have we discussed the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame yet?

[Rick Lee]

I watch That Metal Show a lot and Eddie Trunk always rails against the RNRHOF. I had a business trip to Cleveland a while back and my boss treated our whole team to a visit to the RNRHOF. I thought it was pretty lame. I don't recall a single mention of Led Zep or VH. Honestly, the Hard Rock Cafe in NYC is a better shrine to rock history. Anyway, I thought this piece below pretty much nailed it.

Rock hall of fame snubs red-state favorites
By Hampton Stevens - Special to The Washington Times
Monday, December 12, 2011

Ever get the feeling that the open-minded voters for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are welcoming to every genre, subgenre and hybrid of popular and vernacular music — except rock?

Part of the fun of having a hall of fame, of course, is debating over who should get in, but the rock hall keeps making such incredibly bad choices that it has even sucked the joy out of arguing. Just look at the list of inductees for 2012, announced last week: Guns N' Roses, the Beastie Boys, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Laura Nyro, Donovan, and the Small Faces/Faces.

Only Donovan deserves it. The rest of the acts on that list merely show just how incredibly insular and irrelevant the induction process has become.

Let's start with the Beastie Boys. They are unquestionably trailblazers. They just didn't blaze any of them in rock. Sure, they played with punk guitars, but at heart, the Beasties are a rap act, joining previous inductees Grandmaster Flash and Run-D.M.C. And rap music is emphatically not a subgenre of rock — whatever the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame says.

The hall has claimed reggae, funk and disco in the name of rock. Its appropriation of rap is a serious escalation in this ongoing mission creep, expanding the museum's definition of rock to include, basically, virtually every form of music that rose to popularity in the latter half of the 20th century. If the hall insists on inducting rap artists, shouldn't they admit, say, Public Enemy and L.L. Cool J before bringing in white rappers from wealthy families? Given the racially exploitative history of American pop music, it's the least they could do.

Of course, the real divide institutionalized in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame isn't the line between black and white. It's the one between red and blue. The great divide in Cleveland isn't racial, but cultural, with artists that appeal to a red-state audience getting shoved aside time and time again in favor of more blue-state-friendly acts. While the hall has been making a display of its musical ecumenism by extending its reach to embrace ever more remote cousins of rock, it has simultaneously revealed an equally strong prejudice against the mainstream rock of the American heartland, pejoratively dubbed "arena rock" because its representative acts fill sports arenas rather than the pages of Rolling Stone and Spin.

The hall's selective "open-mindedness" explains how ABBA, Neil Diamond, Madonna and Steely Dan can be rock hall members. But that big tent gets tiny when it comes to music that mainstream Red America loves — especially music that appeals to straight, white, working-class men. Journey isn't in the hall. Neither is Jethro Tull, Boston, Bon Jovi, the Cars, ELO, the Steve Miller Band or Stevie Ray Vaughn. Nor is Kansas. Or Styx. Or Ted Nugent. Get the picture?

In their stead, the bookish, urbanite hall voters have filled the place with bookish, urbanite musicians. Especially weepy singer-songwriters. Leonard Cohen and Jackson Browne, for example, are members. As is James Taylor, enshrined back in 2000. The Hall of Fame nominating committee could be a Rolling Stone staff party. Only Kurt Loder is missing, having left several years back, apparently being cursed with integrity. Those left behind — including critics Dave Marsh, David Fricke, Jon Landau and Anthony DeCurtis — have evidenced precisely the same, incongruous mix of cooler-than-thou pomposity with social-climbing apologetics for bubble gum pop that has defined Jann Wenner's once-great magazine. They and like-minded voters comprise the high court of rock snobs, a star chamber of blue state, bluenose elitism.

The elitism of hall voters is especially conspicuous in its bias against heavy metal. One reason that Guns N' Roses doesn't deserve induction yet is because the hall keeps excluding so many of the metal bands that came before and paved the way. Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, Judas Priest. Def Leppard, Motley Crue, and Motorhead — not one has been elected to the hall.

Rush, the band every critic loves to hate, was snubbed again this year — a streak that's now nearing Ron Santo/Susan Lucci-like levels of absurdity. Nearly 40 years after the Canadian power trio released their first album, the classic rock radio staple is still recording new music, still touring — with all the original members — and still packing huge venues around the world. Rush has 14 platinum albums — 14!

Only three bands in rock history have more platinum albums than Rush: the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Kiss. Obviously, the first two are in the hall. The third, brace yourselves, is not. Let that sink in. Kiss is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This is a band, keep in mind, that has sold 100 million records — and whose biggest single celebrates the phrase "rock and roll" in its title.

There is no more egregious example of hall voters' arrogance and pedantry than this year's selection of Laura Nyro. To choose this talented but obscure singer-songwriter is the very definition of cultural elitism, one thrown into sharper relief by the fact that Joan Jett and Heart were also on the ballot this year, but voters passed on both in favor of Nyro. Electing Nyro is a gesture of withering arrogance and disdain, one meant to instruct the rock audience on what music it "should" listen to, instead of the stuff people actually like.

As with most of their more inexplicable selections, the hall rationalized the Nyro choice by describing her as a huge influence on other artists. That would make great sense if the museum were called the Rock and Roll Hall of Most Influential People. Since, however, it's a hall of fame, it seems like being at least marginally famous would be one prerequisite for getting in.

Come to think of it, maybe a name change is just the thing. The museum could rebrand the place, changing the name to something like the Pop Music Hall of Fame or the Museum of Youth Culture. Why not? There's nothing wrong with blue-state snobs wanting to to enshrine the makers of folk, disco, reggae and now rap music. There's nothing wrong with honoring Madonna's dance pop or Neil Diamond's Tin Pan Alley showmanship. Just please, please stop calling it rock 'n' roll.

[Rot 911]

"The hall's selective "open-mindedness" explains how ABBA, Neil Diamond, Madonna and Steely Dan can be rock hall members. But that big tent gets tiny when it comes to music that mainstream Red America loves — especially music that appeals to straight, white, working-class men. Journey isn't in the hall. Neither is Jethro Tull, Boston, Bon Jovi, the Cars, ELO, the Steve Miller Band or Stevie Ray Vaughn. Nor is Kansas. Or Styx. Or Ted Nugent. Get the picture?"

This is what the problem is and will continue to be. Of course maybe I have a different definition of Rock then the voters do.

[Roosterrusek]

I wanna know why RUSH isn't in there. It's an embarassment to the Hall.

[Les Paul]

Jann Werner is the hall. His buddies are in. Simple as that.

[craigster59]

I have no problem with the Chili Peppers and the Faces getting inducted. But the author thinks Donovan is the only one who deserves the "honor" this year? Give me a break.

I agree that the voting is very flawed, but hey, look at the Oscars, Grammys and any other entertainment awards show.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by Roosterrusek

I wanna know why RUSH isn't in there. It's an embarassment to the Hall.

At this point, it'd be an embarassment to Rush if they got in. The RNRHOF has zero cred. It's like Yassir Arafat getting the Nobel Peace Prize. Why bother wanting one after that?

[RANDY P]

Rick said : "The museum could rebrand the place, changing the name to something like the Pop Music Hall of Fame or the Museum of Youth Culture."


Yep. It sucks.

Burn it to the ground.

rjp

[cairns]

Jethro Tull is not there??? And Laura Nyro and the Beastie Boys are???

Wow. That place should be embarrased off the face of the earth.

Besides Rolling Stone sucks and long ago became irrelevant...nothing but a wanna be trendy tell me what I should listen to mouthpiece for the uber left.

[RANDY P]

I can't stand RS Magazine. it's permanently 1971 there and I'm sick and tired of hearing how great and influential Bob Dylan is.

Dylan sucks.

rjp

[LSA]

RS blows and I think Trunk has it right when he calls it the Rock and Roll hall of shame it's bias against Rock and roll is hilarious I can't believe it's still called the rock and roll hall of fame.

[speeder]

My friend Steve Jones from the Sex Pistols calls it the "Rock and Roll Hall of schit". Why anyone would pay any attention to that place is beyond me. It's like some BS honor for anyone who ever sold a few records in the U.S. in the last 50 years. Just a garbage dump.

[Rick Lee]

IIRC, it was something like $17 per adult to get into the museum too and that was four yrs. ago. Save your money and just skip that mistake on the lake. They have "Cleveland Rocks" signs in a lot of the hotels around there. More like Cleveland sucks. And the RNRHOF being one of their main attractions sure ain't sweetening the deal.

[speeder]

I spent a month there one night.

[Eric 951]

and the worst part--it's in Cleveland....

[emcon5]

Someone described it perfectly a few years ago, I think it was Howard Stern:

"The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is the Hard Rock Cafe without the burgers"

[Rick Lee]

I have to wonder how that place stays in business. I've never heard anyone say a kind word about it, it's not cheap, Cleveland is a toilet. How do they keep the lights on in there? I sort of wish new inductees would just refuse to accept or show up. Maybe they could start it all over again, fire everyone involved with voting and keep the new one true to its name.

[DonDavis]

I think the original intent was a good idea but it cratered immediately. I doubt I'll ever go.
As mentioned, the Hard Rock places are cool and a great venue for rock memorabilia.

[URY914]

Who owns the place? Is it set up as a non-profit?

[RonDent]

I keep waiting for Yes to be inducted. But I guess they, like others, are a little too far out there.

[Rick Lee]

I put Yes in the same category as Rush - tons of classic albums, still recording and touring, cited as huge influences for plenty of HOF members. I love them. And I hope they never get in. I hope Rush never gets in. I hope the HOF is totally ridiculed until it changes its name and a real RNRHOF starts the whole thing all over again.