Did you hear that Run-D.M.C. made it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? They’re not even rock artists (unless you count that groundbreaking version of “Walk This Way” they did with Aerosmith). How can they do that? How can you let in hip hop artists when that’s a completely different genre?
Here’s a question: Who really gives a rat’s ass?
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is completely irrelevant. Case in point: they didn’t call it the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame. But there are many, many other reasons why that place is about as rocking and the Hard Rock Cafe. For one thing, who has jurisdiction over who is and is not famous enough to get in? There is no doctrine for any such organization
One day, a bunch of guys in between lines of cocaine (it was the 1980s, after all) sat around talking about how much Van Halen rocked, man. Then one guy argued that, no way, man, the true rockers are the ones who invented the genre? Oh yeah?, said the first guy, well we should solve this once and for all. And in 1986 they opened up their manufactured hall of fame and made tons of money off of it.
The problem is that a hall of fame tries to define what is and is not good music, specifically, rock n’ roll. This isn’t baseball, there are no stats for Groupies Banged Average (GBA) or Rockingest Rock Songs (RRS). There are only record sales. And even that doesn’t decide what is and is not good music. If money were simply the only category, Christian rock should have its own pantheon, and way bigger in size. (By the way, anyone want to invest in my great idea?)
VH1, The Rolling Stone and every other media outlet that considers itself an authority on music that is good tries to compile a list every so often (or in the case of VH1, every 10.8 seconds). What makes music good is whether you like it or not. Not “you” as in “you, the masses,” I mean “you” as in “you individually.” If you like Peter Frampton, The Monkees or Chris Daughtry, no one can tell you differently. Sure, you’re going to go through life being made fun of at every turn, but that never takes away the feeling you get when you hear a song.
Then look at the Hall’s location: Cleveland. As in, Cleveland, Ohio. Folks, the Hall of Fame is there and it is one of the few reasons why anyone goes to Cleveland. Why the hell is it in that city? Simple: they had money. The very location of the Hall of Fame is built on the principle that money supercedes actual historical significance. You can’t build a place of honor on corrupt soil.
It’s simply not about honoring accomplishments, it’s about paying homage to those whom a select few of no real authority or significance deem worthy. Once a year, those few rake in the money as they change thousands for their inductee ceremonies. Meanwhile if you want to get in during normal days of the year, oh yeah, that costs money too.
It’s a scam.