2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees POLL

That's quite a stacked field for Foo Fighters, Iron Maiden, New York Dolls, Rage Against the Machine and, oh why not, Todd Rundgren to run roughshod over.

no idea what 'rnr' means for the RNRHOF anymore, but simply going on age, todd, dionne, and carole king should def be in there.

I'm shocked Carole King isn't in already

Iron Maiden might get in just because they like to have "stand ins" for genres they aren't much interested in, Maiden could stand in for all the metal bands that existed between Black Sabbath and Metallica

really really shocked Tina Turner isn't in, weird

Blue Oyster Cult is never getting in

With or without Rufus, this is now Chaka Khan's 7th nomination. (Chic has had 11 fruitless tries, and haven't been nominated since 2017.)

just fill the ballot with Dionne Warwick and Chaka.

Ideal ballot:

Kate Bush
Devo
Chaka Khan
Carole King
Fela Kuti
Tina Turner
Dionne Warwick

Yesterday was Carole King's birthday! She's definitely in as a writer. Surprised Tina and Dionne and Chaka are not in yet. The others, I guess maybe less shocked, though of course most are more than "worthy."

She's definitely in as a writer.

ah okay that makes sense, they usually do a good job of honoring all the old school songwriter types

I wouldn't have a problem with any of these getting in. Except Foo Fighters, but it's inevitable might as well get it over with. Maybe except Todd Rundgren who I have a semi irrational dislike of.

Surprised about Carole King, too. I usually look at this subjectively and objectively, but I'd be fine with any or all of these: Jay Z, Carole King, LL Cool J, New York Dolls, Todd Rundgren, Tina Turner, Dionne Warwick. (If Turner is already in with her abusive husband, I'm not sure she needs to go in on her own--although, in that special circumstance, it's the preferable of the two.) I don't know Fela Kuti's music at all.

It's great!

Agreed. Still, that this is Fela's first nod feels like a big admission of "oops."

voted for jay

If Carole King's already in as a writer, there's no reason to vote her in as a performer except that everybody now living's mom owned a copy of Tapestry.

I'll vote for Devo, Iron Maiden (best live act in metal), Fela, LL Cool J, and Tina Turner. Fuck the New York Dolls and Todd Rundgren forever.

everybody now living's gay uncle, too

My mom never actually owned a copy of Tapestry, but when I was a little kid she used to listen to a radio station with a morning DJ named "the Mellow Mother," so I'm pretty sure I've heard the whole album.

i think i've posted enough bullshit on ilm that i deserve to vote in this

Are we voting for who we like best, who is most likely to get in, or who we feel is most deserving of admission?

Would say 1 > 3 > 2 out of those options

The Foo Fighters are almost certain to get in but I'm sure not voting for them.

burn this shit down. abominable institution

(Chic has had 11 fruitless tries, and haven't been nominated since 2017.)

Whoa, I could have sworn they got in at some point in the last few years but I guess not.

Most deserving, I'd say Carole King, but as a writer/performer, not just as a performer. (They should have just put her in for both the first time.)

For whose music means the most to me, it'd be Dionne Warwick, the New York Dolls, and Todd Rundgren, with the last two concentrated in a very tiny window of two or three years.

Foo Fighters are the Jack Morris of this HoF if they get in

you can search inductees here for reference

https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/a-z

In the end, it had to be Iron Maiden.

at least half of these are great but are we voting for the best or the most appropriate inductee (which may be the same or not but I have no idea how to judge- wtf does rock and roll mean?)

my fake ballot (idk what the limit is)
Jay
Fela
Rage
Devo
Dolls
Bush

iron maiden, judas priest, thin lizzy, etc. should have been inducted years ago

The limit is five (I was a voter the last few years; I expect to get a ballot this year).

the funny thing to me is non-metal people probably view Iron Maiden as derisively as Night Ranger. I used to tell people I was going to see Iron Maiden and they'd either make Bill and Ted joekz or go "omg Iron Maiden, they're still around? I remember them", like it was me going to Pete's Tractor Pull with 5 other fans to see "The Iron Maiden experience featuring Bruce D".

I don't think a lot of layfolk realize the vitality they still have in 2021 (which is awesome and amazing). i was kind of amazed a few years ago when I saw them at Amalie Arena and the 20,000+ seat arena was pretty much FULL. even Priest can't do those numbers these days (they do festivals and House of Blues-sized venues), and Slayer had a lot of empties when I saw them at their last tour (which was an arena tour).

xpost when u wrote Bush I thought you meant Gavin Rossdale jfc

Jack Morris is a good analogy (the Foo Fighters: winningest band of the '90s), except they don't even have a Game 7 on their resume. Harold Baines, maybe, except I like Harold Baines. I don't know if there's such a blatant long-term mediocrity that works as an analogy.

(xxpost my previous post was US centric so keep that in mind, but the RR HOF is US centric so *shrug*)

Todd Rundgren should be in as a producer alone, if he isn't already, both for his solo stuff but also for a ton of hit or influential stuff: Badfinger ("Baby Blue"!), the Band, New York Dolls, Meat Loaf, Psychedelic Furs, XTC, Patti Smith ("Dancing Barefoot"!), etc.

This piece by SF writer John Scalzi about seeing Iron Maiden live in 2019 captures their appeal better than anything I've ever read. Metal journalists are too close to the screen to see clearly, and as Neanderthal says, non-metal writers don't give a fuck. But Maiden are incredible live. Too bad there are no concerts anymore...

foo fighters won't win this poll but if they get in i won't be surprised. if they get in and turner and/or warwick don't I'll be violently angry

xpost when u wrote Bush I thought you meant Gavin Rossdale jfc

― he said that you son of a bitch (Neanderthal), Wednesday, February 10, 2021 9:57 AM (ten minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

i walk from my machine
to make a deal with god

No one else voting for Fela?

Jack Morris is a good analogy (the Foo Fighters: winningest band of the '90s), except they don't even have a Game 7 on their resume. Harold Baines, maybe, except I like Harold Baines. I don't know if there's such a blatant long-term mediocrity that works as an analogy.

― clemenza, Wednesday, February 10, 2021 9:57 AM (twelve minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

more like yadier molina, in that their stats don't measure up but they've been around for ever and have position-specific intangibles (for yadi, pitch framing and catcher defense, for foo fighters, dave grohl being both guy that everyone loves and a walking symbol for "rock lives on after kurt cobain")

No one else voting for Fela?

I will. I saw him live in '89; it was amazing. I'm pretty sure he played no more than four songs in two hours, and between the band and the female dancers, it seemed like there were 50 people onstage.

I would but Chaka forever.

tapestry was released 50 years ago today, so points for symmetry

i'm not gonna hate on any of these acts, but new york dolls/go-go's/ratm didn't really put out that much music. and as jaymc pointed out elsewhere, where are pj harvey/björk/tori?

Surprised the New York Dolls aren't in...well, not that surprised, since the MC5 also aren't in. But the Dolls and Fela easily, along with Chaka, Tina Turner, Carole King, and Dionne Warwick.

They should have just started with everybody in, and then every year they vote someone out.

I like that! This year's ballot: Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods, Matt Bianco, Rupert Holmes, Doctor & the Medics, the Foo Fighters.

Ratt gets snubbed again

The day Björk gets nominated for the R&R Hall of Fame, I'll start listening to Iron Maiden.

And if Fela Kuti can at least get on a ballot…

The more shocking thing to me is they haven't been nominated. I would have expected three or four unsuccessful nominations, then they get in. When I did this poll 12 years ago (my first ILX poll), they dominated. (None of the runners-up are in either...)

The Bert Blyleven Poll

Fela Kuti was hugely popular and layperson-level famous, though, right, just not on this continent?

(I do agree that Sonic Youth could fit on grounds of critical acclaim or innovation tbc, although my suspicion is the people who care most about those things wrt Sonic Youth may care less about the RRHOF.)

Sequel to Sadness (Sund4r) at 7:05 30 May 21

As a longtime fan, this doesn't surprise me much at all. They're not very famous, compared to most of these artists. I don't really know what being part of "rock tradition" means, in this context? Sequel to Sadness (Sund4r) at 7:05 30 May 21

As a longtime fan, this doesn't surprise me much at all. They're not very famous, compared to most of these artists. I don't really know what being part of "rock tradition" means, in this context? I don't think they've added many radio classics or standards for covers or that we're seeing loads of young bands playing in F#F#GGAA...? in F#F#GGAA...?


I mean.... there's tons of underground rock that's either directly or indirectly influenced by them, that balance of dissonance and melody is so baked in (SY and Mission of Burma), focusing on tuning seems weird

also what's true about this:
Sequel to Sadness (Sund4r) at 7:05 30 May 21

I don't think they've added many radio classics or standards for covers or that we're seeing loads of young bands playing

that isn't true about Zappa?

just not on this continent?

I always took the RRHOF to be pretty UCAN-centric, no?

I just picked that tuning as a random example. I don't hear that much of their influence in the kind of artists that I was thinking RRHOF voters would be concerned with but, yeah, I conceded that I wasn't thinking about artists like the VU and Zappa being included, as well as Tina Turner and the Foo Fighters. I do agree they fit alongside those.xp

Thurston Moore, in his own way, also kind of fits in with the Dave Grohl elder statesman/ambassador idea (Henry Rollins, too, although I'm less enthusiastic about him). Moore has always been a cheerleader for bands he likes, turns up in numerous documentaries, is kind of affable and unthreatening, etc. And if they do start to shift some of their focus towards women, Kim Gordon has to be at or near the front of that line.

I honestly have no investment in them being inducted in the RRHOF and it's not something I ever hear from SY fans.

Iron Maiden otoh

Fela Kuti was hugely popular and layperson-level famous, though, right, just not on this continent?

No, but don't discount the power of having a hit jukebox musical based on your work.

(xpost) No, I don't think their longtime fans would care, though I suspect some would get a kick out of the incongruity--like hearing that Apple commercial with Delta 5 right now. I'll be honest: my guess is that Moore very much wants to get in. (I haven't read Kim Gordon's book, so I don't know about her--probably not.)

I don’t get why fans of any band wouldn’t think it was at least cool if they got in.

bc the RRHOF is a ridiculous and meaningless institution?

trenchant commentary thread 3 could basically be this thread

xp Even if someone thinks that, wouldn’t they still enjoy / get a kick out of it? Who’s that terminally grumpy, lol

I mean rock & roll is often ridiculous, that’s what makes it fun

i refuse to listen to a foo fighters album

xp, i mean it's like getting on the cover of aarp magazine, good for them i guess?

At the very least it means a professionally produced video package on the history of your favorite band, that lots of ppl will see

Royal Trux could be inducted to the Midwest Auto Parts Hall of Fame and I’d be watching with excitement

Not sure why or how to explain it, morrisp - maybe that recognition for "critical acclaim and influence" by a hall of fame doesn't seem like much to get excited about? Maybe that it's the band that recorded "Kill Yr Idols"?

I guess I feel like you (or they) don’t have to take something seriously to enjoy your favorite band doing it. Isn’t that also part of the “punk rock” tradition? “We’re too cool for this, but we’re gonna goof on it?”

(SY also seem pretty reverent/respectful of their own idols, that song title notwithstanding!)

I mean, I'd watch if they were inducted but I'm not like writing letters or anything.

They could play “elegy for all the dead rock ★’s” [I know that’s Thurston solo]

Yeah, the song was more of a jab at Christgau than anything else. I meant more that it's a bit whatever if rock writers immortalize them, not that they have a philosophical stance against canonization.

https://www.insidehook.com/article/music/yr-kill-yr-idols-inspired-sonic-youths-iconic-song

Inneresting… I only know the “I Killed Xgau With My Big Fucking Dick” song (shows what I know!)

I just thought that was how they labelled the same song on one release - was there a different song?

Mayo Thompson recorded “Portrait of V. I. Lenin in the Style of Jackson Pollock, Part I" (several times)—and I’d shine all of Jann Wenner’s shoes if it meant I could somehow see Mayo up on that stage.

John Sykes’s, too. He could talk about his bud Mellencamp while I did the work.

At the very least it means a professionally produced video package on the history of your favorite band, that lots of ppl will see

― like a d4mn sociopath! (morrisp), Sunday, May 30, 2021 6:56 PM (fifty-four minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

i mean this with all sincerity: who cares

award ceremonies are fucking dumb

I think the only thing I really wanted from Jann Wenner was to see him eat shit and induct Rush, which he already did eight years ago.

xxp I thought all fans did! Honestly never heard of the “hate to see my favorite band on film / onstage / get recognition” kind of fan.

it's not hate it's a total lack of interest, oh boy jan werner likes royal trux yippee

we do have the rnrhof for giving us LULU though, so it's good for that

i guess i really like the speech brian may gave about def leppard last year.. or maybe it was joe elliott talking about queen... anyway it was sweet

For me I guess a big part of it is other people getting exposed to them (in these-never gonna-happen scenarios). When I love an artist, I want to share them with the world <3

(I also love a good retrospective video package, but maybe that’s just me)

the r&rhof is just industry self-congratulatory bullshit in a similar way to the grammys etc. but without even the idiosyncrasies of the grammys to keep things mildly interesting

Of 80s alternative acts, I'm a little surprised to see that Bad Brains and the Replacements have been nominated before Sonic Youth (Devo, Los Lobos and Jane's Addiction at least got played on the radio).
I think SY hung around so long that a lot of their vanguard aura dissipated (although that didn't seem to hurt R.E.M.'s induction). Also I don't think it's likely they'd play the ceremony, so no ticket sales.

well R.E.M. were a huge band (in addition to being innovative/respected, etc.); they were a shoo-in regardless.

IMO, it was their playing that hurt their induction… :(
(sorry, luv ya guys)

Bands should be retroactively uninducted for petty crimes

I actually think SY’s longevity makes the case for their consideration even stronger; they were still making good albums (almost) up until the end (I can’t rep for that final Matador one). Plus the New Yawk angle, etc.

Kim's gotten a lot of mileage saying that the Hall is more of a 'Hall of Clothes' (because of clothes>>anything else in exhibits), and that feels like something dumb enough for someone inside to get mad about.

"inside the organization"

we do have the rnrhof for giving us LULU though, so it's good for that

I thought it was Alban Berg.

I thought it was Maurice Gibb.