Reflections

Now that we've had a month to reflect, I keep thinking back to the harsh reaction to this year's Rock Hall Inductees.  Not so much the names, although the Red Hot Chili Peppers got many heated, but the whole process.

There were very good articles on how the Hall has snubbed Women, Hard Rock and Black artists.  There are those who are ticked off that the NomCom is growing more clueless every year.  And that changes need to be made on who sits on there.  Some suggesting that the Hall's failure to nominate some genres, like Prog, is because those who sit there are snobs.

I give the NomCom credit for nominating 5 women this year.  They also nominated  4 R&B artists and one Rap one.  Out of all these only 1, Laura Nyro got in.

Maybe the big problem is the voting pool.  As someone suggested, regarding the lack of R&B artists getting inducted every year, the pool is full of people who weren't raised on classic R&B, but on 80's and later R&B.  So, names like the Spinners or War or Chaka Khan, while voters may know some of their songs, the impact these artists had hasn't made an imprint in those voters' minds.

Does the Hall need more Women voters?  More African-American ones?  Would that solve those problems.

Eventually the Hall will have to bypass voters regarding  a genre like Disco and find a way to get Nile Rodgers and Donna Summer inducted.  

Because they always seem to be making stuff up anyway, it won't be hard to do this.  Does anyone remember the 7 year rule the Hall had?  It no longer exists but it did for Duane Eddy, Frankie Lymon and Little Willie John.

They may have to go back to something similar to this.

But I think the Hall loves all this attention. Especially the bad press.  And Jann, as I posted last month, has to be thrilled with this year's class of big name headliners.

The rest of us are left to ponder and wonder what will happen this September.  When the NomCom meets again to get us all riled up.  Once more.