October 30, 2006
Rock Hall Nominees: Yowza!
This just in, possums - The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has just announced the nominees for induction next year. And it's good! Not only does the list confirm that I'm old (many bands that I consider contemporaries are eligible, meaning theie first release was 25 years ago or more), but that the Hall is really trying to be inclusive in terms of musical styles. Here are the noms:
- Chic, whose jazz-funk-dance ditties "Good Times" and "Le Freak" provided the model for..well, pretty much any '80s dance music. And the band's masterminds, Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, produced and wrote for just about everybody;
- The Dave Clark Five, the Beatlesque Brits whose "Glad All Over" is the happiest song this side of "You Are My Sunshine." They had 17 top 40 hits in three years. And Dave Clark was a singing drummer. Singing drummers are the best;
- Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five were not only rap and hip-hop pioneers, but recorded "The Message," the first great socially conscious rap track. And it's still poignant and commanding;
- R.E.M. is the most relevant indie band of my generation. Really.
- The Ronettes were a combination of theatrics, toughness, talent and drama. Ronnie Spector, of course, was married to Phil "Musical Genius' Spector, and was the voice of the ultimate musical teen queen melodramas. And she was my model for how to do liquid eyeliner;
- Patti Smith is the Godmother of Punk and the inspiration to generations of girls who rocked on their own terms;
- The Stooges scare me. And that's what punk's supposed to do. All hail;
- Joe Tex was covered by everyone from James Brown to Elvis Costello, and he was the first soul musician to have a pop hit (1965's "Hold What You've Got." ) Plus, he ain't gonna bump no more with no big fat woman.
- Van Halen kicks butt. They are rock n roll because they embraced on-stage excess, soaring guitars and emotion and the idea that this was supposed to be fun. So there.
There is not a loser nomination on this whole list, but only five get in. This is tricky, because at least three of them have been eligible for ages and still haven't gotten in. Would it be fair for relative whippernappers to leap-frog over them? Maybe not. But life's not fair. Here are my picks:
- Grandmaster Flash: There would be no modern music scene without hip-hop, and without this band's fusion of various musical styles to slap listeners upside the head;
- REM: Because you know they're getting in;
- Patti Smith: I pick her over Iggy and the Stooges, because I wouldn't want to pick two punk acts when there's so much other music that needs to be recognized. And she deserves it more. I know they're influencial. But she's even more so.
- The DC Five: I'm sorry, Ronnie. I am such a huge Ronettes fan, but when we're going '60s rock, I gotta go with the band who wrote their own music and kept the hits going. But I'm doing my eyeliner extra-thick tonight. Better luck next year;
-Van Halen: Because I wanna see that induction reunion jam. Where's Gary Cherone?
(I said...)
Freak out!
uh huh
LeFreak, C'est Chic
Aaah Freak out!
LeFreak, C'est Chic
Freak out!
Where's KISS? Def Leppard...The only 2 bands that deserve this are VH & REM. Any of the other groups or people on this list, would be happy shining Kiss's BOOTS & the LEP's Platnium selling many times over records
Posted by: Gatorman at October 31, 2006 4:58 AMWhat a Joke & sham this has become. The only 2 bands that desrve this are VH & REM. The rest are laughable at the very best. It's well known that most voting members are bias toward some groups that definetly should ALREADY be in there(yes that includes the gay rights practicing editor adovate of rolling stone mag., the rest are between ages 60 & 80.) Who incidently, probably went "wha, wha, who are VH & REM? Neva heard of them." "Wha you say? I can't hear you"? Nough said
Posted by: Gatorman at October 31, 2006 5:05 AMCHIC is the only worthy choice of the bunch, no other music act has been so influential in so many different genre's the last 30 years.
Posted by: pocat at October 31, 2006 6:16 AMI cannot for the life of me understand why bands like YES and Rush are not in the Hall. The Voters must have a strong bias against Progressive Rock. I would choose REM, VH, Iggy Pop and Patti Smith.
Posted by: Mike at October 31, 2006 4:45 PMI would "Freak Out" if Chic was chosen for this induction. That's a joke!!! They had what, one "hit" for a minute? And what did they help define? Drug abuse at 54 (Studio 54)? Out of the bands listed, I too have to go with Van Halen and REM. Kiss & Def leppard...yeah, I second that as well!
Who's next? Air Supply?
Posted by: Beck at October 31, 2006 6:53 PMI would "freak out" if Chic was chosen for this induction! What did they define, drug abuse at 54 (Studio 54)? They had one hit, for something like, a minute! Next, someone will recommend Air Supply...which would be better than Chic...they did, after all, have more than one hit!
I agree with REM & VH...Kiss and Def Lep would also be excellent choices! At least when you say their names, a typical response isn't "Who?"
Posted by: Beck at October 31, 2006 6:57 PMI think that you should understand the influence of Chic, specifically of Edwards and Rodgers, the masterminds. Not only did everyone sample their stuff (listen to "Rapper's Delight's" take on "Good Times" and imagine would rap or pop would be without it) but the pair produced and influenced Madonna, Duran Duran and others. There are scores of English artists, particularly, who were influenced by their cool mix of R&B and pop. It is fine if you don't like their music. But you can't deny their influence. They were far more than one hit.
Posted by: Leslie at October 31, 2006 7:12 PMGreat pics! Loved the article. But question...REM as an indie-band? They were on David Letterman as early as 1985 and put out their first of many albums on a major label in 1989... 21 and 17 years ago, respectively. If that's indie, I could use some o' that me-self! Woo-hoo!
Posted by: Brandon Routh at November 1, 2006 4:51 PM
