This week sees the
twenty-ninth induction of artists into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with the
hall paying tribute to Peter Gabriel, Hall & Oates, Kiss, Nirvana, Linda
Ronstadt, Cat Stevens, and the E Street Band. The Hall of Fame itself had its
first inductions in 1986 and for the most part has remained a novel enough concept
in honouring musicians from the last sixty odd years since the birth of rock
and roll in the 1950s. Artists become eligible for induction twenty-five years
after the release of their debut album and slowly but surely each year has seen
more deserving acts added to the halls impressive roster of musicians. However,
it is my view that the Hall of Fame and those people behind it have turned it
into a farce, and it seems to my eyes that the hall and the decision making
process around inductions has become all about politics, money and egos in the
music industry and not artistry, legacy and recognising those who are truly deserving
of the honour the hall professes to place on people.
This view of mine comes
in light of the controversy around Kiss’s induction this year, with the lead up
to the ceremony being over-shadowed by a disagreement between the hall and
founding Kiss members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley over the induction process
and namely the issue of who gets inducted and who doesn’t. This comes after the
hall decided to only induct the four original members of Kiss and none of the other
past and present members. This issue alone led to a wider internal disagreement
between Simmons and Stanley and other founding members Ace Frehley and Peter
Criss around who should be allowed to perform on the night, with Stanley and
Simmons refusing to perform with them as they are no longer in the band even
though their onstage characters are replicated by the two other current
members. The end result is that Kiss will not perform and this farce within a
farce which seemingly involved Kiss airing their dirty laundry in public has
overshadowed the entire class of 2014, reducing the other inductees to a side
show.
However the issue for me
is not Kiss here. You can debate the merits of whether Kiss are deserving of an
induction or not, of which I would argue that they are despite many viewing
them to be just a novelty act. No, this is just a side show for much deeper
issues in the whole Rock and Roll Hall of Fame process. Overall, I find the
Hall of Fame’s induction and selection process extremely odd, for starters how
some bands have their entire line-ups past and present inducted while others
like Kiss are not afforded that privilege. A notable example from a recent
ceremony was the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2012, whose latest guitar recruit
Josh Klinghoffer was inducted with the rest of the band despite having only
joined the band in 2009 and played on just one album. Now yes it may be ridiculous
to induct all members of a band especially if they have had constant line-up
changes and have amassed over the years a membership that amounts to the size
of a symphony orchestra, but the problem is the inconsistency around this when
it comes to the induction process. In order to avoid future Kiss like
incidents, of which I should note is not the first controversy surrounding this
rock hall, the powers that be should simply decide we will either induct this
particular incarnation of a group, or we will induct the entire list of
members. This will clean up the issue of membership once and for all and will
at least lead to some consistency in selection of which there is none at the
moment.
The second issue I have
with the hall’s induction process is how they select who gets to be inducted in
the first place, something which is done largely behind closed doors by industry
insiders. Although in recent years they have opened up a public ballot if only just
to appease vocal Rush and Kiss fans who have been screaming for their acts to
be inducted for years, ironically leading to those bands inductions in the
process. The bias towards American acts to my mind is clear to see in this
process, with around 77% of the inductees being from the US, something which
you could argue has led to less deserving American acts being inducted ahead of
more deserving British acts. Genres is also an interesting issue when it comes
to selection, not just in regards to who gets in but also who doesn’t. How
artists like Madonna and Donna Summer get into a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is
confusing to say the least with all due respect to them, because unless I have
missed something mainstream pop and disco is not rock and roll. The equivalent of
their induction in to this sanctity of rock would be if Queen and Run DMC were
inducted into the country music hall of fame, it just would never happen. Yes
rock and roll as a music and as an idea has branched out to encompass and often
influence many styles within popular music, especially when you consider its
own origins in the blues. However, I do feel that with many of the acts that
have been inducted that are not rock and roll like Madonna, is simply a result
of the induction committee trying to be all things to all people, with many of
the decisions also coming down to the simple fact of records sold rather than
artistry, influence and the simple fact of whether it is rock and roll, or not.
In line with this, there is the simple fact of how whole entire genres within
the rock pantheon have been largely overlooked for induction including progressive
rock, glam rock, folk rock, indie rock, new wave and metal, while also how many
influential cult artists that weren’t necessarily successful commercial speaking
but had a massive lasting influence including Nick Drake, Warren Zevon and
Harry Nilsson have been passed over for induction. With this the case, one
would have to say in the words of the Sex Pistols this really is a piss stain.
I used to think the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame meant something and I still do think the idea has immense
merit in honouring the greats of music who are deserving of recognition for the
joy they have given us. But now I feel it has got completely out of hand and
has lost its true focus and core identity as a music institution. It seems now they just induct anyone willy-nilly
each year with no rhyme or reason to their decision making, except at what
appears to be a focus on name names and commercial success. How much more rock
and roll can you get. Until the Hall of Fame sorts its selection process out I
will not take them seriously as an institution, while each year I will continue
to gasp in amazement at how this latest inductee is deemed to be rock and roll enough
and deserving of induction. Not to mention how we will continue to have years
like this year where the people doing the inducting can’t even please the
people they are inducting. What a joke that is.
- Sam
