nothingfails

Two things I've noticed on a lot of forums

1. I'm shocked at the blatant disrespect for Donna Summer. I thought was genuinely the one disco artist (along with The Bee Gees) that people who hated disco at least had respect for. Bowie called "I Feel Love" one of the greatest songs he ever heard and Springsteen wrote a song for her. I remember rock artists being amongst the people who made comments mourning her passing. Yet you would think she was Rihanna by the way people have crapped on her induction. How quickly people forget that Donna actually made a couple of *rock* albums in the early 80s and even was nominated in that category at the Grammys when she did so. All this time I thought she at least had respect from the "disco sucks" crowd and I'm shocked to see the opposite.

2. hard rock/metal fans bitch the loudest about the snubs, but I think nowadays fans of 80s alternative have earned the right to bitch louder. Okay Kiss and Deep Purple are still snubbed, but Zeppelin, Sabbath, Alice Cooper, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Guns N' Roses, Metallica, Rush, etc... are now inductees. For post-punk alternative groups, only R.E.M. have gotten in so far. The Smiths, Joy Division, The Cure, Echo And The Bunnymen and Depeche Mode have all recorded albums now considered classics and none of them have been considered for the Hall yet. We can bitch till our ears bleed that Madonna and Public Enemy are in while Kiss is not, but how about The Staples Singers (a group who had neither 1/10th the hits nor the appeal/influence ABBA and Madonna had) being in while The Smiths, a group who were short-lived but every last one of their albums are now considered classics (all four albums plus Louder Than Bombs are on RS's 500 list), haven't even been considered yet? I think the hard rock icons are slowly but surely getting in while the college rock bands of the 80s who are still gaining new fans to this day and appealing to new fans who weren't even alive in their heyday (I'd argue that The Smiths and Joy Division are more popular today than when they were active) keep getting passed over from even making the ballot. Hell, even Peter Gabriel has been around solo since 1977 and yet isn't in and I think that's a travesty.

Spottedfeather

Does anyone else think it's weird the the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame hardly ever includes musicians that actually play rock and roll ?

Supermallet

Does anyone else think it's weird that people even give a shit about a self-proclaimed rock and roll hall of fame?

Chrisedge

Great post. Esp. agree with 2nd part.

Jason

If we're busting out the second tier acts, how about Ratt, Motley Crue, and Poison?

islandclaws

Have any groups ever declined induction?

Like, suppose KISS finally got the nod, but Gene & Co. said, "You know what? Fuck it. We don't accept."

Or is it one of those things where, once you're nominated and confirmed, you're in no matter what?

Hokeyboy

No freakin' kidding.

Funny how this always turns out. When their favorite groups get snubbed, they curse that Jan Wenner and his gang of nutsuckers for being out of touch dinosaurs without a tinker's cuss of musical taste/knowledge understanding, and then proclaim the RnRHOF as meaningless, idiotic, pointless, not worth the time.

Then a favorite band gets inducted, and they sing High Hallelujah to Hammerschmitz. As if they finally got asked to the prom.

Me, I love Rush, one of my Top 10 alltime favorite bands, but I couldn't care less they're being inducted. Nor am I apoplectic over Donna Summer, Public Enemy, Madonna, ABBA, whatever. Being asked to join the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is as much an "honor" as being asked to join the National Geographic Society. It's not the be-all end-all of music by any stretch of the imagination. It's nothing more than Jan Wenner and his gang of nutsuckers. Dave Marsh in particular should be set on fire and thrown screaming off a five story building. It's also been a long time since I've danced.

Hokeyboy

Axl Rose told them to cram it sideways it last year, but GNR was still inducted.

Drexl

Also, let's not forget John Lydon's eloquent letter:

tommyp007

I know Axel Rose declined when GNR went in.

Jason

Should be "You're not paying attention"

cungar

Lydon probably wrote this in the Whole Foods bakery near his condo in Marina Del Rey which he drove to in his Volvo station wagon.

Howie2000

Your way wrong he was at The Farmers Market which he drove to in his Hummer.

Josh-da-man

Apostrophes are for elitist snobs and music industry people.

Chrisedge

I would say folks like The Cars, The Smiths should be in before these guys. Lets get folks in that inspired other bands, before we get folks that were inspired by the VH's and Black Sabbaths, etc...

Barth

Umm...Guns is already in and the path to their success was built by bands like Ratt and Motley. Especially the later. Poison will never make it although I like their songs and they had many hits.
Still, anybody that calls themselves a "rock and roll hall of fame" and inducts Donna Summer gets little credibility so I don't care in the grand scheme of things.
If you ever watch "That Metal Show", Eddie Trunk brings up good points on what a joke this whole thing is.

bootsy

No 1 curr.

Typed all this shit and zero fucks are given.

bootsy

No 1 curr

orangecrush

I don't think anyone has mentioned that outside of the multiple pages of this very thread.

nothingfails

Bowie and Springsteen were both fans of Donna's music so I think that carries more weight than your little "disco still sucks" rant.

Donna made rock music in the early 80s, that is an undisputed fact. I thought that was one of the major notes of her career was that she transitioned from disco to rock music at the height of her career. So yea, I think unlike some pop artists, people have less reasons to bitch about Donna because she actually did go the rock route in 1980-1981.

Donna was awesome and easily one of the greatest female pop stars of all time, deal with it.

Hokeyboy

That's nice, boy. Your little Internet speak is precious. Now go play while grown-ups are talking.

B5Erik

It should just be called The Popular Music Hall of Fame.

Ultimately, that's what it is...

Barth

I didn't say I didn't like Donna Summers music. Actually, I know a lot of her songs, grew up listening to her in fact since my parents loved her.
My main argument is that it seems weird she's in the rock and roll hall of fame before others that are "true" rock and roll bands. Not someone who sang disco, pop, and I guess some rock if you want to call it that. I do think she was a great artist, just not for the rock and roll hall of fame. We both agree on the great artist fact, we'll just have to agree to disagree on whether she was a rock singer or not. Or as you put it, I just have to deal with it. No biggie.

Hokeyboy

I have zero problems with Donna Summer, but when did she do rock in the 80s? I remember more of her Pop/Top 40 stuff...

nothingfails

Regarding Madonna in the HOF, since she is the one everyone loves to bash. Explain why she SHOULDN'T be in?

Look at the big 80s superstar artists in the HOF.
Michael Jackson - CHECK!
Prince - CHECK!
Bruce Springsteen - CHECK!
Metallica - CHECK!
R.E.M. - CHECK!
U2 - CHECK!
The Police - CHECK!
Guns N' Roses - CHECK!
Beastie Boys - CHECK!
Blondie - CHECK!
Van Halen - CHECK!
John Mellencamp - CHECK!
Billy Joel - CHECK!
Tom Petty - CHECK!
ZZ Top - CHECK!

Why shouldn't Madonna be a "Check!"? Phil Collins is the only 80's MTV/pop superstar on that level who hasn't gotten in yet, and even then you can argue that he got in for Genesis (same with Peter Gabriel) and maybe George Michael/Duran Duran, who if ever getting in will be in many years because the teen bubblegum image of their early years works against them today. You'd think they were inducting Debbie Gibson or Paula Abdul with the crap people have given her being in the Hall, when in reality, she as one of the defining superstars of the 80s happens to be in with the company she kept on the chart. She was as much an obvious first year inductee as Prince, U2, Springsteen, R.E.M. and Metallica IMO