Tuesday, January 09, 2007
R&R Hall of Fame Goofs Again
Banjo Jones over at the Brazosport News has a fine commentary on the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame's shameful omission of Joe Tex from this year's entrants. He points out that Grandmaster Flash was admitted. But not Joe Tex. Now, I have to admit that I'm glad to see the Ronettes getting in (though perhaps not as thrilled as the Crimedog that Van Halen is in), but I find it hard to believe that Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five are more important than Joe Tex, skinny legs and all.
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4 comments:
Flash and the Five being the first, at this late date, to be admitted as rappers is the remarkable thing, almost as remarkable as the pretense that they, rather than Gil Scott-Heron and the Last Poets at latest, were the originators of rap as we know it. I'd be happy to see Joe Tex honored, and find Van Halen the most suspect of this group, but find this set less cringe-inducing than some...I can see the argument in each case.
If the "R&R Hall of Fame" sees fit to honour the likes of Van Halen then the mighty Joe Tex is probably better off not being admitted. How long before they admit Shania Twain or the Spice Girls or Robbie Williams?
I'd love to see Joe Tex honoured - I just don't think it's much of an honour to belong to a club that thinks that Van Halen belongs in the company of Elvis, James Brown, Hank Williams, Bob Dylan etc. (No offence intended to Van Halen fans :-)
I don't know much about the "R&R Hall of Fame" but if it's sponsored by the record companys then I presume Van Halen's record sales would be the reason they were admitted.
As a crotchety old fart I'm convinced that the 21st C, if it continues true to the early years, will go down as the century of mediocrity. The best thing about this century so far is all the great music that is being re-released on CD (& noir books reissued by Hard Case, Stark House).
I see no problem with Grandmaster Flash. "White Lines" is one of the best tunes, ever. And their remixes, such as "Adventures of Grandmaster Flash etc. etc." are groundbreaking.
Don't know about Van Halen. Moronic powerpop may be a fad these days, though.
Let's face it, the Dave Clark Five deserve to be admitted before any of those others. And did someone say rappers? That's not rock, that's a crock. IMHO, natch.
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