2010/2011 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Yellfest

If The Cure gets in then you've got a damn good argument for the induction of Depeche Mode and Squeeze. The Jam should have been years ago.

And if the RRHOF is on this kick to get females inducted, how come there is no love for Pat Benatar?

 

Were the Cure, the Jam, Squeeze and the Pixies ever on the cover of Rolling Stone in their prime? I am not being a prick because I do love those bands, but the fact is if you weren't loved by Rolling Stone it makes it very tough to get in.

Yes, they are changing a little by putting the Stooges in a few years back, but by and large the Hall is a by product of that magazine. Now, if Lester Bangs were alive and deciding nominees....

 

Given that the Velvet Underground is in, there's hope for those bands.
Chilis picked a good time to drop their new CD (first review I've read was positive). Wonder if that helps them get in?
No New Order among the nominees? Cue John McEnroe.

 

New Order, if you include its prenatal incarnation as Joy Division, almost has to be in.

Geils was HUGE for about 5 years, with a lot of critical cachet, before they hit it big with "Centerfold" and then Wolf flew off for his solo career.

I would also expect Geils at some point to be a "veteran's committee" selection.

 

This might be one of the most ridiculous things I've ever read on this site. This makes absolutely no sense, whatsoever.

 

The Pixies will be really interesting. I think they become eligible in the next group.

Bob's right -- it would be hard to name a more influential band of that era, even if they were never much of a commercial success. Just listen to any Pixies song and focus on the music, not the voice. Then do it with Nirvana. I've read that Cobain fully expected to be written off as a second-rate Pixies rip-off.

As for the other suggestions...

If you view New Order and Joy Division as a single entity, which seems totally reasonable to me, then absolutely, I think they should be in.

I think The Jam will really suffer from the fact that the never really made an impact in the US. One of my favorite bands, and on merit I think they belong, but I think they're likely to be hampered by being very, very British. (In a few years I'll probably be writing the same thing about Oasis.)

I'd absolutely put Depeche Mode in -- certainly, to me, they're the biggest and most influential of the 80s synth bands, and hold up better than most.

I can't see Squeeze getting in. I'd love to see it, and if it happens it's (deservedly) on the songwriting merits of Difford & Tilbrook. I think they're hurt by the fact that they're not in any way influential -- it's strictly Beatle-ish pop, though brilliantly done -- and again, barely a blip in the US.

Neil Diamond is in.

I'm on the fence about the Replacements, but ultimately I think they should probably be in. I love the band, and there have been very, very few artists who have put together three albums in a row as strong as "Let it Be," "Tim," and "Pleased to Meet Me." They lose points with me for being such aggressive fuck-ups. Westerberg's need for everyone to know he doesn't give a shit wore me out years ago.

Don't know about Bon Jovi. I would think they'd be in based on success alone, but they've been eligible for a few years and never nominated. Wouldn't get my vote.

 

That's fine. Just seems to me that if you are going to recognize an act in an overwhelmingly black genre, it might not be a bad idea to recognize more than two black artists in that genre before recognizing the white smart-ass version for frat boys.

I'm OK with the Beastie Boys going in at some point, but no goddamn way do the Beastie Boys go in before Public Enemy.

 

So getting into the Hall of Fame should be based on race predicated on a genre? Do you think Hall of Fame voters thought when Jimi Hendrix was nominated, "Man, maybe we should get a few more white rock guitarists in here before we allow Hendrix."

And while I do agree that the Beastie Boys did have some frat crap in the 1980s, they really did make their mark on the genre during that time. Then they evolved as musicians and people and have stayed relevant for more than 25 years.

 

Nope. I'm saying they look like a collection of assholes if they recognize white acts in hip hop before they recognize superior black acts in hip hop.

Yes, the Beastie Boys made their mark over time. Yes, they evolved and stayed relevant. But on some level it's like putting Kenny G in the jazz hall before Miles Davis and John Coltrane.

Again, put Public Enemy in the hall. Then we can talk about the Beastie Boys.

 

So now that the Hall has clearly moved on to hip-hop and is starting to recognize 1980s synth bands, I guess the rest of the heavy metal pioneers (Motorhead, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, etc.) are out of luck.

 

Really? Two hip-hop acts in the hall, no synth bands.

I'm a little surprised Motorhead isn't in.

 

That band was always on a shitty label. Never made much money. I'm not sure they ever got to the stage where they were playing arenas without someone else's help.