Edge of '19

I may be a little late in commenting on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees for 2019, but better late than never.  This may be the last time you hear from me about anything for awhile, because my area of the country is under a severe-weather threat (although nothing as severe as yesterday's weather in Texas is expected), so that usually means a power and/or cable outage, and I've been getting too many of those lately.

Right.  The class of 2019 was as musically diverse as always, I guess, but there's only one black artist among them - a woman, and it's no one like Sister Rosetta Tharpe, or Labelle's Nona Hendryx - who made some records that sound more like prog and heavy rock than the sort of dance music associated with performers of her race and her sex.  It's someone who does make the sort of dance music associated with performers of her race and her sex.  Proving once again that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame doesn't seem to know what "rock" really is, and being politically correct is more important than musically focused.  Oh well, here are my takes on each inductee:

The Cure.  Robert Smith is God.  So I've been led to understand.  The Cure are edgy, to be sure, and the fact that they've never been hitmakers in the Top 40 sense and the fact also that they rarely get any radio play show that they have that rock and roll attitude.  So, yeah, this is a no-brainer.

Def Leppard.  This is the most indefensible induction this year.  Def Leppard were a hack metal band that came up with songs misogynistic enough to embarrass Brian Johnson, played with more flash than with substance (think of them as a heavy-metal Duran Duran), and clownishly aped their name from Led Zeppelin (not to mention the medieval obsession), and Joe Elliott's imitation of Robert Plant was hardly a sincere form of flattery.  If  any band was indicative of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's penchant for awarding mediocrity over artistic integrity.

Janet Jackson.  You know what I'm gonna say about her, don't ya?  Okay, I'm not saying Janet Jackson isn't a good singer or anything, and I agree that she's a first-rate entertainer, but so is Barbra Streisand, and no one is urging that the Rock and Roll of Fame induct her.  Janet Jackson's music has a good beat and you can dance to it, but it still isn't rock.  Good grief, her brother Michael made more records worthy of being called rock, and he did it so effortlessly.  Now, I know that some Janet Jackson fans consider her the Queen, and they're not going to like anything I've said against her Rock Hall induction, but guess what? I don't care.  The fact that she's sampled America riffs doesn't impress me - in fact, it shows how clueless she is - I mean, she thinks America is rock?  And they shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame either (and aren't, last time I checked).

Stevie Nicks.  Another no-brainer.  Stevie Nicks proved herself as a solo rock artist with her monumental 1981 album Bella Donna, which featured the classic "Edge of Seventeen" and also cast male LA rockers Tom Petty and Don Henley in subservient roles in their duets with her.  She's the best white female American singer of her time, and she is in complete control of her career.  Like Janet Jackson, but more of a rocker. 

Radiohead.  No contest.  They belong in the Rock Hall for bringing back prog from the dead after so many awful art rock bands killed it with their pretentiousness.  Radiohead are the smartest and most innovative prog band since Pink Floyd,  and they honor the prog genre as much as Floyd did.

Roxy Music.  They definitely deserve to be in.  Roxy Music were art rock in much different way than Pink Floyd or Yes, adding a dash of chic production and cool sophistication to their smart playing, and Bryan Ferry is one of the most compelling vocalists in all of rock.  Never heard Roxy Music?  Imagine New Romantic flair with some jazz-rock sensibilities and a little bit of  soul, and you get the idea. 

The Zombies.  The only question as to why the Zombies were inducted in 2019 is why they weren't inducted sooner.  "She's Not There" and "Tell Her No" are still infectious and enjoyable examples of sixties British Invasion rock, and they definitely had a sound all their own.

So, okay, not a bad class of inductees, but not a great one either.  I'm not going to complain about the usual snubs that persist annually, because all of my complaints are useless . . . except to say that, now that I have satellite radio, I couldn't help but notice how the broadcasts from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland almost never seem to include certain acts that get routinely snubbed by not even being nominated.  I think the Hall's directors have made themselves clear about those acts. 

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was originally established to honor rock and roll performers but has since gone on to include performers representing a variety of pop styles.  Whatever.

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.