THAT'S GOING TO BE ONE WEIRD CONCERT: Interestingly, our Doodle poll from earlier this year managed to almost exactly pick this year's inductees to the Rock Hall of Fame. All five of the nominees who the ThingThrowers rewarded with 50% or more of their votes got in--Public Enemy, Rush, Donna Summer, Randy Newman, and Heart. N.W.A. came in just under the 50% mark in our poll and likewise didn't make the cut from the Hall. We did miss badly on one inductee, though--Albert King got under 10% of ThingThrower votes, but will go into the Hall. We can already start looking towards next year, where we've got a mortal lock on the first ballot (Nirvana) and a bunch of interesting marginal cases (Fugazi, Phish, Morrissey), and I expect N.W.A. goes in next year, with a few voters shifting with "Public Enemy needed to go in first."
added.by.adam: Our Keltners for Donna Summer, Heart, and Rush.
I think I heard Finn whoop all the way from Chicago. re: Rush
ReplyDeleteOur long national nightmare is over. On the other hand, I've just lost my go-to joke regarding any Hall of Fame nominee.
ReplyDeleteRe next year: What to make of Melissa Etheridge? She's had an incredibly compelling story throughout her career - coming out, cancer, winning an Oscar and a couple of Grammys, career longevity - but will her musical legacy actually be enough to get her in? Should it?
ReplyDeleteShe's an interesting case--Yes I Am is a GREAT album, but beyond that one album, she hasn't had one nearly as commercially and critically successful.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Morrissey, you know who's an un-interesting, non-marginal case for induction? THE SMITHS.
ReplyDeleteAnd now the question is; since Rush is in, who now is the best eligible band/performer not in the Hall? I'm sure that someone has a ready answer for this.
ReplyDeleteVery curious to see the Keltners on some of those for next year.
ReplyDeleteHmmm....I think she's in the Curt Schilling Hall of Very Good for me. I'd like it if she's in, but wouldn't be my first choice. (Other interesting questions from next year; does Keith Richards get in as a solo act? What about Tracy Chapman?)
ReplyDeleteIn honor of Donna Summer getting in, let's also note that fellow not-rockers Tone Loc and Paula Abdul are eligible next year.
ReplyDeleteSmiths, Pixies, New Order ... any number of 80s/90s "alternative" bands before 1991/92 happened.
ReplyDeleteI feel pretty confident that no newly eligible artist other than Nirvana gets in next year.
Hmm, the other artist on that list that makes my ears perk up is Massive Attack. Not a first-ballot inductee, especially if Kraftwerk wasn't inducted this year, but I wonder if they make it in a few years.
ReplyDeleteFor me, Melissa Etheridge is the greatest female rock star since Heart stopped playing Rock & Roll (with that one exception of Joan Jett). I point any of you to her acoustic cover of Springsteen's Born to Run. She's a rock star. She's a Rock Star.
ReplyDeleteShe did it at the Concert for New York 10/20/01. You can listen to it on this page http://www.cincheetah.com/melissaetheridgerarecuts.html
ReplyDeleteYou're right, that is non-marginal. As in, no.
ReplyDeleteI am geographically obligated to say Hall & Oates, but I believe the correct answer is New Order.or Warren Zevon.
ReplyDeleteI will keep saying it: the Hall needs to expand its "Influencers" wing to include more contemporary bands with significant influence-but-not-fame.
ReplyDeleteI'm kind of surprised Zevon wasn't fastracked around the time of his death, so I think that ship might unfortunately sailed. I'm on board with H&O though, as long as they're inducted by Garfunkel & Oates.
ReplyDeleteI think the two big things working against The Smiths are (a) a bit of a pro-US bias that exists in the Hall selection when their largest success was in the UK and (b) the utter clusterfuck that a Smiths induction would be from a procedural aspect when Morrissey and Marr have to be kept miles away from one another to prevent violence from ensuing.
ReplyDeleteJoan Armatrading greater than all those
ReplyDeleteThe Cure! That is all.
ReplyDeleteSince you all raised it, my votes:
ReplyDeleteFugazi: no
Phish: no
Massive Attack: no
Pixies: no
New Order: no
Kraftwerk: no
Morrisey: no
Smiths: no
Etheridge: no
What, no vote for Warrant?
ReplyDeleteI had previously shilled for ELO or Jeff Lynne for the Hall. The 1978 Out of the Blue concert is now available on Netflix streaming. I watched it. I hereby rescind my plug. My new case is Weird Al.
ReplyDeleteso, Rush gets in and you want to bolt the door.
ReplyDeletethat's a feature, not a bug, imo.
ReplyDeleteTracy Chapman Tracy Chapman is a landmark. I think it's the equivalent of asking if Carol King gets in if there was only Tapestry. Yes.
ReplyDeleteYeah! (If only because the induction ceremony would be AWESOME.)
ReplyDeleteA landmark of what?
ReplyDeletewith the benefit of 20 years, I'd rank them Smiths > Rush > Nirvana. Nirvana's albums are uneven; Kurt was a terrible guitarist; and they are responsible for a lot of really bad post-grunge shit. That said, they're first ballot HOFers, but not because of "being a good band."
ReplyDeleteGram Parsons agrees.
ReplyDeleteWait? Zevon isn't in? That's ridiculous.
ReplyDeletehttp://news.yahoo.com/arrest-oates-bites-halls-face-221945924--abc-news-topstories.html;_ylt=AwrHgJkIYctQIzMAywT79XQA;_ylu=X3oDMTVxYm11bzZzBGNjb2RlA2dtcHRvcDEwMDBwb29sd2lraXVwcmVzdARtaXQDQXJ0aWNsZSBNaXhlZCBMaXN0IE5ld3MgZm9yIFlvdSB3aXRoIE1vcmUgTGluawRwa2cDMDkwMGY5YjEtNjFjYi0zMmM5LWI0YTMtZGIzNGFkYTc1YmEzBHBvcwMxBHNlYwNuZXdzX2Zvcl95b3UEdmVyAzA3NmJhYjAxLTQ1OTAtMTFlMi1iZmZmLTgwY2U2NGI1MDc2Mg--;_ylg=X3oDMTJwY2plNm1uBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDYjg1YThiNjYtZGFiZS0zM2QwLTllMDEtOWIwMGFjNzUwMWVkBHBzdGNhdANzcG9ydHMEcHQDc3RvcnlwYWdl;_ylv=3
ReplyDeleteLooks like you'll have to hold off on Hall & Oates until this blows over.
I LOVE Tracy Chapman (an old post of mine comes up as the #1 Google hit for Best Tracy Chapman songs, in fact), and think she's tremendously underrated, but no she doesn't belong in. Tracy Chapman is a great album, and she's written some wonderful material since, but not big enough, critically or commercially, to be in.
ReplyDelete