Kudos to R.E.M. for getting into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They have been one of the best bands going for a good long while, up until just a few years ago actually, and there were several cuts on Around the Sun which I thought were very good. Hell, I even liked a good portion of Up and Monster, which many despise, and really only consider Reveal to be at least uninteresting. I credit them, along with the Replacements and perhaps the Cure, for helping me stay interested in new music back in the mid-late 80s and early 90s. As opposed to now, when I seem to be utterly disinterested in about 80% of what I hear from newish musicians.
Can't quibble with Van Halen, either; while I've never been what you could call an intense admirer of any of their incarnations (the Dave version is best, if you ask me), they served as a soundtrack for a great deal of my teenage indiscretions and therefore can't be devalued. Favorite albums remain their debut and Women and Children First. Van Hagar had its moments, mostly via songs that got played to death on radio like "Right Now" and "When It's Love", and truth be told I liked Sammy from his 70's stint with Montrose. But they got old real fast. After that, blah. It should be fun to see if there will be a Springer Show-style reunion at the awards presentation!
I've never really been a fan of Patti Smith's music although I do recognize that she is a wonderful poet and totally respect her influence and acheivements. I just never worked up a taste for her albums. As I've always said, I was very slow to embrace Punk and New Wave as a young man.
The story with the Hall of Fame isn't so much for me who's in as who's not in. I still can't believe that the likes of Alice Cooper, T.Rex, Captain Beefheart, Nick Drake, Jethro Tull, Randy Newman, Cat Stevens, Roxy Music, Todd Rundgren, Donovan, King Crimson, The Move, Warren Zevon, The Meters- the list goes on and on- aren't in. Here's one such list as of 10-2005. Just like the HoFs of pro sports, it's WAY too freaking hard to get inducted, and WAY to dependent on trendiness and the condescending dismissiveness of the hipper-than-thou voter constituency.
And that's all I have to say about that. For now.
This is crossposted from the LJ; swear to Jebus I'll finish the comics reviews soon. As if anyone cares.
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