Rock Hard, Ride Free...
Ok, it has to be said. The Rock n' Roll Hall Of Fame sucks. Hard. The Rock n' Roll Hall Of Fame is made up of a very self-congratulating group of musicians who have decided that what type of music, and what type of musician will be inducted. It's a relatively light mid-tempo 50's through early 70's bluesy-rockabilly sound. How can I say this? Why can I say this? Look at who's there, it's almost exclusively 50's and 60's pop artists with a mix of old R&B singers and a few established blues legends. The inductees get more and more obscure in an effort to continue inducting artists without changing the type of sound inducted. So, either an old pop band from the 50's is dredged up, or a newer artist with a similar, "established", or "co-opted revolutionary status". Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against R&B. Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, they were incredible. But you can't, you CAN'T tell me that The Moonglows, Solomon Burke, or Gene Pitney are more deserving or were more influential than, say, Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy, or Deep Purple. But the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame will never induct Black Sabbath (even though they've been around for 36 years now) No way. NO WAY. Maybe they'll eventually induct Ozzy alone, just because he's become part of American MTV pop culture. He's safe now. The NWOBHM ? Forget it. Maiden, Priest, Dio, Motorhead...to name a few, will never be inducted regardless of how many people cite them as influences (because the RIGHT people won't cite them). One might argue that the Hall of Fame inducted people like Aerosmith, and AC/DC. Don't fool yourself. Aerosmith has been a corporation, and a tool of the Man since 1979, and AC/DC unfortunately has been co-opted by Hot Topic and the middle schoolers who shop there. (Although to be honest, I still don't know how AC/DC slipped by).
To be fair, I suppose it's difficult for me, given all the musical progress in the past 30 years, to be able to understand just how much "I wanna hold your hand" blew people away in 1964, or just how impressed people were by Led Zepplin. But regardless, I still am not blown away by the Beatles, and I still think that Led Zep is the probably the single most over-rated and over-blown band of all time.
To be fair, I suppose it's difficult for me, given all the musical progress in the past 30 years, to be able to understand just how much "I wanna hold your hand" blew people away in 1964, or just how impressed people were by Led Zepplin. But regardless, I still am not blown away by the Beatles, and I still think that Led Zep is the probably the single most over-rated and over-blown band of all time.