All of this Rock Hall talk is starting to drive me insane!
And I'm really only trying to shout my "most important" statement over the Rock Hall stuff. Though I do think I have legit Rock Hall points....
Look, I listen to a lot of music, though not as much as I would like and not as diverse as I should. And yes, I am biased because I love the White Stripes, but in my most honest and sincere tongue, I feel like the music they have already done is enough to get them in the Rock Hall. And if they produce any more, it's just extra votes. The guy has a better voice than he gets credit for, is an amazing song writer in that he has catchy hooks and inserts breaks where they almost don't belong until you listen again. His guitar work: see rva's comments above. They are pretty damn popular and (sadly) are even popping up on butt rock stations now.
I love Cat Power and her voice. I can't get enough of it, and in my opinion, she's a WAY better singer than Patti Smith ever was. But I'm well aware that not only is Patti Smith a more deserving pick, I also get it that Cat Power will never be inducted into that hall. For one, because of her diversity, and secondly, she's probably considered as a dime-a-dozen female vocalist. And that's fine. It doesn't change how I feel about her.
I have never heard a song by the Pretenders that I like, and I honestly would love to see the Soledad Brothers placed into the Hall of Fame as I'm still blown away to this day by what they did. But that's just what I like, and I know I'm kinda dreaming.
I'm not giving that treatment here with the White Stripes. If the things they have done are not enough to get in ( and ALREADY), then I feel sorry for future musicians just starting out because it's going to be about impossible to ever do anything to get in. In fact, I guess the Rock Hall should close the doors in 20 years. And I will also have zero faith in that Hall if this were to happen. You can go down the list of inductees already, and it's a pretty good list. But I've listened to the Stripes hundreds of times, I know their songs and I've focused very carefully. It's a very unique thing happening. That's what I know.
Just because JR likes White Stripes, doesn't mean they are obviously going to the Hall of Fame, or that Jack White is going to be a huge influence on the future of music. Or that everyone in the music business thinks Jack White is better than Britney Spears, or that anyone cares that Jack White writes really basic songs and Britney Spears doesn't write songs at all.
"Indie" music is but one small subset of the overall music scene. Hip-hop is another, and I doubt that most hip-hop music business people or fans are going to agree that pretty much rap sucks with a few exceptions and Jay-Z is not as talented as Jack White.
That's not what I'm saying at all. Countless times over the years when I've looked at those Rock Hall lists, I've wondered "Who the hell is that?" because I haven't heard of them. But when I dig a little deeper and read what is printed, it usually makes sense. I'm sure I could be sold pretty easily on how great Lil' Wayne is or on what Jay-Z is doing (though I'm more aware of his accomplishments) but I'm simply not interested in them. The same will probably be for hip hop business folks when they hear the White Stripes are going in. But if they take the time and do a little research, they should respect the nod.
Me personally, I'd be a terrible judge for that event because I'm not diverse enough. That's why they have strict rules, qualifications and a better panel than my judgement. OUR rock hall thing was just for fun. Well, 80% fun, as I put a lot of thought into it.
I only know what I know, and I know that I can make only one nomination right now, and that's the White Stripes. Well, and Radiohead, but that's a whole other ball of wax. I like a LOT of bands, but none of them have done anything worthy enough (yet) to get that cred.
Who knows what Lady Gaga will end up doing and it's way too early for me to judge her on that, though I fucking hate her music. I will say I'd be surprised if she made it over the Stripes. But Britney, no fucking way. If Debbie Gibson and Tiffany aren't getting in, then neither will Brit. NO respectable person in the business could honestly say she's a better talent than White. Maybe the dj's on stations she plays on, or her fan clubs, or parents, yes.
On another popularity note, do you really think Pearl Jam isn't worthy for at least a nomination some day? They did very un-popular things like refusing to tour (because of Ticketmaster), refusing to make videos and stopped releasing singles. The band even admitted that these things hurt their career. But they are/were pretty damn influential, right?
To the general public, were the Ramones really that popular? Most of my friends don't like them, myself included.
That's why I always advocated just writing about stuff we like from a subjective viewpoint instead of trying to do more objective pieces and draw any conclusion other than "Gee, I like this." Because if you try to do the big picture stuff, then you have to go out and listen to country and hip-hop and dance music and none of us want to do that.
Well put, and we simply don't have the resources to be more than that....now. I'd like to get to that point some day, but for now we would be "faking" it to do that. We'll see what the future brings.
