Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

We visited the Cleveland area this past week, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was of course one of the things we saw. I had never been there before, so I am glad I was able to see it. I think it is definitely worth a visit if you are in the area, or if you can combine it with various other events in Ohio. It is packed with memorabilia and exhibits, so it takes the better part of the day to tour it. Here are some comments I have:

• Having had discussions about Rock music with my friend David Ross just before going on this trip, and us both lamenting the fact that Jethro Tull was not yet voted into the Hall, it was more than a little ironic to hear... that's right... Aqualung blaring out of the external speakers as we approached the building. That just didn't seem right at all. I think they should only play songs from artists that are actually in the hall of fame!
  
  
• Although I enjoyed touring the hall, a couple of knocks on it are that it wasn't made very clear what the process for induction was, or even exactly how they define Rock and Roll as such. They do a good job of describing what it is not, in that they have a nice section that pays tribute to the early influences on RnR. And I know it would be difficult and controversial to attempt a definition of the genre (see the Wikipedia entry, and the impressive list of rock sub-genres), but still... I felt that was missing. Perhaps I missed some important plaque or display that did these things though -- there is a lot there to take in. Here is a brief bit of info on the induction process, from their website:
  
  

  "Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. Criteria include the influence and significance of the artist’s contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll.
  
  The Foundation’s nominating committee, composed of rock and roll historians, selects
  nominees each year in the Performer category. Ballots are then sent to an international voting body of about 1,000 rock experts. Those performers who receive the highest number of votes, and more than 50 percent of the vote, are inducted. The Foundation generally inducts five to seven performers each year."

• The 1-hour long video about the inductees was quite good. The seating was horrible (metal benches with no backs), but the video was good. As that video (presumably) gets longer and longer each year, they'll really need to improve the seating! But they showed interesting soundbites and music clips of each performer and the others included in the Hall. (This video is the equivalent of the plaques for each member of the the Baseball Hall of Fame.)
  
  
• All of the other exhibits varied in how interesting they were to me, but overall, it was quite interesting indeed. And like other Halls of Fame, they include historical memorabilia from far more artists than just those officially inducted.
  
  
• As for comments on who is not yet included, obviously I consider Jethro Tull's absence to be a travesty. They have been eligible since 1993, so who knows if they'll ever make it now. They are a unique group: longevity even through significant band member changes (with Ian Anderson and Martin Barre being the constants), unique music across several rock sub-genres, Ian Anderson's incredible use of the flute, and so on. See the Jethro Tull Wikipedia entry for info.
  


• Beyond that, I don't have any huge objections to who is in so far. And even the order of how they have entered seems fairly reasonable to me (started in 1986). I like the fact that The Beatles didn't make it in until the third year, which allowed the Hall to have a good set of "early" rock and rollers before the era of the bands really begins to enter. The 2006 class includes two favorites of mine, Black Sabbath and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
  


• It is interesting to consider the artists who are included both as part of a group and as soloists. This includes at least John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison (The Beatles), Paul Simon (Simon and Garfunkel), and Eric Clapton (Cream and The Yardbirds). I think Ozzy Osbourne (Black Sabbath) might also make it one day as well.
  
  
• Who else will be included in the future? Obviously Madonna. And R.E.M. And Nirvana. And Metallica. Off the top of my head, others that I think are very likely to be enshrined include Guns 'n Roses, KISS, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Van Halen, Rush, Beck, Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, Genesis, Green Day, and possibly Deep Purple, Moody Blues, Dire Straits, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, ... and with any luck... Jethro Tull.