Our family recently drove from Chicago to Virginia.\u00a0 On the way back, we made it all the way to Cleveland before calling it a night.\u00a0 The next day, we took in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.\u00a0 I was really looking forward to going, and for the most part it did not disappoint.<\/p>\n
Some of the items I saw were absolutely incredible.\u00a0 Joe Strummer’s guitar from his days with The Clash blew me away.\u00a0 It looked like a spray painted piece of cardboard taped to the end of a yard stick, with a few strings (no way there was 6)\u00a0 meandering from one end to the other.\u00a0 It certainly wasn’t a trophy guitar.\u00a0 It was a tool that was used and abused…to help create some of the best music of my lifetime.<\/p>\n
http:\/\/youtu.be\/_5t0euQvYlQ<\/p>\n
But this post is really about what happened after our visit.\u00a0 I was googling for information on the R&R HOF and what I found shocked me.\u00a0 There are SO many performers worthy of induction into the HOF that are not yet in there.\u00a0 And what really brings this into focus is some of the acts that ARE in the HOF.<\/p>\n
KISS is NOTin the HOF, but Alice Cooper is.\u00a0 I like Alice Cooper, but he\/they would be an opening act (at best) for KISS at every point in time over their respective careers.<\/p>\n
The Heartbreakers are in the HOF, but the E Street Band in NOT.\u00a0 Bruce Springsteen is in the HOF, but I’ve never considered The Boss a solo artist with a back up band.\u00a0 Besides Mike Campbell, I couldn’t name a Heartbreaker and would walk past each and every one of them if I saw them on the street.\u00a0 The E Street Band is loaded with characters who have elevated Springsteen’s music to unbelievable heights.\u00a0 The Big Man, Little Steven, Roy, Max, etc.\u00a0 Did others besides Tom Petty write lyrics and\/or music?\u00a0 Handle the arrangements?\u00a0 If so, and I’m a Heartbreaker, I’m pissed that TP got to put his name out front.\u00a0 And for some reason I don’t think someone with a HOF ballot looks that closely into such things.\u00a0 Maybe I’m wrong.\u00a0 But what a crock.<\/p>\n
Onto another category of Ins and Outs.<\/p>\n
In:\u00a0 The Stooges, Dusty Springfield, Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck as a solo artist, and The Velvet Underground.\u00a0 I could have named more, and I decided to leave off people\/groups I’ve never even heard of.<\/p>\n
Not In: The Cure, Dire Straits, Hall and Oates, Jim Croce, Journey, The Moody Blues, Peter Gabriel, Roxy Music, and The Steve Miller Band.\u00a0 I easily could have named 20 more.<\/p>\n
This is flabbergasting. Ask a thousand people what trait is most important in earning a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.\u00a0 You probably will hear:\u00a0 Sold A Lot Of Records, Kicked Ass When Playing Live, Stayed Relevant For A Long Time, Were Respected By Their Peers, Were The First To…, Were The Best At…, Influenced People And Other Bands, and In One Way Or Another Have Indelibly Left Their Mark On The Music Business.<\/p>\n
I’ve been sitting here trying to figure out why some “In’s” are in and why some “Not In’s” are not in.\u00a0 Granted, it could be parts of many reasons, but the only angle I can come up with is the nebulous “Influential” tag assigned to some and not assigned to others.<\/p>\n
The issue of influence was readily apparent in the wake of Lou Reed’s death a few weeks ago.\u00a0 I believe it was Brian Eno who said something to the effect of: Only a few thousand people bought the Velvet Underground’s first album, but every one of them started a band.\u00a0 The cynic inside me says that was possible because no one in Velvet Underground could sing and anyone with more than 2 music lessons could replicate their music.<\/p>\n
Is Daryl Hall not influential enough because only a handful of people on earth can sing like he can? \u00a0 Is Roxy Music not influential enough because their style couldn’t be replicated and was decades ahead of its time?\u00a0 I seriously want an Official of the R&R HOF to explain how The Stooges got in before Roxy Music…or how The Stooges got in before anybody for that matter.\u00a0 Name one member of The Stooges.\u00a0 Don’t say the stage name Iggy Pop.\u00a0 What’s his real name?\u00a0 No one knows.\u00a0 No one cares.\u00a0 I think he’s from Detroit.\u00a0 Whatever.<\/p>\n
The proverbial straw.<\/p>\n
Further googling unearthed the most blatant omission.\u00a0 The band Chicago is not in the R&R HOF.\u00a0 The omission is bad enough, but the story, or lack thereof, concerning the omission has relegated the R&R HOF to Pro Wrestling status.\u00a0 What I mean is I may still enjoy it every once in a while, but I’ll never ever take it seriously again.<\/p>\n
You may love the band Chicago.\u00a0 You may hate Chicago.\u00a0 But you cannot deny that they have accumulated a body of work over the past 45 years that warrants serious consideration, right?\u00a0 Record sales are only one way of looking at the success of a group, but being in the top 5 all-time in record sales shouldn’t hurt your chances, right?<\/p>\n
The kicker is that in the 20 years they have been eligible for the HOF, they’ve never even been nominated.\u00a0 Not once.\u00a0 A quick search on The Google let’s us know that every year there is a nominating process.\u00a0 Then later that year a vote determines if you make the HOF.\u00a0 When I first read this, I smelled conspiracy.\u00a0 And it didn’t take long to find theories to support my hunch.\u00a0 The theory that most web sites subscribe to is the alleged rift between Chicago and Jann Wenner, the founder of Rolling Stone magazine and co-founder of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n
So an institution I respected for years, and an induction ceremony I looked forward to every year, has devolved into an episode of reality TV.\u00a0 Secrets, pettiness, alliances, undeserving winners, disrespected losers, etc.<\/p>\n
Reality TV is not my cup of tea (Rockstar INXS in 2005 the exception), so I’m declaring my separation from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.\u00a0 Unless I’m in Cleveland…and I get a hankering to see some scribbled lyrics on the back of a cocktail napkin.<\/p>\n\n\n
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Our family recently drove from Chicago to Virginia.\u00a0 On the way back, we made it all the way to Cleveland before calling it a night.\u00a0 The next day, we took in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.\u00a0 I was really looking forward to going, and for the most part it did not disappoint. Some … <\/p>\n