90s NIT (Alt-Country)- CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS PAGE 5

Re: Best albums of the 90s NIT (Alt-Country bracket)

Damn, thanks.

 

Re: Best albums of the 90s NIT (Alt-Country bracket)

Sorry for all the delays, but the bracket will finally be posted late this afternoon or tonight.

Went from my initial plan of a 32-team bracket to a 48-team bracket (with top 4 seeds getting byes), back to a 32-team bracket, but when I checked this morning to make sure I didn't miss any suggestions I realized I missed about half a dozen, so I decided to make it a 64 album field. I've got enough albums to fill the field, just need to add the new albums into the bracket and post.
However I'll be busy with some other projects for the next few hours.

 

Re: Best albums of the 90s NIT (Alt-Country bracket)

After countless delays with life getting in the way, here's the bracket. Seeding was done through a combination of three methods:
- stuff I read a lot of people liking got the top/higher seeds
- stuff I thought was borderline alt-country got the 14-15-16 seeds
- randomness - where I just randomly assigned seeds, but tried to use a combination of stuff I liked and stuff I thought I remembered reading the board liked as 3-4-5 seeds.
- Yes, in two of the brackets setting up a Ferrar-Tweedy showdown as the No.1 and 2 seeds (in case both make the regional final) was intentional.

Votes due 5 p.m. Eastern on Friday. Post votes here OR send me a PM - don't do both.

EAST
1. No Depression - Uncle Tupelo vs. 16. Interiors - Roseanne Cash
8. Night of Reckoning - Dead Reckoners vs. 9.Where'd You Hide the Body - James McMurtry
5. Pizza Delivery - Drive By Truckers vs. 12. Bigger Piece of Sky - Robert Earl Keene
4. I Feel Alright - Steve Earle vs. 13. Crusades of the Restless Knights - Ray Wylie Hubbard
3. Strangers Almanac - Whiskeytown vs. 14. Walk On - John Hiatt
6. Songs for the Daily Planet - Todd Snider vs. 11. Letter to Laredo - Joe Ely
7. Down By the Old Mainstream - Golden Smog vs. 10. Poison Love - Buddy Miller
2. Car Wheels on a Gravel Road - Lucinda Williams vs.15. Mermaid Avenue - Billy Bragg & Wilco

MIDWEST
1. Trace - Son Volt vs. 16. Revival - Gillian Welch
8. Dog Days - Blue Mountain vs, 9. Crying Tree - Blood Oranges
5. Blue Boulevard - Dave Alvin vs. 12.Northern Kingdom - Cheri Knight
4. Gangstability - Drive By Truckers vs. 13. Hey You - Jack Ingram
3. Cowboy In Flames - Waco Brothers vs. 14. Wrecking Ball - Emmylou Harris
6. El Corazon - Steve Earle vs. 11.The Virginian - Neko Case
7. Welfare Music Bottle Rockets - Bottle Rockets vs. 10. Into the Wire - Starkweather Greek Town's In Flames - The Starkweathers
2. AM - Wilco vs. 15. No Angel Knows - Slaid Cleaves

SOUTH
1. Being There - Wilco vs. 16. Missing Years - John Prine
8. Life of the Party - Charlie Robinson vs. 9. Joshua Judges Rick Ruth - Lyle Lovett
5. Black Eyed Man - Cowboy Junkies vs. 12.Sweat In the Pants - Meat Purveyors
4.Honky Tonk Union - Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers vs. 13. End Time - Freakwater
3.Too Far To Care - Old 97s vs. 14.50 Eggs - Dan Bern
6. Bottle Rockets - Brooklyn Side vs. 11. Do You Think About Me - Waco Brothers
7. Step Right Up - Todd Snider vs. 10. Tomorrow the Green Grass - The Jayhawks
2.Straightaways - Son Volt vs. 15. Flaming Red - Patti Griffin


WEST
1.Anodynne - Uncle Tupelo vs. 16. The Way I Should - Iris DeMent
8. Train a Comin' - Steve Earle vs. 9. Let's Kill Saturday Night - Robbie Fulks
5. Lucinda Williams - Lucinda Williams vs. 12. Eats Away the Night - Butch Hancock
4.Welcome to Struggleville - Vigilantes of Love vs. 13. Del Rio Texas 1959 - Radney Foster
3.Hollywood Town Hall - Jayhawks vs. 14.Tennesse Fire - My Morning Jacket
6. Pneumonia - Whiskeytown vs. 11. Dan Bern- Dan Bern
7. Love & Danger - Joe Ely vs. 10. Fight Songs - Old 97s
2.Summerteeth - Wilco vs. 15.Forget About It - Allison Kraus & Union Station

 

Re: Best albums of the 90s NIT (Alt-Country bracket)-BRACKET IS UP (Page 2)

A few thing: Welfare Music is a song on the Bottle Rockets' Brooklyn Side album, not an album itself. Lyle's album is Joshua Judges Ruth (three consecutive books in the Bible), not Rick.

Other than that, a damn nice bracket that includes a few folks I hadn't even heard of. Good job, and thanks.

 

Re: Best albums of the 90s NIT (Alt-Country bracket)-BRACKET IS UP (Page 2)

Thank you for catching those errors. Both are now fixed.

The Lyle Lovett error came from misreading my own handwriting.

The Welfare Music error probably came from my looking at a list of Bottle Rockets stuff on Amazon and not noticing it was an MP3 single as opposed to an album.

 

Re: Best albums of the 90s NIT (Alt-Country bracket)-BRACKET IS UP (Page 2)

Oh, by the way, Starkweather is a metal band.

But The Starkweathers are most definitely an alt-country band.

Similar name, not similar game.

 

Re: Best albums of the 90s NIT (Alt-Country bracket)-BRACKET IS UP (Page 2)

That's what I get for not paying attention in my Amazon searches <g>
Had to do a bit of Googling, but found the name of that EP by The Starkweathers and have corrected the bracket (again).

Any other mistakes? ;D

 

Re: Best albums of the 90s NIT (Alt-Country bracket)-BRACKET IS UP (Page 2)

Well ... I love almost all of Wilco's stuff, but Summerteeth barely qualifies as alt-country, if at all. I quibble at the No. 2 seeding, but I reckon Old '97s will knock it out in the second round, so, eh, whatever.

Love the Steve Earle vs. Robbie Fulks matchup, Fulks being a No Depression favorite back in the day. Used to buy that magazine, but the alt-country writers were as arrogant in the same way as the writers at Spin were about hip-hop and rap, so I booted both of those long ago.

 

Re: Best albums of the 90s NIT (Alt-Country bracket)-BRACKET IS UP (Page 2)

Damn, Todd Snider got some tough matchups!

Great bracket, EStreetJoe.

 

Re: Best albums of the 90s NIT (Alt-Country bracket)-BRACKET IS UP (Page 2)

Bump - wanting to move this back to the top to make sure those that are interested don't forget about it as voting has been very light this year.

 

Re: Best albums of the 90s NIT (Alt-Country bracket)-BRACKET IS UP (Page 2)

EAST
1. No Depression - Uncle Tupelo vs. 16. Interiors - Roseanne Cash. I cry Uncle.
8. Night of Reckoning - Dead Reckoners vs. 9. Where'd You Hide the Body - James McMurtry. Larry’s little boy done good.
5. Pizza Delivery - Drive By Truckers vs. 12. Bigger Piece of Sky - Robert Earl Keene. Dislike Keene, so its DBT by default. Plus, who doesn’t love pizza?
4. I Feel Alright - Steve Earle vs. 13. Crusades of the Restless Knights - Ray Wylie Hubbard. Earle is Hank’s bastard son. Plus, he was great on The Wire.
3. Strangers Almanac - Whiskeytown vs. 14. Walk On - John Hiatt. My favorite alt-country album of the decade. “Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart Tonight,” “16 Days” and “Waiting to Derail.”
6. Songs for the Daily Planet - Todd Snider vs. 11. Letter to Laredo - Joe Ely. Pick-em, but Ely.
7. Down By the Old Mainstream - Golden Smog vs. 10. Poison Love - Buddy Miller. An alt-country super(ish) group, that Smog.
2. Car Wheels on a Gravel Road - Lucinda Williams vs.15. Mermaid Avenue - Billy Bragg & Wilco. CWOAGR Worth the six-year wait between albums. Can't stand Billy Bragg.

MIDWEST
1. Trace - Son Volt vs. 16. Revival - Gillian Welch. Trace is the best post-Tupelo debut album.
8. Dog Days - Blue Mountain vs, 9. Crying Tree - Blood Oranges. No. 9 wins. Love the names.
5. Blue Boulevard - Dave Alvin vs. 12.Northern Kingdom - Cheri Knight. Alvin for "Long White Cadillac” alone.
4. Gangstability - Drive By Truckers vs. 13. Hey You - Jack Ingram. Eh.
3. Cowboy In Flames - Waco Brothers vs. 14. Wrecking Ball - Emmylou Harris. Why not, Emmylou?
6. El Corazon - Steve Earle vs. 11.The Virginian - Neko Case. See above. Earle.
7. Bottle Rockets - Bottle Rockets vs. 10. Greek Town's In Flames - The Starkweathers. Don’t own this BR, but I’ve seen them play numerous times. GTIF is on Faye Records, so I reckon it’s alt-country, although the descriptions says punk.
2. AM - Wilco vs. 15. No Angel Knows - Slaid Cleaves. AM is the second-best post-Tupelo debut.

SOUTH
1. Being There - Wilco vs. 16. Missing Years - John Prine. The album where Tweedy started to take Wilco away from the Uncle Tupelo sound. Everything the band has become had its genesis in this album.
8. Life of the Party - Charlie Robison vs. 9. Joshua Judges Ruth - Lyle Lovett. Lovett has married hot women. That’s gotta count for something. That should be Charlie ROBISON. Don't know that album, but "Good Times" is great. This one's a tossup.
5. Black Eyed Man - Cowboy Junkies vs. 12.Sweat In the Pants - Meat Purveyors. Margo Timmins, and the band gets it for the cover of Mr. Reed’s “Sweet Jane” (although it’s not on this ablum).
4.Honky Tonk Union - Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers vs. 13. End Time – Freakwater. Why not?
3.Too Far To Care - Old 97s vs. 14.50 Eggs - Dan Bern. I’ve almost seen Old 97s in concert.
6. Bottle Rockets - Brooklyn Side vs. 11. Do You Think About Me - Waco Brothers. BR’s best. Should have been at least a No. 4 seed.
7. Step Right Up - Todd Snider vs. 10. Tomorrow the Green Grass - The Jayhawks. I have seen the Jayhawks, so good enough.
2. Straightaways - Son Volt vs. 15. Flaming Red - Patti Griffin. Not Trace, but not bad.


WEST
1.Anodynne - Uncle Tupelo vs. 16. The Way I Should - Iris DeMent. ‘Cause death won’t even be still / Caroms over the landfill / And buries us all in its broken back.
8. Train a Comin' - Steve Earle vs. 9. Let's Kill Saturday Night - Robbie Fulks. Fulks was the “No Depression” poster boy in the late ‘90s. Plus he kinda rocks it.
5. Lucinda Williams - Lucinda Williams vs. 12. Eats Away the Night - Butch Hancock. Yes, yes, yes Lucinda.
4.Welcome to Struggleville - Vigilantes of Love vs. 13. Del Rio Texas 1959 - Radney Foster. Why not Foster?
3.Hollywood Town Hall - Jayhawks vs. 14.Tennesse Fire - My Morning Jacket. See above. Jayhawks.
6. Pneumonia - Whiskeytown vs. 11. Dan Bern- Dan Bern. Ryan Adams gets the nod.
7. Love & Danger - Joe Ely vs. 10. Fight Songs - Old 97s. Figure Old 97s will take out the 2-15 winner.
2. Summerteeth - Wilco vs. 15.Forget About It - Allison Kraus & Union Station. Not really alt-country at all by this time, but “A Shot in the Arm” and “Via Chicago” are great Wilco songs. And I saw the late Jay Bennett at the Esquire lounge in Champaign. He was a dick.

Last time, with feeling.

 

Re: Best albums of the 90s NIT (Alt-Country bracket)-BRACKET IS UP (Page 2)

I'd love to vote in this, but I just don't know enough about the width and breadth of these albums. Too bad for me because alt-country is the giant hole in my music-listening experience.

Perhaps I'll take this list as a primer and dive in.

Major props for including Cheri Knight. I randomly heard her centerpiece song Black-Eyed Susie on a road trip in the middle of nowhere Illinois on a fuzzy low-power station in the late 90s and immediately went on a quest to find the album. I'd never heard anything like it on the radio. Finally found it several years later. Excellent, but of course it would be having been produced by Steve Earle.

(It's Northeast Kingdom, by the way).