"RRHOF SUCKS"
Updated: 6 days ago
"The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame sucks!" seems to be the battle cry this time each year when the RRHOF makes their annual announcement of nominees for induction, and I hate it. They released their 14 nominees on Tuesday, and just like high school again, people fell into their cliques and started criticizing one another's taste in music.
There seem to be three fairly unanimous decisions, though. One, RRHOF need to rename themselves. Two, they seriously need to nominate all of the way past-due musicians. Three, "Weird Al" Yankovic needs to be inducted.
The next charge is almost always led by Warren Zevon warriors.
Following closely are the heavy metal, hard rock, and rock legions. Why isn't Quiet Riot in there already? What about Iron Maiden, Megadeath, Mötley Crüe, Motörhead, Ministry, Alice in Chains, Blue Öyster Cult, Pantera, Scorpions, Dio, Styx, Meatloaf, Three Dog Night, Jethro Tull, The Guess Who, Anthrax, Slayer, REO Speedwagon, Kansas, and Boston? This is a huge talent pool, some of whom have never been nominated, which is ironic given the name of the place.
Then there's the kids of the 80s and 90s up in arms over omitted acts like Phil Collins (solo), Sting, The J. Geils Band, INXS, The B-52's, Bryan Adams, Huey Lewis, Tears for Fears, Toto, Tracey Chapman, Smashing Pumpkins, Beck, Tool, Stone Temple Pilots, Faith No More, No Doubt, Garbage, Sonic Youth, and Hole. Again, a huge amount of talent.
According to the RRHOF, to be nominated, an act must have:
a commercial release at least 25 years prior
demonstrated musical excellence
musical influence on other artists
length and depth of career and the body of work
innovation and superiority in style and technique
"The Inductees are chosen by an international voting body of more than 1,000 Inductees, historians and members of the music industry, as well as the aggregate results of the Rock Hall’s online fan vote," stated a representative of the RRHOF.
Basically, a small group votes on who gets in. The whole online vote means very little.
Here is the full list of 2025 nominees, with my initial thoughts:
2025 NOMINEES
Bad Company - 70s road trips + 40M LPs sold (Maybe)
The Black Crowes - 30M LPs sold (Maybe)
Mariah Carey - longevity + 220M LPs sold (Yes)
Chubby Checker - just for "The Twist"? (No)
Joe Cocker - 22 studio LPs (Yes)
Billy Idol - Billy embodies rock & roll (Yes)
Cyndi Lauper - 50M LPs sold (Maybe)
Maná - who? (No)
Joy Division/New Order - monumental in the post-punk era (Yes)
Oasis - major influence in the 90s (Yes)
Outkast - just for "Hey Ya!" and "Ms. Jackson"? (No)
Phish - niche improv jamming (No)
Soundgarden - big players in the grunge movement (Maybe)
The White Stripes - solid musicians (Maybe)
If you want to have some fun voting, you can select up to seven artists per day until it closes on April 21st: VOTE NOW!
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation was established on April 20, 1983, by Ahmet Ertegun, founder and chairman of Atlantic Records. The RRHOF is located in Cleveland, Ohio.
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