2019 Inductees To The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame: The Cure, Def Leppard, Janet Jackson, Stevie Nicks, Radiohead, Roxy Music, The Zombies

The 2019 Inductees to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame have been announced.

They are:

The Cure, Def Leppard, Janet Jackson, Stevie Nicks, Radiohead, Roxy Music, The Zombies

Good choices, certainly. Many people have misgivings about the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and their nomination process. In general, I believe the older bands should get in first, although newer, more popular bands, unsurprisingly, often get more votes from both industry insiders and fans.

The Hall seems determined to include more artists of color, even they are pop or hip hop artists, rather than rockers. I suppose I can understand the argument that artists like NWA embody "the spirit of rock & roll", but the fact is they are not rock artists.

That goes to the question, is it a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, or a Music Hall of Fame?

There are, of course, numerous artists of color who figure prominently in the history of rock, and perhaps we should shine a brighter light on these pioneers than we do. Last year's induction of rock pioneer, guitarist extraordinaire, and force of nature Sister Rosetta Tharpe is a good example of this.

...and let's not forget the numerous "rockers of color" active today, such as Tom Morello and Joey Santiago of The Pixies.

The artists I was advocating for this year for The Hall were:

1. ROXY MUSIC
2. MC5
3. TODD RUNDGREN
4. THE ZOMBIES

5. JOHN PRINE

A band like MC5 so belongs in the Rock Hall, but it's hard to picture today's musical insiders and fans knowing much about them, much less going to the mat for their nomination. Sad that artists like John Prine and Todd Rundgren couldn't make the cut.

Just a few thoughts on this year's inductees:

The Cure: Uh, I guess so....

Def Leppard: OK

Janet Jackson: Not a rock artist (except maybe for "Scream", see below)

Stevie Nicks: Yes

Radiohead: Too soon

Roxy Music & The Zombies: So glad they made it!

2019 nominees who didn't make the cut this year: DEVO, KRAFTWERK, LL COOL J, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, RUFUS FEATURING CHAKA KHAN. john prine, mc5, todd rundgren.

Not really rock artists: Kraftwerk, ll cool j, rufus feat chaka khan.

rage: love them, but too soon. let's get some veteran artists in there first.

devo: yes.

john prine: more folk, than rock, actually, but so good he totally deserves to be in there. (I love it that spiritualized used a line from john's "Sam Stone" in "Cop Shoot Cop")

mc5 & Todd Rundgren: Absolutely should be in there.

Better luck next year!