Tuesday, October 20, 2015

For Those About to Rock: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2016, part 3

Welcome to the final installment of my three-part series, For Those About to Rock, where we go over the 2016 nominees for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame and predict who gets in and who gets the shaft.  You can read Part 2 here if you need to catch up.  For the rest of you, let’s tackle the next 6 nominees!



The Smiths - The Smiths scored a nomination last year and didn’t get in because of the strong class of nominees they were in. This year the class isn’t as strong but it still won’t get The Smiths inducted. Last year I wrote that The Smiths’ influence is undeniable and Johnny Marr’s guitar work along with Morrissey’s ability to write songs about how everyday life is full of passion and drama gives them a strong case for induction. I’m not sure how long they’ll have to wait but they’ll eventually get in. They won’t have a contingency of fans crying about how they’re not inducted like Kiss had with their whining fan group “Kiss Army”. Smiths fans are too depressed about other things more than about the Hall of Fame which will keep the pressure off the Hall.

The Spinners - Another carryover nominee from last year, The Spinners are somehow still convincing people that we need to let EVERY SINGLE Motown group into the HOF. I was against it last year and remain unconvinced that they’re deserving. The Spinners gave us a great song but that's it. The HOF nomination committee, or whoever the hell nominates artists, needs to let The Spinners go.

Yes - The same group of people yelling for Rush to be inducted are going to be the same people who cry about Yes getting inducted. The only potential reason I'd like to see Yes inducted is because I think Chris Squire is a fantastic bassist and songwriter and I love their song “I’ve Seen All Good People," but do we really need another prog rock band inducted? Aren’t Pink Floyd, Rush and Genesis enough? Doesn’t that cover prog rock at its best? What’s next, Van der Graaf Generator? Stop it. Once again the nomination committee needs to let this one go. You’ve covered the best part of prog rock within the history of popular music already. Too much of a good thing is ultimately a bad thing. Induction for Yes? No.



PREDICTION TIME!!!!!

Alright, now it’s everyone’s favorite moment where they get pissed and call me out on flip-flopping, changing my mind and recanting previous predictions.  The Hall usually inducts five or six in the performers category so, just to be safe, I will pick six artists that I think will get the nod.  If you’re keeping score, last year I picked 4 out of the 6 correctly. Let’s see if I can do better this year. So, let’s get to it.

The Cars - Set the standard for New Wave success. Icons of the era and highly influential. Very tough to let them go without induction.

Janet Jackson - Too iconic to ignore and giving the Hall the excuse to induct a Jackson sibling will work in her favor. She embodied 90s R&B and should get in this year, and rightfully so.

Deep Purple - If they get passed up again for induction, people will be pissed. The Hall needs to keep whatever credibility it has and get these hard rock pioneers inducted already.

Chaka Khan - She’s a monster figure within the world of funk music and R&B. People who haven’t heard music still know who she is and her songs. HOF voters love the 60s and 70s so there shouldn’t be any reason to keep her from induction.

N.W.A. - Let the cringing begin! These guys should’ve been in last year but for some reason weren’t. This year should be a no-brainer. The release of their biopic should only help matters.

Nine Inch Nails - NIN could be a toss up with Steve Miller but I’m going with Mr. Reznor because I think he deserves it more. NIN were crazy influential. Passing them up last year I thought was ridiculous but can understand why voters didn’t think they were first ballot. However, passing up this year would start to be downright criminal. I think they get in!

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