Promotion Poll

Scott Hardie | March 20, 2010
Even if you don't play Rock Block, I would appreciate having your help. This request goes out to all users of the site.

I need a lot of data on which performers are greater than others in rock & roll history. Some comparisons are easy – Elvis Presley outranks Elvis Costello, and Elvis Costello outranks Elvis Perkins. Other decisions can be trickier, like deciding whether Edgar Winter or Johnny Winter is more accomplished. There's no such thing as an objective truth about this stuff, but my hope is that by collecting more data from more people, I can produce less subjective results overall. Plus, I think it's just plain fun to ponder these comparisons. :-)

If you'd like to help me and participate in a thought-provoking daily poll, please manage your subscriptions in Dashboard and activate the third option under Rock Block, called "promotion poll," then submit. This will make a poll with two random choices appear each day on Dashboard, asking you to decide which performer is greater than the other. You can click on either name for more information, or refresh the page for different options if the choice is just too difficult. I hope that you find the subject interesting enough to participate daily, whether you play RB or not. Feel free to discuss your opinions here, but beware that everybody sees different options. Regular players know that the outcome of this poll will determine which bands are promoted in rank within the game.

How do you decide which performer is greater? RB players have debated many criteria, such as influence, critical acclaim, album sales, reputation, longevity, innovation, talent, et cetera. Personally, I consider rank to be a measure of "most important" or "greatest stature" in rock & roll history. Some rock stars are merely talented musicians, others achieve widespread acclaim and success, and a few become legends who change the course of our culture. It's up to you to decide which of the two options made it higher on this scale. Thank you for the help!

Scott Hardie | March 20, 2010
This replaces what had been the promotion poll built into each band's page on the site, but I will continue to count leftover votes from that system.

Steve West | March 20, 2010
This is reminiscent of the dilemmas I face in the "Who Would You Do?" game. Some band pairs are like Janet Reno v. Bella Abzug. I'm going to vote regardless of the pairing with as much integrity as I can muster but when it comes to a choice of Fat Mattress v. Grapefruit... This should be fun. (BTW - Janet Reno - she is soooooo hot)