Here is a snippet from an Entertainment Editorial about the upcoming U2 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame from MSNBC:
Hall of Famers or just a bunch of Pretenders?
Questionable calls, and omissions, among this year’s class of inductees.
COMMENTARY
By Ree Hines and Helen A.S. Popkin
MSNBC contributor
Updated: 1:00 p.m. ET March 11, 2005
For two decades, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has paid tribute to some of rock’s greatest acts. On March 14, the Rock Hall recognizes the contributions of a new batch of inductees. U2, the Pretenders, the O’Jays, Percy Sledge and Buddy Guy will all receive the much-coveted record-toting statuette denoting their contribution to the aural landscape. And as with every year since 1986, those chosen for this honor remind music fans everywhere of the other artists they believe more deserving. Inductees become eligible 25 years after their first release, which means there are a whole lot of artists out there still waiting to be enshrined. Just what goes on in the heads of those “rock historians” who choose the nominees? And how deserving is this year’s selection? Helen and Ree discuss.
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Helen: Here’s how I’m ranking them in order of importance: The Pretenders, the O’Jays, Percy Sledge, U2 — and while he’s a mean guitar player, Buddy Guy is a blues musician, so he’s number five.
Ree: Wow. U2 is mighty far down on your list. Bono and the boys are infinitely more relevant than the Pretenders. U2’s early ’80s releases, “Boy,” “October,” “War” and “The Unforgettable Fire” showed the band at its most angry and poetic — rock’s perfect combo — and inspired a gaggle of wannabes. Of course, that was before Bono’s enormous ego took over the world and he was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, and that whole World Bank thing. He was always a preachy know-it-all, but there’s something charming about the idealistic pleas of a young Dubliner full of moral outrage that doesn’t work for a fancy-pants multimillionaire permanently decked in designer shades. Nonetheless, U2 belongs in the Hall of Fame — though I would’ve made the band wait a year as punishment for that “Vertigo” iPod commercial.
Helen: Feh. U2 may be the only Irish stadium band on the planet, but they’re responsible for some really bad records over the years. Not all of which were their own. (Coldplay, Travis, I’m waving at you.)
Read the rest: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7158817/
Hall of Famers or just a bunch of Pretenders?
Questionable calls, and omissions, among this year’s class of inductees.
COMMENTARY
By Ree Hines and Helen A.S. Popkin
MSNBC contributor
Updated: 1:00 p.m. ET March 11, 2005
For two decades, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has paid tribute to some of rock’s greatest acts. On March 14, the Rock Hall recognizes the contributions of a new batch of inductees. U2, the Pretenders, the O’Jays, Percy Sledge and Buddy Guy will all receive the much-coveted record-toting statuette denoting their contribution to the aural landscape. And as with every year since 1986, those chosen for this honor remind music fans everywhere of the other artists they believe more deserving. Inductees become eligible 25 years after their first release, which means there are a whole lot of artists out there still waiting to be enshrined. Just what goes on in the heads of those “rock historians” who choose the nominees? And how deserving is this year’s selection? Helen and Ree discuss.
advertisement
Helen: Here’s how I’m ranking them in order of importance: The Pretenders, the O’Jays, Percy Sledge, U2 — and while he’s a mean guitar player, Buddy Guy is a blues musician, so he’s number five.
Ree: Wow. U2 is mighty far down on your list. Bono and the boys are infinitely more relevant than the Pretenders. U2’s early ’80s releases, “Boy,” “October,” “War” and “The Unforgettable Fire” showed the band at its most angry and poetic — rock’s perfect combo — and inspired a gaggle of wannabes. Of course, that was before Bono’s enormous ego took over the world and he was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, and that whole World Bank thing. He was always a preachy know-it-all, but there’s something charming about the idealistic pleas of a young Dubliner full of moral outrage that doesn’t work for a fancy-pants multimillionaire permanently decked in designer shades. Nonetheless, U2 belongs in the Hall of Fame — though I would’ve made the band wait a year as punishment for that “Vertigo” iPod commercial.
Helen: Feh. U2 may be the only Irish stadium band on the planet, but they’re responsible for some really bad records over the years. Not all of which were their own. (Coldplay, Travis, I’m waving at you.)
Read the rest: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7158817/
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