OOB, as in “Out of Bounds.”
First off, just to be completely transparent about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – fuck them. They have done a tremendous job at completely botching up the process of nominations as well as their own perception of what truly comprises Rock and Roll. Subtle hint for you RRHOF – it’s not just white guys from the south.
This year’s inductees bear no relative difference between this year and the insanity of any year the powers-that-be vote whomever in: they have a popular fan vote, they look at the results, and then for the most part ignore them.
Why call it the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when the ones you are putting into said HOF are not rock artists. Even some of them don’t want to be inducted. A few years ago, Dolly Parton kindly told them – “take me off the list of potential inductees.”
Their response to a Country Music legend and all-around sweetheart of a person? No, we won’t… and they inducted her into their continually eroding irrelevant “HOF.”
This year? Warren Zevon, with a nod toward Billy Joel who made the suggestion, came in third in the fan voting. They induct five every year. Did he make the cut? Fuck no. His fans, and Billy Joel, were ignored.
Some say one of the members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame committee, Jann Wenner, has had a red-ass out for Warren Zevon for decades. So, they had an issue upon their first meeting – so did Springsteen with Zveon yet it didn’t matter to him. So, he wrote a song about Rolling Stone (Jann’s baby FYI in case you didn’t know) and the fabrication they dropped into articles about him – Trouble Waiting to Happen. It’s a catchy tune – catchy enough it’s probably an earworm for that asshat Wenner.
Let’s run a list of who was on the fan voting and who missed the cut this year, shall we?
The 2023 votes:
George Michael 1,040,072
Cyndi Lauper 928,113
Warren Zevon 634,130
Iron Maiden 449,682 (2x nominee)
Soundgarden 427,040 (2x nominee)
Others on the list for voting this year included Rage Against the Machine (5x nominee), Kate Bush (4x nominee), A Tribe Called Quest (2x nominee); Missy Elliott; Sheryl Crow; The White Stripes; and Joy Division/New Order.
Now just a glance at this list and you may ask yourself – wait, Iron Maiden is not in the hall yet? Nope. The RRHOF seems to have quite the tepid love of metal. Ozzy Osbourne, as a solo artist, is not in their hallowed halls either.
So, who made it? Well (no drum roll it’s barely worthy of one):
Kate Bush – she’s in because of Stranger Things and even the RRHOF admits it. Top Five? Nope.
Sheryl Crow – didn’t make the Top 5 in voting, was a first-time nominee, but whatever. She’s a pretty good songwriter and dissed a friend of mine who loved her, met her, and then proceeded to trash her.
Missy Elliot – WTF. Seriously. Very talented? Yes. But WT actual F. Not the Top Five either.
George Michael – Granted he did win the popular vote, and allegedly he was a fine bloke, but Rock and Roll artist? Sketchy.
Rage Against the Machine – worthy IMO and it only took 5x to get them in. Although I’m fairly certain it means nothing to them. After all, the RRHOF IS the machine FFS.
Willie Nelson – Really? Yes, really. Willie is a great talent – as a songwriter and a Country music artist. He may not be everyone’s puff of smoke, but he’s a fucking legend. He is not, nor ever has been, a Rock and Roll artist. Even then, I guess perhaps they felt to “honor” him (odds are he gives two shits about it) before he leaves this mortal coil. He is after all 90.
OK – so of the Top Five in fan voting? One made it. One. Mister “Careless Whisper” himself and in my opinion barely a Rock and Roll artist. Others made it too but were not in the van voting like Don Cornelius – yeah Soul Train. Cool. Uh huh. Jesus H.
My advice? Change your fucking name. How about the Mistake by The Lake Music Hall of Fame. To call it the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and just leave it at that and induct the likes of Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Whitney Houston (yeah, she’s in but Black women deserve to be in TBH based upon history) without some sort of diversity clarification other than a side note is a fucking travesty. Acknowledgment is important and so is history, but Jesus H Christ do better.
To recap, fuck you RRHOF.
Fancy Boys Club 