It’s a well-established fact by now that the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame is a joke and cannot be taken seriously. However, I still get irked when I see shenanigans like their list of nominees for induction in 2010. The list, which was released a month or so ago, features superstar names like ABBA, Genesis, KISS, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Donna Summer, along with the Stooges for the umpteenth million year. Now, the fact that the Stooges weren’t inducted back in 1994, when they first became eligible, is nothing short of a crime, but maybe…just maybe…this year will be different. The list also features LL Cool J as the Hall’s token hip-hop nominee, following in the footsteps of Grandmaster Flash and Run-DMC.
Now, the Hall Of Fame’s only condition for eligibility is that the artist’s first recorded material had to have been released twenty-five years or more before their induction year. So, for 2010, that means anyone who has released music since 1985 is fair game. Let’s take a look at some of the current eligible names who have been inexplicably left off this year’s ballot:
-Kraftwerk
-Brian Eno
-Scott Walker
-Joy Division
-T. Rex
-Gram Parsons
-Tom Waits
-Iggy Pop (as a solo artist)
-Roxy Music
-The Smiths
-The Replacements
-Black Flag
-Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
-The Cure
-Iron Maiden
-Motorhead
-Thin Lizzy
-The B-52s
Mind you, I’m not saying all these bands should be immediately ushered into the Hall Of Fame. I just think they’re that names deserve to be in the discussion, especially the older acts on the list (Gram Parsons, Scott Walker, Eno), who’ve been so routinely ignored that it’s almost physically painful. The Hall voters seem to be into including all kinds of music in their general “Rock & Roll” banner lately (see Madonna, hip-hop acts, etc), so I think the time is right to start opening doors to these artists, who’ve shaped modern music just as much as many of the bands already in the Hall.
For the full nominee list and accompanying blurbs written by the Hall Of Fame people, see here.
Now, the Hall Of Fame’s only condition for eligibility is that the artist’s first recorded material had to have been released twenty-five years or more before their induction year. So, for 2010, that means anyone who has released music since 1985 is fair game. Let’s take a look at some of the current eligible names who have been inexplicably left off this year’s ballot:
-Kraftwerk
-Brian Eno
-Scott Walker
-Joy Division
-T. Rex
-Gram Parsons
-Tom Waits
-Iggy Pop (as a solo artist)
-Roxy Music
-The Smiths
-The Replacements
-Black Flag
-Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
-The Cure
-Iron Maiden
-Motorhead
-Thin Lizzy
-The B-52s
Mind you, I’m not saying all these bands should be immediately ushered into the Hall Of Fame. I just think they’re that names deserve to be in the discussion, especially the older acts on the list (Gram Parsons, Scott Walker, Eno), who’ve been so routinely ignored that it’s almost physically painful. The Hall voters seem to be into including all kinds of music in their general “Rock & Roll” banner lately (see Madonna, hip-hop acts, etc), so I think the time is right to start opening doors to these artists, who’ve shaped modern music just as much as many of the bands already in the Hall.
For the full nominee list and accompanying blurbs written by the Hall Of Fame people, see here.
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