Cult Hero 5 Begins..... NOW

jonny · Last edited by jonny on Wed Mar 10, 2010 2:36 am; edited 1 time in total

Okay, I'll put up stats and stuff when I'm home later, but since I know there's a rabid interest. Here are the players of Cult Hero 5.

Here it is in written form:
10,000 Maniacs
2pac
Ryan Adams
Tori Amos
Fiona Apple
Arcade Fire
Badly Drawn Boy
The Beatles
Belle and Sebastian
Bjork
Camera Obscura
The Cardigans
June Carter Cash
Neko Case
Johnny Cash
The Clash
Leonard Cohen
Holly Cole
Sam Cooke
Creedence Clearwater Revival
The Crystals
The Cure
Daft Punk
John Denver
Dixie Chicks
The Doors
Lila Downs
Bob Dylan
Elisa
Eminem
The Faces
Ella Fitzgerald
The Flaming Lips
Fleetwood Mac
Garbage
Marvin Gaye
Gladys Knight and the Pips
Green Day
Guns N' Roses
Imogen Heap
Whitney Houston
The Jackson 5
Jay-Z
Antonio Carlos Jobim
Chaka Khan
The Killers
Lady GaGa
Miranda Lambert
k.d. Lang
Led Zeppelin
Patty Loveless
M.I.A.
Madonna
Maria McKee
Natalie Merchant
Metallica
MGMT
Joni Mitchell
Nada Surf
The New Pornographers
Dolly Parton
Tom Petty
Pink
Pink Floyd
Portishead
Elvis Presley
R.E.M.
The Ramones
Rilo Kiley
Robyn
The Rolling Stones
The Roots
Sade
Selena
Sigur Ros
Simon and Garfunkel
Nina Simone
Frank Sinatra
Patti Smith
Elliott Smith
Dusty Springfield
Bruce Springsteen
Stars
Steely Dan
Sufjan Stevens
Rod Stewart
The Streets
The Sundays
The Supremes
Justin Timberlake
Travis
Tina Turner
Suzanne Vega
Rufus Wainwright
Wilco
Lucinda Williams
Stevie Wonder
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Pete Yorn
Warren Zevon

Couple things to note, we've got Neko and New Pornos again, but also 10,000 Maniacs and Natalie, and Faces and Stewart. June Carter Cash has appeared on a Johnny track before, but this is her first time playing. A lot of new artists, which I will post later.

The following are the artists that will play next week. Please PM me a top 4 list of the songs you would like to play formatted as below:

my favorite song - 4
my second favorite song - 3
etc.

you do not need to submit a top 4 for every artist but you do need to do all 4 songs if you want to choose for that artist. ineligible songs are in parentheses.

and the artists playing in cult hero week 1:

Bjork ("isobel," "it's oh so quiet," "i've seen it all," "big time sensuality")
Jay-Z ("hard knock life")
MGMT
Nada Surf
Elvis Presley ("suspicious minds")
Patti Smith (
Dusty Springfield ("you don't have to say you love me," "son of a preacher man," "i only wanna be with you")
Stars
Sufjan Stevens ("chicago")
Pete Yorn

you have until Tuesday March 16th at 11:59pm PST to submit a list. the first week will commence at 5pm PST on Wednesday.

Post any questions below. thanks.

Tristan · Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 3:53 pm Post subject:

Holy Cow! That's a lot of new blood. Shocked

Which is fantastic, and should be a lotta fun. Warren Zevon! Suzanne Vega! MGMT! John Denver! This list looks simply amazing.

But now I'm trying to figure out some of the usual suspects notable absent, and the ones I'm sad to not see are The Who, The Smiths and The Talking Heads. Probably a whole lot more that I'm overlooking though.

bradcar77 · Joined: 28 Sep 2005 Posts: 11378

Very excited to see some of the new blood making it this year after coming up short in years past. Smile

bradcar77 · Joined: 28 Sep 2005 Posts: 11378

tonygoldenemmy · Joined: 15 Aug 2006 Posts: 14321

SCORE.

Honestly, this list isn't even half as obscure as I'd expected. At the same time, it's maybe even more exciting a group than I'd anticipated. Or, maybe it's just the fact that the Top 100 is finally here that's gettin' me all happy 'n shit. At first glance, I suppose the most surprising thing of note is Aretha getting the shaft. 10K and Natalie is awesome, ditto Whitney and Tina returning. The Jackson 5 is hella more clever than MJ. Should be interesting to see how Dusty plays, given we've already breezed through a lot of her hits.

Greg · Site Admin Joined: 05 Jan 2006 Posts: 12294

Wow! I'm extremely excited for this season. Talk about variety. Oh, and super excited to see Eminem, Johnny Cash, Miranda Lambert, Sufjan Stevens, The Streets, MGMT, Justin Timberlake, Sam Cooke, and many others. Rock on. And thanks, jonny, for all the work. Especially the groovy graphical.

Stag Trall Road · Joined: 01 Oct 2005 Posts: 3823

The list is full of awesome! I too was expecting more out there choices because of the cherry picks but that's only because some of these inclusions feel like they shoulda already been here.
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tonygoldenemmy · Joined: 15 Aug 2006 Posts: 14321

Oh, BTW, I was right about Simon & Garfunkel. Wink

Looks like 11 of my Top 50 managed to make the cut here.

dug11 · Joined: 23 Sep 2005 Posts: 11163

Whew! I was worried Madonna would take a hit without my vote. Wink

Great to see Lady Gaga in there! She was on the list I was going to submit, and I figured I'd be the only one. I hope whoever has her as their cherry-picked artist does a good job. Very Happy

dug11 · Joined: 23 Sep 2005 Posts: 11163

Also, this might be the most excited I've been about Cult Hero (or Backstage Idol). A lot of new artists/bands, as well as legendary artist/bands. A really broad group - so that should be fun!

Dr.ciski77 · Joined: 28 Jul 2005 Posts: 10410 Location: Old Bridge, NJ

SQUEAL!!!!!

hamactor1 · Joined: 05 Jan 2006 Posts: 16390

::Blink::

::Blink::

...Oh, it is ON!

Above the Title · Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 6:31 pm Post subject:

I'm really excited about this list primarily because of all the people/groups that haven't played yet. I'm committed to sticking it out this year, come hell or high water, and since the main reason I play is to discover new music and not necessarily promote certain artists, I'm glad to see a lot of new blood. If that was a byproduct of the cherry pick rule then, much like with the Best Picture ten, I think it's here to stay.

That said, I guess I'll be the asshole and say I am not a fan of Lady Gaga being on the list with only an album and a half to her name thus far. I get how beloved she is but she is a newcomer and, unlike Patsy Cline and Janis Joplin, it is impossible to judge the long-term impact or quality of her thus far short music career without the benefit of time. In two more albums, if she continues putting out stuff of similar notoriety, then she should get a fair shake.

dug11 · Joined: 23 Sep 2005 Posts: 11163

And I imagine that will end up hurting her in the rankings. Even if people like a song, sometimes the "new" factor seems to play a role in how they rank the songs.

So it'll be interesting to see how thing go with Gaga. I don't think she'll make it out of round one. But she has some pretty awesome songs to choose from.

mebra · Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Posts: 2084 Location: MN

Smithie · Site Admin Joined: 23 Sep 2005 Posts: 12640

I'ma let my armpit hair grow just for that one.

I totally embraced the random this year with my own ballot and so I'm happy to see it reflected in the list. Still trying to distill it all. Pleased to see both Rod Stewart and the Faces make it in - it means I can push more Ronnie Lane/Ronnie Wood stuff for the Faces.

I don't think I've ever heard of Elisa and I'm not even sure that I know what Camera Obscura or Lila Downs sound like, so there are surprises that await me.

Thrilled that Portishead, the Ramones, and the Jackson 5 will play this year.

Hmm. Jackson 5 for the win?
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Dr.ciski77 · Joined: 28 Jul 2005 Posts: 10410 Location: Old Bridge, NJ

This is the greatest line-up...ever. Beyond the fact that a number of my Top #10 made it in, which never happens, there's so much variety and diversity.

Also...STARS!!! FUCK YEAH.

Smithie · Site Admin Joined: 23 Sep 2005 Posts: 12640

Also, I bet I know who cherry picked Maria McKee.
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jonny · Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 8:03 pm Post subject:

stats! we gots stats here!

A total of 18 lists that featured 596 artists, which pinpoints that the consensus was light this year.

New artists! A whopping 38, which has to be a record since the 100 that were new in year one. They are:

Badly Drawn Boy
Camera Obscura
June Carter Cash
Holly Cole
The Crystals
John Denver
The Doors
Lila Downs
Elisa
The Faces
Gladys Knight and the Pips
Guns N' Roses
Imogen Heap
The Jackson 5
Antonio Carlos Jobim
Chaka Khan
The Killers
Lady GaGa
Miranda Lambert
Patty Loveless
Maria McKee
Natalie Merchant
Metallica
MGMT
Nada Surf
Pink
Portishead
Selena
Sigur Ros
Elliott Smith
Stars
Steely Dan
Rod Stewart
The Sundays
Suzanne Vega
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Pete Yorn
Warren Zevon

Additionally, Garbage, kd Lang, 2pac, Travis, and Rufus Wainwright haven't played since year 1.

The following artists have played every round of the game:
Fiona Apple
The Beatles
Bjork
Johnny Cash
The Clash
Dixie Chicks
Bob Dylan
Fleetwood Mac
Marvin Gaye
Madonna
Joni Mitchell
The New Pornographers
Dolly Parton
R.E.M.
Rilo Kiley
The Rolling Stones
Stevie Wonder

The following played all previous rounds but missed out on this one:
The Bangles
The Beach Boys (but they won last year so no frowns)
Beck
Blondie
Elvis Costello
Aretha Franklin
PJ Harvey
The Kinks
Loretta Lynn
New Order
Nirvana
Pavement
Liz Phair
Pixies
Queen
The Smiths
Talking Heads
U2
The Velvet Underground
The White Stripes
The Who

The following artists were the top 5 vote getters this round:
Ryan Adams
Arcade Fire
Bob Dylan
Madonna
Sufjan Stevens

Top 5 that almost made it:
Michael Jackson
The Smiths
Basement Jaxx
Depeche Mode
Curtis Mayfield

I will say not to assume an artist is a cherry-pick. I'm surprised at those who rallied votes this year. Again, i'll PM you your cherry pick and tomorrow I'll post those playing the first week.

tonygoldenemmy · Joined: 15 Aug 2006 Posts: 14321

The Jackson 5 should kick some ass in Round One, assuming "I Want You Back" handily winds up their #1 pick. From there, I'm not so sure.

And, yes, Lady GaGa will be this year's Anita Baker. Wink

mebra · Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Posts: 2084 Location: MN

How can I NOT be excited for this Season when I get The Doors, Rufus Wainwright, Belle and Sebastian, Arcade Fire, Nina Simone, Holly Cole, Rilo, The New Pornos, Neko, Gladys, Green Day, Sufjan... I just really dig so many of these artists. It's ceratinly an eclectic group, and we finally go some Metal (devil horns)!!!

Interesting the The Violent Femmes didn't make it this year when they went all of the way to the finale last year. I guess even their die-hard fans (me) knew that they'd used the four best songs in their catalog. Still loves me my Femmes, tho...

Can't wait to see who my Cherry Pick is!!

jonny · Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 9:34 pm Post subject:

at this point i've emailed everyone i got a list from. let me know if you haven't heard form me because then we might have bigger issues. i'll announce those playing the first week tomorrow.

dug11 · Joined: 23 Sep 2005 Posts: 11163

Can't wait!

Stag Trall Road · Joined: 01 Oct 2005 Posts: 3823

Greg · Site Admin Joined: 05 Jan 2006 Posts: 12294

I was pretty pleasantly surprised by that myself. He was high on my list, top 10, I believe.