Every year around this time, the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame nominating committee submits their list of finalists of which five artists will be selected for future induction. I always get excited each time but then always forget that the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame is a fuckin’ joke. Instead of inducting bands that have truly made an impact on popular music, what seems to happen is that Jann Wenner and his cronies go with the bands on their personal favorites list. If they don’t like the artist, accomplishments like album sales and influences on other artists still won’t matter. Jann Wenner is such an egotistical bastard that he even inducted himself into the Hall Of Fame. I won’t discredit his contributions as founder and editor of Rolling Stone, but shouldn’t he be inducted when he’s bit older, or maybe when he’s dead? I understand that listening to music is very subjective, and we all love to argue about who’s deserving to be in the hall of fame as much as we do about best songs of a decade, or greatest guitarist, etc. But of any shrine to an art form or sport, the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame has totally missed the boat. I respect the following artists, but of any bands in the Hall Of Fame, they are the best examples of musicians whose overall impact is questionable: Traffic, Frank Zappa, Buffalo Springfield, Sex Pistols, and The Talking Heads.  Traffic introduced the world to Steve Winwood, but have they really ever produced a meaningful song? Frank Zappa might have been innovative, but for a guy whose best known song is Valley Girl, does he really deserve to be in the hall? Buffalo Springfield only had one album with Stephen Stills and Neil Young and have only one relevant song (For What It’s Worth)! The Sex Pistols are also known for one album, and it’s a fact that Sid Vicious wasn’t even good enough to play bass, so he performed without his guitar even plugged in. I personally like the Talking Heads, but they are more known for their unique videos on MTV than their actual music. Only the creme de la creme should be in the Hall Of Fame: those that no sane person could argue such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Michael Jackson.
Tag: Metallica
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The Rock Hall Class of 2009: Part One: Ready for War?
It’s always interesting to see who the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominating committee chooses each year for potential entrants into the next year’s class of inductees. This year’s 9-artist selection (of which 5 will be chosen) offers some surprises.
Metallica and Run-DMC were widely considered shoo-ins. Metallica basically popularized metal (as in the all-black, cut off T-shirts and dirty tight jeans with mullets kind of metal)Â for a mainstream audience and have remained relevant through their entire quarter-century in existence. Run-DMC, are, well, Run-DMC. They revolutionized hip-hop, took it from a fad into an art form. There’s no doubt that these guys, however little time their star burned, deserve a place here. I’d say those are the only two acts whose inductions are assured.
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Rock On The Charts: Mainstream & Modern Rock Charts Wk of 9/22
Mainstream Rock
- Bad Girlfriend/Theory Of A Deadman (17 weeks on chart, Peak#1)
- The Day That Never Comes/Metallica (5 weeks on chart, Peak#1)
- Rock & Roll Train/AC/DC (4 weeks on chart, Peak#3)
- Use Me/Hinder (11 weeks on chart, Peak#3)
- Believe/Staind (13 weeks on chart, Peak#4)
- I Don’t Care/Apocalyptica Featuring Adam Gontier (13 weeks on chart, Peak#6)
- Too Drunk…/Buckcherry (10 weeks on chart, Peak#7)
- Psychosocial/Slipknot (13 weeks on chart, Peak#8)
- Addicted/Saving Abel (33 weeks on chart, Peak#2)
- Train/Three Doors Down (18 weeks on chart, Peak#10)
Analysis:
Theory Of A Deadman regains the #1 spot with their sentimental rocker about a relationship gone sour. The song is beginning to grow on me…. AC/DC stays put at #3, I’m still waiting for them to hit the top spot which I think is going to happen in the next two weeks…. Use Me by Hinder might make my Top #5 singles of the year, the song really kicks ass… Did anybody think Three Doors Down would be still be relevant in today’s music scene? almost ten years after their debut? They enter the Top 10 with their second single (Train) from their self-titled new album… I’m curious to see if Tesla can make the Top 10 with their new single, I Wanna Live, which is getting a lot of local radio play. They haven’t had a Top 10 Mainstream Rock hit since 1994’s Mama’s Fool which peaked at #5… Not much else movement this week.
Modern Rock
- You’re Gonna Go So Far Kid/The Offspring (9 weeks on chart, Peak#1)
- Believe/Staind (13 weeks on chart, Peak#1)
- Troublemaker/Weezer (11 weeks on chart, Peak#3)
- I’m Not Over/Carolina Liar (21 weeks on chart, Peak#3)
- Re-Education (Through Labor)/Rise Against (5 weeks on chart, Peak#5)
- The Day That Never Comes/Metallica (6 weeks on chart, Peak#5)
- Let It Die/Foo Fighters (25 weeks on chart, Peak#1)
- I Don’t Care/Apocalyptica Featuring Adam Gontier (12 weeks on chart, Peak#8)
- Viva La Vida/Coldplay (16 weeks on chart, Peak#1)
- Into The Fire/Disturbed (26 weeks on chart, Peak#4)
Analysis:
The Offspring grab the #1 spot with their new single which is their third ever #1, and their first since Hit That topped the Modern Rock charts in 2004. Personally, I think the song is pretty bland, and it hasn’t gotten much exposure on my local rock radio. Maybe I’m listening at the wrong times… Can Weezer get their new song to the top spot and make it two #1 Modern Rock singles from the new album? Maybe, maybe not!…Rise Against was the biggest mover up three spots to #5 with their new single. I have to do my homework on these guys as I’m not too aware of what they are all about.
