Ever Get the Feeling You've Been Cheated?
This year's crop of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees is the weakest yet, with several acts (Black Sabbath, the Sex Pistols) getting their nod only after being passed over a few times after becoming eligible. It's not that these are bad acts or uninfluential, but one gets the impression that the induction committee was a bit confounded at just which acts are still out there that really need to get into the Hall.
In addition to half of this year's roster being composed of leftovers from previous ballots, there is one addition that has me a bit confused: Miles Davis. Don't get me wrong--Davis has always been an interesting, if not a consistently challenging, performer, and his long discography could serve as a concise history of modern jazz. But rock & roll? What is rock & roll about Miles other than that he is so much fucking cooler than the rest of us?
If the R&RHoF is going to start inducting jazz legends, then it only seems fair to begin inducting the pioneers of rap and hip-hop, like Grandmaster Flash or the Sugarhill Gang, who have both been eligible for several years now. I don't think anyone is going to dispute the influence hip-hop has had on rock--it certainly seems more influential than jazz has been. Perhaps the Hall of Fame committee is trying to avoid confronting the genre that has thoroughly overtaken rock in the hearts of America's youth and popular culture. Hip-hop is just as transgressive and challenging now as rock & roll was during its heyday, and it pisses off just as many people. Shit, even the Smithsonian has recognized the significance of hip-hop in our culture.
But I guess Miles Davis is a safer bet for the Hall of Fame, an organization so in love with its own image that it wouldn't even risk holding its induction ceremonies at a hotel with a dance floor.
Anyway, some of this year's inductees are at least trying to avoid associating themselves with the Hall of Fame's upper-classman approach to rock & roll. The Sex Pistols have disavowed the entire proceedings, and Johnny Rotten spat out a bitter little note to the anonymous voters, complete with misspellings. Rotten's low-class aspirations are particularly amusing in light of his band's reunion tour several years back, but at least we won't be seeing him in a tux anytime soon.
Blondie, a band that brilliantly combined the punk ethos with sex appeal, didn't have any qualms about showing up to the ceremony, although Debbie Harry apparently has some idea of which of "her band" members should be included in the proceedings. With a haughty bitchiness that can only be called rock & roll, she refused to allow some interim members of the band to join the group onstage for their congratulatory performance. The exact opposite of rock & roll was demonstrated by former member Chris Infante (a man who sued his own band to be allowed to join them on a reunion tour--get a clue, dumbass!) who whined to Harry, "Debbie, aren't we allowed?" Infante clearly failed to recognize that Debbie Harry, fat and old as she may be, is still too fucking precious. Back off, man.
Another whining burnout, none other than Ozzy himself, also showed up for this year's ceremonies, despite having scolded the Hall of Fame judges a few years ago for passing over his group and asking to have Black Sabbath taken "off the list" for induction since the fans have no say on who gets nominated or inducted. But he either forgot his earlier statements (and no one at this point would be surprised if he had) or just didn't want anyone to know how badly he wanted to get his hands on the trophy, because he was all smiles and contriteness at this year's ceremony. Has he lost his mind? Can he see or is he blind?
Finally, we have Lynyrd Skynyrd, a living rock cliche. They've got everything: dead founding members, tragic plane and motorcycle crashes, hippie hair, and at least two or three songs that no one should ever have to listen to again. I guess if their music won't get them in the doors of the Hall, their willingness to provide the historical template for rock bands everywhere is certainly worth a nod. "Freebird," muthafuckas!
If you're still interested, here's a list of all the inductees thus far. An edited version of the induction ceremony will air March 21 on VH1. In the meantime, let's hope next year's inductees are more inspiring or at least drunk when they read their speeches. As Johnny Rotten said back in the day, "It's all over now. Rock 'n roll is shit. It's dismal."
In addition to half of this year's roster being composed of leftovers from previous ballots, there is one addition that has me a bit confused: Miles Davis. Don't get me wrong--Davis has always been an interesting, if not a consistently challenging, performer, and his long discography could serve as a concise history of modern jazz. But rock & roll? What is rock & roll about Miles other than that he is so much fucking cooler than the rest of us?
If the R&RHoF is going to start inducting jazz legends, then it only seems fair to begin inducting the pioneers of rap and hip-hop, like Grandmaster Flash or the Sugarhill Gang, who have both been eligible for several years now. I don't think anyone is going to dispute the influence hip-hop has had on rock--it certainly seems more influential than jazz has been. Perhaps the Hall of Fame committee is trying to avoid confronting the genre that has thoroughly overtaken rock in the hearts of America's youth and popular culture. Hip-hop is just as transgressive and challenging now as rock & roll was during its heyday, and it pisses off just as many people. Shit, even the Smithsonian has recognized the significance of hip-hop in our culture.
But I guess Miles Davis is a safer bet for the Hall of Fame, an organization so in love with its own image that it wouldn't even risk holding its induction ceremonies at a hotel with a dance floor.
Anyway, some of this year's inductees are at least trying to avoid associating themselves with the Hall of Fame's upper-classman approach to rock & roll. The Sex Pistols have disavowed the entire proceedings, and Johnny Rotten spat out a bitter little note to the anonymous voters, complete with misspellings. Rotten's low-class aspirations are particularly amusing in light of his band's reunion tour several years back, but at least we won't be seeing him in a tux anytime soon.
Blondie, a band that brilliantly combined the punk ethos with sex appeal, didn't have any qualms about showing up to the ceremony, although Debbie Harry apparently has some idea of which of "her band" members should be included in the proceedings. With a haughty bitchiness that can only be called rock & roll, she refused to allow some interim members of the band to join the group onstage for their congratulatory performance. The exact opposite of rock & roll was demonstrated by former member Chris Infante (a man who sued his own band to be allowed to join them on a reunion tour--get a clue, dumbass!) who whined to Harry, "Debbie, aren't we allowed?" Infante clearly failed to recognize that Debbie Harry, fat and old as she may be, is still too fucking precious. Back off, man.
Another whining burnout, none other than Ozzy himself, also showed up for this year's ceremonies, despite having scolded the Hall of Fame judges a few years ago for passing over his group and asking to have Black Sabbath taken "off the list" for induction since the fans have no say on who gets nominated or inducted. But he either forgot his earlier statements (and no one at this point would be surprised if he had) or just didn't want anyone to know how badly he wanted to get his hands on the trophy, because he was all smiles and contriteness at this year's ceremony. Has he lost his mind? Can he see or is he blind?
Finally, we have Lynyrd Skynyrd, a living rock cliche. They've got everything: dead founding members, tragic plane and motorcycle crashes, hippie hair, and at least two or three songs that no one should ever have to listen to again. I guess if their music won't get them in the doors of the Hall, their willingness to provide the historical template for rock bands everywhere is certainly worth a nod. "Freebird," muthafuckas!
If you're still interested, here's a list of all the inductees thus far. An edited version of the induction ceremony will air March 21 on VH1. In the meantime, let's hope next year's inductees are more inspiring or at least drunk when they read their speeches. As Johnny Rotten said back in the day, "It's all over now. Rock 'n roll is shit. It's dismal."
posted by Chazzbot at 9:52 PM
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