Idolator
So the more-contentious-than-usual inductees into the 2008 class of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame have been announced. We're not surprised that voters preferred "Pink Houses" to "Dance, Dance, Dance," but we still shed a single tear upon reading the list this morning. And all those cranky rock critics—aghast that so much disco bubblegum was nominated this year, especially over greats like Poco and Neil Sedaka—can at least take comfort that none of the hip-hop acts made it in.
The Winners
Madonna
John Mellencamp
Leonard Cohen
The Ventures
The Dave Clark Five
Gamble and Huff (Ahmet Ertegun Award)
Little Walter (Sideman Category)
The Losers
Afrika Bambaataa
Chic
The Beastie Boys
Donna Summer
While this was the first year the ever-so-wrinkly Beasties were eligible, they're sure to be inducted by the time the 20th anniversary of "Sabotage" rolls around in six years, when the de rigueur live performance should be even more enjoyable coming from a bunch of 50-year-olds.
Madonna, John Mellencamp, Leonard Cohen Lead 2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees [Rolling Stone]
Comments
Winners:
White people (plus a black guy as "sideman")
Losers:
Anything remotely related to black culture
If only they could get Brit up on that stage again for Madonna.
Chic lost? Donna Summer lost? What in the hell? I saw Afrika Bambataa as a long shot, but goddamn, those others had 10x more hits than the Ventures or the Dave Clark Five.
@Underclassed: While it's a shame - a travesty, even - that Bambaataa and Chic didn't make the final cut, you shouldn't overlook Gamble and Huff. Philly International is right up there among my favourite labels of all time...
Afrika Bamblyyleven.
@natepatrin: Okay, I laughed. A lot. Where's Bill James when you need him?
I can't believe Kiss hasn't been inducted yet!
I can live with the Bambaataa dis; "Planet Rock" is a world-beating/defining single, but it'll be another year or two before we get to the motherlode of hip-hop acts with a real, defensible body of work. Even the great Grandmaster Flash (already inducted) is a little overrated in this regard. (Run-DMC are up next year, I think, and clearly shoo-ins.)
But the Chic and Donna Summer disses are just unforgivable. And proof that, just as Presidential candidates are still fighting the Vietnam War, music critics will continue to fight the War on Disco for years to come. Let it go, cranky white men!
Oh, also, in the silver-lining dept.: thank god the Ventures and Dave Clark are finally in; I wasn't heavily rooting for either, but I'm so sick of their names getting bandied about in the dey-wuz-robbed category year after year.
(I'm no Kiss fan, but I kinda want them to get inducted, too, so their obsessive fanbase will finally shut up about them.)
RRHOF < Bushwood Country Club
(Hey Yauch, don't tell em you're Jewish.)
No Slayer?
@dennisobell: I wouldn't bother me so much if Mellencamp wasn't being inducted, but to slight Chic and Summer in favor of his brand of mediocre rock is just appalling.
Mellencamp? That guy couldn't carry Donna Summer's jock! Fuck the RRHOF!
@FionaScrapple: If he sings at the ceremony I'm going to lose it. But seriously, the Beastie Boys belong here first ballot. There shouldn't even be a discussion.
@The Van Buren Boys: If he sings "This is Our Country"
@musicquizking: Thank you.
Why isn't Wanda Jackson in the Hall of Fame yet? She's the first lady rock singer EVER!
wow. i think it's just sad that Madonna made it in before Donna Summer. don't get me wrong, i've always been a fan of Madge but let's face it, Donna Summer was the original bad girl and she paved the way for all the modern rock divas that came after her. here are just a few of Donna's accomplishments:
1. responsible for creating the industry standard 12" dance single.
2. was the first african american female to be nominated for a grammy in the ROCK category.
3. was the first artist to have an ALL ELECTRONIC hit for 1977's song I Feel Love. That song is considered one of the most revolutionary songs in modern pop music history. it single handedly changed the direction of pop music and paved the way for New Wave, House, Techno and Trance. Even Brian Eno remarked to David Bowie upon hearing the song, "I've heard the future of music."
my god, what more does donna have to do to get the respect she deserves. without donna summer there may not have been a madonna, janet jackson, whitney, or mariah.
The fact that KISS is not in the Hall of Fame is an abslolute atrocity! They should have been inducted on first ballot, no doubt. They not only left behind some great music, but started the blueprint for what a rock stage show should look like!....Over the top and became a permanent part of pop culture. Their omission is proof that the people who decide who is in the HOF are stuck-up weenie journalists who probably just got beat up in high school by fans of REAL rock and roll! The Pretenders are in the HOF, but KISS isn't?!! Come on!!!!!
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