The finalists for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class of 2008 have 
been announced.  Appearing on the ballot this year:

The Dave Clark Five

The Beastie Boys

Chic

John Mellencamp

Madonna

The Ventures

Afrika Bambaataa

Leonard Cohen

Donna Summer


So who would you vote in?

26 responses total.

 Is there a spot on the ballot for "None of the Above"?

 There are acts on that list I like, but I don't think of them
 as critically important to the development of Rock and Roll.
 Leonard Cohen, for example, is a great songwriter, but is he
 even a rock and roll artist?  Would rock have been different
 had he just remained a poet and not gone into music?

 Of the acts above, Madonna has probably had the highest profile
 career and the most obvious superficial effect on popular music.

This is certainly an interesting group of nominees this year, 
encompassing a lot of different styles.

My choices would be:

Madonna--   For obvious reasons, although I think she's become a bit 
insufferable in recent years.  She is the top female pop star of the 
last twenty five years and will certainly get in and be the first U of 
M student (not graduate, she dropped out) to be a hall of famer.  

Beastie Boys--  Well you have to vote for the Beasties, they are lords 
of hip hop-risy.  Many hip hop artists learned what they do from 
listening to Beastie Boy Albums.

John Mellencamp-- An old favorite of mine, at least since he stopped 
calling himself Johnny Cougar and writing his own songs.  He just wrote 
a new song about the Jena 6 called "Jena, take your nooses down", and 
now the mayor of Jena, La. wants to put a noose around Mellencamp's 
neck.  Induct him so he can sing that song at the ceremony!


Leonard Cohen-- Another old favorite who deserves to go in for the 
quality of his career and how influential he has been.  

Thats it.  I can't make a case for Donna Summer, and the Ventures were 
just another overrated sixties instrumental group.  Afrika Baabaambataa 
I regard as more succesful as a producer than performer.  Its not the 
year for him.  As for Chic, forget it.  Disco is dead. The last thing I 
want is to hear them singing "dance dance dance" again.

Oh and I left out the Dave Clark Five, but I wouldn't vote for them 
either.  They were better than the Ventures but still, there are enough 
mediocre fifties and sixties pop groups in already.

Does anyone even agree on what the criteria for admittance should be?

re #4 criteria, according to the rr hall of fame website, includes the 
quality of the artist's music, importance of artist and work, and 
signficance/influence of the artist and his/her music on the rock and 
roll industry.

you think the Dave Clark Five were non influential?  I think they were very
influential.

as do i ... 
 
dave clark 5
leonard cohen
the ventures ...
  
no one elase from taht liast.

Based on the criteria, I suppose you could argue Donna Summers had a great
influence, since disco led to the anti-disco trend among certain rockers. I'd
agree with the earlier post, though, that Cohen really influenced rock very
little.

AM RADIO

disco forever!!!!

   (((  Linked from Fall Agora to Music.  )))

>Madonna...'s become a bit 
>insufferable in recent years.

Madonna has been a bit insufferable since the beginning. 

>the Ventures were 
>just another overrated sixties instrumental group.

The Ventures are the best selling instrumental rock group of all time
(which might not be saying much), and were influential to many a guitarist.

beasties boys and leonard cohen

ya he rocks it.

I'm surprised Madonna isn't in yet.

 This is probably the first year she's eligible.
 Eligibility depends on the year of the person or band's first recording.

I think it's 20 or 25 years after the first recording, off the top of 
my head.
 
One would presume that eventually the Hall of Fame would turn into 
some sort of "pop music hall of fame," because their 20- or 25-year
horizon is rapidly approaching the point where rock music 
collapsed.  :)   It's not like baseball, which keeps minting 
new stars every year.

If Madonna is nominated, it's already gone down the pop road. We still have
a bunch of grunge era bands that are deserving, so I wouldn't say all hope
is lost.

Heck, it took forever to get Black Sabbath in - it's not like the R&R 
HoF is the barometer of what is really good....

The Beatles are in aren't they? And they're not R&R? Or am I hopelessly
ignorant of musical genres. 

I didn't know about the time requirement to get into the HofF. 

I don't believe in contests and awards. They are often given to someone for
reasons that have nothing to do with their actually earning the award (such
as for their race or their boob job).

like the trimspa challenge?

Gee, how long did it take you to figure that one out, genius?

heh

Afrika Bambaataa started a whole genre. And he set a benchmark. He should be
in.

I should be in too.

DESTRUCTION

This is one of those rare occurrences where I totally agree with the
author of #1 

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