It’s time for the second round in the John Lennon and Chester Bennington regions. Your vote will determine who moves on to the sweet 16 and who heads back into the studio. I’ll give a brief summary of the matchups and my picks in a spoiler warning. You have until midnight on Wednesday to place your vote. Here we go.
John Lennon Region
1 Beatles vs 8 CCR
In a closer matchup than expected the Beatles pulled away in the late second half to move on to the next round. CCR took out a blind man to make it here. The Beatles are still the most popular band around by sales. CCR is trying to move on with its southern rock sound.
5 U2 vs 4 Pink Floyd
U2 just barely escaped the 12 vs 5 curse to make it to this round. We have a two foreigners matchup here with the Irish going up against the English. Both bands have sold over 150 million albums, making this one of the biggest matchups so far.
11 Billy Joel vs 3 Eagles
One of two piano men left in the tournament Billy played his way into the second round while the Eagles soared by their competition. Two artist known for putting on great shows, one on the piano and one with great guitars.
10 Elton John vs 2 Tom Petty
Our second piano man is taking on the man inspired by meeting Elvis. Both artist have been successful in their genres, both critically and commercially, and both have made strong guest appearances on the Simpsons.
Chester Bennington Region
1 David Bowie vs 9 Linkin Park
Known for his stage shows, Bowie takes on one of today’s biggest bands. Both have inspired bands of their generation. Unfortunately both Bowie and Linkin Park’s lead singer, Chester Bennington, have passed away in the last two years. Despite that, they have given us memorable music that will last for generations.
5 Incubus vs 4 Red Hot Chili Peppers
A band whose sound is hard to define takes on the Chili Peppers’ funk rock sound in this round. Both have found success and both are still going strong giving us new music in the past couple of years.
6 Genesis vs 3 R.E.M.
Genesis just barely survived their first round matchup to make it to this matchup. Despite having an iconic singer who left the band, Genesis never missed a beat with their replacement. R.E.M. is still here despite coming from a small college town, proving that you don’t have to come from a big city to have a big sound.
7 Papa Roach vs 15 Radiohead
Radiohead had the tournament’s biggest upset by seed when they became the only 15 seed to advance. We have another American vs English matchup. Both bands have evolved their sound over the course of their careers, but have continued to stay successful.
John Lennon Region
1 Beatles vs 8 CCR
In a closer matchup than expected the Beatles pulled away in the late second half to move on to the next round. CCR took out a blind man to make it here. The Beatles are still the most popular band around by sales. CCR is trying to move on with its southern rock sound.
I’m not too excited about either band, so I’m going to go with the impact factor and the Beatles had a bigger impact on the music world.
5 U2 vs 4 Pink Floyd
U2 just barely escaped the 12 vs 5 curse to make it to this round. We have a two foreigners matchup here with the Irish going up against the English. Both bands have sold over 150 million albums, making this one of the biggest matchups so far.
Another brick in the wall, another vote for Pink Floyd.
11 Billy Joel vs 3 Eagles
One of two piano men left in the tournament Billy played his way into the second round while the Eagles soared by their competition. Two artist known for putting on great shows, one on the piano and one with great guitars.
I love both, but a piano vs piano matchup is too tempting. Mark me down for Billy.
10 Elton John vs 2 Tom Petty
Our second piano man is taking on the man inspired by meeting Elvis. Both artist have been successful in their genres, both critically and commercially, and both have made strong guest appearances on the Simpsons.
I’m really wanting that piano showdown. Elton John is my vote.
Chester Bennington Region
1 David Bowie vs 9 Linkin Park
Known for his stage shows, Bowie takes on one of today’s biggest bands. Both have inspired bands of their generation. Unfortunately both Bowie and Linkin Park’s lead singer, Chester Bennington, have passed away in the last two years. Despite that, they have given us memorable music that will last for generations.
Bowie had some great music and shows, but I’m going with my childhood here and voting for Linkin Park.
5 Incubus vs 4 Red Hot Chili Peppers
A band whose sound is hard to define takes on the Chili Peppers’ funk rock sound in this round. Both have found success and both are still going strong giving us new music in the past couple of years.
I think the Chili Peppers have a better body of work, so I’m going with them.
6 Genesis vs 3 R.E.M.
Genesis just barely survived their first round matchup to make it to this matchup. Despite having an iconic singer who left the band, Genesis never missed a beat with their replacement. R.E.M. is still here despite coming from a small college town, proving that you don’t have to come from a big city to have a big sound.
Genesis is just better.
7 Papa Roach vs 15 Radiohead
Radiohead had the tournament’s biggest upset by seed when they became the only 15 seed to advance. We have another American vs English matchup. Both bands have evolved their sound over the course of their careers, but have continued to stay successful.
I’ve never gotten into Radiohead that much. I’m going with Papa Roach even if that makes me a creep.
