The annual nominees for the R&R Hall Of Fame have been released today. And with that usually it’s a day I go crazy and rant and rave about who is and isn’t on the ballot as I have since the thing opened. But I have thought about it and decided I’m done doing that. Why? Not because it has been fixed at all, quite the opposite actually. It is SO damaged and SO clueless and SO disrespectful of real rock bands that it has actually become irrelevant and not worth my time or aggravation. After years of screaming about Rush, Kiss and Alice Cooper, all who finally did go in, I noticed something else, it was forgotten about 24 hours later. I mean it had zero impact on any artists careers. It did nothing to spike sales of albums or tickets. Many don’t even see it because it is expensive to go to and the TV broadcast is now on a premium pay channel. Having attended the induction last year as a guest of Ace & Peter’s it was a really nice moment of course, and of course there are tons of worthy bands in the Hall. But looking at the nominees this year as far as who is on it and who is not even in the conversation after being snubbed for over a decade I realized something. Why get upset? This is NEVER going to change! It is a private club of the music industry snobs and never was the voice of the fans. They have run this thing into total irrelevance in my opinion because they are so hung up on what they think is cool vs what millions of music fans buy and care about. It just doesn’t matter at all in the big picture because the history of who has and hasn’t gone in (and how long some waited to finally get in) just taints it. If you are a real rock music fan and take a step back you just have to laugh at all the obvious bias going on. I get the sense the same people that made fun of me for liking Kiss in high school have all moved to the Hall nomination group. It’s that type of elitist music snob vibe. It always has been but I thought when Rush, Kiss, Alice, etc finally got in the tide would turn and progress would be made. But nothing has changed. Deep Purple, Bon Jovi, Dio, Motorhead, Motley, Def Leppard, Cheap Trick, Journey, Styx, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and COUNTLESS other huge selling and influential acts are still snubbed in the rush to get Green Day, or Sting solo in. I have decided by ranting about it I am giving this thing way too much credit and validity. I kind of thought that all along but actually thought some progress was finally being made. But it is as disrespectful as ever for real rock music and to the millions of fans these bands have. So it doesn’t move the needle, half the artists don’t want to go, most fans can’t go or even see the broadcast, and fans have very little to do with it and THEY make the bands careers! It’s irrelevant to me now and a total time waster. Yes I get it still means something to some artists to go in, and I would never belittle that moment for anyone. But it really has become irrelevant in so many ways to REAL fans of REAL rock bands that sold MILLIONS of albums and INFLUENCED generations that it isn’t worth my time and effort. And I know many will say “somebody needs to start their own Hall”. Heard that a million times, tried and still try to find an interested partner with the resources. Maybe one day. But until then I, or any other real rock fan, shouldn’t acknowledge this joke of a private club. I did for so long because I thought it would help change the tide, but I see that is just not going to ever happen and it’s time to move on. Especially when you consider in the big picture the way it’s done it means very little in the end.
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189 Responses
Sounds like if it was up to you Eddie the hall would be only white guys with guitars.
Eddie please. Just one more time. Give the finger for Joan Jett. She is long overdue. She deserves it. No other female set the standard for female rockers for the next generation like Joan.
I have never given credit to the Hall of Fame. I just went thru this on Twitter. The powers that be at the hall are the hippies from Rolling Stone magazine. Since 1977, I bought everything KISS, albums, concerts…etc. I bought only magazines with KISS and rock bands profiled in them. Rolling Stone? Yeah, Bob Dylan worshippers. No thanks. Metal has always been about the street and underground, even when the bands got famous, it was ours! Not corporate America, not our parents. It’s the fans! It is made for the fans by artists who are also fans. Not money hungry record execs who dumped enough money and drugs to sell out tabloids to promote what they liked.
When did Chic EVER release a rock album or even a single ? NWA in the “Rock n Roll” HOF ??? NOT !!! This place is a joke, and ANY true rock n roll fan knows it.
Well Eddie there is one to solve it. Get the magazines and sites that follow and write about Hard Rock and Metal help you open a HOF for the artists in the genre of Rock that we think are deserving . We all know that metal will never be accepted or respected by industry snobs. Even though it has always been one of the best supported types of music by the people that actually buy the music and tickets to concerts. Not to many other music genres can make that statement.