Rock n Roll hall of Fame-WHAT THE HELL? (1 Viewer)

[Eric Peterson]

WHAT? The Cure have been releasing consistently great albums for more than 25 years with an rabid world-wide following and can still headline nearly an place in the world that they chose. Maybe you don't like them, but that doesn't eliminate the fact that millions do. Hell, they had a touring festival last year called "Curiosa", guess who the headliner was?

As for Sabbath, they might not have been the greatest band, but to question their impact on music would be asbsolutely idiotic. They're every bit as influential as any band that you could name from the early 70s, in fact Zeppelin was often compared to Sabbath, not the reverse.

 

[Gary->dee]

I don't think it's a matter of impact but rather of importance, quality and longevity of the music(keyword being 'music' and not how recently the artist has released a record). The Cure and Sabbath should be inducted as much as Mott The Hoople and the Strawberry Alarm Clock, or Human League.

Ask people on the street to name a Cure song. They probably can't. Same for Sabbath, although I'd reckon that you'd get a better response with Sabbath.

 

[Eric Peterson]

Ask someone to name a Temptations song, a Brenda Lee song, or countless other artist in the HOF and I'll guarantee that you get an equal if not even more confused stare.

As for Sabbath, if somebody doesn't know "Iron Man" or "Paranoid", then they've been asleep for the last 30 years. Those songs are still cycled on Hard Rock radio like they were released yesterday.

As for "The Cure" you'd have a hard time finding any critical review that didn't include at least 2 of their albums from the 80s in the top albums of that decade. "Disintegration" is often cited as one of the best albums of that era and had at least 3 HUGE singles. Which is more than some of the artists in the HOF had in their entire career. Recently their song "Pictures of You" has been in heavy rotation on TV during a Kodak commercial.

 

[TheLongshot]

The problem with that is semantics. What you think is good isn't what other people think is good. Personally, I don't think the Rolling Stones are very good, but I'm not argueing their place in the RnR HOF.

What musicians should be named for is being a prime mover in their genre, and being a big influence to other bands. What you actually think of the bands is somewhat immaterial.

That's why it kinda annoys me that it seems like every Motown band gets inducted, but no Progressive Rock artists. Progressive Rock is just as valid a genre, and should be represented in the hall.

Jason

 

[Gary->dee]

Hey for what it's worth I'm all for Yes being inducted. :b

Then again Pink Floyd was considered prog rock at one time.

 

[Michael Allred]

I think Queen might have something to say about that....

 

[Gary->dee]

I want ABBA to be in the RHOF.

 

[Grant B]

Just because they were not huge over in Lansing.
In England they had a string of #1s that rivaled the Beatles.
Look at NME during the 80s and they won every possible award until they broke up.
But then again I think Steely Dan sucks so I guess we are even

Until the Pistols i never even heard of Punk ....but living in Toledo (60 miles south of Lansing I believe)I was a little away from the media centers.
But they set off the explosion so by the time I could sneak into a bar; their 'offspring' was up their playing

 

[LarryDavenport]

Shouldn't Grand Funk Railroad, Foghat, Nazareth, Thin Lizzy, or the MC5 be inducted. Why not the James Gang? Dead Kennedys? Blue Öyster Cult!

 

[Max F]

My argument is that bands that created whole branches of the tree of rock should be inducted, regardless whether you like them or not.

The funny thing is that i still really like Black Sabbath. The real irony is that they are still influential to many bands today and at the same time scorned by the mainstream that helps to induct some of these other cheesy bands. This really fits into what they were all about in the first place - playing their own stuff they way it was meant to be played, regardless of what anyone thought of them. Once they are inducted, this will probably be a time when their influence has much waned. Hopefully, many years in the future when rock becomes obsolete and devoid of life (like jazz is today)

 

[Brian Perry]

I tend to agree -- that's why I can't understand why someone like Tom Petty gets in. In my opinion, he's not that good, and he didn't influence anyone.

 

[Grant B]

Well if this thread does one thing, it shows how hard it is to say who belongs.
I believe the only requirement is the years after the 1st recording.
I don't know what other factors could work- hits?
That would open it up for Britney Spears & the Spice Girls

Prime mover of a Genre maybe being one quality?
Major influence on other artists?

 

[WillG]

Unfortunately, based on that criteria, Britney Spears will be inducted once enough time goes by for her to be eligible.

Sad to think that she could be inducted before groups with talent such as Rush, Sabbath and Yes

 

[Aaron Silverman]

I can't believe that you would publicly equate The Cure and Black Sabbath with a couple of one-hit wonders. If you don't think that "importance, quality, and longevity" applies to them in spades, then you have a lot of studying to do.

And people forget that there was a lot more to Sabbath than just Iron Man and Paranoid. Albums like Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Sabotage had some great, fairly experimental stuff.

 

[Jim Rakowiecki]

You need to consider the impact the act had on music as well as the body of work which is probably why they wait 25 years before a group can be considered.
As time goes on the nominating and voting bodies are going to change and you may see bands like Sabbath and The Sex Pistols inducted.
Look at the Baseball hall of fame. How many great players are not included and how many players are not voted in on the first go around? How many times has a player waited 50 years to even be considered?
Sometimes it just takes time for the truth to come out.

 

[Jan H]

But the problem is it seems like the Hall selection committee is made up of mostly people who remember humming a hit of the Shirelles in high school, or making out to Dion in the back of a Chevy. Does anyone, and I mean ANYONE, get the itch to pop a Brenda Lee CD in their car when they're driving to work? It's like Phil Rizzuto being in the baseball Hall of Fame. Statistically and athletically, he doesn't merit it, but he was part of a 'Golden Age' of baseball, with a legendary team, and nostalgia alone explains why he's in. Same goes for a vast number of the performers is the R&R HOF, too.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Not many. The Baseball HOF is really a pretty good representation of the folks who deserve it. Some will always complain about the absence of folks like Roger Maris, but I agree that he shouldn't be in there - he had a few great seasons but not a HOF career.

I think the Baseball HOF gets it right MUCH more consistently than the R&R HOF - I see very little room for argument in regard to the former, but lots of issues with the latter...

 

[George See]

The velvet underground are in the HOF at least so there is some hope yet for it. At the very least the museum was pretty cool when I visited it lots of interesting artifacts.

 

[Henry Gale]

So, she's in the Rock Hall of Fame too? My pet peeve is her induction into the Country Music HOF. When it happened and they gave an overview of her career they kept mentioning her rock hits from the fifties...that was all there was to talk about. No way does she belong with Hank Williams, Jimmie Rodgers, Bob Wills....etc.

 

[Eric Peterson]

Very well said Aaron. Unfortunatley, Metal is still a form of music that people stare down their noses at. As for "The Cure", you can pretty much trace the genesis of alternative music to them, although that's a bit more hazy of a connection than "Black Sabbath" is to metal. There were countless bands in the eighties that owed their very existence to "The Cure".

Unfortunately, I'm nearly positive that Metallica will be the first metal band to make the HOF, and that would be a horrible shame, because they wouldn't exist without Sabbath, Priest, & Maiden who paved the way for them.