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Theres no real middle ground when taking a stance on theRock and Roll Hall of Fame.
I know about a third of the people that are on the nominating committee on some level or another.
These arent stupid or ignorant people.
Theyre generally really sharp, involved, and passionate fans of music who know a lot.
After a beat, they added with a laugh, There are too many dumb voters now.
So crank up the volume and take a seat.
Pat Benatar
Voter 1:I voted for her.
I love Pat Benatar.
Shes exactly who should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Shes a rock singer who writes and produces her own material.
She and her husband, Neil Giraldo, are a creative force.
Shes got aGreatest HitsCD that contains 20 solid tracks.
Im 100 percent behind Pat.
Voter 2:This is a textbook example of somebody who shouldnt be on this ballot.
If you removed Pat Benatar from the history of music, it would be just fine.
Nothing would be different today.
But this is a ridiculous nomination.
Her name shouldnt have come out of the nominating committee.
Judas Priest
Voter 1:I definitely voted for Judas Priest.
The thing is, the Hall really underrepresents metal.
Its disturbing, considering how many records those bands sell.
Judas Priest needs to be in there as well as Motorhead and Iron Maiden.
The titans of metal need to be represented.
Voter 2:I can see the logic of it.
They dont move me, and thats okay.
Ive taken it as a badge of pride Ive voted for artists that mean nothing to me.
Im not at that level with Judas Priest.
Theres a reasonable chance theyll get it, and thats fine.
It wont disturb me.
Duran Duran
Voter 1:I considered voting for them, but I didnt in the end.
Theyre a much better band than theyre given credit for being.
That still happens in the modern era.
I mean, can you name the other three dudes in Coldplay?
No, you cant.
Duran Duran is the same deal.
They have seriously long-term members.
Theyre aband.They write music together, and they play music that they like.
Theyre good at what they do.
Those first couple of albums have really good songs.Duran DuranandRio?
Theyre hit and miss after that.
Voter 2:As an old person in training, Ive never liked them.
They didnt get good until Ordinary World.
I understand they have a tremendous fan base.
You cant underestimate that.
Kate Bush is one of them.
Shes just not for me.
Beck
Voter 1: [Making gagging sound.
]Im not a fan.
]The stuff that Im closest to liking is his very early stuff.
I dont understand why Beck is regarded as a creative auteur.
Voter 2:Great guy.
Hes made really good records, but I struggle with this one.
If we were voting for seven or eight people instead of five, I mightve checked the box.
I suspect his moment will come.
It didnt feel to me that there was any reason I should vote for him now.
Rage Against the Machine
Voter 1:Its too early for Rage Against the Machine.
Janes Addiction isnt in.
Get those guys in their first; then we talk about Rage Against the Machine.
I think Tom Morello would agree with me.
It feels a little weird for that reason.
But these things are always fungible.
But Rage Against the Machine,meh.
Eminem
Voter 1:I hate Eminem.
Ive always hated Eminem.
I find everything about his art to be repelling, and I love hip-hop.
Its hard to describe without going back into the conspiracies.
I feel like the rock press dove head over heels for him from the beginning.
Hell say it he got a huge boost from being a white rapper and being transgressive.
It was repulsive to me.
When you actually listen to his songs, theres not all that much there.
If Eminem had been eligible a decade ago, Im sure I wouldve voted for him.
Theres other people who I would rather see.
The ballot always seems like theres one designated hip-hip spot per year.
Fela Kuti
Voter 1:I voted for Fela.
People forget that shit.
Hes already been mainstreamed.
The music is unbelievable.
Hes a James Brownlevel genius.
The dude was for real.
He absolutely deserves the induction.
Voter 2:Hugely important.
People like to talk, Why are they nominating people like Fela Kuti and Dolly Parton?
Thats not rock and roll.To which I would say, Shut up.
The remit of rock and roll is constantly expanding and evolving.
Felas work seems canonical to me.
Im very glad to see him in the mix.
I could never vote for her.
Voter 2:I dont know why shes nominated.
Shes a lovely person.
I have no animus against her work.
None of it bothers me, but none of it moves me.
Shes not Carole King.
Shes not Patti Smith.
Yeah, I dont understand it.
Devo
Voter 1:I voted for Devo.
Their first three or four albums are amazing.
People tend to think of them as a silly novelty group.
They had Whip It as their big hit.
But no, those songs are dark as fuck.
You listen to their first album and its a slash-and-burn critique of American society and culture.
Im there for it 100 percent.
They wear funny hats, but theyre not fucking around.
Voter 2:I like Devo.
I dont think their recent work holds up, but I dont think it matters.
They are fantastic and top-of-the-heap conceptualists.
A lot of their approaches and ideas are strong and clear at this point.
Its easy to dismiss them as novelties.
I think theres a deeper core of seriousness in their work than is often acknowledged.
Theres a musical sophistication thats worth praising.
Have Mark Mothersbaugh and Jerry Casale written a great song since 1982?
But does it make any difference?
Look, country music has its own value.
The Rock Hall should be about rock and roll.
To get super-nerdy about it, its small-group music guitar-based, drums, keyboards, and sometimes horns.
Thats what it is.
The problem is, the Hall has a more marketing meeting definition of rock and roll these days.
Lets say in the car-advertising sense.
But back to Dolly, its part of her overall canonization.
Its fine, but its not culturally accurate.
Voter 2:I would have no problem having her in the Hall of Fame.
Dionne Warwick
Voter 1:I didnt vote for her.
Dionne Warwick didnt even write her own lyrics.
I havent paid too much attention to her career.
Shes a sophisticated pop singer.
She has a great voice, and shes a great performer.
But again, theres nothing rock and roll about Dionne Warwick.
Voter 2:Really important.
Her string of 60s hit singles are great.
They werent Carly Simon, for example.
Eurythmics
Voter 1:Theyre very good at what they do.
Voter 2:Yeah, whatever.
I think thats all I can really say about Eurythmics.
They had a couple of strong singles.
I cant say they wrote a great song after 1984.
I dont know why theyre nominated other than that they sold a lot of records.
Their work is flabby.
On their best day, theyre a B-plus, and they dont have enough best days.
MC5
Voter 1:I voted for them, but reluctantly.
When they were active, they were the third-best band out of Detroit.
Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels were better, and the Stooges were better.
Bob Seger was better than them, too, but he didnt really get good until the 70s.
Even on a musical level, Ted Nugent and the Amboy Dukes were better.
But MC5 got a lot more hype because they were revolutionaries and whatnot.
Its a bunch of horseshit.
Yeah, Ive always been an MC5 skeptic.
Ive listened to the records a lot, and Ive tried.
MC5 has one good song Kick Out the Jams.
Everything on the StoogesFun Housesmokes anything MC5 ever did.
Their major contribution is Kick Out the Jams.
If you go back and listen to MC5s records, theyre not a lot of fun.
Jon Landau, whos on the nomination committee, poorly produced their second record.
I find MC5 to be artistically insubstantial compared to their more important contemporaries.
New York Dolls
Voter 1:Another terrible band.
They were Lower East Side denizens.
I just dont hear it.
They were musically inept, and lyrically, there was barely anything there.
Theyre a rock band for people who think that rock should be a form of theater.
Voter 2:A great band but difficult to untangle.
Were they great formal innovators?
Were they great songwriters?
Did they have a certain visual style that has been profoundly influential over the last 50 years?
The records for the most part hold up.
Im in favor of their induction.
Lionel Richie
Voter 1:I didnt vote for him.
Theres a thumbnails difference between him and Dionne Warwick.
Yes, he started out in a funk band.
Commodores was an average funk band.
They were maybe as good as Slave.
When Lionel went to pop, he wentallthe way to pop.
No, thank you.
All Night Long is a great single, and Id be happy to defend it.
But I find the rest of his work to not hold up.
The best argument to be made for Lionel Richie is that he sold a gazillion records in the 80s.
Q-Tip is a very smart dude as well as a great lyricist and a great performer.
I just dont think they need to be in the Rock Hall.
Hip-hop should have its own Hall of Fame or institution its almost 50 years old now.
All of those accolades?
It was old-man rap.
You dont really need that much old-man rap in your life.
A lot of the critics who loved it were middle-aged dudes.
Those types of acts are underinducted in the Hall of Fame.
A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, and Gang Starr all deserve to be in.
Theyre still very listenable and a great album band.
Theyre not a singles-plus-filler band.
Certainly a very worthy selection.
