Rock & Roll Nominees
Nobody is going to ask for my vote on the recent nominees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but they should. I've been consuming this music at a furious pace for 25 years and have an opinion on most things rock and roll. I don't want to tell the hall of fame folks how to run their shop. But wouldn't you think that to make it in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame you should at least play rock & roll? That would be one of my suggestions. Anyways, here's the current list of the current nominees and my thoughts on whether they should be allowed entry into the vaunted hall.
New Nominees:
Miles Davis: One of America's most important and influential jazz musicians. I repeat jazz musicians. Verdict? No.
Cat Stevens: Was "Peace Train" really that great? Verdict? No.
Blondie: Toughed it out at CBGB's and transformed from rock to disco with the best of them. Plus Blondie was super hot back in the day. Verdict? Yes.
The Dave Clark Five: This was a "me too" band that tried to invade America in 1964 after the Beatles did it bigger and better. I can name all of the members of the Beatles. I can't name any members of this group, except Dave Clark. Verdict? Huge no.
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band: Don't know anything about them. But their name includes the word "Blues." Verdict? No, no and no.
The Sir Douglas Quintet: Texas garage rock band from the 60's. They were supposedly the kings of Tex-Mex music. I'm from Texas and have never heard them. Verdict? No.
Nominated again this year:
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five: Not exactly rock but I count rap as an offshoot of rock. Grandmaster brought us news from the street in the form of music. "The Message" was genius and set the standard for the genre. I wish rap had stuck closer to Grandmaster's influence. Verdict? Big yes.
Black Sabbath: I do not like Black Sabbath. They're a bit slow, heavy and ponderous for my tastes. But metal started with them. And what the hell would angry pimply 16 year-old boys do if they didn't have metal to listen to? Verdict? Yes.
The J. Geils Band: I have friends that swear that this band is really tight and talented. All I remember is Peter Wolf, his stupid striped shirt, and "Freeze Frame." Verdict? Hell no.
John Mellencamp: Johnny Cougar kept it real . . . real midwestern. His songs have been beaten into the ground on the radio. But they still were pretty good songs. Verdict? Yes.
Lynyrd Skynyrd: Here's another band I hate because the band promotes redneckism. But they were tops for southern rockers (it makes me cringe to write that.) Verdict? Yes, as long as they are the last southern rockers to get in --- no Molly Hatchet or Marshall Tucker Band.
The Sex Pistols: Are you kidding me? I can't believe they didn't get in last time. The Sex Pistols didn't invent punk rock but they showed us what it could be. "Never Mind the Bollocks" is the Beatles "White Album" of punk. Verdict? Couldn't be a bigger yes.
The Stooges: Granddadies of punk. Insane live shows. And Iggy Pop still matters. Verdict? Yes.
The Patti Smith Group: Another CBGB stalwart. The album "Horses" was great art-punk album and there was nothing else like it before. She even had a pop hit with "Because the Night." Verdict? Yes.
New Nominees:
Miles Davis: One of America's most important and influential jazz musicians. I repeat jazz musicians. Verdict? No.
Cat Stevens: Was "Peace Train" really that great? Verdict? No.
Blondie: Toughed it out at CBGB's and transformed from rock to disco with the best of them. Plus Blondie was super hot back in the day. Verdict? Yes.
The Dave Clark Five: This was a "me too" band that tried to invade America in 1964 after the Beatles did it bigger and better. I can name all of the members of the Beatles. I can't name any members of this group, except Dave Clark. Verdict? Huge no.
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band: Don't know anything about them. But their name includes the word "Blues." Verdict? No, no and no.
The Sir Douglas Quintet: Texas garage rock band from the 60's. They were supposedly the kings of Tex-Mex music. I'm from Texas and have never heard them. Verdict? No.
Nominated again this year:
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five: Not exactly rock but I count rap as an offshoot of rock. Grandmaster brought us news from the street in the form of music. "The Message" was genius and set the standard for the genre. I wish rap had stuck closer to Grandmaster's influence. Verdict? Big yes.
Black Sabbath: I do not like Black Sabbath. They're a bit slow, heavy and ponderous for my tastes. But metal started with them. And what the hell would angry pimply 16 year-old boys do if they didn't have metal to listen to? Verdict? Yes.
The J. Geils Band: I have friends that swear that this band is really tight and talented. All I remember is Peter Wolf, his stupid striped shirt, and "Freeze Frame." Verdict? Hell no.
John Mellencamp: Johnny Cougar kept it real . . . real midwestern. His songs have been beaten into the ground on the radio. But they still were pretty good songs. Verdict? Yes.
Lynyrd Skynyrd: Here's another band I hate because the band promotes redneckism. But they were tops for southern rockers (it makes me cringe to write that.) Verdict? Yes, as long as they are the last southern rockers to get in --- no Molly Hatchet or Marshall Tucker Band.
The Sex Pistols: Are you kidding me? I can't believe they didn't get in last time. The Sex Pistols didn't invent punk rock but they showed us what it could be. "Never Mind the Bollocks" is the Beatles "White Album" of punk. Verdict? Couldn't be a bigger yes.
The Stooges: Granddadies of punk. Insane live shows. And Iggy Pop still matters. Verdict? Yes.
The Patti Smith Group: Another CBGB stalwart. The album "Horses" was great art-punk album and there was nothing else like it before. She even had a pop hit with "Because the Night." Verdict? Yes.
posted by john clarke at 2:29 PM
4 Comments:
J. Geils: Funny you mention ''Freeze Frame''; I thought that was a minor hit compared to ''Centerfold'' (dorky lyrics, but great riff!).
Dave Clarke Five: No worse than the Monkees! ;)
--GG
I don't want to get all arguey, but you really can't say yes to rap and no to blues. There would be no rock if it wasn't for blues. I agree, Grandmaster Flash is genius.
My thinking on rap v. blues and jazz is this: blues and jazz were precursers to rock. And rock begat rap. So pre-rock artists are out. Post-rock artists are in.
I'm pretty much with ya
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