2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees are in and...

Guess who!

http://assets.rollingstone.com/assets/images/story/rush-public-enemy-deep-purple-nominated-for-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-20121004/1000x600/20121002-rush-rrhof-600x-1349204354.jpg

This year's hopefuls are Albert King, Chic, Deep Purple, Donna Summer, Heart, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Kraftwerk, the Marvelettes, the Meters, N.W.A., Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Procul Harum, Public Enemy, Randy Newman and Rush.

procul harum and paul butterfield blues band - ye gods

P.E.! Chic! Donna Summer! Those three and I'm happy. Maybe the Meters too, but War isn't in yet, either.

Split votes between NWA and Public Enemy?

Chic, Donna Summer (thought she was already in for some reason), Public Enemy, and, even though he's not a personal favourite, Randy Newman. In terms of influence, Kraftwerk, though I can't imagine them getting in. Maybe the Marvelettes.

Also really thought Sonic Youth would have at least been nominated by now. They're not the VU of the Eighties - lasted longer, more popular in their time, etc. - but they're the closest equivalent. They've been the canonical indie rockers for what, 20 years? And one of their albums is in the National Recording Registry. Dave Marsh probably hates 'em.

public enemy's the only lock there, pe and nwa the only first time eligibles nominated right? the extent to which time has caught up to the period where the ppl that decide this thing just completely stopped paying attention really shown here. did the cure actually go in or did they just not make the nominees this year? if i had votes for five i'd go kraftwerk, pe, the meters, chic, and rush. in terms of likelihood i'd guess pe, albert king, randy newman, kraftwerk, deep purple, donna summer, heart, joan jett, the meters, the marvelettes, nwa, procul harum, paul butterfield blues band, chic, rush.

procul harum and paul butterfield blues band - ye gods

Meanwhile the Smiths, Depeche and the Cure (they didn't get in last time) all still tapping their fingers. Dave Marsh DEFINITELY behind all that.

Anyway I'd like to note with the photo above that I hadn't realized I'd actually joined Rush but there you go.

Nomination list this year is ridiculously solid, for these stodgy old farts at least. 'Course they'll probably pick Butterfield and Procul Harum and leave out disco once again when the inductees are announced.

Another year, no Tommy James. (I'm only half-kidding--he'd be in my HOF.)

Would be cool to see PE, NWA, Chic, Donna Summer, Albert King, Kraftwerk and the Marvelettes get in. With this new "fan ballot," Rush is probably a lock.

But ffs, Roxy Music still hasn't been nominated? Can't pin that one on Marsh; he loved them.

And I pretty much gave up on the HoF when the Dead were inducted ahead of the MC5 (who still aren't in).

Anyway I'd like to note with the photo above that I hadn't realized I'd actually joined Rush but there you go.

dude you joined Rush YEARS ago, like maybe 95?

also why do people keep trying to thwart my efforts to wholesale deny the existence of Randy Newman

I wonder if Dre would show up to the ceremony

aren't awards shows like 90% of dre's public appearances over the last 10 years?

So are they actually going to vote for Rush this time or are they going to continue to keep us waiting?

don't a lot of acts get nominated a few times before getting in? i feel like this is just the first indication that the deep freeze has thawed, but it'll still be a few years before Rush actually get in.

Really hope Kraftwerk gets in and I think they might. PE has always been a lock and deserve it. Feel like Rush's time had come with the recent doc which runs all the time on vh1 classic....meters rule, hope they make it & donna

Also I know ppl think there's too much dino rock in there already, but ffs Deep Purple fucking belongs....blackmore alone changed the course of metal lead playing and they are a killer unit

NWA will have to wait, can't see two in one year

dude you joined Rush YEARS ago, like maybe 95?

Hahah true, that.

Deep Purple fucking belongs....blackmore alone changed the course of metal lead playing and they are a killer unit

Hey, don't forget Jon Lord either! And with his recent passing, assume sympathy vote.

Maybe if NWA gets in they'll bring along Eazy in an urn like Monty Python did w/Graham Chapman at that comedy festival thi

wld vote Randy Newman, Kraftwerk, the Meters, Public Enemy, Albert King

geez, if they're gonna nominate a band with Joan Jett, at least make it the Runaways

Vote Rush and Purple. Dont give a flying fuck about the other artists. or the Hall of Fame, for that matter.

Thanks Bill!

Joan Jett solo > Runaways

it always amuses me how people quibble over the emphasis on commercial success in the rnr hall of FAME

<i>Joan Jett solo > Runaways</i>

This is OTM 1000%

Geddy Lee stood in front of my friend in the concessions line when we saw Looper tonight. (I was over getting coffee, so I missed it.) So yes, into the HOF he goes.

Was his voice high or did he speak like an ordinary guy

I think he used the "Temples of Syrinx" voice when he asked for extra butter. (Like I say, I was over getting coffee. Coincidentally, he and his family walked into a steakhouse I was at a few months ago. He may be stalking me, for reasons that are thus far unclear.)

I don't know all the nominated names, but the only 'new' names on the list (as in, the only names new to the list due to it being 25 years since they debuted) are NWA and Public Enemy, right? I find that kinda funny, that only rap-names from that year are worthy of inclusion (though Pixies debuted at that time as well). In a few years, we'll hit the grunge-years, and we should be ready to hear about the 'genious' of Nirvana and Pearl Jam and Smashing Pumpkins, but after that, like, five years from now, there is simply no rock-names worthy. Who are they going to nominate? Creed? Limp Bizkit? It will all be rap and old people.

white stripes? the strokes? radiohead?

Sub in Foo Fighters for the Strokes.

Although I guess if the point that there's not much rock in the immediate post-grunge era, I think that's true. These are probably the top rock candidates for the next 15 years:

2017: Radiohead
2020: Foo Fighters, Wilco
2023: Coldplay
2024: White Stripes

2013: Nirvana
2014: Green Day
2015: Smashing Pumpkins
2016: Pearl Jam, PJ Harvey

Most likely candidates for 2018-19 are probably Dave Matthews Band, Weezer, Oasis -- and I don't really see any of those happening.

lmao @ pj harvey

Well, she's certainly not as big as any of the other acts I mentioned, but she's right in the R&R HOF wheelhouse. Dudes like Greil Marcus love her. Seems like someone who'd get nominated, even if she doesn't make it in.

there's like 800 modest-selling critical darlings in line ahead of her, though

i mean "Nirvana, Green Day, Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, PJ Havey" is just a hilarious 'one of these things is not like the others' sequence

Donna Summer, Chic, all fair enough but if disco acts are eligible/credible/rock and roll enough for this now, when are disco's two biggest/best selling acts Boney M and Modern Talking eligible?

you know the Hall of Fame is located in America, right

Heart, Kraftwerk, Meters, Public Enemy, Rush if I were king.

Well if Abba is in...

Abba's huge in America. Modern Talking have never had a gold record or even a charting single in America.

Can't pin that one on Marsh; he loved them

haha – no he didn't

when are disco's two biggest/best selling acts Boney M and Modern Talking eligible?

^literally have never heard of either of these artists.

his entry on "Over You" in his singles book is five hundred words of condescension and nose-holding.

...wherein he talked about how much he dug "Do The Strand" and "Over You" (hence it's placement in the book).

Which is to say, if Roxy's being kept out, Marsh wouldn't/couldn't be the single deciding factor (certainly not anywhere close to the extent that he's keeping Kiss out).

He discussed how much "Do The Strand" and "Over You" were exceptions in a "dessicated" (I think that was the word) catalog.

Donna Summer might get sympathy votes.

xp I took it as more that he was (in a shoehorny way) equating Roxy with, say, King Crimson, and positing those two songs as exceptions to "art rock," rather than exceptions in Roxy's catalog.

you know the Hall of Fame is located in America, right

A key point. A British HOF would have some noticeable differences--T. Rex, Slade, the Jam, Nick Drake, etc.

laura nyro was just inducted i don't see why PJ harvey is an impossibility

Nyro was inducted after being eligible for 20 years, at which point the bones of the late '60s were being picked pretty dry. And I'll be kinda surprised if they start honoring cult heroes of the '90s like they did ones of the '60s. I guess I can revive this thread in 2036 to say "I told you so" but I'm gonna feel terrible if either of you guys are dead.

I'm not sure about this, but my guess is that Nyro was inducted more as a songwriter than a performer...but I think there's some kind of HOF for songwriters, too, which is why I'm not sure.

yeah it's no lock. but i think there's some nexus of longrunning career/being a woman/being from england/iconic of the "alt rock" movement/playing guitar/respectable blues/led zep influences in early stuff that might make her more likely than not with the rolling stone voting bloc type ppl

yeah, i realize that invariably a LOT will change about the HOF institution and its membership over the next decade or two. my point still stands that jaymc including her in the litany of multi-platinum arena rockers is funny, though.

at which point the bones of the late '60s were being picked pretty dry

They're STILL picking them dry if the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Procol Harum nomination is any indication. And it is.

I'm not sure about this, but my guess is that Nyro was inducted more as a songwriter than a performer...but I think there's some kind of HOF for songwriters, too, which is why I'm not sure.

The RnRHoF's categories are performer, sideman, early influence, and non-performer. They're all kind of loose; Freddie King was inducted as an "early influence" despite his recorded debut (as a leader) coming in 1960. Songwriters and business folks are lumped in under "non-performer," hence Syd Nathan rubbing shoulders with Doc Pomus. "Sideman" includes producers now.

Nyro was inducted as a performer.

i found some rrhof website that had a list of artists who've been nominated and not made it, and how many times they were nominated. also listed who was on nomination committee each year. anyhow by and large if you make the nominations you're very very very likely to eventually get in, esp if nominated multiple times. there are some exceptions - gram parsons was nominated three times and didn't get in and hasn't been nominated in a while - but by and large if you're on that ballot enough you get in. two huge exceptions to this: donna summer, who's been nominated like six or seven times, and chic, who've been nominated like seven or eight times. can't blame nominating committee, there's a definite anti-disco bias in the electorate. curious to see how rush does, i could imagine them facing more resistance from committee than electorate; you've had artists in the past who somehow never got nominated for years and then first time nominated get elected.

Who the fuck is Laura Nyro

bill she was a stone fox with the voice of an angel

she co-wrote all sabbaths best songs and kicked Christgau in the nuts for his bad reviews

she wrote Stoned Soul Picnic, Bill! STONED SOUL PICNIC.

She also wrote this which is a stone classic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkMhWQgkZ8c

Who the fuck is Laura Nyro

― One Way Ticket on the 1277 Express (Bill Magill), Friday, October 5, 2012 4:30 PM (11 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTc4Njg3Mjc3MF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwOTQ2Mjg2Nw@@._V1._SY314_CR9,0,214,314_.jpg

"Ay whodduh fuck ah you, pal? You betta shut the fuck up about my mudduh"

by 2036 we can only hope the RRHOF in cleveland is a parking lot and the induction ceremony is staged in dave marsh's nursing-home room simulcast on cable access.

Objection, we do not need more surface parking in Cleveland. We can sink it into the lake and create an artificial reef. Great Lakes Science Center is right next door so it will be perfect.

Donna Summer, Chic, all fair enough but if disco acts are eligible/credible/rock and roll enough for this now, when are disco's two biggest/best selling acts Boney M and Modern Talking eligible?

― Siegbran, Friday, October 5, 2012 2:47 PM (7 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

you know the Hall of Fame is located in America, right

― some dude, Friday, October 5, 2012 2:49 PM (7 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I lol'd

I have never even heard of Modern Talking. Boney M never had a hit in America iirc

oh wait one of their songs reached No. 30 once. wow

Some dude, I cede your point about the incongruity of including PJ Harvey w/the arena rockers.

But as M@tt suggests, she's more than just a "cult hero of the '90s" -- it's not like she's the British Liz Phair. The fact that she's been around for 20 years now and is still making critically acclaimed/"important" records counts for something. Ditto the blues lineage. I see similarities to someone like Patti Smith.

i found some rrhof website that had a list of artists who've been nominated and not made it, and how many times they were nominated.

http://www.futurerocklegends.com/previously_considered.php

So basically, the artists who've been nominated 3+ times w/o getting inducted: Chic (7), Chuck Willis (6), Donna Summer (5), Joe Tex (4), Ben E. King (3), J. Geils Band (3), and Gram Parsons (3).

Always thought it odd that J. Geils Band got so much nomination love, but I basically only know them as the band that did "Centerfold."

I see similarities to someone like Patti Smith.

^^yeah that's a perfect comparison

better overall career than patti smith too

For a while there, J. Geils Band was like the band for the pre-Boss set. If anything, "Centerfield" was the end of that run.

Good for Rush. I wonder who would give their introduction speech? Would they participate in the night-ending jam? Would we get, like, Steven Tyler singer Tom Sawyer with, like, Chuck D. interjecting?

pj harvey's not as never gonna happen as husker du or pavement but it should be noted that borderline or cult acts that got in like laura nyro or tom waits or leonard cohen or patti smith were super super familiar to boomers. jann wenner has heard an album by all of them. he has a take on all of them. it will take substantive change in makeup of nominating committee and electorate for someone like pj harvey to have a shot in hell.

i mean you guys realize that roxy music and t rex have never even been nominated right?

Laura Nyro is in the Songwriters Hall of Fame too. Inducted 2010. The Rock Hall put her in as a performer last year.

pj harvey's not as never gonna happen as husker du or pavement

Husker Du and Pavement both fail the Sonic Youth question: are you more significant than Sonic Youth, whom the HOF has shown no desire to even nominate? With PJ Harvey I wouldn't necessarily assume the answer was no.

This was the second poll I ever put up on here:

The Bert Blyleven Poll

My own feeling, stated then and still, is that Sonic Youth and Husker Du will both eventually be in there. (Within 10-15 years, say.) I didn't include Pavement in the poll, which was mostly based on Azerrad's book, but my guess is that they'd follow at some point. PJ Harvey, I don't know, because of the American tilt. If it were a straight rock-critic's HOF, she'd make it for sure.

Yeah, I agree with the results of that poll, tbh.

at which point the bones of the late '60s were being picked pretty dry

They're STILL picking them dry if the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Procol Harum nomination is any indication. And it is.

So, if the baby boom had happened in the 50s, 80s, 90s or 00s, who would be the Paul Butterfield and Procol Harum worthy of a HoF nomination.

Not sure if I've ever heard PBBB, but I'm thinking their stature is somewhere around that of Hot Hot Heat from the last decade.

An interesting take:

Thing is, there are plenty of respected '80s and '90s bands that actually sold records to choose from, even if they weren't as good as most bands above. Like, I'd expect Los Lobos (who were better than some bands up above) and Jane's Addiction and Pearl Jam and Soundgarden to have a better shot than Sonic Youth, Huskers, X, etc. Hell, maybe even Living Colour and Midnight Oil have a better shot.

― xhuxk, Monday, May 4, 2009 12:20 PM (3 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Like, is that true? I mean, Pearl Jam for sure. The others, I dunno! I kind of expect SY would trump most of the bands on seniority alone. Los Lobos is a weird one to consider -- because I know critics *loved* Los Lobos back in the day, but I seriously have never met a single person who listens to Los Lobos.

I'm white btw

Yeah, I think Chuck's off there. Pearl Jam, yes. But Los Lobos was a big critical thing for one album--and, commercially, they won't go into the HOF for a big-selling cover of a 30-year-old song. The rest of those bands, especially Living Color and Midnight Oil, seem like complete non-starters to me.

I listen to Los Lobos!

Not that that alone gets them into the HoF, of course

Not alone, no, but it might just get them past the finish line. (Kidding, VG!)

lol

no i think xhuxk otm there - pearl jam and soundgarden are locks (soundgarden might not get in as soon as eligible or nominated but they'll go in for sure), jane's addiction have a pretty strong shot imo - lollapalooza founding pretty big.

los lobos are borderline but at the same time members of husker du and sonic youth haven't been on dylan and paul simon albums.

Forgot about Lollapalooza...so maybe they'll go into the builder's wing, along with the guy who invented the 8-Track? (I was actually thinking that the Paul Butterfield Blues Band's strongest argument was their backing Dylan at the Newport '65 show.)

Butterfield had the first jam band!

xp - the 8-track cartridge was developed by Lear Jet, of all companies. Now there's two ways LearJet could get in the Rock and Roll HOF

Husker Du and Pavement both fail the Sonic Youth question: are you more significant than Sonic Youth, whom the HOF has shown no desire to even nominate? With PJ Harvey I wouldn't necessarily assume the answer was no.

― Sandy Denny Real Estate (jaymc), Saturday, October 6, 2012 12:40 AM (7 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

haha u still crazy! of course pj harvey isn't more significant than sonic youth in HOF type terms! i mean there are a lot of great acts whose accomplishments aren't a hill of beans to the hall of fame, and she is so clearly one of them imo. if they DO start nominating '90s alt-rock acts who never had a gold record, i'm not really sure who'd be at the front of the line but i have no idea why it'd be her.

My friend works for a booker that books L0s L0b0s once a year or so and says those guys still party like they are 25. Also some friend of hers has this friend that always bugs the crap out of her for a backstage pass & tickets and then goes backstage and gives the main dude from los lobos a bj while her husband mills around backstage
She says they always have to kick LL out of the venue at like 3am cuz they don't want to stop drinking & getting wasted

So I guess what I'm saying is they have my vote

How Will the Wolf Get a Nut?

http://991.com/newgallery/Los-Lobos-Colossal-Head-478081.jpg

looool

This might not mean anything HOF-wise, but there are only seven artists who've placed in the Pazz and Jop top 5 albums five times or more:

Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen, Talking Heads, Radiohead, PJ Harvey

If upper miss' story is true, then no wonder Los Lobos fucked themselves out of songwriting credit on Graceland.

(xpost) Surprised R.E.M.'s not on that list.

They came really close: albums that placed #1, 3, 3, and 3, and also #6, 7, 8, 8, 11, and 12.

Los Lobos plays out a bunch & has a good rep in the jam scene

which come to think about it is a scene that might be r&r hof material: 311 anyone?

Hahaha, no.
Phish could make it, would be better if they had a few fm rock hits

dunno how much rock radio is gonna matter though in a few years?

for the hof I mean

cos yeah, Phish seems like a lock to me

* does whippet*

http://forum.phish.net/thread.php?thread=1310520175&offset=0

An NPR piece by Chris Molanphy:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2012/10/07/162438687/rock-hall-nominations-who-why-and-how-likely-are-they-to-be-inducted

I honestly had no idea there was some anti Los Lobos contingent. Band is pretty solid over several albums, and while they've fallen from commercial/critical favor, well, the band's been around since like 1973 or something.

dunno how much rock radio is gonna matter though in a few years?

― Euler, Saturday, October 6, 2012 6:56 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I guess not so much radio itself, but it would be helpful if they had a ”tom sawyer” type song that your average person knew

But I could see them getting in like Rush as a sort of cult band on a massive scale, plus it would be a way the hall could recognize the whole 90s and on jam/bonnaroo

Plus phish probably have to be one of the all time top grossing live rock acts by now

If the chili peppers are eligible, seems like phish would already be eligible? They formed way earlier than you think, like 83 or something

'Cept Phish has no critical cachet, mainstream or otherwise, no? I'd say they have about as good of a chance as Dream Theatre. They are totally, exclusively niche.

dave matthews will be how rrhof recognizes jam. phish not eligible until 2015, 25 years after first commercially released album. another thing to remember is that there is a continually growing backlog of acts that have strong cases to be in that aren't even being considered really and that phish or any other non-lock 80s/90s/onward act is likely to end up in this pile and wait to be gotten to whenever the rrhof has finished clearing dave marsh's and jann wenner's ipods. similar thing to steroids situation w/ rrhof.

lol steroids situation w/ baseball hof rather. hopefully rollins and danzig aren't tainted by balco association.

Who has been inducted the most times so far? Clapton? Neil Young?

Eric Clapton. CSN were inducted as a trio, without Neil.

clapton's in solo plus w/ cream and yardbirds. neil young in w/ buffalo springfield and solo, csn inducted but not csny (though have to believe if they had just named the group 'broheems' that young would be in w/ them also). several others in twice, usually group + solo like neil young though two are in as members of two groups - sammy strain for o'jays and little anthony & the imperials and stephen stills for buffalo springfield and csn (god help us if he gets in for solo).

Garth Brooks for Garth Brooks and Chris Gaines?

Sammy Hagar for Montrose, solo and Van Halen!

If this were the UK Rock Hall, there'd already be all sorts of dudes like Paul Weller in there, like, three or more times.

lol Alfred

Be awesome if Brooks accepted but Gaines snubbed it.

Sammy Hagar for Montrose, solo and Van Halen!

― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, October 7, 2012 4:19 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

he deserves it for one of those, and its not solo or VH

i know this is like the most obvious thing to say ever but this whole thing is such bullshit, worse than the oscars even.

and yet part of me is still furious that t. rex aren't in here.

Oh, you're not the only one.

I love the Sisyphean aspect of it all. The boomer gate keepers needed to limit the number of nominees to keep the honor "special," then also felt bad voting in too many acts on their first nominated year, so have accumulated an almost unsurmountable backlog between acts kept on ice, acts not yet nominated and must-induct younger acts that keep coming due. It's quite comical.

Regardless, Rock Hall is awesome if only as an excuse to repost this: http://www.steelydan.com/hof.html

http://www.steelydan.com/sdbay.html

Rolling Stone ‏@RollingStone

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class of 2013: Rush, Public Enemy, Heart, Randy Newman, Donna Summer and Albert King: http://rol.st/YXkVG4

Will pay money to see Rush doing "I Feel Love."

Heart does Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos

DONNA SUMMER

Hahah Geddy's taking it all in stride:

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/geddy-lee-on-rushs-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-induction-well-show-up-smiling-20121211

Oy, Randy Newman.

DONNA SUMMER!

three all time greats (Newman, Summer, P.E.), good news

RUSH
RUSH
RUSH
RUSH

so happy rn

Seriously, this is the best list in years.

otm

very cool list! all well deserved....geddy is such a nice guy, that interview is cute

"we're nice Canadian boys, of course we'll show up" - so great

he's right though, it's kind of a bummer that the Purps didn't get in too

Still wish the Meters and Chic had gotten in.

chic will get in eventually i bet

Tarfumes OTM. A great class all around.

Pretty rotten of them to wait until Donna Summer had died before inducting her.

donna "ron santo" summer

Love this photo on the AV Club site:
http://media.avclub.com/images/420/420028/16x9/627.jpg

chic will get in eventually i bet

I'd like to think so, but man, they're 0 for 7 so far.

y'know, dave marsh's influence on this process has been widely noted. So is it not strange then that the MC5 ain't in? does Jann hold a grudge, and landau hasn't yet smoothed that out?

Todd Rundgren should go in. Nazz, at least one masterpiece (Something/Anything), arguably two or three more, a few perfect singles, produced the first Dolls album and Badfinger's Straight Up. Lots else.

Sparks first two records

no room for rundgren or chic or thin lizzy or war when red hot chili peppers need display space.

Their socks don't take up that much room tho.

Wire should have their own wing, but they will never even come close to getting in.

Would definitely endorse Wire, but right, no chance. I'm not sure if another first-generation British punk band will get in after the Sex Pistols and the Clash. Speaking half-subjectively and half-objectively, I'd put in Wire, X-Ray Spex, maybe the Buzzcocks, and maybe the Mekons.

y'know, dave marsh's influence on this process has been widely noted. So is it not strange then that the MC5 ain't in? does Jann hold a grudge, and landau hasn't yet smoothed that out?

― veronica moser, Tuesday, December 11, 2012 6:12 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I wondered that myself. I think the fact that the Grateful Dead are in and the 5 are not answers the question about how much influence Marsh has. I think as one member of the nominating/voting(?) committee, there's only so much sway he can hold (ditto Landau lambasting the rest of the committee for not inducting Donna Summer earlier).

Oy, Randy Newman.

"Sail Away" jam could be problematic

Heart bringing 70s lineup:

[Ann] Wilson says the induction is expected to include the other members of Heart's "Dreamboat Annie" lineup, including guitarist Roger Fisher, bassist Steve Fossen, drummer Michael DeRosier, and longtime guitarist-keyboardist Howard Leese, an experience she expects to be "very unusual" given the romantic entanglements and interpersonal dynamics of that time. "It'll be kind of like getting together with your old aunts and uncles who you haven't seen for 30 years," Wilson says. "We haven't really kept in touch with those guys. It's been a long time. I still live in Seattle and most of them do, too, but our paths just don't cross."

i was quite pleased, and surprised, that hbo left room for three full randy newman performances. i was floored that hbo opened the show with them: "i love l.a.," then randy's induction, then "i think it's going to rain today" and "i'm dead (but i don't know it)." that's an audience-killing 20 minutes to start the show right there. but i quite liked it.

and a question about jennifer hudson: does she actually have a recording career anymore, or does she just perform on big tv and sports events? is it legal to have such an event and not invite her onstage? i am genuinely curious about this.