Pour Some Sugar On It

But, for some of you, a spoonful of sugar won't help this news go down.  

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced its inductees for 2019, and while there is some good news to celebrate - the Cure, Radiohead, Roxy Music and the Zombies are getting in, as well as Stevie Nicks as a solo artist - there's bad news for anyone rooting for worthy nominees like John Prine, Todd Rundgren, and Rage Against The Machine, as well as the Detroit pre-punk/metal band the MC5; they didn't make the cut.  And Jethro Tull, who have been eligible for induction for about as long as it takes to become eligible (twenty-five years), have never even been nominated.

And then there are nominees that I have more than a problem with . . . Janet Jackson and Def Leppard.  

Janet Jackson's induction isn't nearly as disastrous as the induction of Madonna in 2008 the second she was eligible, but she has the same disqualifying characteristic that Madge has - she's pure pop.  And a lot of rock fans agree that Janet Jackson shouldn't be inducted for that reason.  But, sure enough, fans of Janet Jackson insist that such opposition is racially motivated - her detractors have a problem with a black woman being inducted over a white man like Todd Rundgren.  Uh, no, it's about aesthetics.  Janet isn't rock.  Disagree with me on that if you will, but I say she isn't.  Yeah, I know she borrowed riffs from the soft-rock group America for some of her songs, but last time I checked, America aren't in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and as my reaction to their first greatest-hits compilation makes clear, I don't think they should be in either.

And lest you still think I'm biased toward white-boy guitar music where the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is concerned - objections to Madonna's induction were met with charges of sexism by her fans, and some of those fans played the race, ethnicity and sexual orientation cards in deference to Madge's black, Hispanic and gay audiences - I point to the metal band Def Leppard, whose induction I find far more objectionable than Janet Jackson's.  They're a loud, obnoxious bunch of clowns who came up with such godawful songs like "Pour Some Sugar On Me" and came up with a lot of cheesy videos for their singles.  They're one of the many reasons I don't look back at the eighties with fondness, and on principle, I object to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducting anyone who reminds me that the 1980s were far worse than I remember.      

You still think I'm biased toward white guys?  Well, what if I told you that Chaka Khan's old group Rufus was nominated again this year but was still turned down, and to my great disappointment?  There, I thought that would quiet you down.   

And I probably shouldn't expect Jethro Tull to ever be nominated, because I suspect that the Hall's board members literally hate them.  Okay, maybe they just disrespect Martin Barre, but they clearly loathe Ian Anderson.  British folk-rock bands with cult followings, such as Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span, can't expect to get nominated either, and we should just plain forget about Family, Lindisfarne, Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel and any other British acts that never did big business in the U.S. getting nominated.

And wait until you here this - it turns out that Joe Cocker, who died in 2014, hasn't been inducted either!  What the hell is going on here?  That's an even greater outrage than all of those British folk-rock groups not getting in. Cocker sold lots of records in the States; he was at Woodstock, for Pete's sake!

Look on the bright side, folks - there are no rap acts nominated this year.  Expect more commentary on this topic in time for or shortly after the actual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony this coming March 29.

Oh yeah, the Grammy nominations . . . Would you believe I haven't heard who got nominated for what?  Though, I'd be lying if I said I cared.