MEET ME ANYPLACE OR ANYWHERE OR ANYTIME: The 2014 nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame include a number of first-time nominees: Nirvana, as expected, in its first year of eligibility, but also Linda Ronstadt (eligible 19 years, but never on the ballot before), Link Wray (28), The Zombies (24), Yes (19), Hall and Oates (16), Peter Gabriel (11, but already inducted as a member of Genesis), and The Replacements (7).
Rounding out the ballot are the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chic, Deep Purple, LL Cool J, N.W.A., the Meters, and Cat Stevens.
[Among the excluded: The Smiths, The Cure, Kraftwerk, New Order, Sonic Youth, Warren Zevon, Bon Jovi, and every woman who played post-WWII non-country popular music not named Linda Ronstadt or in Chic.]
As always, we've got a Doodle ballot. Make your case here, and go vote there. It's so easy.
Seems like a small class year to me--Nirvana's a cinch, and I think Cat Stevens has a decent shot, but beyond that? (In Doodle, I also went Hall & Oates and NWA.)
ReplyDeleteThe toughest call, IMHO--Kiss. Extraordinarily popular and quite influential in terms of larger than life stage shows and branding performers (without Kiss, there's no Katy Perry, for instance), but the music itself is pretty awful.
I don't particularly think Deep Purple belongs in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. But if Deep Purple deserves consideration, certainly Blue Oyster Cult does. (And, despite being my favorite band, I don't BOC really belongs).
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, wow on Ronstadt (whom I touted but I didn't really expect would get the nom this year) and on the Replacements. Second of all, the Zombies REALLY came out of left field.
ReplyDeletePeter Gabriel (seriously, there is no way I'm the only vote for him on this ballot; I assumed he was already in as a solo act), Hall and Oates, NWA, Nirvana, Linda Rondstadt and The Zombies.
ReplyDeleteIt was their time ... of the season.
ReplyDeleteI can make a case for Link Wray, but more as an Influencer than a full inductee.
I considered protesting the vote for lack of Zevon on the ballot. He's a no-doubter for me. Votes went to two of the most influential groups of the last 25 years, Nirvana and N.W.A. Small hall and all.
ReplyDeleteMy inner kid from high school and college is depressed The Smiths and The Cure didn't make it.
ReplyDeleteOf course you're depressed; you listen to The Smiths and The Cure.
ReplyDeleteAt least The Cure put out some happy/peppy songs.
ReplyDeleteI wound up going small hall too -- H&O, NWA, Nirvana, and Ronstadt. I was close to pulling the trigger on Gabriel, Replacements, and Meters - though I couldn't quite get myself there, I'm open to being persuaded. And I fully agree with Jordan -- Zevon's continued absence from the ballot is gross negligence, bordering on criminality.
ReplyDeleteAs usual, the ones excluded are better candidates than the ones included. The only one I feel strongly about including is Nirvana. I voted for Cat Stevens because his induction would be awkward for any political stuff that comes up, and for Yes, because even though they are terrible, they represent a genre that is underrepresented. If you're going to include prog rock at all (and I suppose you have to since people listen to the stuff), who better than Yes.
ReplyDeleteMy actual ballot is Nirvana, Smiths, New Order, Bon Jovi, and Gram Parsons.
Yes was my worst concert experience ever. Imagine the prog version of Derek Smalls' free form jazz exploration at Puppet Show/Spinal Tap. The. Worst.
ReplyDeleteA public service message from Maureen Van Zandt on Twitter (who may not be unbiased; plus, the genie's way out of the bottle on her second point):
ReplyDeleteMVZaGoGo
@MVZaGoGo
Once again, no E Street Band in RRHOF. Start writing to
them, kids. This is a huge oversight. One of many , but still... And how about
they remember it's the ROCK AND ROLL Hall of Fame, not the hip hop ,jazz ,
whatever etc Hall of Fame
Now I want to know who "dewb" is and why he/she is the only ones beside me to vote for The Zombies.
ReplyDeleteLinda Ronstadt's first performance on the Johnny Cash show may have been her first national television performance... Audio is available on iTunes, she has halting dialogue with JR and then sings a Carter sisters song that is spectacular, feels like a 10,000 year old irish dirge in "modern" country clothes with a roots music vibe too and that virginal ethereal voice that was hers before she was a star. Ohmygodgolistentoit!
ReplyDeleteIn: Chic, Nirvana, the Replacements, Yes and the Zombies. With Donna Summer, who made it earlier this year, Chic was one of disco's finest acts and its greatest band; its influence extends into virtually all dance music -- and, through the magic of sampling, large chunks of rap and hip hop -- since around 1980. About Nirvana, just
ReplyDeleteremember how rare it is in popular culture for the best stuff to be also the most popular (the Beatles; the first two Godfather movies; next?). The Replacements were the second-best indie band of the '80's, just ahead of Husker Du and behind only the Smiths, both of which belong as well. (R.E.M. was great, but with more than two decades on Warner Bros., it long ago ceased to be an "indie" band.)
Yes has had an up-and-down career, but with the recent thaw in relations between the R&RHoF and the progressive rock wing -- Genesis was inducted in 2010, and Rush made it this year -- there's no real basis for keeping them out. (O.K., there's Tales From Topographic Oceans. But The Juliet Letters didn't get Elvis Costello blackballed, so Yes merits a mulligan on TFTO.)
Finally, the Zombies have been seriously underrated for decades, but Odessey and Oracle continues to gain them acolytes every year. 1997’s superb box set Zombie Heaven has also helped rehabilitate the band's reputation, as has the obvious influence on bands ranging from the Elephant 6 collective to Belle and Sebastian. Today the Zombies, tomorrow Love and Arthur Lee. (Forever Changes is one of the few 1960's albums on a par with O&O.)
Out: everyone else. I may post separately on why some of the others don't make the grade, but this post is already long enough. (Kiss is the closest call, but the first commenter nailed it: the band is important and influential, but its recorded output is remarkably thin on first-rate material, even if you count the heavily-doctored-in-post-production Kiss Alive.) As to those who deserve nominations: Gram Parsons of course, the Smiths and Kraftwerk for sure, and probably Warren Zevon.
I saw them on the 90125 tour, and I had a good time. Went with some friends who were bigger fans than I was and were still into classic rock. I remember the laser show being epic.
ReplyDeleteAlso epic was the tailgating in the parking lot beforehand. We were also able to move from our nosebleed seats to the 10th row on the floor and the new seats were near the coeds from UW-River Falls we'd partied with earlier.
To recap: it was loud, colorful, and I regret not getting that girl's phone number. Definitely a hall of fame concert.
I can't stand Nirvana -- never have -- but they clearly belong.
ReplyDelete