Ugh...Again
My yearly head banging is over. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has unleashed their latest members and while I can bitch a bit about this years list, it makes no difference to them what I think.
I am sure there are many readers that will agree that the Rock Hall has lost it’s way. The pickings at this point are pretty slim since they have inducted pretty much every worthy nominee and have decided to expand the field as to get a bigger audience for HBO.
It’s a shame. I could live with only two or three great artists getting in rather than 8 or 10 marginal artists to fill a stage.
Let’s go down this list and see how bad it really is:
We have to start with Cher. WTF!!! She is a cult figure of sorts, I guess but is she worthy of induction. No freaking way! Sonny and Cher were a popular duo back in the 60’s that produced a couple of hits and they had a TV show that lasted a few years. I hated Cher because all she ever did was try and act sexy and make her husband and partner Sonny Bono look like a fool. Sonny was the brains behind the duo’s success and he was also the brains behind whatever success Cher had early on. She sold almost 100 million records, you cry! I say I would rather sell 500,000 records of a classic than sell 100 million records of bad music. Wait, she was Gregg Allman’s wife for a bit, now it makes sense. She got her rock chops by osmosis. Ugh. One of the worst selections in history and I will never accept this.
Another head scratcher is Mary J Blige. Now I have nothing against her as an artist, this is strictly why in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? I don’t get it. She does not rock. She does not roll. She is a little bit soul and a whole lot of hip hop and rap. The Hall’s attempt at reaching a wider audience and filling up the three hours that HBO has allocated.
You can argue this one and I said in any earlier column I really liked these guys but A Tribe Called Quest was a 50/50 for me. They definitely use rock and roll influences in their music and I love that their stuff is complex and very tight but true Rock and Roll, I don’t think so. They are in and I will go to Cleveland at some point and spend some time at their display to try and get a better handle on why.
Dave Matthews Band was a lock for me. I am not a huge fan but they carry the Rock and Roll torch while there are so few others that do. They tour constantly and they never sound like some out of touch, out of tune group like the Beach Boys. They always sound like The Dave Matthews band and they deserve it.
Foreigner is another of my “I am not a big fan but…” groups. The more I look at them and listen to them I have to say they were actually very good. It is not their fault that FM radio overplayed every song they recorded. I am ok with this one.
Peter Frampton? Another lock for me. He is another aging Rock and Roller that is carrying the torch but he is such a class act and was truly a great guitarist in his day. I think this was long overdue but I am glad he is in. I might just watch his induction ceremony. I wonder who will present the introduction? I say Jimmy Page.
Kool and The Gang is another tough one but I don’t think it’s the worst call ever. They were the kings of Disco and party music in the 80’s and make no mistake, they could funk it up. Another reason to watch the induction ceremony.
Lastly, the master of Demonic Rock, Ozzie Osbourne. Osbourne as a solo artist is a stretch but I think it is more about his persona and all of the things he has done over the years to create and expand heavy metal. Dozens of musicians have claimed that Ozzie was a huge influence on their style and their careers. I get it. Plus he put together Ozzfest which highlighted Heavy metal and brought together the known and the unknown in that world. I would have checked him off if I had a ballot.
Overall, this is not the worst class I have ever seen and maybe there is some hope for this institution. Obviously, there are some glaring holes in the Rock Hall’s roster and maybe over the next couple of years they will correct that.
The Musical Excellence award has me a little perplexed. Are these guys in through the front door or through some side door on Lake Erie? Jimmy Buffet, MC5, Dionne Warwick and Norman Whitfield all should be in with no asterisk, why this?
Ditto, John Mayal. The Godfather of British Blues influenced as many artists in England as anyone and should have been inducted years ago. Another in the through the backdoor slap on the back.
Getting back to my column of who should be in and who should never be mentioned in the same breath.
Coldplay, didn’t get in. Judging from the weakness every year of the nominees, they will eventually get in by default.
Same with The White Stripes.
Iron maiden should eventually get in but it may take a while.
Sting should have been elected in years ago. His solo work is very very solid and he has one of the most unique voice in rock.
The rest of the trash heap should never even be on any list. Alanis Morisette? Mariah Carey? Jeez, what are these people thinking.
Until next February…