2023 Rock Eligibles
Alkaline Trio carved themselves a solid spot in the Punk world with a respectable catalogue in the Punk Revival World. With anti-establishment tunes and a Punk/Emo sound, the Alkaline Trio was able to get a fan base, but only a modest one. As we know, any band with only a modest fan base is a longshot for the Hall, and as much as we respect them,…
A band name that we find colossally cool, And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, was an Alternative band that came from Texas, yet sounded far more artistic than other Alternative bands did. Merging Noise Rock and Hardcore Rock, the Trail of Dead did secure a decent following, but does a decent following make a Hall of Fame career? Probably not, as shown…
As Bonnie “Prince” Billy, William Oldham became the definitive example of Alternative Country. He sang as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders yet like few others delivered a beautiful sadness in his music. Ironically, his music sells better in the United Kingdom (not exactly an Alt Country hotbed) than in the United States, but despite the acclaim he receives, the enigmatic…
Basically the continual project of Conor Oberst, Bright Eyes emerged as the darling of the Midwest Indie Rock scene of the New Millennium. With a growing fan base and passionate fans, Bright Eyes may not have sold a lot of albums in the past ten years, but that could easily change in the next decade. This could be a real wild card pick for the Hall…
You may not want to hear this, but there is a decent chance that Britney Spears has a decent shot for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Spears has been a major force on the Pop and Dance chart for years and there is little reason to think that can’t continue for years. Major success like that is hard to ignore and though we think…
A very good Indie band out of Scotland, Camera Obscura is one of those sweet little bands that makes you happy to hear, but not necessarily passionate about. This may make you a good little Indie band, but not a legendary act, and far from even a borderline Hall of Fame contender.
A popular Celtic Punk band from Boston, the Dropkick Murphys certainly found a place for themselves in the musical canon. With a solid live show and unique music, the Massachusetts band made people take notice, but realistically speaking, if any Celtic Punk band gets into the Hall, shouldn’t it be the Pogues?
A Brit Pop band that was more of a Progressive Rock throwback, Elbow continues to be a player on the U.K. music scene. The band never had problem acknowledging their influences (Genesis and Radiohead are the ones most commonly mentioned), but at what point are bands citing Elbow as an influence? Unless that happens, this is not a band that can be Hall of Fame bound.
Blending Pop, Rock and a Gothic look, Evanescence took the musical world by storm in 2003. There was nowhere you could go where you would not hear their monster smash, “Bring Me to Life”. The band was pegged by some as future long term superstars, but as of this writing that has not happened. They may still be able to churn out more hits as they…
A solid Post Grunge band in the New Millenium, Fuel had a decent run in the United States. With a few hits under their belt, they managed to sell records, but the critics were not in love with them. We know we mention critical love on this site a lot, but watchers of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame knows how important (whether it should…
Probably about as straight up a rock band as the United Kingdom had in the turn of the millennium, Gomez was a nice diversion from the many Alternative slanted bands that populated the British scene. Actually, calling them a diversion was a bit of a misnomer as they did sell a large amount of albums and won some good press in the British music magazines. This…
Very respected either as a solo or with her partner in Frou Frou, Imogen Heap is a Grammy Award winning artist who may not have a lot of popularity in the United States, though is beloved by the music writers. Heap’s blend of Alternative and Electronica is the perfect mix for her embracement of technology and visual aspects to her performances. She isn’t likely to receive…
One of the more successful Gothic labeled bands of the last ten years, Lacuna Coil has one of their more rabid fan bases of any band in the world. With powerful Metal music and dark imagry, their concerts are like few others and though they are not likely to enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, ask their fans if they could care less.
An eclectic band that could be categorized in various different ways, Metric has seemed like one of those bands that should have had a major breakthrough though never did. They are certainly a talented group, but they seem to have this nomadic quality that may have made fans struggle to latch in to them long term.
If we go by post breakup success, N’Sync was pretty much Justin Timberlake and four other guys; which were probably fairly accurate. We have sad before that Boy Bands don’t belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and we don’t plan on changing our opinion here.
They called their music Death Pop, but they were more accurately labeled as an Alternative Metal band that was capable of melodies. What that makes them unfortunately were followers and not innovators and when your largest hit was a New Order cover (though we think it was a good one), you can’t possibly meet the Hall’s innovation quotient.
Not exactly beloved by the critics (though what Christian Rock band is?), Relient K was able to secure a large fan base in the Christian demographic. What does this mean for a Hall of Fame birth? Our guess is virtually nothing, as there is no evidence that this is the type of band that can get enshrined, and if it is to be proven wrong, this…
Rob Zombie may be better known as a director or for leading White Zombie, but he did have a decent solo career of note continuing with the Horror themed Science Fiction that he excels at. As such, as talented as Zombie is overall, his musical career may be far too one dimensional to get a serious look from the Hall.
In terms of lineage, Rufus Wainwright was born to be Singer/Songwriter and he has not disappointed. He churns out beautiful album after beautiful album and though the world hasn’t completely took notice, those in the musical know have. Any chance he has for the Hall of Fame though greatly depends on whether some of the legendary songwriters of the past get in first.
They did not become as successful as some of the Emo bands they inspired, but Saves the Day had a decent career in their own right. A very energetic band, the New Jersey group may not have been darlings of the critics but their fans were not exactly the type who cared less.