The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, for several decades now, has positioned itself as the ultimate keeper of the flame of rock music history, even pre-dating the I.M. Pei pyramid in Cleveland, Ohio, that the establishment has called home since its epic 1995 opening.
That opening featured a concert, during which such legends as Neil Young, Jimmy Page, Iggy Pop and Aerosmith performed. Of course, all of those performers are long ensconced within the Hall of Fame, but what about in recent years? What real-deal rock bands or artists have been inducted in the annual slate of honorees that pop up year-to-year?
Now, before I go further in this, I’m not big on genre tags. I could not care less whether a song is hard-boxed into a “country,” “blues” or “soul” category. I only think about music in terms of songs – good and bad.
In recent years, though, it’s been increasingly tough to remember the institution as an arbiter of rock music, and difficult to defend its relevance.
Rock music has always come across, culturally, with certain signposts. The genre was never meant to be some rigid categorization, but certain historical throughlines: rebellion, experimentation, bands or solo acts playing actual instruments all seem common throughout.
Each year, several acts are nominated, but only five to seven are inducted. These inductees are typically announced in the spring. To be eligible, a band or artist must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years prior to the induction, which, for this year’s class means no later than 2001. Boy howdy that makes me feel old, but I digress.
News of this year’s class of possible nominees was announced recently. Among those up for consideration are Mariah Carey, Lauryn Hill, Luther Vandross, Pink and Shakira and the Wu-Tang Clan, alongside rock legends like the Black Crowes, Iron Maiden and Joy Division/New Order.
Now, I have the utmost respect for the insanely talented, late, great Luther Vandross, but how is it logical that he, or Shakira, for that matter, are nominated to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame before Alice in Chains, who have been eligible for several years now.
The Rock Hall has not, typically, been very friendly to metal acts, and even though the mighty Iron Maiden certainly deserves entrance, they probably won’t get in. Only a small handful of metal acts are in the establishment, which is, likely, another reason why Alice in Chains have been given the once-over so many times.
Rock music is a big umbrella under which punk, metal and several other idioms exist, but mainstream pop and hip-hop acts seem to get favored nowadays over influential rock artists, and those acts’ connections to rock and roll is tenuous at best.
Pop and hip-hop are culturally vital and deserve recognition, but their elevation into the rock music-specific hall of fame comes at the direct expense of artists who actually carried the genre forward.
Take, for instance, Operation Ivy. That band was only around for a few years, and only made a handful of recordings, but one would be hard-pressed to find a more influential group that falls under the banner of punk rock or third-wave ska. Although Operation Ivy’s lone full-length album has probably sold in the millions at this point, it’s unlikely they’ll ever get in. Meanwhile, Op Ivy’s buddies in Green Day got in a long time ago.
Devo, an enormously influential band that most casual music fans think of as a one-hit wonder, isn’t in the Hall, and was nominated, but snubbed three separate times. Same thing with Jane’s Addiction, whose groundbreaking fusion of metal, punk and art-rock laid the groundwork for the great “alternative rock” craze of the ‘90s. Jane’s Addiction, along with their contemporaries Faith No More, probably had as much influence on ‘90s music and youth culture as Joy Division did for the 1980’s.
While an artist like Pink has had occasional rock music-adjacent aspects to her career, what she does is fundamentally rooted, stylistically, in pop. Pink is talented, to be sure, but does her work contribute in a meaningful way to the rock and roll canon? I would also ask if the Hall of Fame is interested in asking that question at all these days.
The choice of such artists in recent years as Jay Z and Eminem reflect a broader identity crisis. By chasing glossy mainstream relevance and name recognition, the Rock Hall has undermined its own credibility.
Instead of the historical institution it was designed to be, it is becoming more of a branding exercise, one that values chart performance and celebrity over influence and legacy.
The late, great Alice in Chains frontman Layne Staley’s likeness and handwritten lyrics are on display in one of the exhibits in the Hall of Fame building, yet he and his band are not a part of the Hall of Fame itself, which is bothersome, to say the least.
Rock music has always existed slightly outside the mainstream, and by ignoring that truth, the Hall doesn’t just snub deserving artists; it erases that same firebrand spirit it claims to celebrate. Until it recommits to honoring rock on its own terms, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will continue to feel less like a hall of fame, but more like a misplaced awards show and a giant, gaudy tourist trap.
Chris Edwards is editor of the Tyler County Booster, a sister newspaper in the Polk County Publishing Group. He can be reached at cedwards@polkcountypublishing.com.
