So, here were the latest inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for 2014, as announced earlier today:
Nirvana - a no brainer. It was rather east to tell that they would get nominated and inducted the very first time that they were available to do so, which was for 2014. They were credited more than anyone else for ushering in the whole alternative "grunge", or "Seattle sound" phenomenon of the early nineties (has it really been about twenty years since then already?). At a time when artists like Michael Jackson and Madonna were dominating the charts, Nirvana were the first to smash their guitars and drum sets and get people to take notice of the more angry and dangerous aspects of rock again.
KISS - You knew they were going to get there automatically, as well. They had their own "Kiss Army", and were huge and influential in the seventies, particularly with their iconic makeup, and their very direct style of hard rock.
Peter Gabriel - After enjoying success and influence as the headman for Genesis, which itself might have been enough to warrant a Rock Hall of Fame induction, Gabriel embarked on a solo career that itself saw remarkable success. Some of his more popular works are actually quite cerebral and thought provoking, as well as beautiful. My personal favorite (and this is true for a lot of other people, as well) would be "In Your Eyes").
Hall & Oates - These guys really became huge in the early eighties, and I remember them well. They had some of the most iconic hits then, in an era when one-hot wonders were everywhere, and no bands seemed to have staying power.
Linda Ronstadt - With a career spanning four decades now, Ronstadt has enjoyed some incredible success, although not always strictly in the rock genre. She also is known for some iconic hits, such as "You're No Good", "Long, Long Time", and "Blue Bayou".
Cat Stevens - A remarkably talented and successful artist who enjoyed a long and very influential career, with such iconic pieces as "Father and Son", 'Peace Train", and "Wild World".
"A Guide To The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame’s Class of 2014 Nirvana, KISS and Hall and Oates are among the new inductees into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" by Melissa Locker @woolyknickersDec. 17, 2013 Read more: A Guide To The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame’s Class of 2014 | TIME.com:
http://entertainment.time.com/2013/12/17/a-guide-to-the-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fames-class-of-2014/
"Look Who Made the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" by Luchina Fisher of ABC News:
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2013/12/look-who-made-the-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame/
Wow - this marks a radical departure from the sheer cluelessness usually displayed by the luminaries at the RRHOF. As broad and inclusive a category as "rock" is, Madonna and Public Enemy, for instance, simply aren't rock and roll, and to the best of my knowledge have never claimed otherwise. Leonard Cohen, who was inducted several years ago, isn't exactly a rock and roll artist either. (I'm a huge fan of his as you know, but he was right on target during his speech when he playfully quoted some critic: "I have seen the future of rock and roll, and it isn't Leonard Cohen" or something to that effect.) This year's list actually makes sense for the most part.
ReplyDeleteNirvana: As you accurately pointed out, this one was a no-brainer. Hugely influential, and they almost single-handedly relegated LA glam metal to museum-piece status.
KISS: Another no-brainer, though quite frankly I was beginning to think they'd induct Christina Aguilera or disgraced eighties pretty boys Milli Vanilli before ever getting around to giving these guys their props. Say what you will about Gene Simmons's frequent lapses into assholedom, this band introduced an unprecedented level of over-the-top theatricality and stage presence to rock and roll, and there's nothing wrong with that. Plus, songs including but by no means limited to "Detroit Rock City", "Parasite", and "Love Gun" are just plain fun to listen to, IMHO.
Peter Gabriel: Anybody who can give the world songs as brilliant as "Solsbury Hill", "Biko", and "Games Without Frontiers" is more than all right by me.
Hall & Oates: Arguably more of a pop act than rock and roll, but who cares - the same can be said about Elton John, for instance. To this day I enjoy listening to their best-known hits: "Private Eyes", "Kiss On My List", "Sara Smile", "Maneater", etc.
Linda Ronstadt: Not overly familiar with her music, but "You're No Good" and "Blue Bayou" are good songs. (Not to mention that when you see pictures of her from the seventies, it's not overly difficult to understand that Jerry Brown (whose army smiles and never frowns, FYI) was smitten with her.
Cat Stevens: I know Jeff is a huge fan of this guy. I only know a few of his iconic hits: "Morning Has Broken", "Lady D'Arbanville", "Moonshadow", and "Peace Train", which are all great, and of course his best-known song, "Wild World". Incidentally, it was only when Sheryl Crow, for whom I never much cared, had a hit with "The First Cut is the Deepest" that I subsequently discovered it was a cover of a song by, you guessed it, Cat Stevens. I'm thinking I should check this guy out more thoroughly on YouTube, actually.
Anyway, there you have it, my two cents' worth, adjusted for inflation.
I agree one hundred percent with you regarding KISS. Got so sick of Gene Simmons, that he kind of ruined them for me a bit. I like the other members, but he's a bit much. That said, their "over the top theatricality", as you put it so well, fits perfectly well with Rock 'N Roll, and these guys were huge enough to become legends.
ReplyDeleteLike you, Cat Stevens is someone that I only knew the biggest hits from, although, like you said, I am impressed and intrigued enough with his body of work that giving him more of a listen seems like almost a necessity at this point.
Not all that familiar with Linda Ronstadt either, admittedly. But she has some good songs, and I heard a piece about her on the radio a couple of months or so ago, and have to admit that I was impressed with the depth of her career, spanning quite a few decades.
Peter Gabriel is a brilliant musician, and I think his work sometimes, arguably, almost transcends rock, a bit like Pink Floyd. it just isn't your "typical" rock music. But I'm not interested in labeling it, but rather appreciating it, and he has some absolutely incredible stuff. I almost forgot about "Games Without Borders", which is yet another track that I love from him. His work with early Genesis, and his solo work, are more than enough for him to skateboard into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame.
Hall & Oates - Agree with you here as well. They are more pop than anything, but they have some cool tracks that I still enjoy listening to, even after all these years, and which take me back to those days, back in the early 80's, when these guys seemed to rule the airwaves. Also, the bit that I have heard about them, these seem like genuinely decent guys, as well. They might be a cool act to check out in concert sometime.
Thanks for your two cents worth!
It's "Games Without *Frontiers*". ;-)
ReplyDeleteI mostly remember that because some DJ mentioned that the title was a reference to the pan-European game show by the same name, even if the lyrics work on an entirely different level. (I used to enjoy watching it in Bois-d'Arcy, actually, where its French title was of course Jeux Sans Frontières). You were probably too young to remember it at this point though. As for skateboarding into the RRHOF - that's a funny image. That seems more like a potentially David Lee Roth or Anthony Kiedis entrance somehow, but maybe Peter Gabriel could pull it off as well, who knows.