The Rock Hall nominations are in and the furor has begun. I'm not a fan of the selection process, never have been. Some of my faves are in (Ramones), but the process is so biased as to make the entire membership suspect.
I read (and enjoy) the Listen Up music blog by Ken Barnes and he has been responding to readers comments regarding the Hall of Fame selections. Ken has a vote on the final ballot and has kindly offered some insight into all of the artists mentioned that have been ignored up until now. It's a good read and probably the best look you will ever get into the nomination process. The following is only a sample of comments, for all of Ken's comments visit the Listen Up blog. I pulled some of the artists I either grew up with or have a particular interest in.
Ken's comments are in blue and mine are in green:
I'm still sifting through the gratifying volume of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame suggestions, virtually all of which are artists who at least deserve serious consideration. As before, I'll try to strike a balance between my own opinions and what I believe to be the prevailing attitude of the Rock Hall nominating committee, of which I am not a member (I do vote in the final ballot, however).
> Go-Go's: A pop band? Made up of girls? I'd probably vote for them, but I doubt if the committee's ready for that. Let's see how The Ronettes do (although The Go-Go's had a lot more creative control). A LOT of young girls picked up guitars in the early eighties after seeing this "pop" band.
> Hall & Oates: It's that pop thing again. The Righteous Brothers instead of Daryl and John? I don't think so. The Righteous Brothers have had exactly one chart record (a reissue) since their glory days. D and J are not only the most succesful duo of the chart era, but have a string of 31 years of Billboard chart success. Most recent Billboard top ten in 2007.
> Boston: I could concoct an elaborate skein of reasoning justifying their inclusion -- sparse recording legacy, but the first album was a massive phenomenon, just like the Sex Pistols, and as for being influential, well, play More Than a Feeling next to Smells Like Teen Spirit some time -- but it feels specious. They're probably just as analogous to something like Iron Butterfly that was briefly huge and then evanescent. Other classic rockers have a better shot. I'd put Tom Scholz in for his guitar innovation. He created that layered guitar sound and a cool guitar gadget (The Rockman).
> Jimmy Buffett: Parrothead representation on the nominating committee is believed to be anywhere from low to nonexistent. Even those critics that pay attention to Buffett generally feel he's been coasting for the last 25 years or so. Thumb your nose at the music business and succeed for another thirty years. Jimmy redefined what it takes to mount a big time music career. He still sells records too.
> Cars: Hard to say why they're not in when acts such as Blondie are. Maybe it's the New York/CBGB factor lacking in The Cars, or some other nebulous perceived lack of cool. Or maybe a feeling that they peaked too soon and became a disposable pop-rock band after their first two albums. Borderline case for me. I love ya Debbie, but the Cars (not Blondie) deserved the New Wave nod.
> Cheap Trick: Even more puzzling. Longevity, image, cool factor, popular success, critical acclaim -- it's all there, but somehow hasn't added up to a nomination. Maybe they fall just short of some sort of "greatness" metric -- they haven't sold tons and tons of records, their critical acclaim has been uneven, they hung around too long, they weren't that cool, they did semi-cheesy power ballads such as The Flame ... I throw these ideas out there as possible reasons for their exclusion, and maybe some combination of all of them is part of the answer. Rick's guitars. Nuff said.
> Rush: Back when I worked at a Microsoft music site, you didn't dare diss Rush or you could count on getting no technical support for anything you were working on from the developers and testers, all of whom seemed to be mad about Rush. Hope that's not true with the tech types who maintain this site. But I don't think the Hall will ever take Rush seriously enough to consider them. If musicianship matters, there is no better band. The bias against these guys is just stupid.
> Genesis: Prog-rock. Forget it. Actually, of all the prog bands, Genesis is the one I would have given the best chance to make it, because a lot of critics either had a sneaking or an admitted liking for the Peter Gabriel-era band. Maybe the Phil Collins era works against them, but I tend to think if they don't make it, no prog-rockers will. The breadth of work is incredible and they put on a good show (even the Dave Clark Five medley).
> Heart: In past times I would have dismissed this idea out of hand, thinking of Heart as schlock-rock fronted by women. The committee may still feel this way. I'm warming to the notion myself -- Ann and Nancy Wilson were both extremely gifted at what they did, early stuff like Crazy on You, Barracuda and Magic Man is pretty impressive, and the '80s hits are generally holding up pretty well compared to the prevalent arena-rock competition. Ann and Nancy showed that women could lead an arena rock band. A lot of young girls also picked up guitars thanks to Heart.
> Joan Jett: A winner in the role-model/inspirational area, but maybe too brief a period at the top for the Hall to take seriously. Hard to think of too many people who better define the rock 'n' roll spirit, though. The essential female rocker. She is the female equivalent of Chuck Berry.
Joan Jett Late Late Show Photo: Monty Brinton
The Queen of Noise, I mean Rock.
> Monkees: Too much prejudice against "manufactured pop groups" to overcome, even though the music, as I'd be among the first to admit, is generally first-rate pop. (And yes, it's true the Dave Clark Five used session musicians extensively, but they never got tarred and feathered for it the way The Monkees did.) The session musician thing is moronic. You don't really think the Beach Boys played on all those records do you? This prejudice has many modern equivalents also. Rascal Flatts? Play on their records? Nope. Give credit to Nesmith and Tork, they revolted and took control of the PreFab recorded output. The rest of these guys remain content with their royalty checks.
> Pat Benatar: Some hits, a prominent '80s star, but no notable innovative or pioneering achievements. And if the Hall wants to go for a female rock & role model, other suggestions such as Heart or Linda Ronstadt (or the nominated Patti Smith, more to the point) would be more to its liking. Hey, she married her guitarist 25 years ago and they're still married! Okay, that's a dumb reason, but that voice is tough to beat.
In case you wondered here's the official membership criteria:
"Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. Criteria include the influence and significance of the artist’s contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll."
'til the Rock Hall gets a new nominating committee
Keep the Adventure Alive,
AT
