Re: And now it's time for THAT annual topic ...

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees for 2025:

Bad Company*
The Black Crowes*
Mariah Carey
Chubby Checker*
Joe Cocker*
Billy Idol*
Joy Division/New Order
Cyndi Lauper
Maná*
Oasis
Outkast*
Phish*
Soundgarden
The White Stripes

To my surprise, more than half the ballot is first-time nominees (the ones with an asterisk). I'm startled that Chubby Checker and Joe Cocker weren't inducted long ago. Of the remaining names, only one of them (Soundgarden) has more than one previous nomination behind them.

Let the criticisms, predictions and general discussion commence.

Ah, Chubby Checker. A 65 year career built on one cover song, that only got recorded in the first place because Dick Clark wanted to feature "The Twist" on American Bandstand but Hank Ballard wasn't available, so Clark decided to hire a Philly local to record it and Checker got the nod. Following that was a career that produced nothing of much further significance beyond a soundalike sequel. But apparently the Chubster has been raising a stink with the RRHOF for years over the fact that his massively important contribution to the art form (again, a quickie cover version pumped out because the original artist couldn't make it to Philadelphia that week) had heretofore gone un-nominated, with him apparently implying that racism might be to blame, because yeah, whatever. I guess being a persistent pain in the ass can pay off. Mickey Dolenz might want to take notes.

Otherwise, the wrong Mick Ralphs band got nominated. I don't really care one way or another about Bad Company, but they weren't no Mott the Hoople.

Never heard of Mana before today. I would've thought if they were wanting to appeal to Latin music fans that Selena would be the obvious choice. Though if it were up to me, such a nom would go to Cafe Tacvba, who have the distinction of having been one of the best damn bands on the planet for the last three decades.

At least they didn't nominate Garth Brooks, like I was afraid they would. I sure hope they got the "induct a living Country artist who has no business whatsoever being here but will sell tickets to the ceremony" nonsense out of their system with Dolly and Willie.

Poor Tracy Chapman had her rediscovery happen at just the wrong time - a week or two too late for last year's nominations, way too early for this year's. Right around a year ago, everyone remembered they adored Tracy Chapman for a few weeks, but it didn't give her a lasting bump like the summer of "Running Up That Hill" gave Kate B.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/12/2025 03:52PM by breno.

The three I would absolutely vote for:

Joy Division / New Order
OutKast (can't believe this is their first nomination)
The White Stripes

Four more I would vote for:

Cyndi Lauper: really comes down to one and only one album, but it's a really great album.
Soundgarden: I was never the biggest fan - much of their work sounds too derivative to me. But I know plenty of people who love them and I've enjoyed their music in their company. At minimum, Superunknown is a good album with a great and surprising single in "Black Hole Sun" - its enormous popularity is well-deserved. There are a few other singles I enjoy as well.
Oasis: I can see why most people I know hate them, but had they split up after their second album and disappeared altogether, their legacy would look a lot better. They're a bit derivative, but those first two albums and all the non-LP releases that accompanied them are still remarkably consistent and enjoyable records, at least to me. Not my favorite Britpop - I wish Blur, Pulp and Suede were inducted first - but I'd induct them eventually.
Joe Cocker: His first two albums are good, but I wish they were the sign of potential soon to be fulfilled rather than the best he could do.

Cafe Tacuba put on one of the most energetic shows I've ever seen. Tho I'd still say that Los Lobos are the obvious choice for a Latin band.

I figure Maná will be unknown to most non-Latinos. But here in LA, they play sports stadiums. "The U2 of Latin America," I believe they've been dubbed? If that's true, I'll stick to my old cha-cha records.

Billy Idol?! Really?

Former TP subscriber [81, 82, 83, 84]

[postpunkmonk.com]
For further rumination on the Fresh New Sound of Yesterday®

My preferred slate of inductees from this list:
Billy Idol
Joy Division/New Order
Cyndi Lauper
Oasis
Soundgarden
The White Stripes

My predicted results:
Bad Company
Mariah Carey
Chubby Checker
Joe Cocker
Outkast
Soundgarden
Plus "Musical Excellence" awards for Joy Division/New Order and the New York Dolls. (So they aren't nominated this year? Jimmy Buffett got the ME award last year, and he had never been nominated at all.)

IMO, it’s unjust if Oasis goes in before the Smiths, who’ve never gotten a nod.

Does this mean Generation X [the band] will never get in the RRHOF?

I'd be much more open to Billy Idol if it was Generation X getting nominated. Their first album is very good, particularly in its US configuration. Not great, but very good. Similarly, I'm not really a Commodores fan, but they did put out a few great singles and even though Lionel Richie had no involvement in their best one, I wish he was inducted with them rather than for his solo career.

Nile Rodgers is another artist whose whole band should've been inducted. And yet with eleven nominations, the voting panel couldn't get Chic over the top of that hill, for reasons unknown. And from interviews I read, he really felt it should happen.

Chic's last nomination was in 2017. When the ballot came up negative, the HoF decided to give Rodgers the Award for Musical Excellence. As much as he deserved that award -- what with his recordings for Chic, his songwriting, and his productions for everyone from Diana Ross to David Bowie, from Madonna to Daft Punk, from The B-52's to Duran Duran -- he said after the ceremony that he'd walked up onto that stage with a broken heart. As much as he's achieved, he knew that he never would've gotten so far without cutting his teeth in Chic first. Bernard Edwards and Tony Thompson, his instrumental cohorts in Chic, were long gone by then, so he knew those two guys never would get their due.

Joy Division/New Order. That's it.