Rock n Roll Hall of Fame

Well, the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame nominees were announced and as per usual there are some noticeable names missing:

- Africa Bambaataa
- Beastie Boys
- Chic
- Leonard Cohen
- Dave Clark Five
- Madonna
- John Mellencamp
- Donna Summer
- Ventures

I'm sorry, but any Hall of Fame for rock music that does not include The Stooges has absolutely no credibility. To make matters worse, they can't even get nominated. Last year the New York Dolls were nominated - their whole schtick, besides cross dressing, was aping the sound of The Stooges. And while I don't mind The New York Dolls, they are not even in the same conversation as The Stooges.



Without any exaggeration it is safe to say that popular music would be much different (and worse) without The Stooges. They are rightfully considered the fathers of punk rock. To truly appreciate The Stooges, one should listen to "The Stooges" and "Funhouse" and realize these CDs were created in 1969 and 1970. It sounds is modern by today's standards and it's influence can be heard in most popular music. They are easily one of the ten most influential artists of all time. Yet they are not even worthy of debate by the Hall panel.



To make matters worse are the large number of influential artists not in the Hall. Obviously with something arbitrary like this there will be many questionable exclusion. However, some of the omissions are startling and really do hurt it's credibility, such as:

- Tom Waits
- The Zombies
- Nick Drake
- Joy Division
- MC5
- Sonic Youth

At least Patti Smith made it last year. Hopefully some of these bands start to get their due.



Tags:

*entertainment*music *rock *indie *punk*Cleveland *Rock and Roll Hall of Fame*The Stooges*Madonna *Beastie Boys *Tom Waits*MC5 *Nick Drake*Zombies *Joy Division*Sonic Youth