#232 Let’s Talk Designated Cheerleaders
Hey folks!
As you may or may not know, we have a little thing here at Best Album Brackets called Designated Cheerleaders. These are bits of writing in support of one of the albums in the tournament; you could say they “cheerlead” for your vote. Anyone can write one and send it in, and I’ll publish it here in the newsletter and on the Best Album Brackets Bluesky account. If you’re interested in writing a DC for one of the 1989 albums in the tournament, read on!
There’s no one way to write one; they can be as personal or impersonal as you like, as academic or casual as you want to be, as long or as short as you’re comfortable with. Back during the 1992 tournament, I wrote 3,400 words about my favorite album, White Zombie’s LA SEXORCISTO: DEVIL MUSIC VOL. 1. (It didn’t get out of Round 1.)
If you’d like some examples, here are two from the last tournament, one for Death Cab for Cutie’s WE HAVE THE FACTS AND WE’RE VOTING YES and one for The Dandy Warhols’ THIRTEEN TALES FROM URBAN BOHEMIA. But again, there’s no format. Be as creative as you like!
When you’re finished and ready to submit, you can send it to kentmbeeson@hey.com, in a reply to this newsletter, or post it as .jpg either directly to the Best Album Brackets Bluesky account, my personal Bluesky account, or in the private chat of either. Please note that I do not edit the DCs in any way, but am more than happy to make edits if you see a typo or whatever and tell me about it.
Here’s next week’s schedule. I’ve already received a DC for DOOLITTLE, but don’t let that stop you if you have something to say about it. People sometimes think they have to “claim” an album in order to write a DC, but that isn’t true; an album can have as many DCs as there are writers willing to write about it. (Since DOOLITTLE is likely to go far in the tournament, having multiple DCs to cycle through is desirable.) If you’d like to write a DC for one of these albums, do so and send it to me before the match date.
Monday May 26: Pixies, DOOLITTLE vs After Dinner, PARADISE OF REPLICA
Tuesday May 27: Mötley Crüe, DR. FEELGOOD vs Beat Happening, BLACK CANDY
Wednesday May 28: Throwing Muses, HUNKPAPA vs The D.O.C., NO ONE CAN DO IT BETTER
Thursday May 29: Elvis Costello, SPIKE vs Screaming Trees, BUZZ FACTORY
Friday May 30: Galaxie 500, ON FIRE vs Aerosmith, PUMP
Maybe you’d like to write a DC for an album that shows up later in the tournament? If so, first, go to the 1989 bracket here. You’ll see along the left edge all the matches, and each match has a number. Use that match number and the chart below to figure out approximately when a Designated Cheerleader is “due.” Obviously, the exact date is based on what day any particular match is on; also, this chart doesn’t take into account any inevitable delays. (These dates will eventually get pushed back a little bit; I’m 99.99% sure they’ll never move forward.)
Matches 6-10: Week beginning June 2
Matches 11-15: Week beginning June 9
Matches 16-20: …June 16
Matches 21-25: …June 23
Matches 26-30: …June 30
Matches 31-35: …July 7
Matches 36-40: …July 14
Matches 41-45: …July 21
Matches 46-50: …July 28
Matches 51-55: …Aug 4
Matches 56-60: …Aug 11
Matches 61-64: …Aug 18
If you have any questions, hit me at any of the submission points I listed above. I haven’t written any DCs for several tournaments now, but that’s changing this year. I am committing to writing one for Wire’s IT’S BEGINNING TO AND BACK AGAIN (I feel responsible for getting it into the tournament) and for Pop Will Eat Itself’s THIS IS THE DAY… THIS IS THE HOUR… THIS IS THIS! (my favorite album of 1989). I am also considering The Wonder Stuff’s HUP, Godflesh’s STREETCLEANER, and Skinny Puppy’s RABIES, in that order, but we’ll see. Again, though, if you want to write about any of these, please do so!
Thanks, and can’t wait to read what you have to offer!
Kent
P.S. The term “designated cheerleader” is a reference to the 1997 film (and 1996 play) The Designated Mourner, written by Wallace Shawn and directed by David Hare. I’ve never seen it, but I recall the absolutely scathing review it got from Owen Gleiberman in Entertainment Weekly that perversely made me want to watch it. Knowing what it’s about, I wonder how prescient it was.