Jeremy Porter recaps the 2022 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony
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Jeremy Porter shares some thoughts about the 2021 inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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Read MoreI'll Tell You Who Belongs In the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - by Colin Gawel
Nineteen acts have been nominated to be inducted in the rock and roll hall of fame in 2018. Fans can vote for five acts they feel deserve the nod by clicking here. I'll go ahead and save you the trouble and tell you who gets the thumbs up and thumbs down. I know there is the popular misconception that arguments for and against the rock hall are purely subjective. I concede this is the case for everybody on the planet except for one person. Me. My opinion is strictly objective.
I think reasonable people can agree that being a member of Why Isn't Cheap Trick in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? gives me added insight compared to just a "regular" music fan. I know what you are thinking, "Why does Colin waste his time sharing his thoughts with us bloggees when he could just as easily send a text to Jann Wenner telling him who should be in the rock hall?"
That's a tough question, but a fair one. The simple truth is that while it is true I am over qualified to write this article and share it with you nice folks, I am no elitist. Rock n roll is music for the people so it would be selfish of me to keep my insights to myself. Possibly even cruel. So on that note, let's boogie!
No Brainers: Judas Priest and Radiohead. Metal has been under-represented and along with Iron Maiden, nothing has held up better over time than Priest. As for RH, they are the REM of their generation. I was a bigger fan of The Bends though everybody lost their shit over OK Computer. Also of note is that the rock hall induction has become a televised HBO concert so they need some actual fans to fill an arena. Having these two bands on the bill would be a good start. I have three votes left.
I can appreciate what Link Wray, Nina Simone, Kate Bush and Sister Rosetta Sharp have contributed to the rock and roll cause, but they don't deserve a vote here. The rock hall needs to slide them in some back door the way Baseball does with their veterans committee. I still have three votes left and 13 bands to choose from.
Good bands, but not Hall of Fame worthy:
Eurythmics - Nice videos sure, but the band barely toured. Without MTV would they even exist? I do love the song Why by Annie Lennox, though.
J. Geils Band - I know, I know, everybody on the West side of Columbus loves J. Geils. Yes, they were a very, very good bar band who broke through the mainstream with Freeze Frame. But, very good is not HOF worthy. Bonus points for the bouncing ball lyrics on the Love Stinks video and the fact you could rub one out to Centerfold on MTV in middle school if you didn't have time to wait around for a Madonna video.
Dire Straits - I could be won over by the case for Mark Knopfler. Now, that guy has had a career. Dire Straights, Notting Hillbillies, Princess Bride, all that cool shit with Emmylou Harris. But just Dire Straits? They may get the money for nuthin' and chicks for free, but no rock hall for you.
Moody Blues - Naw
I have three votes left and nine bands to choose from.
The Zombies - I wanted to get on board with these guys but they only put out two records in their hey day. If you only put out two records, one better be call Appetite for Destruction. Thumbs down. (editor's note: Two records in their heyday? Not even close, Colin, not even close, but don't get me started.) (My note back to Ricki C. Right now I'm staring at The Zombies discography and they have a release in 1965, one in 1968 and not another until 1991 - Colin)
The Cars - Speaking of amazing debut records, The Cars may be the best in history. How many other bands arrived on the scene fully formed? Off the top of my head.......
AC/DC - Jailbreak Guns n Roses - Appetite Tracy Chapman Maybe Ramones?
and The Cars. Problem is, they sort of ran out of steam soon after and sunk into self-parody with the Mutt Lange produced Hello Again bumble bee video stuff. Ugh. Lots to like here and I want to root for Elliot Easton but The Cars don't quite deserve it. Though they will probably get inducted to help fill seats in the ceremony. Thumbs Down.
Rage Against the Machine - Damn, I've come around to these guys and that concert in England is jaw dropping but if Rage is going to get in I suppose it's only fair the MC5 get in first. Thumbs down.
MC5 - Ok, Ricki and Big $ love this band and they score huge points for Kick Out the Jams and having their manager get busted twice for selling weed to the same undercover agent. My knock against the 5 for all their swag is how many great songs do they really have? Ah, hell, who needs great songs when you can just scream KICK OUT THE JAMS, MOTHERFUCKERS! The MC5 have waited long enough. Thumbs up.
Two votes left for five bands.
Rufus featuring Shaka Kahn? What the hell is that? No.
Bon Jovi - As I wrote in a separate piece, the only argument for Bon Jovi is their huge record sales during the late 80's. Upon closer examination during the same period Whitesnake was selling six million records and even Stryper went platinum. Bon Jovi are the Sammy Sosa of rock n roll. Inflated numbers masking their awfulness. They are a better version of KISS during the Crazy Nights era. Does that deserve to be immortalized? Ten thumbs down.
Two votes for three bands
The Meters - When in doubt go with a band from New Orleans. Somebody is going to have to get people dancing at the induction ceremony after Radiohead performs. These guys can lay it down. Beat out J. Geils for my vote. Thumbs up.
Two Votes - Two Bands
Hmm....this comes down to a difference of styles. I know people love Depeche Mode and that Personal Jesus song was pretty bad-ass but.....
LL Cool J stood next to Rick Rubin at the very beginning of the NYC hip hop scene. Run DMC, The Beastie Boys and Public Enemy soon followed. I've never bought that stupid veiled racist bullshit that rap isn't rock. Crank up Mama Said Knock You Out next to Ace of Spades and let's call it a draw.
Thumbs up to LL Cool Jay. Depeche Mode has to wait another year.
So the 2018 Rock n Roll Hall of Fame inductees are:
Judas Priest - Radiohead - The MC5 - The Meters - LL Cool J
Colin Gawel plays in Watershed and the League Bowlers. He founded Pencilstorm just so he could write about stuff like this while ignoring customers at Colin's Coffee.
The Pencilstorm Rundown (Literally & Figuratively) on the 2017 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Nominations - by Ricki C.
(author's note: I wrote this blog back in late October, but with one thing & another, it didn't run until now. In light of the recent "Presidential" Election, I now believe the nominees inducted into the Rock Hall will be Tupac, Journey and Joan Baez.)
Longtime Pencilstorm readers are well aware of my problems with ther Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: from the Concept, to the Implementation, to the Selections for Induction; allow me to summarize…….
1) Unlike sports, rock & roll does not lend itself well to the Concept of halls of fame. Sports achievements are pretty much quantifiable: how many games won or lost, batting averages, yards gained, Super Bowl victories, three-pointers made in a single game, how many days or nights (or weeks) were played in soccer until a goal was scored, etc. Much of rock & roll is based on heartfelt ephemera: The Syndicate of Sound’s “Hey Little Girl” is – on the Ricki C. Planet – JUST as important to rock & roll as the entire Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album. (And more exciting.)
2) Implementation: SOMEBODY shoulda thought ahead 30 years ago in 1986 when the Rock Hall started inducting performers that SOMEDAY the well was gonna run dry of TRULY DESERVING members of a HALL OF FAME regarding musicians and rock & roll acts; that somewhere the choices were gonna start to get sketchy. C’mon, let’s face facts: The Beatles and The Rolling Stones (and even Led Zeppelin) are one thing, Kiss and Deep Purple are quite another, which leads us to…..
3) The Nomination/Induction Process: Why does there have to be 8 or 9 inductees EVERY YEAR? (Other than the fact that The Rock Hall WANTS/NEEDS to throw a Big Concert every year for some Big $’s, but that’s pretty much the story of EVERYTHING in rock & roll in the 21st century, so what else is new?) I was almost MORE comfortable with the nomination/induction process when the performers had to have been invited to Jann Wenner’s home for dinner at least once, and display their impeccable table manners to Mrs. Wenner before they could/would be considered. (Examples: David Crosby, Billy Joel, Sting.) All of which brings us to the latest pale, weak stew of nominees…….
The 2016 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Nominations
Tupac Shakur, Janet Jackson, Chic, Chaka Khan, Joe Tex: Pretty much every year I am accused of racism in rejecting all of the Black Nominees to the Rock Hall. And every year my defense is the same, there are MANY, MANY black performers who belong in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Chuck Berry (without whom rock & roll MAY NEVER HAVE EXISTED), Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone, etc. If somebody – Berry Gordy Jr., for example – would like to establish a R&B/Rap Hall of Fame in Memphis (where the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame SHOULD HAVE BEEN BUILT, by the way, but that’s another blog for a different time) or Detroit (the original Motown), I would happily see those performers inducted. I am sorry, but I was only a hippie for about 20 minutes back in 1969 and therefore do not subscribe to the kum-by-yah, politically-correct view that music is music: rock & roll is NOT r&b/rap and vice versa. I don’t see anybody clamoring to induct country acts like Garth Brooks or Eddie Rabbitt into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, let alone Buck Owens, Steve Earle or Lyle Lovett (all of whom might actually DESERVE it.) I view this as pandering, as reverse racism of the Highest Order. (And while we’re on the subject, where are the nominations for The Chambers Brothers or Living Colour: ACTUAL black rock & roll bands?)
Steppenwolf, The J. Geils Band: I saw both of these bands live in their rock & roll primes. My view, INDUCT THEM NOW. (And I sometimes wonder why nobody ever brings up the connections between The J. Geils Band and Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. I firmly believe Peter Wolf, Magic Dick & Da Boston Boyz loomed mightily as an influence on the young Mr. Springsteen.)
The MC5, Bad Brains: C’mon, the INVENTORS of a rock & roll style/sub-genre (punk crossed with metal) The MC5 vie for induction the same year as a band that was – at best – a minor sidenote to that style almost 10 years later? Again, I must cite reverse racism. Otherwise, where are the nominations for Black Flag, Fear or The Circle Jerks? Further, if The MC5 had been from New York City or San Francisco (or – perhaps more accurately – if they hadn’t literally and/or figuratively pissed all over Jann Wenner’s Rolling Stone magazine and Bill Graham’s Fillmore Auditoriums back in the day) they would have been nominated & inducted back in 1994, their first year of eligibility. The Stooges were inducted into the Rock Hall in 2010 and The MC5 is still waiting in 2016, 13 YEARS after the first time they were nominated? Really, I just have to laugh.
The Cars: One of the ten best debut albums of all time, probably the best New Wave/skinny-tie power-pop band (along with Blondie) ever invented? Induct them now.
Joan Baez: ROCKIN’! Didn’t she used to date that nice Zimmerman boy from down the street in Hibbing, Minnesota about five DECADES before he won the Nobel Prize in Literature?
Kraftwerk, Journey: I’ll not be dignifying these nominations with comment. Again, WHY do 19 acts need to be nominated and 8 or 9 INDUCTED every year? The small pond of deserving Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Nominees is getting shallower every year, gentlemen of the Rock Hall.
Jane’s Addiction, Pearl Jam: See above, yawn……
Yes, ELO, Depeche Mode: See above, all Hackmeisters of The Highest Order. Jeff Lynne was an infinitely better producer than he was songwriter or bandleader. Induct The Move first. And Yes – whether they meant to or not – spawned the likes of Styx and Kansas, which alone invalidates them gaining entrance to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. SOMEBODY needs to be held accountable for these atrocities in the name of rock & roll.
The Zombies: Really, The Zombies – who recorded a nifty little album called Odessey & Oracle, you mighta heard of it – await induction into the Rock Hall after The Hollies were inducted in 2010? That couldn’t have anything to do with Graham Nash being in Crosby, Stills & Nash and those Jann Wenner dinner parties I referred to above, could it? The British Invasion bands are CRIMINALLY overlooked while the likes of The Dells and Chicago gain induction. Gimme a break, induct The Zombies, NOW. – Ricki C. / October 23rd, 2016.
Why Isn't Cheap Trick In the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame? Farewell Show Friday April 8th - Ace of Cups
On Friday April 8th, Cheap Trick is being inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame at 9 pm EST in New York City. Earlier that same evening, the band, Why Isn't Cheap Trick In the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? will be playing their final show at Ace of Cups in Columbus, Ohio. Doors 5 pm with WICHITRNRHOF? onstage at 7. Admission - as always - is FREE. And - as per tradition - Teenage Fanclub Fanclub will open the show.
Why Isn't Cheap Trick In the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame? was founded many years ago with a simple purpose: to find an answer to the question, Why Isn't Cheap Trick In the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame? Their yearly protest shows of Cheap Trick covers generated big press and even bigger bar tabs whenever they played. However, they always vowed to disband once Cheap Trick were rightfully given their spot alongside the other great rock bands of all time (and Billy Joel). That day has come. (click here for a recap of the press)
So true to their word, this will be their last show. Bassist and Four String Brew owner Dan Cochran added, "I'm extremely happy for Cheap Trick, though I have to admit, I just got Tom's 12-string bass sound down last year so I'm kind of disappointed that the band is breaking up. Though Colin was planning to perform a complete version of The Doctor in 2017, so I guess that is off the table. Thank God."
"We might still show up and play some Cheap Trick songs once in awhile under a different name, but Why Isn't Cheap Trick In the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? is finished." said guitarist Rick Kinsinger.
"I agree with Rick," said vocalist Colin Gawel, "our work is done. Justice has been served. And besides, with a new Trick record coming out, I'm going to need the extra time amending my complete Cheap Trick song rankings."
Drummer Herb Schupp added, "Maybe for our final show I can finally convince the guys to play "Who D' King."?
Below: Live at Ace Of Cups, 2015 - Surrender. Below that, 2014- Marci Mays on vocals. Below that, 2013 at Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, OH, Induction Ceremony day.