Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2016 Class Nominees

I like Yes.
Yes would be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Very Good.
Not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

 

Chicago -- I don't care about their '60s/early'70s era, for Peter Cetera alone they're out = no
Cheap Trick -- Hall of Very Fun Concert = no
Deep Purple -- Defined nothing except one guitar riff = no
The Cars -- at the vanguard of what we called in the day New Wave = yes
Janet Jackson -- please, let's be real in our nominations = no
N.W.A -- influential as hell, but in no way rock 'n' roll = no
Nice Inch Nails -- I might want to xxx you like an animal, but I don't see it = no
The Smiths -- Music for goth kids since 1982 = yes
Yes -- not my cup of tea, but probably = yes
Chaka Khan -- see Janet Jackson, times 10 = no
Chic -- is disco considered rock? I didn't think so = no
The J.B's -- If I have to look them up to know anything about them ... = no
Los Lobos -- Will the wolf survive? Steel trap in Yellowstone says ... = no
Steve Miller -- Saying Steve Miller is a great guitarist is laughable; more like a pretty good rhythm guitarist at best = no
The Spinners -- unless this refers to the folks at Grateful Dead shows ... = no

 

The Cars were great when I was 12 and my music catalogue consisted of nine cassettes. The idea that the Cars are a shoo-in for being "vanguards,", but Yes is iffy reminds me once again how terrible people's musical tastes are. I'm not a big Yes fan, but there needs to be a little more appreciation for musicianship in these debates.

 

Without Deep Purple, there is no Rainbow.
Without Rainbow, there is no Ronnie James Dio.

Anything that gave us more Ronnie James Dio in our lives must be seriously considered.

 

The fact that Paul Weller was not included calls the whole list into question; no one else of The Modfather's generation continues to make outstanding music and tour to boot.

 

I'm not embarrassed to say I've never heard of The Smiths, either (or the J.B.'s). If someone asked me if I thought the Smiths were great, I guess I'd have to respond, "Do you mean Dean, Mike (the jockey) or Emmitt?"

 

The Smiths -- aka guitar impressario Johnny Marr and shoegazing icon Morrissey -- were called the most important British band of the 1980s by Q Magazine, and the "most important artist ever" by NME.

Four of their albums are in the RS Top 500 Albums of All Time list.

You probably know the song How Soon is Now (or you damn well should)

Or Girlfriend in a Coma

 

Huggy's two cents (Canadian) worth:

Chicago - No
Cheap Trick- Yes
Deep Purple - Yes
The Cars - Tough one, a terrific singles band with a great debut and a couple of other strong albums. I say yes, won't be surprised if they don't make it
Janet Jackson - No
N.W.A - Don't listen to rap but I think they get in
Nice Inch Nails - No, but this will be a Jann Wenner Special
The Smiths - Yes
Yes - I'll say yes, but Rush's induction may have set the limit on prog-type bands for a bit
Chaka Khan - No
Chic - Can't believe Nile Rodgers isn't already in, so I guess that is a yes
The J.B's - I listen to a lot of music from different era and genres and have to admit I have never heard of these guys
Los Lobos - No
Steve Miller - Jann Wenner Special # 2
The Spinners - No

 

Going to preface this by saying I have At Budokan on vinyl and it is a fantastically fun album to blast on the speakers. However, besides that, what is the argument for Cheap Trick? I would love to say, yes, they are a Hall of Fame band, but I can't. What else is there? Dream Police? The Flame? Seriously, this band's biggest hit based on sales volume is The Flame. As Dooley noted, how do you overlook the crap like She's Tight, Don't be Cruel or Up the Creek. Yet, I keep seeing "cheap trick, yes." Not to go all Jack Morris or Jim Rice debate, but give me something more than "most feared hitter" or "he was ultimate big game pitcher" style stuff. From what I gather, the Cheap Trick argument is "dude, this was the band we all got wasted too or blew out the speakers when we driving."

Yes, there is something hip about Cheap Trick that is hard to explain. Nerds and jocks could dig them equally. It's like the two coolest dudes in your high school formed a band with the school spaz and creep janitor, went to Japan and got famous. No one that I know -- boomers to gen xers to millennials -- hates Cheap Trick. They're easy to like. But are they great? Did they break new ground? Did they string together a series of great albums?


Someone explain why Cheap Trick should be in the Hall?

 

I'm sure my man PC can come with a lengthy defence of Cheap Trick, I'm just saying you better not talk any more shit about "Up the Creek". Quality film and music video.

 

Cheap Trick was a complete musical blind spot for me, and that is likely to continue as my tastes have evolved in a completely different direction.