So this is my first of what I think will tentatively be called “Phil’s Rants.” I don’t think there is any better way to start than by saying that I am a fan of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and what it represents; I just don’t think highly of the questionable people who represent the hall of fame. Most of the blame always goes on Rolling Stone Magazine founder and Rock Hall coowner Jann Wenner, and while he is famously known to be a dick (just watch his portrayal in the film Almost Famous, which for your sake is a movie I hope you’ve watched) but he hasn’t been on the nominating committee since about 2006. Really it’s Jon Landau who has been the chairman, co-chairman or vice-chairman of the nominating committee since the early 90’s who sees to the acts that get in to the hall.
It’s redundant to bring up the questionable inductees of the past, such as numerous Hip-Hop acts (I may not like the genre, but I’ll respect that they deserve a hall of fame of their own, rather than take up space in one that is meant for “Rock and Roll”) and pop acts like Madonna. But realistically someone like Madonna, even ABBA, have had successful careers with a lot to show for it, so they do deserve recognition, therefore I’m not as upset by the room that they take up in the hall. I once read that the Dave Clark Five, who were inducted in ’08, were supposed to be inducted in ’07. They had enough votes from the committee to be inducted easily, but Jann Wenner used a technicality to see to it that they didn’t get in because they felt a rap act needed to be inducted. I wish I could remember which rap act it was that took their spot, but at the moment I can’t remember.
I still find “The Hall” to be more than just a popularity contest like, for example, the Grammys. I realize inductions and award shows are two different things, but The Hall could easily take a route similar to the Grammys and just induct one or two artists. Let’s take 2007’s ceremony for example; The Hall could have just inducted Van Halen (which took them long enough) and maybe one other artist and just left out Patti Smith, R.E.M., The Ronettes or Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five (THAT’s the hip-hop act whose name I forgot in the previous paragraph!) But instead each year The Hall does take consideration to the careers of these artists. Patti Smith, for instance, is really just known to big punk fans and has been a major influence to the genre, but if you went in to a well mixed crowd of people and asked who has heard of the punk goddess, you may be lucky to have two people give a positive answer. But The Hall’s committee, in one of few things I appreciate about them, let the track record of an artist do the talking rather than their popularity with the general public.
Unfortunately this is a reason why there are so many snubs, The Hall figures just because some acts are popular, it doesn’t mean that they HAVE to be inducted. That’s a topic for what will probably be my next post though because there is FAR too much ground to cover on it. But as I said to start off the article, I am a fan of what The Hall represents, despite what some of its inductees and snubs think.
Take Rush’s Alex Lifeson, for instance, who took his induction so onerously that his already famous acceptance speech contained only one word (blah) repeated over and over and over again with different annunciations. Other people, like Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of Kiss have made a career of publicly questioning The Hall, which makes their induction this year that much more sweet. However it was Ian Gillan, infamously snubbed from being inducted with Deep Purple despite being on the ballot the past two years in a row, who once pointed out that though it didn’t bother him whether or not he was in, specifically saying that he’s fought against “becoming institutionalized”, but then saying that to his “family, friends and everyone that has stuck with [them] all these years” it meant something for them to get the recognition. That is what I think sums it up, is that it shouldn’t matter to the artists egos whether or not they are in, but instead it should matter that their fans care so much. Really, after maintaining so many enduring fans throughout the years, the band, whichever band it is, should be happy that it matter so much to their fans.
Then there are artists who concede their thoughts on The Hall, such as Neil Peart. In his acceptance speech, one of my favourites, he said “we’ve been saying for a long time, years, that this wasn’t a big deal. It turns out, it kind of is!” Chris Cornell, who presented Heart during their induction the same night, said in an interview not long after that he now looks forward to the possibility of being inducted with Soundgarden (who have been snubbed, but they’re still early in their eligibility). Then there are the artists who don’t say a damn thing regarding the honour and just accept it and live the rest of their lives happy. I mean I don’t think Eric Clapton ever complained any of the three (yes, three) times he’s been inducted. I just recently read Ann & Nancy Wilson of Heart’s autobiography, which was first published right as they got inducted, and then re-released with a new chapter after the ceremony. They couldn’t have been more thrilled, despite certain drama centring the night (I’d recommend reading the book for more reasons than just finding out what that drama was).
Luckily most artists do just accept it and move on. Not all make a scene like Axl Rose did, most just go up, hopefully give a good speech, and go on living the rest of their lives. Though there are a number of fans out there who either couldn’t care less, or are so much against The Hall that they make their little internet rants about it, but I’ll end this article with a harsh reality that even the most supportive of us Rock Hall fans should face; you can’t please everybody.