Music: 2019 Rock & Roll HOF: Embrace recycling

Jumptheshark

Rebooting myself
Oct 12, 2003
99,854
13,837
Somewhere on Uranus
I think the originally thin Lizzy needs a look at.

Bands from Ireland had trouble. Van Morrison from Belfast was able to it solo. But thin Lizzy cut the path for other Irish bands
 

Shareefruck

Registered User
Apr 2, 2005
28,859
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Vancouver, BC
The only thing worse than people who really care about the rock 'n' roll hall of fame are the musics snobs who really hate the hall of fame. It's entertainment
Personally, I find neither as objectionable as people who for some reason have a problem with others either hating it or caring about it, when both are perfectly valid ways to react to what they perceive as good or bad "entertainment".
 

Acadmus

pastured mod
Jul 22, 2003
16,963
180
Vermont
Not one act eligible for the first time was nominated because the Baby Boomer geriatrics who run the Hall hate newer music, so instead we get a bunch of acts previously nominated and a few third tier spares sprinkled in to round out this offering.

Here are the nominees for the 2019 class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with my perfect designations of who belongs and who has to buy a ticket to get in. Only five get in.

Devo - No. You could probably talk me into them on the influence side of things, but they were never really all that big.

Radiohead Yes. I’m not a fan, but I can’t deny their fame, longevity, contribution, etc.

Roxy Music - No. Wikipedia tells me they were some Brit band who never made a splash in the US. Their biggest hit was #30 over here. Sorry, they can go apply to the British Music Hall of Fame.

Rage Against the MachineYes. No real debate here. Hit the trifecta of being innovative, super famous, and influential.

LL Cool JYes. Shame he’s the only rapper nominated, but he was one of those breakthrough acts who helped make rap mainstream. He almost lost his spot though because of I Need Love. What were you thinking, LL?

MC5 -- No. This is part of the annual appeal to the Baby Boomer donors by nominating some third tier spare bands from the 60s.

Janet Jackson Yes. I’m not a fan of putting the pop/dance act in, but she was as big as they come for a pretty good run. She owned MTV for a few years. She also did an amazing job of distinguishing herself from her siblings.

Todd Rundgren - No. No way. This is all about dredging the bottom trying to find more acts from the 70s.

Kraftwerk - No, but you could talk me into them. They certainly meet the influence requirement. Generally, I'm going to say yes to a band who is credited with inventing a genre. In some ways they meet the fame requirement because everyone knows the Kraftwerk name, but where I struggle with them is they are a band everyone has heard of but no one listens to. When is the last time anyone sat down to listen to Kraftwerk?

The Cure - No. They would be a yes if there weren't five bigger bands or music media darlings already nominated in the class. Had a couple different runs of commercial success. Pretty darn influential. Their longevity doesn’t hurt.

The Zombies - No. It's time to be done with the 60s. That decade is done. It's been mined since the first day the Rock Hall opened. There is nothing left. Any band from then that hasn't made it in doesn't deserve it. The only reason leftovers like this gets nominated is to make the old donors happy. Stop nominating this B team band.

Rufus & Chaka Khan - No. This might be the third or fourth consecutive year they’ve nominated Chaka Khan. This time, they’re trying a slightly different iteration. The answer still should be no.

Def Leppard - Yes. Their run in the 80s was super impressive. They also wrote the most played strip club song of all time. It’s an impressive resume.

John Prine - No. Never heard of him.

Stevie Nicks No. She’s already in for Fleetwood Mac. Her solo work isn’t good enough to deserve special recognition.
As much as I can't stand that rap artists and pop artists, none of whom really do anything related to rock and roll, make the Hall, we'll take it as a given they're just as qualified and one rap/R&B artist will definitely be included in the class.

That said, on qualifications:
Devo - agree, no. Very well known because of an early era music video and a single catchy song, they were never enough to EVER qualify for the HoF. Mark Mothersbaugh should definitely be in the composer's HoF if there is such an animal, though.

Radiohead - I suppose. They're kind of a flash in the pan relative to some artists though...no clue what modern acts they inspired, though, short of Muse.

Roxy Music - Avalon was a certified-platinum album in the U.S. even if they didn't do much on the singles charts, and they were influential (even the Sex Pistols were originally named for the opening song of Roxy's second album when they went as The Strand). Bryan Ferry did more as a soloist on the singles chart, and of course the most successful member (though not an original member) was Brian Eno. Possible future pick in a dry year.

Rage Against the Machine - God, no...awful band that received way too much attention, and I've yet to hear a popular scream band influenced by them. They were about politics, not music, and their similar failure to significantly dent the singles chart makes me wonder why you'd say yes. I think you're overrating them as much as MTV did...plus they didn't last very long and have only a niche following.

LL Cool J - yes, for the reasons you said. And if he doesn't get in his Mama said to knock you out.

MC5 - who? I've listened to a lot of 60s music over the years, not sure I've heard of them. Oh, wait, I did when the third death of one of their members occurred in 2012. Proto-punk band from the sounds of things. Third nomination for the Hall, I don't really think they deserve the time of day.

Janet Jackson - obvious yes, topped the charts reliably for a decade with tons of #1s, top selling albums, famous pedigree. I agree pure pop artists don't belong, but the Hall says they do, so she'd be a top-end pick. Not her first nomination though, is it?

Todd Rundgren - no, I know who he is, but couldn't name a song he sang. Not a good sign given how much 70s music I've been listening to the last 2-3 years.

Kraftwerk - ABSOLUTELY YES, DAMMIT! Cornerstone of electronic music, charted on the U.S. singles chart in the midst of the classic rock and disco era with what at the time was completely experimental and unique music, influenced directly or indirectly at least half of today's artists. No way you honestly rule them out.

The Cure - Um, yes. Large cult following (saw them last year at Bell Centre, and they had the place packed), commercial success, influence, favorite of emo teens everywhere for 35 years, and yeah - the band's been together since the year I was born, some 43 years, and still drawing massive crowds.

The Zombies - again, very popular and successful band, influential, people still cite them as a favorite band of the late 60s. Going to Wikipedia, "Their 1968 album Odessey and Oracle is ranked number 100 on Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time." The Hall can't be done with the 60s until all great 60s bands are in...sadly, 5 entrants per year really slows the process down.

Rufus & Chaka Khan - no. B-list act from the 70s, Khan was more famous for her name and legend than her actual music, and they were pretty run of the mill R&B

Def Leppard - meh...pop rock, hugely succesful but did they really do anything unique? They'll probably get in some day but with this list I'm not sure it's their time.

John Prine - again, never heard of him, but he's won Grammys for his folk albums, he's a supposedly influential songwriter and artist "discovered" by Kris Kristofferson in the 70s. Seems like someone easy to overlook, though.

Stevie Nicks - Troy, you're kidding, right? She was very successful as a solo artist in the 80s, and is a living legend. She's a shoo-in.

My picks: LL Cool J, Kraftwerk, The Cure, Radiohead, The Zombies
My best guess: Radiohead, LL Cool J, Janet Jackson, The Cure, Stevie Nicks
 
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Acadmus

pastured mod
Jul 22, 2003
16,963
180
Vermont
agree with your assessment, but really want to find a way to squeeze The Cure in as a yes

the real crime is the bands not on the ballot...Soundgarden, NIN, Iron Maiden, Alice in Chains
Hall has its biases. The Monkees were far more influential than anyone gives them credit for (for instance, the inclusion of songs written by Mike Nesmith pretty much created the genre of country rock), and despite starting as a show band, wrested creative control away from their manager after More of the Monkees (their 2nd album) was released without the band's knowledge and they went on to make several great albums (Headquarters, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd, and The Birds, The Bees, and The Monkees). But they won't get a nomination to the HoF because a single board member has vetoed them consistently every year because he doesn't like them. Plenty of other acts that we think should get in don't for the same reason.
 

Shareefruck

Registered User
Apr 2, 2005
28,859
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Vancouver, BC
Radiohead - I suppose. They're kind of a flash in the pan relative to some artists though...no clue what modern acts they inspired, though, short of Muse.
How do you figure that? They've been famous and put out consistently strong/acclaimed/culturally relevant work for the better part of two decades now.

Coldplay and Blonde Redhead are influenced by Radiohead as well.
 
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kihei

McEnroe: The older I get, the better I used to be.
Jun 14, 2006
42,478
10,088
Toronto
Hmmm, More successful, Roxy Music or Bryan Ferry solo?
If you compare their respective greatest hits packages of each, it is pretty close, but much of what Ferry accomplished was more or less a logical extension of what Roxy Music had been doing to begin with. I definitely think that Roxy Music should be in as RM is both a great band and a band of influence and significance. I'd vote for Kraftwerk, too.
 

Aladyyn

they praying for the death of a rockstar
Apr 6, 2015
18,071
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Czech Republic
I'm not even a fan or anything but Kraftwerk are an absolute no-brainer.

Then again, this institution has proven time and time again that a brain is not something that's required.
 

Jussi

Registered User
Feb 28, 2002
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If you compare their respective greatest hits packages of each, it is pretty close, but much of what Ferry accomplished was more or less a logical extension of what Roxy Music had been doing to begin with. I definitely think that Roxy Music should be in as RM is both a great band and a band of influence and significance. I'd vote for Kraftwerk, too.

Yup, I pretty much remember about the same number of hit or memorable songs from both the band Ferry's solo career. "More than this" got probably stuck in many people's heads more recently from GTA Vice City. Where as I personally heard or rather saw the video for "Slave to love" in the 80's a lot.
 

Gordon Lightfoot

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I guess the definition of who gets in is too confusing. I think it’s best loved and highly influential artists who get in. I love Todd Rundgren. Some of his solo work is incredible. I really can’t say if he “deserves” to get in, though.
 

Gordon Lightfoot

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I can’t think of a current band with more critical and commercial success than Radiohead.
 

Moskau

Registered User
Jun 30, 2004
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Kraftwerk is one of the most influential acts of all time. Like... top 5 in all of modern music influential.
 

Lost Horizons

Registered User
Oct 14, 2006
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for those of you who don't know any Todd Rundgren song you know both of these:

If you've seen That 70's Show you know this:



countless commercials used this:

 

irishsetter13

Registered User
Jan 24, 2016
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I think my question is if Radiohead and Rage Against the Machine get in, what are the changes of one or even both of them performing?? Has anyone seen Zack since 2011? And I can't see Thom actually showing up at this ceremony.

What a potential dud of a ceremony if they both get in.
 

Acadmus

pastured mod
Jul 22, 2003
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How do you figure that? They've been famous and put out consistently strong/acclaimed/culturally relevant work for the better part of two decades now.

Coldplay and Blonde Redhead are influenced by Radiohead as well.
rethinking and editing error...meant to say "in relation to others who are or could have been nominated." Radiohead kept getting talked about over the course of 15 years, but their popularity peaked with OK Computer, and they started going off the board after In Rainbows. Given "Creep" debuted with Pablo Honey in 1994, and In Rainbows was in 2007, we're talking 13 years. Their biggest influence really was on vocalists, and for that really it was just Thom Yorke's influence. The meandering style of music they eventually developed alienated their early fanbase (honestly, even The Bends alienated some fans of Pablo Honey, though I really couldn't understand that from a personal perspective) and I'd argue really limited the number of artists they ended up influencing. That said, I'm not saying they shouldn't be in, just that there's probably other artists that should get in before they do.

I'd also argue Coldplay was less influenced by Radiohead than people think. Chris Martin may have taken vocal queues, but his concept behind his band was to center a band around a piano/keyboardist. And the first person he asked said no and went on to form Keane.

And you'll note, given the choices, I still picked them as one of my picks AND for my prediction of what'll actually happen.
 

Acadmus

pastured mod
Jul 22, 2003
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I can’t think of a current band with more critical and commercial success than Radiohead.
Then you're not thinking hard enough. Just quickly off the top of my head The Beatles, The Stones, The Who, Pearl Jam, probably Duran Duran, Smashing Pumpkins...there's a LOT of bands that've had more commercial and critical success. That's just scratching the surface of it.
 

Ceremony

Very Online Guy... perusing the forums
Jun 8, 2012
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Then you're not thinking hard enough. Just quickly off the top of my head The Beatles, The Stones, The Who, Pearl Jam, probably Duran Duran, Smashing Pumpkins...there's a LOT of bands that've had more commercial and critical success. That's just scratching the surface of it.
I really loved that album the Beatles put out last year
 
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Gordon Lightfoot

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Then you're not thinking hard enough. Just quickly off the top of my head The Beatles, The Stones, The Who, Pearl Jam, probably Duran Duran, Smashing Pumpkins...there's a LOT of bands that've had more commercial and critical success. That's just scratching the surface of it.

A current band.
 

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