Skip to main content

Rock Hall Inductee Ballot

Hey Soul Mates,
now I'm not a voting member of the Rock Hall, just a charter member of the museum, but boy if I were... The potential class of '05 was revealed when the ballot for the Rock Hall came out yesterday. I'm not going to recant my previous statement about Run DMC, but I was wrong. This year we have our first Hip Hop act up for election: Grandmaster Flash and the Furious 5. They should be a lock. Although they weren't the first rap act, nor the first to chart (Sugarhill Gang and Kurtis Blow came before) but no one had as lasting an impact. The Message? White Lines? This is elemental hip hop. Grandmaster Flash was the first DJ to be a household name. His turntable skills are unparalleled. And his group, the Furious 5? Nasty! In fact, one of the first 12" records I purchased, back in the day was It's Nasty by GMF&TF5.

The other no brainer on the ballot is U2. Easily the most important group of the last 20 years, although I'd listen to arguments supporting Public Enemy. I didn't become a U2 fan until they fell off with their original core audience. Yep, I thought The Fly was something else. Since then I've seen them in concert several times. I used to mock friends who liked them. Bono seemed too self-important for me: "3 chords and the truth." Two Hearts Beat As One has a great hook; I felt Pride was a decent single, as was Desire. But it was Achtung, Baby! that made me see the light. Rock on, U2.

I'm not so certain about the other nominated acts. J. Geils Band, Randy Newman, The Pretenders, Conway Twitty, Buddy Guy, Sex Pistols (on the ballot, again), Percy Sledge and Wanda Jackson. This could be the smallest inductee class yet. J. Geils had a nice run in the late 70's/early 80's, but I'm not feeling it. The Pretenders have made solid pop/rock for years and Chrissie Hynde is one of the most important female rockers, so they may make it. I'm a Buddy Guy fan, and he represents the last of the great blues guitarists who aren't in the Hall. I'd like to see his induction.

The others are too fringe for my taste: Randy is a great writer; Conway had a long country run; Wanda's reward is nomination; Percy (When A Man Loves A Woman) Sledge is a class act, but a one-hit wonder to many. I hope nobody blames him for Michael Bolton. The Sex Pistols bring up a good argument. They made one real album, but influenced a generation. Do they deserve in? I'll leave that up to the voters. I won't cry either way. When the voters had trouble with Steely Dan and Bob Marley, that was just silly. But the Pistols? Debatable.

Gotta get dinner. Then to see a great local group, Orson.
Love, Power, Peace.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Murderous Haircut of the Mayor of Bel Air - Book Review

“The Murderous Haircut of the Mayor of Bel Air” is a trippy new mystery novel from Phillip Mottaz. It captures the grit and gilt of the City of Angels with the flair of a contemporary Raymond Chandler. The brisk pace and wit are reminiscent of Douglas Adams’s entries in the detective game. Flourishes of  Fletch  and “Medium” also spring to mind. However, Mottaz has added a psychic/mutant/superhuman touch and his own comedic voice, structure and internal monologues to the proceedings that help the author announce his own style and the arrival of a literary heroine for a new generation. Hairstylist and budding private investigator, Danica Luman is the perfect character to convey the irony, angst and sarcasm needed to tell a 21st century L.A. crime story. Danica also represents anyone who thought it would be neat to get tangled up in a mystery and the darkly comic cautionary tale that follows. The genre is recognizable, but Mottaz offers a fresh take on the not-ready-for-prime-time-hard-b

Being There [Grammy Recap]

Hey Soul Mates, Check out your boy. Yes, I did look that damn suave at the Grammys last night. Look, the tickets very clearly said "black tie." What could be less rock and roll than black tie? Not wearing "black tie." Frankly, the hipsters and the club girls just looked silly. Maybe I'm getting sartorially conservative, but you must be clean for the Grammys. We arrived early in the afternoon. A beautifully mild afternoon in downtown L.A. and not a sign of the predicted rain. I wanted to experience the whole nine, so we got there in time for the "Pre-telecast" ceremony. This is where 97 of the 108 gramophone statuettes are awarded. It was much more entertaining and endearing than the actual broadcast. The winners were genuinely moved, were not limited in their speech time and came in all stripes. Now, very few of the acts I voted for won. But the day did start off with a bang as OK Go won best short form video for the treadmill hopping video for Here

Freebird, Fla.

Hey Soul Mates, the Rock Hall inductee class of '06 has been announced. Now, my high school mates (especially, Mike) can shut up about Jacksonville's own, Lynyrd Skynyrd making the Hall. Congrats to them. This is not my favorite group of Hall of Famers: Miles Davis, Black Sabbath, Blondie and the Sex Pistols. Of this batch, only Blondie was a contemporary presence for me. No disrespect to the fans of the other artists. Just not my cup of tea. I'm sure my buddy Mark though is still lamenting Chicago's absence from the Rock Hall. The induction ceremony should be interesting though, because a lot of country-rockers are going to come out of the woodwork to honor Skynyrd. Blondie, Sabbath and the Pistols are all relatively intact so their performances will be highly anticipated. I'm particularly anxious to hear what the Sex Pistols portion of the evening will entail. Who will induct them? Green Day? U2? That's sure to be the highlight of the night. That, and Ozzy