2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees POLL

They would be, though, if I'm reading halfway's introduction correctly.

ah word, i skipped right to the list.

The Shangri-Las ought to be in there, and so, historically, as the blueprint for every girl group that followed, should the Chantels.

i don't think DEVO will actually ever make it in but i thought the same thing regarding The Cure and Depeche Mode, so who knows. DEVO doesn't quite reach those bands heights. my vote nonetheless.

The Isley Brothers ARE in the HOF. They really have a problem of honoring the same people over and over again rather than those who've been overlooked. (For example, they had internal concerns on the lack of women inductees, so one of the first things they do is induct Stevie Nicks AGAIN. Meanwhile the Shangri-Las, X-Ray Spex, Lucinda Williams, Chaka Khan/Rufus and many others are still shut out.)

there should be no 'inductees' at all -- just make it a museum of the music -- but at least this way there's a furor/attention every year

Would you want the Baseball HOF to be just a museum of great games, though?

Never mind--I know you would!

^_^

"Leader of the Pack" is such a newbie/default Shangri-Las pick (but I guess it fits with the others on that list).

my imaginary five-act ballot:

Kate Bush
Devo
Iron Maiden
Fela Kuti
LL Cool J

"Leader of the Pack" is far from my favourite Shangri-Las song--there are at least four or five I like better--but I think it makes sense for the HOF.

I was thinking about my own most-egregious-omission, and I think I'd actually go with the Pet Shop Boys. I don't how much influence/historical importance you can attach to them--a lot, very little, I honestly don't know--but I think they've got everything else covered: career value, peak value, critical acclaim, sales, chart success, etc. Whenever they became eligible (2010?), I bet they weren't even nominated.

Can envision a compelling case for almost anyone on the list but to me Fela, Jigga, and Kate Bush are a cut above.

Wait until Morrissey snuffs it and then induct the Dolls a year later

Wait until Morrissey snuffs it and then induct the Dolls and the Smiths a year later

Fixed

I’m not anti-RRHOF, but Todd kind of makes a good point...

Rundgren called the Rock Hall "an industry invention" and argued that "true halls of fame are for retirees and dead people, because your legacy has been established." He added, "I'm too busy working to worry about my legacy — and plan to continue working until whenever."

"I'm a big Dionne Warwick fan, but name me one Dionne Warwick rock 'n' roll song," he said. "While I'm aware of Fela Kuti, I can't name a single musician who's ever cited him as a principal influence. Year by year it makes even less sense, so why would I be more excited about it or suddenly change my mind? Why don't they just start inducting blues guys? Why do they have to go to Dionne Warwick or Mary J. Blige?"

Yeah fuck that guy.

i really really really hate rundgren i hate him, hate his smug face, hate his shitty music

My personal feelings about his music aside, that's pretty bad. And laughable: "Why don't they just start inducting blues guys?" B.B. King and Muddy Waters were inducted in the first two years, Jimmy Reed soon after, and there's a whole "early influences" wing on top of that.

While I'm aware of Fela Kuti, I can't name a single musician who's ever cited him as a principal influence

...

i really really really hate rundgren i hate him, hate his smug face, hate his shitty music

^^^

I admit no-one needs Todd to say anything about anything.

It reminds me a bit of Clapton, in the ugly racial underpinnings (not even underpinnings, actually) and the cluelessness about what were supposedly his own influences: in the two or three year window around Something/Anything, when Rundgren made his greatest music, he was routinely thought to be heavily borrowing from Philadelphia soul.

"I'm too busy working to worry about my legacy"

but I thought Todd didn't want to work!?

I think Tom Waits had the best take on the HOF, which he gave right after he found out he was inducted.

“I never really cared about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame…but now I am surprised to discover how much I DO care.”

The HOF is kind of like the Grammys or the Oscars or any other high-profile "prestige" honor, there's a lot to knock about it. But it does mean a LOT to quite a few winners or inductees. In the case of the Oscars et al, it should be easy to understand because it's more or less their peers voting for them, but Greil Marcus got right to the point and I think he's right - if you can see it obviously means that much to someone, who are we or anyone else to shit all over it? I'm looking at a doo wop group or someone old enough to retire who barely got their royalties, in some cases still on the road trying to make a living without any of the glamor, and to them it feels like they've gotten their due. In some cases like Otis Redding, you have their widows still grieving over their deaths, and they're actually moved when they see how much they still mean to people. It ain't the same with someone like Journey and Bon Jovi, but I'm not going to take anything away from someone who gets to go up to the podium.

Johansen interviewed at Billboard:

Congrats on the Rock Hall nomination. When you heard about it, what was your immediate reaction?

"I have mixed feelings about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I don’t know. It's funny because as I was sleeping this morning, I was getting so many texts and messages. People in my coterie seemed excited about it."

Is it at least validating?

"To me the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame appears to be a racket. (laughs) I don't know what to think about it, I guess it'll sink in eventually."

If you get in, would you show up? Perform?

"I'm like, 'Well, what's the deal? We're nominated, but we're not inducted? We're not indictable?' I'm not even gonna think about that. I think about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as some homeless guy who comes in with a raincoat and a bottle of Sneaky Pete in his pocket. These guys have shaken him upside down till all the coins came out of his pocket over the years, and now they're gonna give him an award? 'Why don't you sing that old song you sang?' 'OK, sir.'"

lol <3

i really really really hate rundgren i hate him, hate his smug face, hate his shitty music

ugh there’s an awful ugly lyric in there I didn’t catch there before. sorry, folks, don’t listen to that :-(

upper miss otm I guess :-/ wtf todd

No way, Rundgren is great.

I don't agree that wishing the RRHOF would induct blues artists instead of R&B singers is comparable to Clapton wishing that immigration would stop before England became a black country, although it seems misguided.

It may not be comparable, but as noted above, there are in fact blues artists in the hall. He seems to think of Black artists as a single category. I don’t see him saying “let’s induct more old rock ‘n’ rollers before the Foo Fighters.”

thanks brimstead just another example of our cerebral pop genius at work

yeah, it’s like.. I was listening to “love of the common man” last night and it really is one of my favorite songs of all time... but ugh wtf todd

anyway, voted for the Go-Gos

I don't agree that wishing the RRHOF would induct blues artists instead of R&B singers is comparable to Clapton

I made the comparison in terms of their influences, not seriousness of what they said.

Todd Rundgren produced some records I really like and got Sparks their first recording contract. And...that's kinda all I want or care to think about re him.

I don't see what's wrong with "Love of the Common Man" other than perhaps vague humanism, and incitement to dive off ivory towers?

Oh, I guess you were disappointed with his comments above.

I hate what he said, but as an artist, "Hello It's Me," "I Saw the Light," "We Gotta Get You a Woman," and The Ballad of Todd Rundgren mean as much to me as anything from the era. And, to repeat, I hate what he said.

That's a good point, morrisp.

i was just mentioning "love as a common man" offhand, my disgust was at a certin lyric in "is it my name?", the video of which i had posted earlier in a failed attempt at lord alfred-style "reply to post about artist with lyrics by said artist". havent heard what todd said about the hall. i'll leave now.

i mean, i didn't know about the offending lyrics before posting the youtube. actually leaving thread now.

I thought those offending lyrics were meant as parody of the macho rock scene, as is the whole song, but I'll defer to anyone who doesn't approve.

D'oh! I'm such a blinky, would def have voted Fela if seen the name on there. He's been compared to James Brown and Ellinton and George Clinton, guess the latter could stretch toward the zings of Nigerian authoritah, that got him in so much trouble---so: Lenny Bruce as major band leader-? Later for all Western comparisons, but I found The Best Best of Fela Kuti to be an exemplary gateway, reining in/guiding the epic excursions to fit 2 CDs---still long, cos that's what he did, but the right ones in the right sequence for about 2.6 hrs, over the pulsating mf rainbow (they call it Afropop)
But I blinked to the Dolls, voted their own doll shop plastic meld of oldies from David Jo's collection---"Stranded In The Jungle," which has encourged lively ILM discussions, "Gonna Be A Showdown," and "Pills," speaking of crucial gateways:
While I was laying in a hospital bed
A rock and roll nurse went through my head
She says, hold out your arm, stick out you tongue
I got some pills, boy, I'm going to give you one, Hey Bo Diddley---bleeding all over their originals and it's a group effect, not quite the same even on his best solo albums: so, r&b and Bo and glam and punk and maybe some other stuff; anyway they did it, like nobody else quite did, ever, that I can think of.

Well kind of a VU effect at times, but not that cool with it, more of a caveman glam.

"Caveman" also part of the appeal, as w Sir Lord Baltimore, Blue Cheer, early Sabs, most of the metal I like.

Have Big Star ever been nominated?

Halfway there but for you at 2:10 13 Feb 21

I thought those offending lyrics were meant as parody of the macho rock scene, as is the whole song, but I'll defer to anyone who doesn't approve

ah the Zappa defense

or just edgelords in general

"Is It My Name" is really explicitly a parody, though.