Rock and Roll Hall of Lame

  So much for posting everyday... Anyhow, on with this entry. So, the nominations for the 2011 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees will be announced tomorrow. As I am a devoted rock geek, it is my duty to pontificate over who may be inducted, who should be inducted, who will likely never be inducted, and who shouldn't have been inducted.

  The qualifications for nomination are pretty simple; the band or artist must have released their first album at least 25 years ago to be considered. That means any artist that released an album prior to, or in 1985 (and is not already inducted, of course) is technically eligible. The nominees are voted upon by a group of "industry insiders," much like The Academy Awards. And like any award voting and ceremony, there have been controversial omissions (snubs, if you will) and inclusions in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

   One of the big issues among fans is, what exactly qualifies as rock and roll? The easier question is, what isn't rock and roll. Most fans would say rap/hip hop isn't rock and roll. Disco certainly isn't rock and roll, as they were sworn enemies back in the 70's. Dance music is decidedly not rock and roll. And yet, Run DMC, a rap group, were inducted in 2009. ABBA, a dance and disco band, were inducted in 2010. The Bee Gees, kings of disco, were inducted in 1997. Madonna, queen of pop and dance music who now uses a guitar as a prop to try to increase her rock credibility, was inducted in 1998. In the eyes of many rock fans, these bands don't belong in the ROCK and ROLL hall of fame. Another hall of fame, certainly; but not rock and roll. Run DMC are/were a great rap group. But their only rock and roll connection is a duet with Aerosmith, which was nothing more that a reworked version of the classic Aerosmith song Walk This Way. ABBA were hugely popular...among disco fans. Short short wearing, roller skating, soulless music loving disco fans. Same with the Bee Gees. And Madonna may be the Material Girl, but she's not rock and roll.

   But the bigger issue among fans is, how can you induct "X" band, and not "Y" band? Some of the most controversial snubs include: Kiss, Alice Cooper, New York Dolls, and Rush. Kiss and Rush were eligible back in 1999. New York Dolls were eligible in 1998. Alice Cooper was eligible back in 1994. 1994! None of them have been inducted. Yet Run DMC and Madonna were both inducted the first year they were eligible. The criteria behind who gets in and who doesn't is about as legitimate as an exclusive night club's admission system. If you're pretty, i.e. if you'll make the club look good, you're in. Kiss, Alice Cooper, and the New York Dolls are all decidedly not pretty bands. They were all controversial bands in their heyday. But that's what made them great. And talk about influential... If it's really a measure of importance within the rock and roll musical genre, they all measure up. Kiss inspired hundreds of musicians across many genres of music. Alice Cooper invented theatrical rock shows. The New York Dolls lead to the creation of punk rock and glam rock. If it's about musicianship, certainly Neil Peart alone should have earned Rush a nod. But Rush has Neal Peart, one of the best drummers ever to live, AND Geddy Lee, one of the best bass players to ever live, AND Alex Lifeson, a fantastic guitarist. Madonna dressed like a whore and writhed around in a wedding dress. Then she promoted lipstick lesbianism by kissing Brittany Spears and Christina Aguilera as a publicity stunt.

  As for my own list of snubs, How about Les Paul? He only INVENTED the quintessential rock and roll guitar. Oh, and double tracking. And he played rock music well into his nineties. But no, I guess he's not good enough. How about Leadbelly? BB King, Bo Diddley, Marvin Gaye, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Miles Davis... All inducted, but no love for Leadbelly? Maybe he's too obscure. Well, how about Thin Lizzy? They inspired countless bands, and The Boys Are Back In Town is heard in nearly every sports arena that exists. Black Flag? Eligible since 2006, depending on what constitutes an "album" by the voting standards. They pushed the boundaries of punk rock by infusing free form jazz and metal. They wrote the book on do-it-yourself mentality, and their touring work ethic is legendary and unmatched. How about Blue Oyster Cult? The kings of cowbell. Without them, everyone would still fear the reaper, and umlauts would be under utilized.

   In my eyes, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a sham until The Misfits are inducted. Maybe that's fanboyism though. In they heyday, they weren't very well known. They didn't become widely recognized until Metallica covered their songs, and renewed interest in the Misfits. Still, they invented horrorpunk. And the Crimson Ghost logo is everywhere now. They've earned respect among many artists, and they've inspired many bands these days. I would also include Minor Threat. Their often impromptu shows and do-it-yourself practices set the model by which all bands should follow. But, they were a regional favorite I suppose. Maybe too obscure in the great schemata. How about Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Slayer, Anthrax, Megadeth, Pantera... Heavy metal is sorely under-represented in the H.O.F. Metallica, Van Halen, Black Sabbath and AC/DC are the only ones that have been inducted thus far. To be fair, many of the classic metal bands are either just now eligible, or have only been eligible in the past few years, with most of them releasing their first albums in the early 80's. Even so, if you recognize Run DMC for their duet with Aerosmith, you can't ignore Anthrax. They did a duet with Public Enemy that was equally uniting.

  Buzzcocks, Bauhaus, Bad Brains, Pogues, Chicago, the Cramps, Dead Kennedys, Devo, Donovan, The Knack, Meat Puppets, Sonic Youth, X, Ministry, Starz, The Cure, Exodus, Daniel Johnston... Certainly some of those bands should be in. And that's just the bands that I pulled from my iTunes list. There are countless other bands that deserve recognition.

  So, who will be inducted? I don't know... With so many big names eligible this year, it will be hard to pinpoint who will be nominated, much less inducted. Undoubtedly, there will be some who really deserve it. The voting committee will likely try to correct some of their snubs, as they did last year by finally inducting The Stooges. maybe this will be the year Alice Cooper et al are finally recognized. Or at least one of them. They'll also likely try to seem hip and cool, and that means LL Cool J could get in based on his acting career and deodorant commercial. They'll pull some from left field, so who knows... A Flock of Seagulls could end up with a nomination, for having rock and roll... hair. And without fail, nerds like me will take to their blogs tomorrow night to rant and rave until next year.

So look forward to that.