Hey folks!

The fifth week of the Best Album of 2001 is over, and we had an amazing upset! Despite leading for nearly the entire match, SATELLITE RIDES fell to THE KNIFE in the last fifteen minutes or so. It wasn’t even a solid lead; I saw both albums jockey for the top position during that time. But when the dust settled, THE KNIFE was ahead by four. I believe THE KNIFE’s comeback run — my memory is that it was down by ~ 10 votes — was precipitated by an (large?) Bluesky account RTing the match with about 30 minutes left to play. Still, had there been more time left on the clock, I’m not confident THE KNIFE would have emerged victorious.

One other bit worth mentioning: although IRON FLAG lost to “LOVE AND THEFT” as expected, there was only an 18 vote difference between the two, which is highly unusual for a #20/#109 matchup. Is “LOVE AND THEFT” kind of a soft #20 seed? Was IRON FLAG underseeded? Both? Neither, just one of those days? We may never know. Except maybe when “LOVE AND THEFT” takes on ROOTY in a couple months, that could give us a clue.

LAST WEEK’S RESULTS

On Monday, #13 Rilo Kiley, TAKE OFFS AND LANDINGS defeated #116 Blink-182, TAKE OFF YOUR PANTS AND JACKET, 187-80-2. (269 total votes, +107)

On Tuesday, #77 The Knife, THE KNIFE defeated #52 Old 97s, SATELLITE RIDES, 111-107-3. (221 total votes, +4)

On Wednesday, #20 Bob Dylan, "LOVE AND THEFT" defeated #109 Wu-Tang Clan, IRON FLAG, 121-103-4. (228 total votes, +18)

On Thursday, #45 Basement Jaxx, ROOTY defeated #84 Sophie Ellis-Bextor, READ MY LIPS, 123-49-4. (176 votes, +74)

On Friday, #5 Björk, VESPERTINE defeated #124 Nas, STILLMATIC, 159-31-5. (195 total votes, +128)

NEXT WEEK’S MATCHES

Monday, April 27th: #60 Tenacious D, TENACIOUS D vs. #69 Air, 10 000 HZ LEGEND.

Tuesday, April 28th: #28 Andrew W.K., I GET WET vs. #101 Garbage, BEAUTIFUL GARBAGE.

Wednesday, April 29th: #37 Röyksopp, MELODY A.M. vs. #92 Weezer, WEEZER (GREEN ALBUM).

Thursday, April 30th: #12 Fugazi, THE ARGUMENT vs. #117 Ludacris, WORD OF MOUF.

Friday, May 1st: #53 Lucinda Williams, ESSENCE vs. #76 Superchunk, HERE'S TO SHUTTING UP.

We currently have Designated Cheerleaders for HERE'S TO SHUTTING UP, THE ARGUMENT and I’m supposed to have one ready for I GET WET who the hell signed me up for that. But as of this writing, that’s it. If you’d like to write a DC for any of the other albums (or any album that already has one!)(or I GET WET), please send it to me at kentmbeeson@hey.com. Thanks!

Best,

Kent