Waltzing with Say It Right

Not really sure why it's relevant anyway. Artists like REM, Elvis Costello and Pearl Jam (who will waltz right in) all receive near unanimous critical acclaim, yet you can't prove their supposed greatness by me. Again, just an opinion.

Let's just single out current members then. Blondie pretty much waltzed in. Parallel Lines, which I have on DCC gold, is a nice album. It was for the times and probably left a lasting impression. It could be argued that it was their artistics peak. They had plenty of commerical success afterwards. Did they break any new ground? Maybe for a couple of years, along with The Cars, during the early years of New Wave. To use your standard, they certainly had a cultural impact.

The Cars pre-dated REM by a long way. The Cars were getting significant FM airplay when New Wave was barely gaining commercial acceptance. REM came along in the early to mid 80's when the "post punk" (who came up with that?) landscape was secure. Yeah, REM was supposedly hip with college radio, and critics postured that this was what 20 year olds were supposed to listen to at that juncture. So it was enough that REM got in as soon as was humanly possible. Not sure what the direct connection is, but The Cars need to be pegged against their peers. Blondie waltzed in without any resistance, a long time ago.

Yeah, going through the Not in the Hall of Fame site, there are several acts, whose fans could more justifiably protest the lack of induction. We all know that the system is rigged and that there's favoritism. Blondie waltzed right in, but The Cars don't even make it to the nomination stage.

You can save the crass accusations of "conspiracy theories." It's all rather blatant. You're getting a little carried away with Camel and Gentle Giant, but you are correct about Yes. Eventually, they'll probably get inducted. Ditto, The Cars from New Wave. It's always been my contention that if Blondie waltzed in rather easily, then The Cars should have encountered little resistance. Then again, Ocasek wasn't big buds with Jann, as was Debbie & Chris.

Have since gotten reacqainted with The Cars by getting DCC, AF and MFSL verions - all great. Never had Heartbeat City prior but glad to have approached it all these years later and enjoy it on its own terms. Regret not seeing The New Cars with Todd when there was an opportunity.

As for the Rock and Roll HOF, my position has always been that if Blondie were able to waltz in so easily, then The Cars should not have encountered any resistance. Debbie & Chris are buds with Jan, so it's not hard to see why. Then again, it did come as news about RS giving them Best New Artist, which should have aided their cause in some way.

This is kind of arbitrary, but if acts like Three Dog Night and Steppenwolf get in but if other nominees such as Yes and The Cars don't, then it's proof positve of the Hall's selective application of their own criteria. Sales figures are NOT part of the stated criteria but "influence" is, and we all accept that this isn't generally defined. However, it can be safely said that Yes was an important act within the progressive rock movement. Ditto for The Cars within New Wave. Although sales are not contigent upon selection, both groups certainly achieved impressive numbers at least in terms of album sales and likely in terms of concert draw (at least in the case of Yes). Musicians can cite inspiration from Yes. For The Cars, certainly if Blondie could waltz in, The Cars should not have encountered previous resistance, if not for the fact that Chris and Debbie were buds with Jann.

Are Three Dog Night and Steppenwolf remembered by anyone else but nostalgic boomers? Doubt it. We'll find out soon enough if that gives them the push though. Neither of them were anything beyond putting some Top 40 singles out.

As another poster indicated, Jann's overall input on the process may be overstated, but it does exist, with Rolling Stone Magazine intertwined. The Beastie Boys waltzed in without resistance. Next year, Rolling Stone posted its "Greatest Debut Albums of All Time" list. At the top was...Beastie Boys. Certainly there must've been a connection to try and justify the induction. :waiting:

Yeah, it's arbitrary to pull Beastie Boys out of the hat, but Gordon Lightfoot has had an undeniable and verifiable impact on other important songwriters. Without this thread topic, the subject probably wouldn't have crossed my mind, but looking over the career, he's significant.

Pearl Jam waltzes in and Tupac will probably get in too. Yes, The Cars and Chic have been through the process before, so it might be there time. The PC element would probably push for Joan Baez and Depeche Mode, but don't know if they'd have enough support. Kraftwerk was highly influential but probably lacks the support and name recognition.

NWA are far more deserving than The Beastie Boys, who just waltzed in without resistance.. Then Rolling Stone tried to camouflage that sham by ranking The Beasties 1st as The Greatest Debut Album of All Time. :laugh:

We've witnessed it from both sides. VU had virtually none, but waltzed in whereas H2O oozed it but it took years for them.

Barometer is poor choice of words. Precedent is used in the Baseball HOF, why not here? To illustrate, Blondie and The Cars emerged around the same time in New Wave. Enormous success early on for both, and had sustained success after before eventually fizzling. Various comebacks came later. The difference? Debbie & Chris were buds with Jann and had appeared at CBGB's. Both very helpful. Blondie waltzed in relatively early. Meanwhile, it took years for The Cars to even get nominated.

Now here, Joan and Pat Benatar were contemporaries. Both entered hard rock territory. Big deal for women after Heart, because it wasn't common then. Pat's career began and last longer than Joan's solo. As already mentioned, the Runaways nomination was tied in with the movie hype, and exaggerated their overall impact. The movie should have been enough. However, it was clear that members if the nominating committee still wanted to push it.

Attention turned to Joan practically immediately after. Joan appears during the Nirvana lovefest, then get nominated and inducted the very next year. Must have been a kwinky dink. :rolleyes:

Pat Benatar has never even been nominated. As said before, she must have enemies in the industry. The only plausible explanation. The OP who mentioned Joan as influential to Riot Grrls, yes, maybe that's true. How impact was the impact? It affected 750 people in the Pacific Northwest and impressed cultural left rock critics, who wanted to prop it up.

Thus, the Moodies had to wait a long time before RnRHoF induction.

Meanwhile, the Beastie Boys waltzed in, and Licensed to Ill was RS Greatest Debut Album of All Time. :rolleyes:

The Beastie Boys waltzed right into the hallowed Hall, despite never being cited by any serious hip hop artist as an important influence and never having to dodge the "cultural appropriation" bullet.

Soon after the monumental induction, The Beastie Boys 1st album was promoted as "The Greatest Debut of All Time" by Rolling Stone.

No connection there though. :eek: