R’NR HOF Announces 2010 Inductees: World Goes “Huh”?

Written by: Money Mike

The Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame just announced it’s 2010 inductees, and they are…(drumroll please)…Iggy & The Stooges, Genesis, ABBA, Jimmy Cliff and The Hollies.

*Rubs eyes* Say what?

Yes, folks. In a class that included the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kiss and LL Cool J, this is what that lovely nominating committee was able to come up with.

I’m sorry, but if Jann Wenner isn’t playing favorites OR someone isn’t getting paid under the table, then I don’t know how else to explain this one.

I don’t know a whole lot about The Stooges (or Iggy’s music, really, beyond “Lust for Life”), but he seems to be widely regarded as a pioneer. He can slide.

Genesis? Groundbreaking prog-rock band. Very theatrical and musically complex. Then they regrouped and turned out some of the most irresistible pop nuggets of the Eighties, not to mention a string of stellar solo hits by Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins and Mike + the Mechanics. They should be in (and I just read that Phil Collins is unable to drum anymore. What happened?).

The Hollies? Aren’t they the “all that I need is the air that i breathe and to love you” band? Can you name one member of The Hollies? Do any bands today cite The Hollies as an influence? Can you name one groundbreaking or even critically acclaimed album by The Hollies? I didn’t think so.

Jimmy Cliff: “The Harder They Come” is a fantastic album. Might be the best reggae album of all time not recorded by someone named Marley r Tosh. But what has Jimmy Cliff really done besides that? “I Can See Clearly Now”? Seriously. The R&R Hall of Fame needs ONE reggae musician and that musician is already inducted. And I say this as a black man of Caribbean descent.

ABBA: The textbook definition of a singles band. Granted, they were able to create tons of ear candy, but does anyone who is not Swedish and/or gay own anything by ABBA outside of the obligatory greatest hits compilation? If we’re gonna induct ABBA, why not induct Olivia Newton-John? Or Andy Gibb? Will Britney Spears wind up in the Hall of Fame one day? (God, I hope not). And if we’re inducting legendary singles acts, where the hell are Daryl Hall and John Oates??

I’ve defended the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame to tons of people over the years, but I think I’m beginning to see the light. Anyone who says that these 5 artists are the most deserving of the list of bands that were nominated seriously has rocks in their head.

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Comments

  • roheblius
    I'm just sad that LL didn't go in.
  • Heatshield
    Ditto your comment about Hall & Oates, but they weren't just a "singles" act. Listen to their box set to get a flavor of all their great albums.
  • mjheyliger
    The point I was trying to make was that Hall & Oates are considered by the general public to be a singles act. They had good albums, yes, but I think the general public knows them for their hit singles.I actually own every H20 album from "X-Static" to "Ooh Yeah!" as well as a handful of albums before and after, *and* the box set.

    If the Hall of Fame was really going after the VH-1 crowd, they would have elected Kiss, the Chili Peppers and LL Cool J. VH-1's target demo (roughly) is 25-40. Those are the folks who would buy a new Chili Peppers record or were kids when Kiss was in their heyday. If the nominations were made for the sake of ratings, then who is the drawing card? The average pop music fan doesn't give half a shit about three of those artists, so your draw is either a Genesis performance with Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel or an ABBA reunion, which the members have said is probably not going to happen.

    I would be very surprised if Mariah Carey got into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. She has no precedent. If Mariah gets in, then Celine Dion and Whitney Houston get in as well, and I don't see that happening. They haven't even put Janet Jackson on a ballot yet, and she has been eligible for two or three years. And Janet is a darn sight more highly regarded from a critical standpoint than Mariah is.
  • sonicgeorge
    Money Mike, you're just mad because we didn't get a Hollies profile up in time. They had one of the definitive (I think original) cuts of "He Ain't Heavy..." and some other really strong tracks. They're a good pick.

    Hey, you're black? Me too. (Oh wait, my picture is here...never mind). I own ONJ, and I own Andy Gibb. And I own Wu Tang. Gotta stop generalizing, MM.

    There's good music and there's bad music. There ain't no other music.

    Hall & Oates will go in one day because a lot of today's pop acts are citing them as influences. But you know that popular music (all genres) is sometimes more about the song or the story than what the musicians want.

    Hell, working musicians were listening to the Neville Brothers 20-30 years ago saying, "This is a good sound". Aaron Neville had a couple of hits, and suddenly all the public knows.
  • mjheyliger
    No doubt in my mind that the Hollies were talented, but compared to the other artists who were up for nomination and didn't get in? I'm not so sure about that.

    And if you re-read what I said about Jimmy Cliff, you'll see that what I said had nothing to do with generalizing. What I was trying to say was that one would expect me to be an advocate for Jimmy Cliff, given our shared backgrounds and the fact that, as the first American born child of a Caribbean-American family, I grew up listening to his music. The fact of the matter is that I like Jimmy Cliff plenty. I just don't think he deserved to be elected.
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