Sunday, December 20, 2009
By BEN WENER
Really, Hall of Fame voters?
ABBA, that admittedly infectious but synthetic Swedish pop confection that nonetheless remains the very antithesis of rock ’n’ roll, will get into your not-so-hallowed Hall ahead of KISS, an equally internationally adored band that has been the masked face of primordial rock for decades?
Meanwhile, disco maven Donna Summer just has to wait her turn? Really?!?
Graham Nash, the admittedly likable and noteworthy English singer-songwriter, will become a two-time Hall of Famer, now that the Hollies will be inducted come March — but Lou Reed isn’t the same, even though his prolific and profound body of solo work alone surpasses everything Nash has recorded combined, CSN&Y included? Really?!?
Genesis is deservedly getting its due, 15 years after it should have first been considered — but Yes still hasn’t made it onto a ballot? Jimmy Cliff is finally getting noticed, that’s nice — but LL Cool J and Red Hot Chili Peppers, both of whom remain more relevant now, have to sit this one out? Really?!?
God, the Hall of Fame has become such a joke. I used to think it could be salvaged. Now I think it’s hopeless.
But there they are, the not-entirely-unworthy Class of 2010: ABBA, the Hollies, Genesis, Cliff and, at long freakin’ last, the Stooges, who have been on and off ballots so many times since first being eligible 15 YEARS AGO it’s a wonder they haven’t disqualified themselves.
Here’s my real beef, as it always has been. I really have no problem with installing the likes of ABBA or even the Hollies. But what gripes me is how many far more deserving candidates continue to be passed up, largely because the Hall of Fame, which used to induct as many as were deemed important and necessary per year, now firmly limits the number to five.
How is it logical that ABBA should get in but Hall & Oates has yet to even be nominated? And the Hall’s strange trend lately of favoring the popular over the seminal is confounding: If Laura Nyro can’t get in, what hope is there for Tom Waits or Warren Zevon?
Want some more names of eligible acts who have been snubbed or simply overlooked?
The list is baffling and ever-growing: Rush, Journey, Janet Jackson, Tina Turner (solo), the Cars, Roxy Music, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth, the Smiths, Dire Straits, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Devo, the Replacements, the MC5, Donovan, the Moody Blues, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, Alice Cooper, the Cure, Joy Division, Kraftwerk, Little Feat, Love, the Steve Miller Band, the Monkees, New York Dolls, the Spinners, the B-52’s, Boston, Chic, Chicago, Joe Cocker, Dick Dale, Deep Purple, ELO, Heart and Blood, Sweat & Tears.
And now that we’ve entered the heyday of college-rock and the roots of Alternative Nation, there’s another wave of talent about to wash in. But I guarantee you Nirvana and Pearl Jam will get in before most of the names I just mentioned are even on a ballot.
So lame. Thank heavens Iggy Pop finally gets to storm the place. I hope he trashes the joint. Torches it, even.