Rawk the Puck! The Final Four

Ready or not -- and I'm betting not -- Rawk the Puck! is back. And it's Final Four time, too, the conference finals, meaning we're one stop away from the final and the amplifiers just got turned up to 11.

You need a lot to get this far: Savvy crowd-pleasing vets, overrated past-their-prime elders who can still turn it up when the red light goes on, multitalented prime-of-life soloists, eccentric pop geniuses uncomfortable in the spotlight, earplugs. Add a little luck, and so it goes with the final four of this union of skate and song.

CANADIAN PRESS

Brian and Angus: Into the final four.

But first, a look at the results of the conference semifinal round -- a bobblehead to John Kent, and a CD to Ken, our first double winner (please contact me, John, via email) --where the Sharks (and Hall and Oates -- the critical renaissance has begun, and right here) made a stirring comeback for the second successive series, the Sabres had another upset behind the mighty Marley, the Devils barely survived on Britpop and the Stars rolled thanks to a veteran trooper:

Conference semifinals

East Classic Rawk Conference

BUFFALO Soldier, Bob Marley, over Rock the HOUSE, Gorillaz 10-5

Handsome DEVIL, The Smiths, over HURRICANE, The Roots 8-7

West Indie Rawk Conference

STARman, David Bowie, over OIL 1, Moby 10-5

MANEATER, Hall and Oates, over This FIRE, Franz Ferdinand 8-7

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Radiohead's Thom Yorke: A star.

CONFERENCE FINALS

East Classic Rawk Conference

Night of the LONG KNIVES, AC/DC (b-w BUFFALO Soldier, Bob Marley and BUFFALO Stance, Neneh Cherry) *Buffalo Sabres*
vs.
Sympathy for the DEVIL, Rolling Stones (b-w Handsome Devil, The Smiths and DEVIL to Pay, Johnny Cash) *New Jersey Devils*

West Indie Rawk Conference

Black STAR, Radiohead (b-w STARman, David Bowie and STAR Sign, Teenage Fanclub) *Dallas Stars*
vs.
EARTHQUAKE Weather, Beck (b-w MANEATER, Hall and Oates, and SHARK Sandwich, Spinal Tap) *San Jose Sharks*

So there you are. Don't forget to vote -- another bobblehead and a CD up for grabs -- and I'll be back with the judges' voting on Friday, leading up to the Rawk the Puck! Hootenanny early next week.

Related: Conference semifinals, judges' picks
First round pairings, Eastern Classic Rawk Conference
First round pairings, Western Indie Rawk Conference
First round judges' picks and results

Comments

[Sean]

Stones. Radiohead. You shouldn't need to ask why. The fix hasn't been in this strong since David Stern sent Patrick Ewing to the Big Apple.

[spencer]

I feel like such a pundit. Only one of my "expert" picks advanced to the semis. And that was Hall & Oates -- probably considered a huge upset, but I say that cheese is gouda -- seriously, Darryl and John put out some pretty good tunes.
---
AC/DC vs. The Stones: Clearly Chris has the gloves off for the conference finals. Two huge matchups. Here, the ghost of Bon Scott hanging from the rafters is to much for the wrinkled-ones. AC/DC in seven. Besides, wouldn't the Stones get suspended for doping? Hooyah!

RADIOHEAD vs. BECK: Bringing back the Dust Brothers for the Guero album was Beck's own Joe Thornton trade.
"TJ Cowboys hang around, sleeping in the curb with their Burger King crown." Beck 4-2.

[Kent MacDonald]

Beck and the Stones, if only just for the fact that I will no longer be the only person who predicted a San Jose/New Jersey final on his blog. If I go down, I'm taking you with me :)

[Raptors HQ]

At the HQ, we're as much into music as we are sports. Here are our thoughts on the conference finals.

Chapman: I have to go with Sympathy for the Devil (my fave Stones song) and the other
one is a toss-up...I'll give it to the Stars, because the Radiohead song
"Black Star" is also the name of Mos Def and Kweli's group. That's the
tie-breaker.

Franchise: I'd go Sympathy too. Jumping Jack Flash is still my favourite Stones track but Sympathy is close. The Neptunes remix puts it over the top. I love your tie-breaker and agree completely.

HQ's Vote: Devils and Stars in the "final".

[pipe smoker]

AC/DC and -- Beck.