Madonna, Mellencamp Lead 2008 Rock Hall Class

[Analogman]

Madonna, Mellencamp Lead 2008 Rock Hall Class

Madonna

December 13, 2007, 12:10 PM ET

Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

 

Madonna, John Mellencamp, Leonard Cohen, the Ventures and the Dave Clark Five will be enshrined next year in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, organizers announced today (Dec. 13). The 2008 induction will be held March 10 at New York's Waldorf Astoria hotel.

 

Since signing with Sire Records in 1982, Madonna has been one of the biggest pop stars in the world. The artist's new album, her last for Warner Bros. before she transitions to Live Nation's new Artist Nation company, is due in the spring.

 

Mellencamp emerged from Bloomington, Ind., in the early 1980s with enduring, heartland rock tracks like "Pink Houses," "Rain on the Scarecrow" and "Jack & Diane." "I'm very honored and pleased to be recognized this way, especially among people whom I greatly admire," Mellencamp said in a statement.

 

Cohen has been a leading purveyor of folk-tinged rock since the late 1960s, with tracks like "Suzanne" oft-covered by contemporaries and a new generation of singer/songwriters alike.

 

The Ventures are best known for instrumental rock evergreens such as the theme from "Hawaii Five-O," "Walk Don't Run" and "Perfidia." Thanks to hits like "Glad All Over," "Over and Over" and "Catch Us if You Can," the Dave Clark Five were one of the earliest and most successful of the British Invasion bands.

 

Little Walter will be inducted in the sideman category, while producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff will be inducted in the non-performer category, which has been renamed in honor of the late Ahmet Ertegun.

 

Artists are eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25 years after the release of their debut single or album.

[tongue-tied]

:guitar Leonard Cohen :rock

[the_fliz1]

Not that any of the inductees don't deserve it, but it is going to be one of the more boring induction shows that I can think of.

[Analogman]

A pretty weird mix - I'd say.

[Lammycat]

Isn't this the second time the DC5 have been nominated? I guess they weren't inducted last go-round. Although I think the selection/criteria is obtusely subjective, I like seeing the Dave Clark Five getting recognition. They were essentially buried by The Beatles (rightly so, I might add) during the British Invasion but still put out some excellent material.

[Analogman]

I think Rush and Kiss should be in there - I like some DC5 songs - but I never thought they mattered that much. I suppose there is a list out there somewhere that list what british invasion bands are in, and which ones are not.

[the_fliz1]

I think Rush and Kiss should be in there - I like some DC5 songs - but I never thought they mattered that much. I suppose there is a list out there somewhere that list what british invasion bands are in, and which ones are not.

 

I think the DC5 were more influential than Madonna.

[Analogman]

She is, of course, a cultural phenomenon though. I never really listened to that sort of music - not my cup of tea. I wonder if The Animals and The Zombies are in there - they should be if they are not.

[mountain bed]

Could it be that the Animals are not in the HOF? If so that's a crying shame.

 

Rush should be there as well. I'd be innarested in knowing how many bands from the golden era of prog are in there. It always seemed like those bands were unjustly maligned - you know the usual epithets.." pretentious, bombastic" etc.. Like it was somehow a bad thing to actually have chops.

[Gobias Industries]

Yeah, that's one of the more boring years of inductees, to be honest...

[tugmoose]

Well, you're getting to where the 80s were 25 years back, an unless you're gonna induct the Replacements and their ilk, what else was there? Phil Collins?

[suites]

Animals are in...for sure.

 

Rush is not in, either is Yes or Genesis....or...Cheap Trick, Alice Cooper....many many more.

 

Madonna was a given...But John Mellencamp, I dont know about that.

[KevinG]

Madonna was a given...But John Mellencamp, I dont know about that.

 

He should totally be in for those truck commercials, cause nothing says Rock 'n Roll like hearing the same 30 secs 150 times of music durning a Sunday of Football.

[tongue-tied lightning]

no, Yes ?

[Analogman]

Yes, no

[EL the Famous]

Madonna was a given...But John Mellencamp, I dont know about that.

 

madonna was significantly relevant both musically and culturally

 

...and anybody who can only boil down mellencamp to a truck commerical knows very little about music...'Scarecrow', 'Lonesome Jubilee', 'Big Daddy' and (especially) 'Whenever We Wanted'/'Human Wheels'...throw in his political/social commentary in both lyric and deed (Farm aid)...c'mon.

[Sir Stewart]

Yeah Mellenhead is legit.

[solace]

while Mellencamp has pretty much blew since The Lonesome Jubilee (ok, he's had a few great songs (no more than 10 though) since), he's definitely legit and belongs there.

[PopTodd]

Yeah Mellenhead is legit.

 

Only if Willie Nelson is already in the Hall.

Yeah, call him country if you want, but he has meant as much to Rock and Roll as any of the other inductees this year.

[Analogman]

 

Big George: What's a Philistine?

Sally: Well, it's just a real dirty person

.

 

Commentary: Iggy makes Rock Hall voters look like stooges

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

By Scott Mervis, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Evan Agostini / Associated Press

 

Musicians Madonna, Justin Timberlake, right, and Iggy Pop pose backstage at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Monday in New York.

 

It's hard to know just how worked up to get about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

 

In a way, nothing it does really matters, because with rock 'n' roll, you don't need any stinkin' ballots and you don't need any stinkin' trophies. Johnny Rotten addressed that quite elegantly by simply not showing up for the Sex Pistols induction.

 

And yet, enough aging rock stars have taken it seriously (even punkish ones like Elvis Costello, Mick Jones and Patti Smith) to give the Rock Hall an air of respectability.

 

With that said, Iggy Pop & the Stooges turned the entire thing into a charade Monday night by thrusting ROCK AND ROLL right into the faces of the people too stubborn to vote the band into the Rock Hall.

 

Last year, Smith and fellow inductee Michael Stipe made their Stooges plea by breaking into "I Wanna Be Your Dog." This year, Madonna, in one of her more inspired moves, actually invited Iggy and the Stooges to the party to disrupt an otherwise snooze of a show.

 

The proto-punks from her native Detroit blasted through two Madonna songs -- "Burning Up" and "Ray of Light" -- with typical raw power and the social anarchy of a shirtless Iggy. The suits in the crowd just stared dumbly back at them, prompting Iggy to plead "Feel the music ... Feel SOMETHING!" He also dropped into Justin Timberlake's lap, which was pretty priceless.

 

The question for the Rock Hall members now to ponder is: What sense does it make to have the Sex Pistols, Clash or any band of that stripe in their museum if the Stooges, arguably the original punks, aren't there with them?

 

And, more to the occasion of Monday night, what sense does it make to leave out the Stooges and enshrine non-rock artists such as Leonard Cohen and Madonna?

 

Elect Iggy for 2009.

 

 

[LouisvilleGreg]

There's gotta be a full original GN'R reunion for 2012. What's more likely to heppen, that reunion in four years or Chinese Democracy coming out first. Nirvana would be 2014, Pearl Jam 2016, Radiohead 2018, then the big one, Wilco in 2020. A few years ago I thought that was probably a severe long shot, but now I almost expect that it will happen.

[Analogman]

There's gotta be a full original GN'R reunion for 2012. What's more likely to heppen, that reunion in four years or Chinese Democracy coming out first. Nirvana would be 2014, Pearl Jam 2016, Radiohead 2018, then the big one, Wilco in 2020. A few years ago I thought that was probably a severe long shot, but now I almost expect that it will happen.

 

Don't hold your breath - the list of bands that should be in there is very long.

[LouisvilleGreg]

Don't hold your breath - the list of bands that should be in there is very long.

 

Yeah, I know but don't the overall odds in the future seem better for bands like Radiohead or Wilco, due to the simple fact that there are nowhere near as many worthwhile bands in this era. Public Enemy will be an interesting test as well, in 2012.

 

I'm still totally bullshit over the KISS thing. Take away the makeup, the fire, the gimmics and you are left with a great string of 6 pretty damn good rock n' roll records. They should be in on album sales and for revolutionizing merchandising alone.

[Analogman]

Yeah, I know but don't the overall odds in the future seem better for bands like Radiohead or Wilco, due to the simple fact that there are nowhere near as many worthwhile bands in this era. Public Enemy will be an interesting test as well, in 2012.

 

I'm still totally bullshit over the KISS thing. Take away the makeup, the fire, the gimmics and you are left with a great string of 6 pretty damn good rock n' roll records. They should be in on album sales and for revolutionizing merchandising alone.

 

I don't feel rap groups should be in there - there should be a rap hall of fame.

 

Rush is another one.

[embiggen]

this is awesome