It gets worse.
The almost-always well-intentioned but annoying Steven Hyden of Grantland takes a disturbing look at the future of the always-annoying, not-even well-intentioned Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame. Check it out. Don’t shoot the messenger, Hyden, who is only doing the dirty work of confronting a credible future.
Which contemporary artists, if their careers ended today, would definitely get into the Rock Hall? Which artists need a little help? Who is going to get snubbed? The rank speculation that follows is rooted in five assumptions:
1. The Rock Hall will continue to exist well into the foreseeable future.
2. My personal taste will continue to run contrary to the Rock Hall’s choices.
3. The Rock Hall will become noticeably less rock-oriented in the years ahead. Pop, hip-hop, and electronic/dance artists will be ascendant. Metal and punk bands will (still) be largely ignored. But it will still be known as a “rock” museum.
4. The Rock Hall will always care more about commercial success than critical acclaim. But some critical acclaim is required.
5. None of this will ever matter, but I will find it interesting anyway.
Elo cheap trick deep purple yes. All once they are too old to play.
Peal jam
Black Crowes
Alice in chains
Chris isaac
Nora jones
Radiohead
Pixies
Motorhead (when lemmy dies)
Rage againts the machine
Nine inch nails
Janes addiction
Eminem
Bon jovi sooner than you may think
Stevie ray vaughan
Korn
Beck
Arcade fire
The killers (I really like them)
Aidele
XTC
Green Day will get in too
White stripes
What a depressing article! The only part I liked was the recognition that Captain Beefheart and T. Rex should be in the R&RHoF.
And I recognize that the depressing aspect is that I’m so old, I can’t even appreciate artists from the 1990s let alone the 2010s but, then again, for me there’s been no good music since 1982 (or is it 1983?).
Forget the R&RHoF, who will end up on postage stamps? I’ve lived long enough, I’ve made it to when Jimi Hendrix is on a US postage stamp!
http://parade.condenast.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/jimi-hendrix-postal-stamp-ftr.jpg
I’m so old, I’m replying to my own post!
Ehh? What? Speak into the horn, young man, speak into the horn!
I am not sure if his outrage is genuine or faux, but to me it makes about as much sense to get upset about this as it does to fret about who wins on American Idol. But I do think Pearl Jam should be in the rock and roll hall of fame now, preferably behind sound-proof glass.
I think that for the next several years we should have “Un”duction ceremonies. We should be unducting RHCP, Rush, all sorts of shitty bands. I want to start with Kiss. Let Gene touch that trophy, and then take it away immediately thereafter.
And make them pay a fine. They should pay a fine for acting like they mean something. Cuz they don’t.
Good list, though I suspect Isaac and Jones are long shots. I don’t think Korn is going to make because if they are going to honor a band for birthing Nu-Metal it’ll probably be RATM.
Building off of Jungleland2’s list I suspect the following have a good shot.
Soundgarden
Jay-Z
TLC
Lady Ga-Ga
Tupac
Pharrell
Need help:
Joy Division or New Order
The Stone Roses
Rick James
XTC?!?! (As much as I love them.) Chris Isaak?!?! For what, that one song with the model prancing on the beach? For his cameos in Jonathan Demme movies? I’ve got nothing against Chris Isaak, but I can’t see him getting the nod, no matter how low standards get. He doesn’t seem to have anything but that one song to make him special.
Definitely – and White Stripes too, as you point out next.
I like that idea!
Isn’t Stone Roses basically a 1-album band? Radiohead, Blur, and Oasis make it out of that scene.
If New Order weren’t so British they might get in before Joy Division. I could see The Cure taking that spot before either.
Interesting thought: What is the shortest amount of recorded effort that should still make someone eligible for inclusion? Is there any band that should make it into the Hall of Fame based on one album alone? If Television had broken up after Marquee Moon, that still would have been enough for me.
To push it further, is there any band who should gain entrance based on one song? Is there a 2 minute song that is so influential, well crafted, and “unquestionably musically excellent” that it should be sufficient to allow entrance to the Hall? I would suggest that a song like the Israelites makes Desmond Decker a better choice than Billy Joel’s entire catalog, but I’m not sure if that song alone is enough.
How about “Louie, Louie” by the Kingsmen? I think that was a pretty influential song.
Also, how many members of the R’nR Hall of Fame would still be there if they used the same criteria as the Baseball HOF?
Great and fair questions – and good initial response from diskojoe, but as much as I support the legendary status of the first Television album (at least through side 1, on which their entire legacy rests), I don’t think they should have been eligible unless they succumbed to a horrible, unexpected end to their career, like Sandy Koufax’s blown arm or Roberto Clemente’s plane crash.
There is some special category of entrants, I believe, for their “influence.” Some blues-gospel woman no one has ever heard of, for instance, will get inducted for such a profound influence, even though those who were influenced by her work never knew she existed. I could see the likes of Television getting in on that ticket. Same goes for the MC5. The Stooges, however, produced 2 (or 3) worthwhile, groundbreaking, archetypal albums. They fulfill the minimum requirements for regular induction.
One-hit wonders are probably in the R ‘n R HoF the way Don Larsen’s World Series perfect game is recognized in baseball’s hall.
Excellent example.
I think you need to have one major big deal of an album, like Never Mind the Bollocks. Other than that, much as my nerdy ass likes Marquee Moon, that album isn’t the game changing record that Never Mind the Bollocks was. It’s just not in the same league influence wise. I think The Sex Pistols are the only ones with one album influential enough to merit induction.
They should only induct one band or artist a year. Induct as many songs and albums as you want every year, but there should only be a few actual bands and artists. Rush is in there. Hey, put Tom Sawyer or Moving Pictures in there, I don’t care. But can anyone besides a die hard fan name a single song after Subdivisions or before Tom Sawyer? Same with Heart or RHCP. You can put some of their music in there, but as a band? No way. When you put them in, you have to remember they’re alongside The Stones, Buddy Holly, Elvis and The Beatles. Maybe 40 years from now Rush will prove me wrong, but i’m guessing in 40 years their whole catalog will be a nice price download of their entire career for the equivalent of five bucks, and even then people will just download two songs anyway.
The Sex Pistols with only Nevermind the Bollocks… is an excellent exception!
For sure The Stone Roses are a one album wonder, but essentially they launched Madchester and Brit Pop for good or ill. Further they were a critical and sales success. If Oasis and Blur get in and they don’t it would be criminal.
C’mon, 2kMan, how can you forget that legendary Rush mainstay “The Temples of Sphincter?”
I submit that the first Van Halen record a) is enough to get them in; and b) had massive influence on a generation of guitarists. Also, c) the aforementioned influence
is (almost) enough to get them un-ducted; and d) a breakup of the band or death of Eddie immediately after release of VH would have been best for everyone.
I was gonna say Nirvana is a shoo-in, but I checked the HoF to make sure they weren’t already in, and b’gosh they are in this year’s inductee class .
I suppose Foo Fighters will get in as they are apparently required by law to appear on every televised extravanaonza…with Bon Jovi.
GOOD LORD! What if there was a backlash amonst the voters and you had to be chemical/PED free to get into the Rock Hof? Jimi Hendrix as the shunned guitar burning equivalent of Sammy Sosa? It’s a hideous thought…