The nominees for next year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony have been announced. I'm not too impressed. Here are the names and my thoughts on each:
Madonna - She's not really a 'rock act,' but she did have a lot to do with the popularity of MTV. She commands attention for anything she does, and for that I think she deserves to be in the hall of fame. Plus, I think her career is all but over, so let's put her in there before she tries to be relevant again.
Donna Summer - She's a legend in the disco world, but not really a legend outside of it. Not getting in.
Chic - That's Niles Rodgers' band, right? Well, they're another disco act, but they can actually play. I'll give them a maybe.
Afrika Bambaataa - I have an issue with hip hop and rap acts being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Ok, I'll give Grandmaster Flash the honor, because he was very influential. But Bambaataa had only one big hit, and if you ask most young hip hop fans who he is, most will not recognize his name. Let's save the rap nominations for really big acts such as Run-DMC.
The Beastie Boys - Well, they're very original, so they have that going for them. They combine rock and rap into one thing, so they have that going for them as well. I don't think they have the mass appeal to really deserve to get in, but I'd be OK with them being honored.
John Mellencamp - Yes. Absolutely. Indeed. Si. Oui. Ja.
Leonard Cohen - He never really had any big hits, but he's very influential and critically-acclaimed. I'll give him a maybe. If not this year, then definitely another year.
The Dave Clark Five - I'm too young to know who these guys are. If we have any room for them, then include them. Otherwise, I say give the honor to someone more famous.
The Ventures - I wouldn't call them famous either, but they were certainly on the forefront of the surf rock era. My intuition says give them the honor ASAP.
The Hall of Fame will induct five of these groups/artists next year. So who do I think should be honored? Madonna, John Mellencamp, Leonard Cohen, Beastie Boys, and The Ventures. That sounds like a good, balanced induction class to me.
On another note, I think the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame should ditch the "Rock and Roll" part of the name and call it the Popular Music Hall of Fame instead. There are many acts in the hall that are not, were not, rock and roll. I don't think rock and roll should be a euphemism for popular music in general. It cheapens and weakens the term. Rock and roll has guitars, period. Hip hop is not rock and roll. Disco is (usually) not rock and roll.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Like A (hall of fame) Virgin
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I'll go for The Dave Clark Five...they were quite big in the day...
I'm pissed that The Moody Blues never made it...and probably never will :(
Dammit, I hate Madonna. I know The Ventures will get in and I'm thinking DC5, too. Cohen will because of his superb writing, and so will Mellencamp, a man of the people. Screw Madonna.
Don't expect to be impressed for a while because we are just beginning the start of the 80's groups being eligible.
Also about the name, the Hall has a long standing view of letting non traditional rock bands in all the way back to James Brown who was an inagrial member. The just went with Rock and Roll because it sounded cooler than Music Hall of Fame. Popular doesn't work either because you have people like Patty Smith last year that really doesn't fit that bill.
And the Beasties Boys don't have mass appeal? I'm not sure I have met any guy my age that doesn't own Licence to Ill, some of which have it on casette, CD and digital. And if I am not mistaken, that was the first ever rap album to be number one. Then they became one of the biggest groups around circa the Sabotage era too. They have plenty of mass appeal.
Here is what my ballot would be: Mellencamp, Beatie Boys, Dave Clark 5, Ventures, Chic.
Re; the Beasties - what I meant by that was not the appeal toward people of our generation, but the appeal toward your average, beer-swilling, tv-watching American. Such American has probably heard of Madonna, but might not be familiar with the Beasties.
I do, however, think they should get in. They're original and mix rap and rock successfully.
Post a Comment