Round two is in the books!
The survey for round three is here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PWGR26K
And the updated bracket can be found here: http://challonge.com/y9acqemz
It was an exciting round, with three match-ups decided by just a vote!
What did WE LEARN from it?
1. America is still enamored with the 60s. And why not? Aretha Franklin, the Beach Boys, Crosby Stills & Nash, Sam Cooke, Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, and Sly & the Family Stone (America loves an ampersand) all defeated foes from different decades, some older, some newer. This blogger would never argue that those acts didn't make incredible, timeless music (some had better success rates than others, of course). But it's worth noticing that...
2. America is committed to diversity! Again we see acts from all across the musical and social spectrum advancing. It seems that ours is a country large enough for hard hip-hop like N.W.A. AND the smooth soul of Al Green; for both the Talking Heads weirdo new-wave and traditional staples like "Crazy." Well done, America. Well done!
3. America has not lost its taste for revolution. Many of the songs which advanced are true pioneers; they came along, and the world was forever changed. No one had ever heard a pop symphony as sophisticated as "Good Vibrations" before the Beach Boys put it to tape, nor a folk rocker as figuratively rich and free as "Like a Rolling Stone" before Bob Dylan sneered its six-plus minutes in 1966. "Blitzkrieg Bop" is arguably America's first punk song, and its round three competition "Give Up the Funk" codified what it is to be, well, funk. The origins of gangsta rap, countrypolitan, soft rock, and arena rock will also be represented in Round Three.
4. America really, really likes "Purple Rain" (only twelve votes were cast against it in the first two rounds) and "Respect" (just fourteen votes for its competitors). Have these songs benefited from weak competition? Or will they cruise into Round Four despite stronger opponents? Only time will tell as we continue searching for... THE GREATEST AMERICAN SONG!
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