Vintage Vinyl News ran an interesting article last week about the next
batch of nominees eligible for induction to The Rock And Roll Hall Of
Fame.
Sounds like there are some pretty slim pickings coming up, based on the criteria of an artist having had to have made their first recording 25 years earlier.
They suggest that the BEST group of "new" nominees eligible this year would include A Tribe Called Quest, Alice In Chains, Blues Traveler, Blur, En Vogue, Hole, Ice Cube, Kid Rock, Mariah Carey, Moby, Nelson and The Smashing Pumpkins.
As covered SO many times before in Forgotten Hits, The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame has become SO diluted with artists of this caliber that it has lost all meaning to any REAL fans of rock and roll music. The very suggestion that ANY of these artists deserve to be enshrined alongside worthy Hall Of Famers like The Beatles, Elvis, The Rolling Stones, Buddy Holly, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, The Beach Boys, Sam Cooke, etc., is nothing short of pure insanity.
Since there are so few worthy choices for consideration (and the next couple of years don't look a whole lot stronger), wouldn't this be the PERFECT time to FINALLY induct some of the Deserving and Denied Artists The Hall has overlooked for SO many years???
Artists like Chicago, The Guess Who, The Moody Blues, Yes, Pat Benatar (Joan Jett is in and Pat Benatar's never even been nominated???), ELO, Chubby Checker (the ONLY artist to top the charts TWICE with the same record ... and cause a national dance sensation in the process), The Zombies, Ed Sullivan and The Doobie Brothers ... could FINALLY take their rightful place in The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame ... and they could still save face by inducting their own personal faves like NWA (a shoe-in this year thanks to the success of the film "Straight Outta Compton", despite several previous nominations with no cigar), Chic, LL Cool J and newbies most likely to get a nod ... Mariah Carey, Ice Cube, Moby, Kid Rock, Alice In Chains and The Smashing Pumpkins. (Again, inducting The Smashing Pumpkins ahead of Chicago is sacrilege to me ... but The Hall Of Fame isn't looking to win over any new fans ... every year they go out of their way to induct a couple of "head scratchers" that NOBODY would have EVER dreamed would be worthy of such an honor.)
But the thing is, it's no longer "such an honor" ... and last year The Hall eliminated about a third of the nominating committee, perhaps because they, too, felt the recent batch of choices have been embarrassing and ludicrous ... and that their voices (and any line of reasoning) were no longer being heard. (Unfortunately, with the loss of support of knowledgeable rockologists, our long-forgotten heroes would seem to have even LESS of a chance of every being duly recognized.)
We've made our position known on this for YEARS now. You can read the Vintage Vinyl take here:
http://www.vintagevinylnews.com/2015/09/are-there-any-artists-newly-eligible.html?utm_source=VVN+Music+E-Mail+Subscribers&utm_campaign=82b24f338d-September+25%2C+2015+Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3a4dfe0b50-82b24f338d-89761121 ...
They bring up some other good suggestions like Emerson Lake and Palmer, King Crimson, Deep Purple, Dick Dale, Nilsson, Joe Cocker and others. (How about Jethro Tull and The Cars? I thought The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame was built to recognize artists who took the art form to new heights and dimensions.)
This is the year The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame can FINALLY make things right with so many of the artists they've snubbed over the years. But I've got to be honest with you ... I have absolutely NO reason to believe that they will ... because they simply don't care ... and it's because of this that the public no longer cares either. The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame has become more about the ceremony than the worthiness of the artists it inducts. But I ask you ... who's going to sell more $10,000 tables ... Chicago, The Guess Who and The Moody Blues ... or Blur, En Vogue and Nelson???
Sounds like there are some pretty slim pickings coming up, based on the criteria of an artist having had to have made their first recording 25 years earlier.
They suggest that the BEST group of "new" nominees eligible this year would include A Tribe Called Quest, Alice In Chains, Blues Traveler, Blur, En Vogue, Hole, Ice Cube, Kid Rock, Mariah Carey, Moby, Nelson and The Smashing Pumpkins.
As covered SO many times before in Forgotten Hits, The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame has become SO diluted with artists of this caliber that it has lost all meaning to any REAL fans of rock and roll music. The very suggestion that ANY of these artists deserve to be enshrined alongside worthy Hall Of Famers like The Beatles, Elvis, The Rolling Stones, Buddy Holly, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, The Beach Boys, Sam Cooke, etc., is nothing short of pure insanity.
Since there are so few worthy choices for consideration (and the next couple of years don't look a whole lot stronger), wouldn't this be the PERFECT time to FINALLY induct some of the Deserving and Denied Artists The Hall has overlooked for SO many years???
Artists like Chicago, The Guess Who, The Moody Blues, Yes, Pat Benatar (Joan Jett is in and Pat Benatar's never even been nominated???), ELO, Chubby Checker (the ONLY artist to top the charts TWICE with the same record ... and cause a national dance sensation in the process), The Zombies, Ed Sullivan and The Doobie Brothers ... could FINALLY take their rightful place in The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame ... and they could still save face by inducting their own personal faves like NWA (a shoe-in this year thanks to the success of the film "Straight Outta Compton", despite several previous nominations with no cigar), Chic, LL Cool J and newbies most likely to get a nod ... Mariah Carey, Ice Cube, Moby, Kid Rock, Alice In Chains and The Smashing Pumpkins. (Again, inducting The Smashing Pumpkins ahead of Chicago is sacrilege to me ... but The Hall Of Fame isn't looking to win over any new fans ... every year they go out of their way to induct a couple of "head scratchers" that NOBODY would have EVER dreamed would be worthy of such an honor.)
But the thing is, it's no longer "such an honor" ... and last year The Hall eliminated about a third of the nominating committee, perhaps because they, too, felt the recent batch of choices have been embarrassing and ludicrous ... and that their voices (and any line of reasoning) were no longer being heard. (Unfortunately, with the loss of support of knowledgeable rockologists, our long-forgotten heroes would seem to have even LESS of a chance of every being duly recognized.)
We've made our position known on this for YEARS now. You can read the Vintage Vinyl take here:
http://www.vintagevinylnews.com/2015/09/are-there-any-artists-newly-eligible.html?utm_source=VVN+Music+E-Mail+Subscribers&utm_campaign=82b24f338d-September+25%2C+2015+Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3a4dfe0b50-82b24f338d-89761121 ...
They bring up some other good suggestions like Emerson Lake and Palmer, King Crimson, Deep Purple, Dick Dale, Nilsson, Joe Cocker and others. (How about Jethro Tull and The Cars? I thought The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame was built to recognize artists who took the art form to new heights and dimensions.)
This is the year The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame can FINALLY make things right with so many of the artists they've snubbed over the years. But I've got to be honest with you ... I have absolutely NO reason to believe that they will ... because they simply don't care ... and it's because of this that the public no longer cares either. The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame has become more about the ceremony than the worthiness of the artists it inducts. But I ask you ... who's going to sell more $10,000 tables ... Chicago, The Guess Who and The Moody Blues ... or Blur, En Vogue and Nelson???
And let's not forget about all the "feel-good" rockers of the '60's and '70's whose music still holds up incredibly well today ... artists like Tommy James and the Shondells, The Turtles, The Monkees, Herman's Hermits, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Three Dog Night, Johnny Rivers, The Grass Roots, Jan and Dean, The Fifth Dimension, Blood Sweat and Tears, Loggins and Messina and Freddy Cannon.
The official list of nominees for The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2016 is expected to be released any day now. It'll be interesting to see if ANY of these long neglected, deserving and denied artists finally make the cut. (kk)
Other predictions:
http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2015/10/rock_and_roll_hall_of_fame_pre.html
Meanwhile, here's a far more telling list of "eligible" artists ...
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/weekend-rock-question-who-should-enter-the-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-next-20150424
This list comes from Rolling Stone Magazine, headed up by Jann Wenner, who also has been criticized numerous times over the years (including right here in Forgotten Hits) of building his own, personal Hall of Fame with little regard for facts, figures and overall appeal.
Once glance at THIS list will show you why the most deserving and denied artists on OUR list may never earn their rightful spot in the hallowed Hall.
Smashing Pumpkins, Blur, A Tribe Called Quest, Alice in Chains, the Black Crowes, N.W.A, the Smiths, Sonic Youth, Pixies, the Replacements, the Cure, Joy Division, New Order, Devo, Cheap Trick, Television, Yes, King Crimson, Deep Purple, Motorhead, LL Cool J, De La Soul, the New York Dolls, MC5 and Depeche Mode ... all apparently (in the eyes of Jann Wenner anyway ... and as we've learned over the years, the only opinion that really counts) ... FAR more deserving for their MASSIVE contributions to the evolution of rock and roll than The Guess Who, Chicago, The Moody Blues, The Zombies, Tommy James and the Shondells, Electric Light Orchestra, Blood Sweat and Tears, The Monkees, Jan and Dean and Three Dog Night. (What's wrong with THIS picture?!?!?)
Stay tuned ... further disappointment is most likely right around the corner. (kk)
