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About Those Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominations
If this morning’s nominations for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2016 are any indication, rock isn’t quite dead. Not yet, anyway. But it does appear to be resting.
We could — and probably will — argue about whether the existence of such an institution is in itself a nullification of the spirit of rock’n’roll. I await your comments.
In the meantime, here — though precisely no one asked for it — is my take on each of the nominees.
- Chicago. I’m pretty sure that Chicago deserves this, but I feel sort of dirty for saying so. For me, their horn-heavy super hits of the ’70s were sort of overshadowed by their soft-rock turn in the ’80s (and Peter Cetera’s gloppish solo career), but okay. Chicago goes in.
- Cheap Trick. Not a top-tier rock band by any stretch. We could sink a lot of beers debating the relative merits of their two (or three) well-known songs, but this is a big stretch. Cheap Trick is a no.
- Deep Purple. Heavy metal hall of fame, yes. Rock and roll hall of fame, no. I ain’t turning off “Smoke on the Water” or “My Woman from Tokyo” if they come on the radio, but I could say the same about “Last Train to Clarksville.”
- The Cars. I can support this nomination unreservedly. The Cars were/are a solid band that sold a lot of records and broke through to a wide audience during the early days of MTV. Their well-crafted pop songs are still in heavy rotation on the radio and their influence on several generations of crafty rock tunesmiths is both real and ongoing.
- Chaka Khan. I don’t think I know enough about the Queen of Funk to judge for certain whether she belongs in the Hall. My gut says no. If you really think otherwise, I feel for you.
- Chic. Um, disco sucks. What are we talking about?
- The J.B.’s. James Brown’s original band has got to be the funkiest thing I can think of, but is it a rock and roll outfit? Naw — maybe — I guess so — I don’t know. Whatever. This is the kind of thing that makes record store geeks feel good about the world, so let them have it.
- Janet Jackson. This is a crime against three chords and the truth. What has become of us?
- Los Lobos. I know I’m supposed to like Los Lobos, but I don’t know how. Probably there is some desire among the powers-that-be to get some diversity in the hall, but this seems like a big stretch.
- Steve Miller. Yeah, okay. Since there’s no separate Folk Rock Hall of Fame, I guess the Gangster of Love goes in.
- N.W.A. Seriously, what are we doing here? As the kids say these days: I. Can’t. Even.
- Nine Inch Nails. Anything made mostly with computers shouldn’t be in the Hall. Period.
- The Smiths. This is a yes. Make that a hell yes. Influential. Successful. Poetic. Unique. Funny (at times — in a dark way). Guitar-driven. Maybe not for everyone, but The Smiths definitely belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
- The Spinners. Sure. Why not?
- Yes. I expect there to be some serious discussion on this. I’m not myself a fan of proggy noodling, but groups like Yes are a big deal to some. It’s a “no” from me, but I’m willing to hear your case.
Come at me, bros.
Published in Entertainment
Never thought of Chicago as inventing a new sound. In fact I always thought of them as the second coming of Blood Sweat and Tears, just a little less MOR (but not much).
I grudgingly think they get in though for sheer volume of hits, but not innovation. I can remember a time when I couldn’t change the radio fast enough if Saturday In the Park came on one more $%!# time.
I only know about them because of a couple of Ricochet references. James Delingpole has mentioned them favorably in his podcasts in the past, and the Hinderaker-Ward podcast used one of their songs (“What Differences Does It Make“) to cut in Hillary’s voice using the same words from the Benghazi Hearings.
I think they’re one of those bands that were big in Britain but didn’t cross over in a big way to this side.
To add to the confusion, there was also an American band named “Smith.” A friend asked me to play some of their music from my music service once when he was visiting, and I mistakenly played “The Smiths” instead.
They were definitely part of the same wave, but according to Wikipedia, both bands were formed in 1967. The same people who liked one tended to like the other, as I recall, particularly if they were attracted to the brass. I just get the impression that for many, BS&T were more about David Clayton-Thomas’ incredible voice and Chicago were more about the brass. But again, that may have been a limited perspective from the people I was hanging out with.
It’s interesting, and I didn’t know it until fairly recently, that BS&T were originally formed by Al Kooper. Kooper played and recorded with a lot of bands, but I get the biggest kick out of the fact that he co-wrote “This Diamond Ring” for Gary Lewis and the Playboys.
Look up “How Soon Is Now.” Chances are you’ve probably heard that one but don’t recognize the band name.
BS&T (another great band in their earliest incarnations) was essentially a jazz band that added rock to their sound. Chicago was a rock band that added horns. For horn-band nerds, the two bands are very different things. Similarly, the mighty Tower of Power, while a horn band, is whole other animal.
For what it’s worth, Chicago & BS&T were born at roughly the same time – 1967-68. BS&T broke on the radio first, but only by one year.
I hadn’t heard it.
The Smiths were the British equivalent of R.E.M.
I hadn’t thought of it that way, but that’s a pretty good comparison. Peter Buck and Johnny Marr both channel that Roger McGuinn jangly guitar, and there are definitely similarities in the vocals of Morrissey and Stipe.
No surprise. You’re slightly older than my dad, and the only reason my dad knows who the Smiths are is because my sister used to be rather obsessed with them and Morrissey (though much later as she was too young to have heard them in the 80s). They were around from 1984-87 and were way bigger in England than here, where only the alternative kids were into them.
That’s the way I remember it – “Spinning Wheel” was all over the radio before Chicago entered my consciousness.
I don’t see the similarity between The Smiths and REM, other than jangly guitars and an insufferable lead singer. The Smiths’ songs are way better than REM’s, and at least Morrissey was insufferable in a good way.
Until the Moody Blues get in I am not interested in arguing the case for or against anyone else.
Not to say I haven’t enjoyed this thread greatly. :-)
If you’re gonna let NWA in you might as well let everyone in.
Im all for eclecticism in music generally but it was originally supposed to be just ROCK AND ROLL. I think it was Mick Jagger who said they should have thrown away the key after the fifties generation.
On the funny side, this does now make betting on future entries wide open. Who thinks the Spice Girls can get in?
Yeah, their songs are completely different, as were much of the dynamics of their music. REM was definitely more obtuse. I think Petty Boozswha may have meant what they did for the direction of rock music in their respective nations at the time.
I must protest the casual dissing of Deep Purple. Yes, it’s hard to see who could more deserve rock and roll accolades. Don’t agree? See Lazy from 1972, live, for example (and ignore the horrid rock fashion wear):
Or Child in Time:
So we are 75 comments in and nobody has mentioned the shocking absence of Spinal Tap in the HoF nominations!!! They are the loudest band ever. (Their amps go to eleven.) Their drummers have had a tragic tendency to self-combust on stage. And it was Spinal Tap that taught us all that D minor is the saddest of all keys. How could they have been ignored for so long???
It’s a travestry. Spinal Tap were not only rockers – they were anthropologists who used their music to teach us all about the little children of Stonehenge.
And what other band in the history of rock has cut a tune using three electric basses? (“Big Bottom”)
They also made a great technological breakthrough by inventing amps that go to 11.
Smell the Glove was groundbreaking even if the record label made them use that black album cover. There was none more black.
The Smiths had Johnny Marr, and that made a huge difference.
That said, while I agree they’re both insufferable personalities, Michael Stipe can sing circles around Morrissey.
A brilliant move that was subsequently stolen by everybody from Jay-Z to Metallica.
Exactly
This is not true. I was in high school in the 80’s and know who the Smiths were. lol Damn senior citizens and their hippy music!