Pop Culture Bracketology: Artist of the Moment Finals

Here we are, the championship. The finals. The 'ship. Much like our Sweet 16 and Final Four portions of the tourney, the format of the post is going to be slightly different. Instead of our e-mail discussion, below are two "pitches" from WEEKEND contributors as to why a certain artist should win. AND THEN, results!

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Kanye West vs. Radiohead

Why Kanye West should win: Some people might stare down a matchup of Kanye West v. Radiohead and be perplexed as to why Mr. West is even still in the running. How, they might ask, could he ever beat the influential juggernaut that Radiohead has become?

Well there are many reasons why Kanye is rightfully here in the first place; they are the same reasons why he should win.

He’s risen to become the best in his genre, one that has recently struggled with a generation gap and an inability to maintain stars. He is also its most consistent performer and one of its truest crossover artists. His production skills helped revitalize hip-hop in the earliest parts of the decade before he carried it as a rapper/songwriter for the rest.

Those are his accomplishments, but his relevance is important as well. Kanye is multi-faceted, having shown serious interest in blogging, fashion, and art. Whether these are well placed or not is up for debate, but he makes himself accessible to the public and open to more diverse influences that Radiohead, understandably, does not. 

Mr. West surpassed the “big brother”  who got him into the game, Jay-Z, in terms of timeliness and quality. (Listen to “Reasonable Doubt” versus “Blueprint 3”  and tell me Jigga’s best days weren’t nearly 10 years ago) Not only that, Jay-Z has gone on record as saying Kanye’s most recent album, “808’s and Heartbreak,” inspired him to make a more experimental album following “BP3.” Kanye even has his own protégés now, with Kid Cudi earning critical acclaim in the last year as the most successful.
His lyrical, and often real-life, tendency to wear his heart on his sleeve had been unexplored ground for the genre, but now has permeated the lyrical content of much of today’s new hip-hop. Both Drake and Kid Cudi, two of its best young acts, are both known for similar qualities.

And in generation, hip-hop and pop are generally recognized as the more popular, but often lower quality music. Yet Kanye is one of the few who as been able to achieve both commercial and critical success with all masses. -- Adam Lukach

Why Radiohead should win: “I DON’T LISTEN TO RAP IN MY APARTMENT I LISTEN TO THOM YORKE,” read one loud and particularly memorable blog post by Kanye West in November 2008. 

Kanye might know a thing or two about shocking people, but declaring his love for Radiohead frontman Yorke was a head-scratcher for the ages. 

Only 10 years ago, the English quintet was blowing minds with their 3rd straight universally-appointed classic “Kid A” while at the same time, a then-unsigned West was producing Jay-Z’s own classic “The Blueprint.” 

But today, it should come as no surprise that any artist would claim Radiohead as an influence considering how many styles they bravely traversed since then.

Take 2001’s “Amnesiac,” an admirably jarring blend of noise rock, electronica, and even jazz trumpet that still went #2 on Billboard. The band couldn’t avoid the top of the charts if they tried – and they did, if offering your album for free counts.  (2007’s “In Rainbows,” #1 on Billboard.) 

After all the curve balls they’ve thrown for nothing but strikes, it’s rather shocking that they manage to maintain a “rock and roll” persona…though not as much as Kanye West calling “Love Lockdown,” his first rap-less hit, “a great accomplishment in the idea of, like, Thom Yorke in the strip club.” -- Steven Arroyo

Results: With 57 percent of the vote, Radiohead takes down Kanye to become the winner of WEEKEND's Artist of the Moment bracket. As if there were any question.