Who deserves to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? A reader weighs in.

It’s the annual silly season when it comes to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominations. Now that the nomination committee has put forth its list for the class of 2021, the debating, arguing, and bitching has begun.

The more fundamental arguments have appeared again. What’s the mandate of the Hall? How can [insert artist name here] be considered “rock and roll?” How political is this whole process? Why are fans not given more of a say? And so forth.

This email arrived from Raoul, a reader of this pages who has some serious issues with the entire operations of the RaRHoF. I present his arguments here.

-AC

I am having considerable difficulty with how some nominations to the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame in any manner fit into this category. First of all I have considerable difficulty defining some of these nominations as having anything to do with Rock N Roll. However, and even far more dumbfounding is how they ever would quality for any hall of fame what so ever. (Oh I know you already know where I am going, completely)

Allow me to transition to another passion of mine: basketball. The Rock N Roll Hall of Fame should have bands, or musicians whose basketball number is hung from the ceiling in the glory of outstanding achievement. It goes to such players as Michael Jordan, Kobi Bryant, Steve Nash, LeBron James, Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen, Isiah Thomas, Wilt Chamberlain, Dwayne Wade, Kareem, Patrick Ewing, etc. To be good or even very good like Pascal Siakem or Fred Van Vleet of the current Raptors is not good enough. The person on the bubble of such high acclaim would be Kyle Lowry.

So let’s water it down in the name of capitalism and say to get into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame you must obtain an 8.5 out of 10.

I am just going to randomly brainstorm bands that would be 8.6 or higher in no particular order. In my opinion, they deserve to be there. They are on my Hall of Fame team.

• The Rolling Stones
• The Who
• U2
• The Doors
• The Band
• The Beach Boys
• Nirvana,
• Metallica
• Pearl Jam
• The Clash
• The Foo Fighters
• The Sex Pistols
• Patti Smith
• Green Day
• Oasis
• Eurythmics
• Evanescence,
• The Cranberries
• Beth Hart
• The Cranberries
• The Kinks
• The Faces
• Nightwish
• The White Stripes
• Bruce Springsteen
• The Ramones
• Tragically Hip
• Joy Division
• Dire Straits
• Stone Roses
• AC/DC
• The Police
• The Beatles
• Radio Head
• Tom Petty
• Joan Jett
• Chili Peppers
• The Jam
• XTC
• The Pogues
• The Pixies
• Bob Marley
• Toots and the Maytals
• CCR
• REM
• David Bowie
• Neil Young
• Crosby Stills Nash and Young
• Rush
• ELO
• Janis Joplin

Now here are my bands with the line in the sand. You should be at this level or higher.

• Huey Lewis and the News
• Gorillaz
• The Cure
• Talking Heads
• Blondie
• Madonna
• Smashing Pumpkins
• Steve Tyler
• Pretenders
• Madonna
• Elvis Costello
• Crowded House
• Pink
• The Matthew Good Band
• The Damned
• Miley Cyrus if she continues on her path
• The Dave Clark 5
• Our Lady of Peace
• Alexis On Fire
• Rammstein
• Billy Idol
• Public Image
• The ‘Cult
• Siouxsie and the Banshees
• Sinead O’Connor
• Cold Play
• The Bay City Rollers
• The Renegades
• B52s?
• The Weeknd
• Prince
• Eminem
• Blink 182

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Now we may discuss whether bands should be on the bubble or not….or even deserving of this opportunity.

The point I am trying to make is that such nominations are not even remotely close to this level of musical accomplishment, not only am I challenged to open up my umbrella to consider them a rock and roll band (and I really opened it quite far above), they are from my paradigm far, far too far away to even be contemplated.

Here is my challenge: Lift these three into my selections and show me the three you are bumping or taking out.

• Devo
• The Go Go’s
• Chaka Khan

By the way, if you asked me to rate these bands honestly out of ten, the Go Go’s would get a 2.5 not based on musical talent at all (none of them can really play very well at all). Great “eye candy” though, and I would stay to see them.

Devo would get a 1 if they performed at the Edge [the old alt-rock club in Toronto] and I would have been long gone before their very first song ended. As far as the other Chaka Kahn band, they get a “0.” Zero. Zilch. I am gone as they come on stage.

I know exactly who they are even if I have never heard a note of theirs ever before. Their look reveals their rock and roll integrity totally. They do not have the rock and roll appearance, the right hair nor the hat. They do not carry their guitar like the Ramones, or Keith Richard or Prince like a symbolic sex organ. They do not have the hair like Ron Wood, Robert Smith, or Rod Stewart in the Faces, or Keith Richard emanating coolness with his scarf around his strewn hair. There is no dramatic entrance like the Who’s “Baba O’Reilly” or the ballsy entrance of the Sex Pistols, or the anticipated energy of great excitement of the Ramones. There is no killer attitude that we are going to kick your ass tonight of The Jam or Pearl Jam or the Mods at the Danforth opening for the Police. Their body language, they couldn’t care less look, their complete lack of any rock and roll attitude and disposition tells me to get out of here right now before they even sound a note because you just know they will never ever strike any rock and roll chord. Get out of here right now. You can keep my door entrance fee. I am getting out of here and rushing to catch the set of Joe Jackson at the Horseshoe.

This is no longer The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but rather the Music Hall of Mediocrity. By allowing such bands into the Hall of Fame you are diminishing all those who shined and excelled and tarnishing the reputation of the Hall of Fame.