Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

The dozen of us who care have a new crop. Who are your top five?

• JAY-Z
• Mary J. Blige
• Foo Fighters
• Dionne Warwick
• Iron Maiden
• The Go-Go’s
• Fela Kuti
• Kate Bush
• DEVO
• Chaka Khan
• Carole King
• LL Cool J
• New York Dolls
• Rage Against the Machine
• Todd Rundgren
• Tina Turner

My personal top grouping is only two. Rage and Devo.

How is Tina Turner not already in?

I imagine that Tina, Jay-Z, Foo Fighters, Dionne Warwick and LL Cool J are all good bets to get in. Chaka Khan isn't a bad bet.

Rundgren is so influential, but that's not what the hall has been going for, so he likely doesn't get in.

Although, every year I don't see Kraftwerk and Wu-Tang Clan is just another year that this continues to be a joke.

I'd personally like to see the B-52's and De La Soul get in there as well.

 

[Cratylus]

The dozen of us who care have a new crop. Who are your top five?

• JAY-Z
• Mary J. Blige
• Foo Fighters
• Dionne Warwick
• Iron Maiden
• The Go-Go’s
• Fela Kuti
• Kate Bush
• DEVO
• Chaka Khan
• Carole King
• LL Cool J
• New York Dolls
• Rage Against the Machine
• Todd Rundgren
• Tina Turner

Hmmm...


1. Tina Turner
2. Todd Rundgren
3. Carole King
4. Iron Maiden
5. (tie) Rage Against the Machine
5. (tie) Foo Fighters


Apologies to Jay-Z, but I just don't see him as a "rock and roll musician" despite his obvious influence on popular music in general. Same for Mary J. Blige and LL Cool J.

 

[Steve_424]

Hmmm...


1. Tina Turner
2. Todd Rundgren
3. Carole King
4. Iron Maiden
5. (tie) Rage Against the Machine
5. (tie) Foo Fighters


Apologies to Jay-Z, but I just don't see him as a "rock and roll musician" despite his obvious influence on popular music in general. Same for Mary J. Blige and LL Cool J.

“In some ways, it’s surprising that this generated so much controversy in the first place,” says Jason Hanley, vice president of education and visitor engagement at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland. “It’s not just rhythm and blues meets country in Memphis and rock and roll is born. . . . We have early influences from jazz, from gospel, from bluegrass and blues and all of those things. Just the way that we look at those many styles coming into the birth of rock and roll, we also look at the many ways that that moment broadens out into so many different musical styles that are under the umbrella of rock and roll. There’s already funk and soul and psychedelic rock and, in many ways, hip-hop is part of that story.”

 

[Randolphkeys]

Hmmm...


1. Tina Turner
2. Todd Rundgren
3. Carole King
4. Iron Maiden
5. (tie) Rage Against the Machine
5. (tie) Foo Fighters


Apologies to Jay-Z, but I just don't see him as a "rock and roll musician" despite his obvious influence on popular music in general. Same for Mary J. Blige and LL Cool J.

You are playing the separatist card, the HOF has already squashed that line of thinking... and with all forms of popular music abandoning the rigidity the record companies invented, it's the right move.

@Out of the Rafters at the Q they move some bands that deserve to be in out of the rotation if they just barely missed to give them a better chance the next time around. DEVO, Iron Maiden and Chaka Khan are benefitting from that decision this year... It's like they are a fresh choice again.

I will put my top five out there tomorrow. My wife and I just had an hour-long debate. It was a blast.

 

[Randolphkeys]

Devo rules and are from Akron. Gotta put them in, lol. Anarchists like Ween

I'm so sorry I missed this post two years ago... Yes, yes and yes. I can write a dork rock book right now about this thesis. Incredible.

Plow through as much of these two bands as possible whenever you can. They never cared about making hits, and what they both accomplished is a buried treasure for everyone who signs on and takes it in.

 

[Cratylus]

@Randolphkeys & @Steve_424 :

I fully understand that I'm using a more stringent definition of "rock and roll" than what has developed over time. Unlike the Hall, I'm more of a purist with respect to classifying musical genres. If I abandon my purist tendencies and simply rank based on how musically deserving I think they are, my list would be something like...

1. Tina Turner
2. Jay-Z
3. Todd Rundgren
4. Mary J. Blige
5. (tie) Carole King
5. (tie) LL Cool J

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

The core problem with the "Rock and Roll" Hall of Fame is that there just aren't enough good rock bands coming out each year to sustain 4-5 inductees per year. Once they used up all the "backlog", they had to really stretch both the definitions of who qualified, and the standards for acceptance.

Inevitably, it's done in by the commercialism aspect of wanting to have enough new inductees each year to attract attention and maintain interest.

Out of Cratylus' list, the only one I personally think both qualifies as rock (arguably, anyway...) and is of sufficient merit, is Carole King. Her songwriting credits are insane.

 

[WellYouNeednt]

I am just gonna say it, while taking inspiration from “The Dude” —

Man, I fucking HATE the Foo Fighters!

 

[bigking777]

Tina Turner is in with Ike and Tina Turner. Now she is nominated for her solo work
Carole King is in the RRHOF as a songwriter. She is now nominated again as a performer.

 

[Sebastian]

The core problem with the "Rock and Roll" Hall of Fame is that there just aren't enough good rock bands coming out each year to sustain 4-5 inductees per year. Once they used up all the "backlog", they had to really stretch both the definitions of who qualified, and the standards for acceptance.

Inevitably, it's done in by the commercialism aspect of wanting to have enough new inductees each year to attract attention and maintain interest.

Out of Cratylus' list, the only one I personally think both qualifies as rock (arguably, anyway...) and is of sufficient merit, is Carole King. Her songwriting credits are insane.

The list of great rock bands, that is to say on par with their predecessors, that have emerged since 2005, is incredibly short.

In 15 years the list of nominees will be a couple names long. And after that who knows.

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

I am just gonna say it, while taking inspiration from “The Dude” —

Man, I fucking HATE the Foo Fighters!

I'm unfamiliar with the band you're referencing.

Dave Grohl's band is just "Foo Fighters" without the leading article.

I also really like them. They're a blast live, and their earlier stuff still rocks for me.

 

[Randolphkeys]

As mentioned yesterday, I'm going to put my top 5 out there. I changed it three times yesterday.

JAY-Z has had more No. 1 albums as a solo artist on the Billboard 200 album chart than any other solo artist. He has co-written a metric ton of hits for other rappers. He's a first ballot talent.

The Go-Go’s can be debated, but I saw the excellent documentary on the band on Hulu this past summer. They had a polished preppy look, but this was a true rock band. They were the most successful band to come out of LA's late 70s punk scene. Belinda Carlisle was the drummer for The Germs with Pat Smear. The lead guitarist had a heroin addiction. They toured with The Police and fucked their way through Europe. Most importantly, they are STILL the only all-female band with a #1 album who wrote all their own songs and played their own instruments. The rock hall needs more GOOD female performers, so I take the Go Gos.

DEVO was so ahead of their time and just bizarre, that David Bowie plucked them out of Akron and championed them all over the world. They pioneered synth-punk which led to the creation of New Wave. And lately, Mark Mothersbaugh is an award winning composer for movies and a visual artist. In short, DEVO is really really cool.

Rage Against the Machine gets my vote over Foo Fighters because they are influential, but did the right thing by waiting for their second nomination. This is key because Tom Morello is on the nominating committee. He recognized other bands have been waiting and didn't push too hard their first time around. I expect Dave Grohl to have a similar influence on the HOF going forward, so I believe they will also take the classy road and wait it out.

Tina Turner gets my last vote because, unfortunately, I don't think she is in great health. If Mary J or Dionne Warwick got in and then Tina passes two months later, everyone involved feels like an asshole. Tina survived an abusive relationship and still recorded a bunch of hits. Plus her legs might have been the best legs in rock history.

 

[Benway]

Chick Corea gone now

 

[-Akronite-]

I'm unfamiliar with the band you're referencing.

Dave Grohl's band is just "Foo Fighters" without the leading article.

I also really like them. They're a blast live, and their earlier stuff still rocks for me.

Many people also add an erroneous "The" to Eagles.

I'll take New York Dolls, Tina Turner, DEVO, Foo Fighters (yeah), and... leaning Dionne Warwick. Rage is also a contender. My parents really like Rundgren but I don't know him that well.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

“In some ways, it’s surprising that this generated so much controversy in the first place,” says Jason Hanley, vice president of education and visitor engagement at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland. “It’s not just rhythm and blues meets country in Memphis and rock and roll is born. . . . We have early influences from jazz, from gospel, from bluegrass and blues and all of those things. Just the way that we look at those many styles coming into the birth of rock and roll, we also look at the many ways that that moment broadens out into so many different musical styles that are under the umbrella of rock and roll. There’s already funk and soul and psychedelic rock and, in many ways, hip-hop is part of that story.”

To me, that's something of a dodge by Hanley. Yes, there were "early influences" that came from different genres, and those "early influencers" were eligible. But modern jazz doesn't get in unless there is a fusion component. Country music stars don't get inducted either unless they are rock crossover. In fact, there is a an entirely separate Country Music Hall of Fame in recognition that it is a distinct genre of music.

I think that same consideration should apply to some hip-hop and rap. When you have artists who aren't incorporating guitars or other live instrumentation, or only minimally so, and it's all production, you're getting into a fundamentally different musical form. Arguably, it's as far away from rock as is country. Neither is objectively greater or lesser than the other, but they're just...different. Of course, that's the HOF's call, and there obviously is more money in casting their net as wide as possible, which explains why Hanley took that position.