Your Dubsism Rock and Roll Hall Fame Ballot
In yet another effort to limit how much we have to talk about the crap-fest that is the National Football League, and as a reflection of this blog’s branching out to things outside of the world of sport, I’ve decided to see how many Dubsists are music fans. That’s why when I saw the nominees for induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I thought, why not hold a poll of my own? It’s not like I haven’t put a toe in the water for melding sports and music before, and Lord knows I love a poll.
Besides, now that the election is over, I think we’re all ready to move on to something else.
First of all, there’s the list of nominees being considered for induction in 2017 (listed alphabetically):
- Bad Brains
- Chaka Khan
- Chic
- Depeche Mode
- Electric Light Orchestra
- J. Geils Band
- Jane’s Addiction
- Janet Jackson
- Joan Baez
- Joe Tex
- Journey
- Kraftwerk
- MC5
- Pearl Jam
- Steppenwolf
- The Cars
- The Zombies
- Tupac Shakur
- Yes
Secondly, in order to be considered for nomination, an individual artist or band must have released its first single or album at least 25 years prior to the year of nomination, which means those nominated in 2016 for induction in 2017 had to release their first recording no later than 1991.
Since the nudniks who vote for the Baseball Hall of Fame seems to be concerned about guys who should or shouldn’t be “first-ballot Hall of Famers,” this Halls’ first time eligibles include Bad Brains, Depeche Mode, Electric Light Orchestra, Jane’s Addiction, Joan Baez, Journey, Pearl Jam, Steppenwolf, and Tupac Shakur.
The Dubsism poll will be open until 11:59 P.M. Eastern U.S. time on Wednesday, November 30th. The official Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2017 inductees will be announced in December 2016, but the Dubsism results will be announced before that. You can also mirror your vote on Dubsism by going to rockhall.com and letting the real Hall know how the Dubsists feel. Their vote closes at 11:59 p.m. EST on December 5, 2016. The Dubsism vote closes before theirs, but one thing they share is voting is capped at one ballot per day.
Another similarity is the winners of both our ballot and the official one for the Hall will be the five who receive the most vote totals. But one thing you won’t see anywhere else is how I voted and why.
J-Dubs Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ballot
1) Yes
Rush and Yes were my amongst my beefs with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; somewhat along the lines of my annual Bert Blyleven rant until he finally was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. That’s because until last year, neither of them were in but should have been. I believe that slight came from the fact that baseball purists love the flamethrowers over the crafty curveball guys.
In much the same way, “Progressive Rock” gets a bad rap amongst rock and roll purists who believe all rock songs should follow the “Rule of Three’s”: three Instruments, three chords, and three minutes long. Prog Rock is more like the 20th-century electric version of classical music. If you are a student of music, you can’t tell me that when you listen to Yes, you don’t hear Brahms and/or the mathematic precision of many 18th century composers. Yes put the “music” in rock music, and without them a lot of rock would still sound like Pat Boone doing “Tutti Fruitti.”
2) MC5
Many people credit MC5 with the birth of punk rock. I disagree. I think that title belongs to The Kinks. What MC5 created was a genre unto itself…”bad-ass rock.” This is the song I want to listen to right before I get into a bar fight. If that isn’t enough, this is the band Lemmy Kilmister credited as the inspiration for the founding of Motorhead. You simply can’t “out bad-ass” that. You can try, but you’ll fail.
3) Bad Brains
What else can I say? Bad Brains took the punk movement, matured it, and used it to pollenate so much other stuff. You can hear that in everything from the pop-metal strains of Living Color, the sheer thrash of Pantera, and the throbbing buzz of Rage Against the Machine.
4) Pearl Jam
I was a bit of a “take it or leave it” guy on the Grunge movement of the 90’s, largely because so much of it was just crap wrapped in ripped jeans and bad flannel. But the stuff that wasn’t crap was exceptional. If Nirvana were “The Beatles of Grunge,” then the analogy for Pearl Jam is none other than the Rolling Stones. Not to mention, the work they did with Neil Young is some of my favorite grunge ever.
5) Electric Light Orchestra
I understand this may be the least likely of my picks to gain induction, and I’m pretty sure I know why. They have a major case of the aforementioned “Prog Rock” problem and people are most familiar with their lucrative, yet mediocre efforts such as Don’t Bring Me Down. But when they were still the Electric Light Orchestra rather than “ELO,” they were yet another band that taught me you can put “real” music into rock. That meant a lot to a 12-year old J-Dub, whose first training as a musician was as a classic strings guy…it meant I could still play an instrument with a bow and be a rock star. Naturally, this lead to my progression toward the electric bass I play today, with a couple of stints as a drummer in between.
Granted, that story likely doesn’t apply to you, but do yourself a favor. Go back and discover Electric Light Orchestra when it still had the “Orchestra;” when they mixed Chuck Berry with real Beethoven…when it was more “Ma-Ma-Ma-Belle”and less “Hold On Tight.”
Now, let’s see your ballot!
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Couple of comments here…
Tupac Shakur
No. Didn’t really change the game of rap, and hip hop was already established at this point, so no.
Joe Tex
Don’t know enough about him, but maybe that’s reason enough.
J. Geils Band
Fuck no. You have got to be fucking kidding me here. Centerfold is one of the worst songs in rock n’ roll history.
Kraftwerk
This one is right on the line. Kraftwerk made some very game-changing music.
Chic
I respect Bernard Edwards, but if anybody in this band should be in the Hall it should be Nile Rodgers. He fucking produced Like a Virgin for crying out loud. Fuck the rest of this band to death in the butt with a knife.
Depeche Mode
Regradless of what you think of electro/synth-pop, Depeche Mode was one of the biggest bands in the world between 87 and 94. Their greatest hits album is basically an instruction manual for how to write killer songs, and there is enough guitar in there to qualify for it to be rock n’ roll.
The Zombies
Should be in just on “Time of the Season” alone, but there are far too many other reasons to list here so I won’t.
Pearl Jam
Might be my age showing, but even after Pearl Jam dropped off of the MTV landscape and quit making videos, they continued to tour for twenty plus years and still play live for about two and a half hours every show. Hard to argue that one.
The Cars
This one is close too. Ric Ocasek produced the first Weezer record and he was a genius songwriter. Maybe next year, or this one is interchangeable with Depeche Mode
Journey
Not on this ballot. Journey will eventually get in, as they had too many quality songs to not get in at some point.
Electric Light Orchestra
Never struck a chord with me. Just not a fan.
Bad Brains
Not my cup of tea, but so crucial and important to the punk and hardcore movements. A definitive yes from all around.
Janet Jackson
For what? “Black Cat”? You know who played guitar on that song? Nuno Bettencourt from Extreme. This fucking conversation is over.
Joan Baez
If there’s anything I hate more than folk music, it’s feminist folk music from the sixties and seventies. Joan Baez can eat a dick.
Jane’s Addiction
This one is close because Jane’s music stretched across so many different genres, and they were a killing machine. Very influential to a lot of alternative music to follow suit. Perhaps Dave Navarro should have waited to do that awful tattoo reality show before JA’s legacy was on the line. Also Perry Farrell creating Lolla shouldn’t be ignored here.
Steppenwolf
Not enough material. Born to be Wild is iconic but if Slayer can record a better version drunk off their ass, no reason for Steppenwolf to be in.
MC5
Kick out the Jams is a badass song and the band is a great story, but here again not enough of a body of work to be Hall of Fameworthy
Yes
No reason to explain why Yes belongs in. Between Yes and Rush they brought progressive rock music to the forefront.
Chaka Khan
Kanye sampling everything she’s ever done ruined it for her, and she could have said no and even though he’s an asshole and eminent domain would have made it legal I think he would have pulled back. Sorry, I don’t make the rules. Okay, so I sort of do.
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I went Journey, Cars, Yes, Chic… and 2Pac only because I want to see him accept his entry in person.
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