Thursday 2 October 2008

The Rock Hall Backlog Part 1: Exceptional artists not considered by the Nominating Committee who may have a chance

Now that I have explained the Rock Hall backlog, I will look at the artists in the backlog in eight stages:

Part 1: Exceptional artists not considered by the Nominating Committee who may have a chance owing to the low relevance of their earliest recorded output
Part 2: Artists with more than two previous ballot appearances"
Part 3: Artists with exactly two previous ballot appearances
Part 4: Artists with one previous ballot appearance
Part 5: Discrepant artists between lists of the "previously considered".
Part 6: "Popular" artists with consistent previous votes from the Nominating Committee but no ballot appearances
Part 7: Acclaimed "cult" artists with consistent previous votes from the Nominating Committee but no ballot appearances
Part 8: Artists from genres unrepresented in the Hall (or almost so) with consistent previous votes from the Nominating Committee but no ballot appearances

I pointed out in my previous post, how useless it is considering artists without previous votes from the nominating committee. The few exceptions or possible exceptions exist if and only if their earliest recorded output is so different from that which established the artist's legacy that it might not be noticed by the Nominating Committee.

In these cases, when the important part of the artists' output celebrates the 25th anniversary, or soon after, the artist should be considered if they have a chance.

I will look at these artists before getting onto the Rock Hall backlog proper. It is important not to assume these artists can in any way be considered part of the Rock Hall backlog, though.

1) Janet Jackson: since her first two albums Janet Jackson and Dream Street were very unsuccessful and do not reflect the style that made her famous with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Once Control celebrates its 25th anniversary, it will be hard to see Janet not being considered.
2) Pantera: though not likely to be inducted until at least 2015/2016 (and if their induction is far from improbable it may take years after that), they are worth noting here because their first four albums Metal Magic (1983), Projects in the Jungle (1984), I Am the Night (1985) and Power Metal (1988), were of a completely different style from the groove metal of their recognised albums. They were KISS-type glam metal but failed completely in commercial terms. With the exception of Power Metal, Phil Anselmo was also not in the band, Terry Glaze being the vocalist.

(The way I see it, Pantera are proof that the simple criterion of 25 years after first release is flawed. I have thought that 25 years after first artist-acknowledged release might be a better criterion, which would make Pantera eligible in 2015/2016).

3) Ministry: a major influence on likely inductee Nine Inch Nails, Al Jourgensen vehemently disowns their pre-1986 output which was synth-pop rather than industrial metal. Ministry are a quite possible exception if industrial become acknowledge by the Hall. Whether industrial belongs in the Rock Hall is an interesting question that no one has ever considered and probably will not before Nine Inch Nails become eligible.
4) Talk Talk are a possible exception if and only if the post-rock movement of the 1990s is acknowledged.

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