Well, it’s that time again. When the ‘Rock N Roll Hall of Fame’ names all the acts that are on the nomination board. And honestly, this year it’s overall a pretty solid bunch of groups: Soundgarden and Judas Priest both seem to have a decent shot. And Motley Crue is leading the fan nominations; whomever wins that gets a spot. Soudgarden obviously should be in and Judas Priest has been nominated and snubbed for the past few years. It also looks like Motorhead and Pat Benatar will get in. All of those acts are more than deserving of being in the Hall of Fame.
But that’s not my issue with this years nominations. It’s the overall attention being paid to from the mainstream news to the acts getting in that aren’t rock. Namely Whitney Houston and Notorious B.I.G. Which, sure, both are certainly legends in their genres. But when I think of rock, those are two names are pretty far away from the ballpark. And all I’ve seen in the headlines, except for actual rock websites, is ‘Whitney Houston and Notorious B.I.G. nominated for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.’ Now, when it comes to politics and all that jazz, outlets like Washington Post, New York Times and NPR dish out pretty accurate stories. And of course their history of excellence in journalism is nearly unmatched. But when it comes to rock and the heavier music community they don’t know their asses from a hole in the ground. I literally saw almost no mention of Soundgarden. And when they were mentioned it seemed in passing. I mean, we’re talking about one of the greatest hard rock bands of all time ever period.
So while there is more recognition from the actual Hall of Fame itself overall. The media still has that bias towards heavy music that’s always existed, but has become much more prominent in the last 23 years or so. I mean, Biggie and Houston are two artists that are simply not rock. And actually, as long as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is going to induct artists that aren’t rock, they should change the name to the Music Hall of Fame. Or the Modern Music Hall of Fame. That or establish a Hip Hop and Pop Hall of Fame. Lord knows hip hop has stood the test of time. Along with legendary acts like Whitney Houston.
The other beef I have with this years inductions is the situation with Motorhead. Mikkey Dee and Phil Cambell were initially left out of the ceremony. Mikkey Dee joined the band in 1992 and was the longest serving drummer in the band until Lemmy’s death. He then joined The Scorpions in which he still plays to this day. Phil Cambell has been in the band since 1984!! He’s played on sixteen studio albums!! It’s crazy that they were left out of the induction. But the fans made their voiced heard and they’re now going to be induced along with all the other many players that have graced the metal giants. But the initial snub it really fucked up.
Overall this years inductees look pretty good. But there’s still that stipulation from the media to highlight the acts that are least associated with rock and most associated with pop or hip hop. But I have to say that this year may be a step forward into inducting some acts that really deserve to be in the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame.
