0
Ddiamondd, on May 11 2010, 01:19 PM, said:
FRIDAY
U2 vs Neil Young - It's a close bout but I can't argue with U2. They are a true coup whereas Neil - a genius he may be - did play other festivals that year. 1-0
Dizzee Rascal vs The Specials - I love Dizzee. Consistently entertaining, put out a slew of proper classic tracks of the 00s. But The Specials are legends and deserve the slot more. 1-1
Vampire Weekend vs Lily Allen - See above. I much prefer VW but 3rd from top on the Pyramid is just too high. I'd vouch for 4th/5th or 2nd on the Other. 1-2
Snoop Dogg vs Fleet Foxes - That FF album is gorgeous, but Snoop steamrolls in terms of merit. 2-2
Willie Nelson vs N.E.R.D. - Again, no question. I don't know Nelson well at all but I'm not stupid. 3-2
Corinne Bailey Rae vs Regina Spektor - Better artist. 3-3
Femi Kuti vs Gabrielle Cilmi - Ha! 4-3
Rolf Harris vs Bjorn Again - Relatively equal dollops of throwback, silliness, abandon and both two top opening acts. Tie.
5-4 Fair play, Friday is the strongest day for this year. But not by much.
SATURDAY
Muse vs Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band - I grew up with Muse, totally adore them. Their new album is mostly guff but they are legitimate stadium filling kings of pomp and bombast, proper guitar heroes of the 00s. I would be a total retard to deny Bruce is the greater coup, the bigger star etc. Tie. 1-1
Scissor Sisters vs Kasabian - Only one of these bands could legitimately headline most festivals. That is the mark, to my mind, of a true Glastonbury second headliner. Kasabian pull it. 1-2
Shakira vs Crosby, Stills & Nash - Barely know CS&N at all but let's not pretend. Shakira is probably well suited to third but c'mon. 1-3
The Dead Weather vs Dizzee Rascal - This is where Dizzee gets his dues. Granted, in 2010 he'd probably be at least a slot higher, or an easy Other Stage headliner, but this was perfect positioning. And are The Dead Weather really as big as Raconteurs were in '08? Nah. 1-4
Seasick Steve vs Spinal Tap - STONEHENGE. 1-5
Jackson Browne vs Eagles of Death Metal - Again, threadbare knowledge of Browne but any fule kno he wins this. 2-5
The Lightning Seeds vs Tinawiren - Straight tie. Both Glasto mainstays, both top early afternoon assets. 3-6
Tinchy Stryder vs VV Brown - I was going to call no points for either but on the grounds that they kept the opening slot on Satuday TBA'd, building hype for a few weeks, then had the gaul to announce TINCHY FLIPPING STRYDER...nar m8.
3-7. Saturday is a poor show this year, and was especially rich and diverse in '09, and subsequently gets flattened.
SUNDAY
Stevie Wonder vs Blur - I narrowly prefer Blur but both rank comfortably on my top 20 acts of all time. No way either could be argued against for meriting that slot outright. 1-1
Faithless vs Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Y'know, neither should be 2nd from top really. But Nick Cave kicks dick and has continued to climb critically and commercially whereas Faithless - who will no doubt put on a storming show - really peaked in 2002. 1-2
Jack Johnson vs Madness - Don't make me laugh. 1-3
Ray Davies vs Tom Jones - Don't get me wrong: Ray Davies has written some 24ct, indelible classics in his time. But in the coveted Sunday legend slot Tom Jones wins out. Perfect choice. 1-4
Slash vs Amadou & Mariam - A&M are fun and bring a nice spice of diversity to a predominantly white middle-aged day but Slash is Slash. 2-4
Norah Jones vs Tony Christie - To her credit, Norah has shifted a f**king ton of records but I know who I'd rather see. 2-5
Paloma Faith vs Status Quo - Paloma's good, but she's not really breaking the status quo. 2-6
Yeovil Town Band vs Easy Star All-Stars - Exceptionally clever re-structuring of canonical gems. Too much fun.
2-7. Again, a rout for 2009 (though it's a better day than Saturday this year)
TOTAL: 2010 10 - 18 2009.
Sorry but, Friday aside, last year was a whole lot better. I thought my assumptions would be disproved after doing the first day but the remaining two of '09 pulled it back admirably. So, all in all, it's not a disasterzone for 2010 by any stretch. But I didn't award acts like Fleet Foxes and Neil Young points and they're hardly weak links. I suppose some of the disappointment with this year's Pyramid line-up naturally comes off the back of 2009 being, both subjectively for me and objectively, really strong.
U2 vs Neil Young - It's a close bout but I can't argue with U2. They are a true coup whereas Neil - a genius he may be - did play other festivals that year. 1-0
Dizzee Rascal vs The Specials - I love Dizzee. Consistently entertaining, put out a slew of proper classic tracks of the 00s. But The Specials are legends and deserve the slot more. 1-1
Vampire Weekend vs Lily Allen - See above. I much prefer VW but 3rd from top on the Pyramid is just too high. I'd vouch for 4th/5th or 2nd on the Other. 1-2
Snoop Dogg vs Fleet Foxes - That FF album is gorgeous, but Snoop steamrolls in terms of merit. 2-2
Willie Nelson vs N.E.R.D. - Again, no question. I don't know Nelson well at all but I'm not stupid. 3-2
Corinne Bailey Rae vs Regina Spektor - Better artist. 3-3
Femi Kuti vs Gabrielle Cilmi - Ha! 4-3
Rolf Harris vs Bjorn Again - Relatively equal dollops of throwback, silliness, abandon and both two top opening acts. Tie.
5-4 Fair play, Friday is the strongest day for this year. But not by much.
SATURDAY
Muse vs Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band - I grew up with Muse, totally adore them. Their new album is mostly guff but they are legitimate stadium filling kings of pomp and bombast, proper guitar heroes of the 00s. I would be a total retard to deny Bruce is the greater coup, the bigger star etc. Tie. 1-1
Scissor Sisters vs Kasabian - Only one of these bands could legitimately headline most festivals. That is the mark, to my mind, of a true Glastonbury second headliner. Kasabian pull it. 1-2
Shakira vs Crosby, Stills & Nash - Barely know CS&N at all but let's not pretend. Shakira is probably well suited to third but c'mon. 1-3
The Dead Weather vs Dizzee Rascal - This is where Dizzee gets his dues. Granted, in 2010 he'd probably be at least a slot higher, or an easy Other Stage headliner, but this was perfect positioning. And are The Dead Weather really as big as Raconteurs were in '08? Nah. 1-4
Seasick Steve vs Spinal Tap - STONEHENGE. 1-5
Jackson Browne vs Eagles of Death Metal - Again, threadbare knowledge of Browne but any fule kno he wins this. 2-5
The Lightning Seeds vs Tinawiren - Straight tie. Both Glasto mainstays, both top early afternoon assets. 3-6
Tinchy Stryder vs VV Brown - I was going to call no points for either but on the grounds that they kept the opening slot on Satuday TBA'd, building hype for a few weeks, then had the gaul to announce TINCHY FLIPPING STRYDER...nar m8.
3-7. Saturday is a poor show this year, and was especially rich and diverse in '09, and subsequently gets flattened.
SUNDAY
Stevie Wonder vs Blur - I narrowly prefer Blur but both rank comfortably on my top 20 acts of all time. No way either could be argued against for meriting that slot outright. 1-1
Faithless vs Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Y'know, neither should be 2nd from top really. But Nick Cave kicks dick and has continued to climb critically and commercially whereas Faithless - who will no doubt put on a storming show - really peaked in 2002. 1-2
Jack Johnson vs Madness - Don't make me laugh. 1-3
Ray Davies vs Tom Jones - Don't get me wrong: Ray Davies has written some 24ct, indelible classics in his time. But in the coveted Sunday legend slot Tom Jones wins out. Perfect choice. 1-4
Slash vs Amadou & Mariam - A&M are fun and bring a nice spice of diversity to a predominantly white middle-aged day but Slash is Slash. 2-4
Norah Jones vs Tony Christie - To her credit, Norah has shifted a f**king ton of records but I know who I'd rather see. 2-5
Paloma Faith vs Status Quo - Paloma's good, but she's not really breaking the status quo. 2-6
Yeovil Town Band vs Easy Star All-Stars - Exceptionally clever re-structuring of canonical gems. Too much fun.
2-7. Again, a rout for 2009 (though it's a better day than Saturday this year)
TOTAL: 2010 10 - 18 2009.
Sorry but, Friday aside, last year was a whole lot better. I thought my assumptions would be disproved after doing the first day but the remaining two of '09 pulled it back admirably. So, all in all, it's not a disasterzone for 2010 by any stretch. But I didn't award acts like Fleet Foxes and Neil Young points and they're hardly weak links. I suppose some of the disappointment with this year's Pyramid line-up naturally comes off the back of 2009 being, both subjectively for me and objectively, really strong.
well selected & explained DDiamond ... i found myself quite surprised to agree with 90% of what you had here apart from your (ever-so-slight) slighting of Ray Davies and the respect that you have for Dizzee (on the global scene, he's a minor league hip hop artist, a complete pretender) when i was so ready to slag off a lot of the inevitable picks on this thread.
what i completely respect about your post is your acknowledgement that you know little or nothing about Crosby, Stills and Nash but appreciate what a coup that was last year (and the same as you did for Willie Nelson & Jackson Browne this yr)...and your love of Muse vs. appreciation for Bruce represents. best of all though, is your picking of Nick Cave vs. Faithless shows your commonsense as well.
nice to read...
