gravid slurred: The Muppets Back Foo Fighters, Nickelback In Musical March Madness

Kermit the Frog and Walter also begin write-in campaign for 'Muppet Show' faves Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. Vote now!
By James Montgomery, with reporting by Josh Wigler

Walter and Kermit
Photo: MTV News

The Muppets might not strike you as a particularly hoops-savvy bunch, until you realize they've hung out with everyone from Dr. J to Rebecca Lobo and just did a movie with Jason Segel, who is, like, 7 feet tall and can definitely dunk.

So obviously, when Kermit the Frog and his pal Walter stopped by the MTV Newsroom earlier this week, we had to get their take on our ongoing Musical March Madness tournament, which pits the 64 biggest bands against one another in a bracket battle for ultimate superiority ... just like the actual NCAA basketball tournament, only with more Coheed and Cambria.

Vote for your favorite band, discuss and share on Facebook and Twitter in the MTV Musical March Madness interactive bracket!

Voting in all first-round MMM matchups runs until Sunday at midnight ET, so there's still time to help guide your favorites to victory. But for all you last-minute voters out there, here are Kermit's and Walter's picks to take it all in this year's tournament.

"I would have to obviously say Green Day — they're one of my favorite bands," Kermit said. "My Morning Jacket I love, because they did an album we did called the Green album, and also, I have to say, there's nothing like a good round of Nickelback to bring out the fierceness in the frog. But really, my favorite is the Foo Fighters, because I love to say 'Foo.' "

He really does. Also, who knew Kermit was a Nickelback fan? And while most of Kermit's picks seem like locks to advance in the tournament (except for the top-seeded Foos, who are getting all they can handle from #16, James Durbin), Walter is taking some risks, picking upset-focused up-and-comers and veteran squads to advance.

"I have to go with Florence and the Machine, because they were on 'Saturday Night Live' when we hosted with Jason ... she's got a killer voice," he said. "I also like that song 'What the Water Gave Me,' but I hope she's not talking about, like, giardia or something like that, that terrible bacteria parasite ... that's what the water gave me once.

"I love the classics, I'm afraid. I like Van Halen, I gotta pick Van Halen," he continued. "Oh, and of course, Mumford and Sons. Did you know their frontman was formerly the Amazing Mumford on 'Sesame Street'? True story."

Vote for your favorite band, discuss and share on Facebook and Twitter in the MTV Musical March Madness interactive bracket!

We did not know that. Of course, Walter wasn't content to just pick underdogs. He decided to launch an impromptu write-in campaign to get another "Muppet" fave in the race for Musical March Madness.

"Can I do a write-in?" he asked. "I was a little disappointed in MTV [for not including] Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. That is my #1 choice. That's who I'd pick to win it."

MTV's 2012 Musical March Madness Tournament is under way! Voting in the first round runs until midnight ET on Sunday, March 18, and winners are determined by fan votes, so if your favorite act made the cut, it'll be up to you to guide them to glory. You can rally the troops on Twitter using the hashtag #MMM or by downloading one of our custom badges — but get ready, it's gonna be a war.

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