I'd Like To Help You Son But You're Too Young To Vote

Okay, so, I was talking to my son on the phone and went to pick up this little glass snowglobe thing that was sitting next to my air conditioner (thankfully back on after the fuse blew again and this time there werent any to get out of the basement of the other apartment building but thats another story dont get me started) and the little globe shattered, spreading teeny tiny and nearly invisible shards of glass all over my kitchen "area" and cutting my middle finger in two places so now I have enough bandaids on my hand to make it look like a major laceration but at least the bleeding stopped; this is how the day ends that started with me forgetting to take my watch with me to work.

But that's not what I wanted to write about.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is one of those things I am interested in but somewhat ambivalent about; after all, there are plenty of artists that I personally believe are very much worthy of inclusion (Rush tops the list, again, dont get me started, see below -- oh, yeah, and Warren Zevon) but no self-respecting rock "historian" as the voters for Hall membership are called would ever put them down on their list. Then there are those who are inducted and I cannot for the life of me figure out why -- Bob Seger? Dont get me wrong, I love Bob, he's done some classic stuff -- but does he go in the pantheon with Little Richard, the Stones, Elvis, U2? I just dont see it, but apparently a good chunk of the Hall's 70 "historians" did. Go figure.

So today they released this year's list of nominees, which the historians will vote on for inclusion, to be announced in December. I actually think this is a pretty good group, and maybe a last gasp for these nominees before some of the great groups and artists of the '80's (R.E.M. tops the list in two years) start hogging the limelight. Here are my mercifully brief thoughts:

Iggy and the Stooges: Dont know much about the Ig-man but he seems to be very influential in the punk world, a role model to many who followed after. If voted in, I will give him a pass.

Grandmaster Flash: Yes, yes, a thousand times yes -- the first rappers to really talk about the Hood in political terms and harrowing images; the forebears of Public Enemy and so many others. Absolutely. The Hall will do history a great disservice if rap is not prominently included.

John Mellencamp: No. Love the Little Bastard, but he is the latest in a long line of others (including Bob Seger!) who followed in the footsteps of the Boss. As much as I have been a fan, I dont really think he deserves to be in the Hall.

Miles Davis: Mmmm....hard to say. Certainly influential in attitude, intensity, and insistence on his own personal vision, but not sure if he really belongs in the Rock Hall. I will abstain on Miles, but if you put a gun to my head and made me make a decision, I think I would vote no.

Blondie: Absolutely -- still influential; I think Rolling Stone made the point that the Killers's "Mr. Brightside" is a reworking of "Dreaming"; bands like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Donnas, the Killers, and so many others who've tried to walk that pop-punk line owe it all to Blondie. A definite yes.

Cat Stevens: No. Love Cat, one of my favorites, but I dont see his lasting influence any more than a number of other major song writers of the '70's -- I put him in the same school as Jackson Browne, Warren Zevon, the whole school of laid-back folky singer songwriters. He's special, but not that special.

The Patti Smith Group: Again, a lack of knowledge here, though I understand her influence on what happened with the punk scene. I would tend toward Yes but solely on the basis of reputation and a few songs. And the fact that she said the F-word live on network television, on purpose.

The Sex Pistols: What has taken so long to put the Pistols in? The chronology goes: Velvets, Iggy, Dolls, Pistols, and then everything else. There is nobody who calls themself a punk today who doesnt owe it all to the Pistols, and it doesnt take acres of Greil Marcus gobbledy gook to figure it out.

Lynyrd Skynyrd: No. The Allman Brothers did it first and did it best; I think Skynyrd's rep is mostly nostalgia and a few good songs.

Black Sabbath: There are two progenitors of heavy metal, one is Zeppelin, the other is Sabbath. I do not personally like Sabbath and would not vote for them -- however it will not surprise me if they are voted in because they have been tremendously influential over a whole host of musicians -- and if you want proof turn on MTV2 Saturday night at 10.

Dave Clark Five: No. Talented, but essentially a lower grade Beatles.

J. Geils Band: Uhm, a lack of knowlege here other than the tail end in the '80's. Based on Freeze Frame, Centerfold and all that I wouldnt put them in, but their earlier output may warrant. I would vote no.

Chic: Probably yes -- a forebear of rap, of Prince, of so much great dance music. But once we put them in, lets cut off the disco entries. That should about do it.

Joe Tex and the Sir Douglas Quintet -- and now we come to the end of my knowledge of this year's nominees. These two I will abstain and let wiser old hippies prevail. In the meantime, we shall all watch and wait and see who makes it in this year, and check back against my scorecard in December.