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What do Peter Frampton, Cher, Mary J. Blige, and the MC5 have in common?
No, this isnt a setup for a pithy joke.
But with change inevitably comes skepticism about what the Rock Hall now represents.
Its like youre onChoppedand you have to make a dessert with vinegar, whipped cream, and steak.
Neither voter advocated forWarren Zevon, but well try not to hold it against them.
Cyndi Lauper
I was disappointedwhen she didnt getin a few years ago.
I was surprised, actually, because she checks all the boxes.
Shes not only a unique vocalist, but a versatile one.
As a songwriter, shes written some of themost indelible songs in popular history.
Her charity work is influential.
I cant say enough good things about Cyndi.
Luther had such a long and interesting career.
His first seven albums hit No.
1 on the R&B chart.
The Rock Hall used to care about R&B of the 60s and early 70s and then stopped.
I mean, the Commodores havent been inducted.
Luther could have gone in much earlier.
Im hoping withthis new documentary out about himthat hell be on peoples radars.
Voter 2
The B-52s
Every year, people are like, Why are they not nominated?
Its an excellent question.
For starters,their music is uncategorizable.
I cant believe they havent had more serious consideration.
Thanks to their Las Vegas residency, a lot of people have seen them for the first time.
Their status as queer icons is also immense.
you might draw a line from what theyve done to a lot of the modern queer pop icons.
Voter 1
They were original.
They came out with this angularity and edginess of punk with the poppiness of New Wave.
And with a tremendous sense of humor, right?
Rock and roll was funny.
I played the first album this morning and it completely holds up.
Its a tremendous oversight that they havent even earned a nomination.
Theres nobody quite like them.
Voter 2
Devo
The way Devo brought electronic- and synth-based music into the mainstream cant be overstated.
They wereone of the biggest influencesin helping New Wave gain traction in America.
For that alone, they need to get inducted.
When you look at the New Wave genre, its such a cultural force.
Their music has a lot to say politically, socially, and culturally.
Theyre beloved by punk-rockers.
Theyre beloved by rock dudes and metal dudes.
They have a very wide appeal.
Voter 1
The Pointer Sisters
When you look at their career, theyre fascinating.
They started off doing country music.
But people know them more for their 80s work.
Everyone knows their cover of Bruce Springsteens Fire, and then the hits Jump and Im So Excited.
It was almost like New Wave soul how soul and R&B music evolved in the 80s.
They came from the lineage of all the Motown girl groups and they modernized it.
The Pointer Sisters wrote their own songs and they harmonized.
When you listen to their harmonies, its unbelievable.
They worked very, very hard at that, and they never get as much credit as they should.
Girl groups were ignored for quite a long time by the Rock Hall because of it.
Thats been remedied in many cases.
The Ronettes, the Shirelles, and Darlene Love are all in.
Some of the great songwriters like Ellie Greenwich finally got in.
But, man, the Shangri-Las.
They were like biker girls.
They wore matching suits, but it would be with black motorcycle boots and black vests.
Theyre the most rock of all the girl groups.
Mary Weiss was a great rock singer.
Im not sure theres a better rock song than Fast Car.
The wholeTracy Chapmanalbum, start to finish, is an absolute stone-cold classic.
Talkin Bout a Revolution.
Baby Can I Hold You.
She just came out of nowhere and captivated people.
When you come out that strong, maybe people look back and think you could never measure up.
The way that they use sampling and constructed their music is so incredibly inventive and innovative.
They saw how genres could meld together.
Whats hindered them a little bit is that their music was initiallydifficult to find because of rights clearances.
Now that its being reissued and on streaming, I think some more generations will discover them.
First off, the wild thing is theyre still touring.
They have no radio airplay and they sell out arenas at every stop, reliably, every year.
Iron Maiden is one of the massive influences in metal from the 80s onward.
Their records have held up exceedingly well.
I was thinking about what has hurt their chances for an induction.
I think the estimation is that they never really did the pop metal route.
But Iron Maiden has stuck to their guns over the years.
They did this beautifully arranged pop and hippie music.
Its not a 20-minute Grateful Dead jam, but its taking the counterculture to the pop charts.
The Mamas & the Papas have California Dreamin and the 5th Dimension have Let the Sunshine In.
These perfectly crafted pop songs dominated our imaginations.
When you look at punk influences in Los Angeles, X is probably the most influential band.
The way their vocals interact is so unique and special.
You could see exactly why they had a country-music side project.
The songwriting took cues from classic rock.
They really set a blueprint for what punk music could be in America.
Voter 1
Oasis
The Gallagher brothers dont want it, but I do.
Thats all I have to say.
They need to be back on the ballot.
Voter 2
OutKast
OutKast has never been nominated, and theyve now been eligible for several years.
I understand that maybe theyre fairly new among other potential inductees.
But when you look at modern hip-hop, OutKast is it.
Theyre one of the best live bands Ive ever seen, hands down.
I saw them in a club years ago and it was unbelievable.
Their musicianship is incredibly virtuosic.
What they sing about is so important.
Theyre such a groundbreaking band, and they dont get the credit they deserve for what theyve accomplished.
Its a group that needs more attention and recognition for what they do.
Voter 1
