I still love the Germs, but X is hands-down the best of the first generation of LA punk bands.
- The Cure vs The Smiths: The Smiths. The ego-centric whining of the Cure did produce Disnintegration, but they still took their sad self-loathing too seriously. The Smiths were simultaneously depressing and mocking, making the whole self-loathing thing kinda multi-dimensional.