2012 Rockhall Nominee Predictions

It is that very exciting time of year again. Yes indeed, folks, why most of you look forward to the month of September. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Nominating Committee met on the 12th to determine this year’s ballot, which should be made public by the end of this month. My fellow Rockhall obsessives have been making their predictions on their various blogs and websites, so I guess I should throw in my 2 cents. Go to Future Rock Legends for links and more discussion. Keep in mind that this is not necessarily who I want on the ballot (although quite a few are ones I would agree with), it is who I think the NomCom will actually put on the ballot. Predicting these is always a crapshoot, because we know little of the inner workings of this very secretive group of insiders. The ballot in recent years has been growing, so I will stick with 15 slots (with 5 eventually getting into the Hall for 2012). My thoughts:

As for the newly eligible artists this year (25 years after the release of their first single or album), I think that Guns ‘n Roses is the only sure thing. They will be nominated and inducted. The Rockhall would love the buzz surrounding “will they / won’t they” reunite and play for the induction ceremony (they won't).

I think that this is the year Stevie Ray Vaughan (and hopefully with Double Trouble) finally gets nominated. Whenever they do nominate him, he will be inducted that year. But I have been sure he would be nominated every year since he was first eligible, and it has not happened yet. Seems a no-brainer to me. But that does not mean much with the NomCom of the RRHoF.

They’ve been pushing several artists hard for the past several years, and they will continue to do so. Look for Beastie Boys, Chic and Donna Summer to appear yet again on the ballot. Perhaps they will give Donovan another shot as well.

Rumor has it that they are finally warming to the long neglected alternative 80’s scene, so it may finally be time for Sonic Youth to lead that charge. Their record on the 80's in general is just shameful.

I’ve got a feeling also that this may finally be the year they give up on their Rush ban and finally put them on the ballot as the prog representative. Hey, they finally relented on KISS, who may also get another shot.

Steven Van Zandt has to get his requisite 50’s or early 60’s pick on there. I’m thinking, along with many others, that it may be Johnny Burnette and His Rock and Roll Trio this time around. Which would be fine with me. Burnette rocked.

I think that they may throw a bone to the country crowd and give Gram Parsons another nomination.

For the last four slots, your guess is as good as mine. I’ll say Deep Purple, Kraftwerk, J.J. Cale and Roxy Music, just shooting in the dark there.

So, my predictions for the 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ballot are:

Guns ‘n Roses
Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble
Beastie Boys
Chic
Donna Summer
Donovan
Sonic Youth
Rush
KISS
Johnny Burnette and His Rock and Roll Trio
Gram Parsons
Deep Purple
Kraftwerk
J.J. Cale
Roxy Music

Now, that looks like a decent ballot. We’ll see how correct I am by the end of the month, and then I will give you my predictions on who will make it into the Hall from the actual ballot.

Ten Years Ago Today

I felt I should say something about the 10th anniversary of 9/11. This is the last thing that I cover in my U.S. History course that I teach, and my students are still old enough to remember the day (in several years they won't be, which will be strange). I do an excellent 9/11 lesson (about a week long) to cap off the year, and I was pleased when some current students told me that last year's group told them about it and how effective it was. Anyway, I digress.

Like most of the country, I experienced 9/11 through television. I was in law school in Austin at the time. My friend Brian called me up that morning to wake me up and tell me to turn on the TV. The first plane had already hit, I honestly can't remember if the second one had already. I do recall watching as the news of the Pentagon and United 93 broke. I recall watching both towers fall live. As shocked and horrified as I was, I could not imagine what people were going through who were actually at those locations. It was a strange sensation for part of the day when the media could not locate the president (he was in Air Force One for part of the day, as it was deemed safer to have him airborne). I walked to school and of course law students were glued to the TV's in the lounges. I have a vivid image of one girl I knew with tears streaming down her face. (One professor still insisted on holding class that day, though! If we don't learn about Commercial Paper, then the terrorists have won! He at least refrained from calling on anyone that day).

I have watched several of the documentaries they have been airing nonstop this weekend and they are still quite gripping. I especially love the story of Stanley and Brian, two workers in one of the towers who seem to share their story on every single documentary on 9/11 made (including the one that I show my students). Touching story of surival and a new friendship, though. Anyway, it's been ten years.


ABOVE: Here's Stanley recounting his story

OK, Fine. I'll Talk About It

I’ve finally gotten interested in the 2012 election. There is a great website called ontheissues.org, which breaks down the positions of each of the candidates (both declared and potential). They also have a quiz that you take, where you respond to a series of policy questions, and then they categorize you on a graph with Liberal/Populist/Conservative/Libertarian at each corner, with the middle being labeled Moderate. Once you take the quiz, click the link at the bottom that says something like “analyze” or “explain” results for a fairly detailed self-report. It turns out that I am a “Moderate Libertarian Conservative.” Even better, based on your responses to the questions, they line you up by percentage with the candidates, from the one you agree with the most to the least. It turns out Jon Huntsman is my man. Well, sort of.

Now, the quiz isn’t perfect, as it just focuses on policy positions. It does not take into account the important intangibles, such as Bachmann’s shrill insanity or Perry’s deep, deep stupidity. Even with Huntsman, my positions lined up with his less than 50% of the time. So I don’t really have an ideal candidate for me out there running. Perry, thank God, was pretty low on my list.

I watched the Republican Debate the other night, and I thought it was quite good. It is clear that this is already really a two person race between Perry and Romney, from positioning them in the middle of the stage of 8 candidates to asking them the first set of questions. (Ron Paul is there for entertainment, it is fun to listen to Cain mangle the English language, I don’t know why Newt is still there other than to complain about the media pitting Republicans against each other (Newt, this is a debate), Bachmann tries mightily to keep her bumper sticker quips straight, my guy Huntsman makes sense but he is not Red enough for the primaries, and they hardly let Santorum even speak). Between those two serious candidates, I will strongly support Romney. The man is intelligent, and despite what he has to say in the primaries, I think that his record shows a reasonable leader willing consider good ideas, regardless of their origin.

Perry touts Texas job creation, which sounds great, but when most of the new Texas jobs amount to serving fries at the drive-through, it is not so impressive. Also, Perry does not believe in working too seriously to educate our next generation for better than minimum wage work, because Texas ranks dead last in the Union in graduating high schoolers. Perry’s solution was to slash budgets and fire teachers (as opposed to fixing a broken property tax system that will continue to deliver deficits every year until it is fixed). The only benefit to Perry’s winning the presidency is that at least he would be out of the Texas governor’s mansion.


ABOVE: Nightmare scenario

And what is Palin’s game? I know she craves the limelight like a third rate reality TV star, but I think it is more. I think she is gunning for a VP slot. She would be much more likely to be chosen by Perry than by Romney. Can you imagine a Perry/Palin ticket? One that would have a good chance of defeating Obama? Scary. Snooky could defeat Obama right now. I say this as one who actually voted for Obama in ’08 (because of Palin, but I actually really liked McCain). Obama has been beyond disappointing. Even worse than being wrong, he has been ineffectual. So the Republicans need to be careful about who they put on the ticket. That ticket will most likely occupy the White House after 2012.

Told You So

This is cool. I was just flipping through the excellent Neil Young biography by Jimmy McDonough, Shakey, and came across a reference to the Houston show that I discussed in my write-up below for Neil. Recall how I said that it was the loudest show I had ever attended. Evidently I'm not the only one. McDonough quoted a friend of his who attended that same show in '89. From the book: "It was total mayhem, and McFarlin was in heaven. Glued in front of [Neil's] amp in Houston, he said it was the loudest show he's ever heard Young play. 'He split my brain open. His guitar was just deafening. You could actually see the sound waves.'" My memory of the show is similar. I recall leaving the show and looking at my friend Johannes, who had a somewhat dazed look on his face. It was like we had just been assaulted by Neil's rock and roll.

Dez's Top Rock/Pop Artists, #1: Neil Young

NOTE: It is the nature of these lists that they are a bit fluid. If I had made the list on a different day, the upper 20’s might have looked a little different, with one or a few artists slipping outside the bubble and a few others making it on. Two were particularly close. Bob Dylan was referenced in probably 1/4th of the posts, and I am a big fan. If I could redo it, he probably would have been here. Crosby, Stills, Nash (& Young) were also close, but the members are well represented. Stephen Stills and Neil Young were in Buffalo Springfield, and Stills also got in solo. David Crosby is in with The Byrds.

And now for Neil Young…



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L.A. Freeway, 1966. Steve Stills and Richie Furay have just arrived in town and want to put together a band. Stuck in traffic, Stills looks over and notices a funky looking hearse a few lanes over. Steve says, “that’s gotta be Neil Young.” Stills and Young had crossed paths in Canada the previous year, and both had wanted to play together on a permanent basis. Young had already developed an eccentric reputation in musician circles, and he was known to drive around in a hearse because it was great for carrying and loading and unloading (with the sliding tray for coffins) his amps and guitars. The freeway is essentially a parking lot, so Stills jumps out of the car and flags Neil down. Neil had also recently relocated to L.A. after the break-up of his shortlived band with Rick James (!) called The Mynah Birds (no recordings of this mythical group exist). Buffalo Springfield is born.

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Neil Young thrives on limitations. His voice, like Dylan’s, is an acquired taste. While expressive, it is not always easy on the ears. Half of the songs that Neil wrote for Buffalo Springfield were sung by Richie Furay. He is a fine acoustic folk guitarist, but his electric skills could be called rudimentary. Neil Young is excellent for beginner guitarists to learn (his brilliant solo in “Cinnamon Girl” really is one note, played repeatedly). Yet, Neil regularly appears on Top Guitarists lists in various polls and magazines. He plays and sings and writes within his limitations, but opens the songs wide open for emotional exploration. In 1969, he was laid up in bed with a dangerously high fever. Delirious, he wrote “Cinnamon Girl,” “Down By the River” and “Cowgirl in the Sand” in one afternoon. They are three of his most beloved songs. He severely injured his back in ’72 and had to be seated most of the time with a brace for most of a year. This forced a laidback approach, so he recorded Harvest. Neil Young turns his limitations into opportunities.

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1989, my brother D takes me and my friend Johannes to see Neil Young in downtown Houston. Neil’s cache is at an all time low, as the 80’s were the strangest decade of his long career. He had released, in succession, records in the following styles: hard rock/country, rock, synth pop (where he sang half of the songs through a computer), rockabilly, country, modern rock and big band blues. He seemed so willfully resistant to success in the 80’s that his record company, Geffen, sued him for purposely making bad records. Anyway, this show is part of his Bluenotes tour. The article in the paper earlier that day warned fans not to expect any of the old faves, he was playing strictly obscure blues music on this tour. We show up, and he comes out and plays an acoustic set which includes the following songs: “Old Man,” “Heart of Gold” and “Needle and the Damage Done.” Not playing the old faves, huh? He takes a break, and then returns with a band that looks somewhat familiar. There is no horn section. This is not a blues show. This is Crazy Horse. He plays the loudest, most raucous set I have ever seen anyone play. He plays so many favorites and wonderful rarities, and a ton of new songs that are just awesome. These songs would soon appear on Freedom, his best record in over a decade. One image stays with me. Some youngish dude in a suit and tie in the front, rocking out harder than any hardcore-tatted up rocker, and Neil, appreciating the working stiff’s energy and abandon, reaches out and grabs his hand in rock and roll solidarity. Coolest moment: distortion ringing from the last note of “Cinnamon Girl” hangs in the air, Neil has a maniacal grin on his face, mutters “ah, that brings a tear to my eye” and then rips into the grittiest version of “Mr. Soul” you’ve ever heard. This is easily the loudest concert I have ever attended. My ears ring for days afterwards.

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Early 90’s, Todd and I are driving from San Antonio to the Woodlands to catch Neil Young being backed by Booker T. and the MGs. Driving down I-10, we come upon a drab, olive green bus with tinted windows and the top half of an old car attached to the roof. Faded paint on the back of the bus reads “Buffalo Springfield.” We have just come upon Neil’s tour bus, one that he still uses from the Springfield days. This is the coolest bus I have ever seen. Todd and I frantically try to get Neil’s attention, but we only get anxious glances from the bus driver. Later that night, the show is so great that we decide to get cheap seats for the next night in Austin and drive up there, meeting our buddy Johannes. Our seats in the Frank Erwin Center are in the very back row. We are leaning against the back concrete wall of the arena. It doesn’t matter. During “Rockin’ in the Free World” the three of us play air guitar in unison like fools. A large woman sitting next to us is laughing hysterically at us/with us.

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At the age of 65 (last year), he released one of the most bold records of his career.


ABOVE: An appropriate way to cap off my list. This is Jimmy Fallon doing a spot on Neil Young singing "Whip My Hair" by Willow. Very, very funny. Keep watching, as Fallon/Young is joined by a very special guest. And yes, that is actually him. Awesome.

What To Listen To:
Neil has got a lot of stuff. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere was his first record with Crazy Horse, and it remains their best and most vital collaboration. After the Goldrush is probably his most balanced record between gentle folk and driving rock and roll. Harvest remains his most popular record, and it is a gorgeous So-Cal folk classic. On the Beach and Tonight’s the Night are two of the darkest records in rock, both are uncompromising and great. After a decade of dizzy changes of direction and some bad music, Neil rose from the ashes with the glorious Freedom in 1989, which stands shoulder to shoulder with his classic 70’s releases in quality. Ragged Glory was a much hyped return to form with Crazy Horse. I really like the closet cleaning record Silver and Gold. Neil’s latest, Le Noise, is a bold and intense collaboration with Daniel Lanois. Neil has released a slew of live records. Rust Never Sleeps is live, but it is also all new material, and was a brilliant capper to the 70’s. Live Rust is my favorite live record by anybody. Live at the Fillmore East is part of a prime Crazy Horse show from the early 70’s, and Live at Massey Hall is a wonderful solo acoustic show from 1971, featuring some very funny banter with the audience throughout. Neil is hard to anthologize, but Decade is one of those near perfect compilations, covering the crucial decade of 1965-75.

Dez's Top Rock/Pop Artists, #2: Bruce Springsteen

Rock and Roll Savior

"I have seen the future of rock and roll, and his name is Bruce Springsteen." With that famous concert review, critic Jon Landau introduced the world to Bruce Springsteen (and got himself a new job as Springsteen's producer and manager). In the 1970's and early 80's, music fans viewed Bruce shows as near religious celebrations. The energy, passion and length of his shows were rock and roll personified, 3-4 hour rock and roll revivals.

What was it that set his shows apart? I think it was a matter of commitment and focus. In a well publicized interview from the time period, Springsteen stated that the only place where he felt alive was on the stage. If you watch the excellent recent documentary from HBO on the making of Darkness on the Edge of Town you can see firsthand his perfectionism and obsessive nature. It was all consuming, exhausting even for his like-minded bandmates. He never had a drug problem, had few romantic relationships until his first marriage in the mid-80's...it was all music all the time.

During his performing heyday in the 70's and early 80's, Bruce toured incessantly with his superb E Street Band. It was a family atmosphere onstage that was embraced by the fans as well. There was an uncommon bond between Springsteen and the E Streeters, and also between the band onstage and the appreciative audience. It was redemptive for both sides. Back in the day going to a Springsteen show was a rite of passage, and the key was that it meant at least as much to him as it did to us.

The first time that I saw Springsteen live was in '85 on his mammoth Born in the USA tour. It was not just a show, it was an event. What really struck me, even before The Boss and his band hit the stage, was the electric excitement in the crowd. It was a party, a celebration of true believers. I can still see several young men running around the stadium carrying a huge banner demanding "Rosalita, come out tonight!" (a request for his fan favorite tune from 1974. He didn't play it that night, though). I can see the huge beach balls being batted around the stadium, from section to section, as well as that favorite 80's stadium passtime, The Wave. Once Bruce actually came out to play, he turned that football stadium (it was Texas Stadium in Dallas) into a raucous, small club. I have never experienced anything like that. He was able to reach out and grab each crowd member by the lapels and draw them into the almost carnival atmosphere.


ABOVE: Great clip of Bruce in Phoenix in '78 peforming "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)." Check out the sheer exuberance of the performance, and the rapport between Bruce and the dearly departed Clarence Clemons.

Of course he could not burn that intensely forever. His shows these days are still great concerts, but they are shadows (at worst, parodies) of what they once were. Rock and roll is essentially a young man's game (although my #1 seems to defy that rule). Bruce Springsteen also has a more balanced life. His shows are no longer a matter of life or death with him. He is married, has children, his legend is intact. He no longer has as much to fight for. He is probably a happier individual than he was back then, but in gaining happiness and balance, he lost a necessary edge.

What To Listen To:
My favorite Springsteen record is his second one, The Wild, The Innocent & the E Street Shuffle. It captures his looser, jazzier early sound wonderfully. Side 2 contains three of his all time great longer tunes that segue into a sidelong suite. Born To Run broke him into the mainstream, it is a declaration of freedom and expresses the desperate desire to bust out of a dead-end existence. It was with the angry Darkness on the Edge of Town where he first started to develop his blue collar hero persona. But it was a dark, dark ride. The acoustic Nebraska was meant to be a full band album, but Bruce felt that the demos sounded better, so he released it as is. A bold move for a major artist. Born in the USA was one of the biggest records of the 80's, with an impressive seven charting singles. He was finally able to blend his working class stories with irresistible rock and pop hooks. Tunnel of Love was a subdued follow-up, but has grown in critical esteem over the years. It is one of the more mature looks at matters of the heart to come out of rock and roll. As for his more recent releases, The Rising and Magic are the best of the lot. It is difficult to capture the live Springsteen experience on record, but Hammersmith Odeon, London '75 captures Bruce on his first ever stop in London at a crucial and exciting time in his career, when Born To Run was not the classic that it is today but simply a new album he was trying to promote. Box set Live 1975/1985 is a fabulous document chronicling live shows from that crucial decade. Essential Bruce Springsteen is the best of the compilations available.

Dez's Top Rock/Pop Artists, #3: peter gabriel

Innovator or Imperialist?
“World music” instrumentation and influence is nothing new in rock. Pasty Brits and adventurous Americans have tried adding a bit of the exotic to their work ever since that unfortunate day that George Harrison discovered the sitar. How much is creatively incorporating these influences vs. co-opting third world cultural heritage for profit?

One of the more controversial situations arose with Paul Simon’s excellent 1986 blockbuster, Graceland. Simon used South African musicians for the record, exposing many Western ears to sounds they had never heard before. Later Simon was accused by some of the musicians of not paying them what was promised. (There is also the legal battle between Simon and Los Lobos over the songwriting credits on “All Around the World or the Myth of Fingerprints”). It is hard to feel too sorry for the musicians who played with Simon on the record and the subsequent tour. They gained exposure in the West that they never otherwise would have, and many of them capitalized on that. Of course, the Los Lobos controversy is a different matter.

Peter Gabriel has to be the most successful Western artist to use world music in his own songs. He started using world music on his stunning 1980 solo album, the third Peter Gabriel record (aka ‘melt’). Using African percussion on some of his songs, he broke new ground combining Western electronic-based music with African rhythms. The skeletal beauty “Biko” is the perfect marriage of these two worlds. From there, he experimented further on the moody Security. But it was So that hit paydirt, where he found the perfect balance between Western melody and electronics and world rhythms and textures. He managed to make pop music that could move listeners in any hemisphere (nowhere better than on the non-album b-side, “Don’t Break This Rhythm”).

While So was his commercial peak, his creative peak came soon after with Passion, his soundtrack album for Martin Scorsese’s controversial film ‘The Last Temptation of Christ.’ A mostly instrumental record, it again marries Western electronics with African and Middle Eastern percussion and instrumentation. But whereas before the Western music was primary, on Passion he reversed that equation. The Western melodies and electronic music took a backseat and he allowed the great African and Middle Eastern musicians to take center stage. It is a tour de force of world music in the true sense of the term.

Is Gabriel a cultural imperialist, profiting from the music of the third world? There is a better argument against Simon than Gabriel. Gabriel has definitely given back, from being the primary force behind the WOMAD festivals/movement to creating the Real World studios and record label where Gabriel records and promotes musicians from all over the world. Real World Records has brought artists such as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Sheila Chandra and Geoffrey Oryema, among many others, to Western music stores. As great as his work with Genesis was, and as moving and experimental as his solo work has been, Peter Gabriel’s most important contribution may be WOMAD and Real World.

What To Listen To:
With the exception of Colin Hay, Peter Gabriel is my favorite vocalist. What makes a great rock vocalist is quite different than what makes a great traditional pop or opera singer. It is all about individuality, and Gabriel’s bold vocal quirks and raspy voice just grab me emotionally like nobody else. NOTE: His first several records were all eponymous (he said that he wanted them to be like different issues of a magazine), but they are generally differentiated by their cover art.

His debut as a solo artist, Peter Gabriel (aka ‘car’), is a thrilling declaration of independence from his former band, Genesis. He is bursting with ideas, most of which work wonderfully. The third Peter Gabriel (aka ‘melt’) is generally regarded as his best, and that is hard to argue against. He begins to bring in world music textures, innovates the gated drum sound, and delivers a set of his most compelling songs. So was his commercial breakthrough, and rightfully so. “In Your Eyes” is in the running for greatest love song ever. Passion, his soundtrack for ‘The Last Temptation of Christ,’ is the best example I have come across of seamlessly melding Western and African/Middle Eastern music. A gorgeous piece of work. Plays Live is an excellent live record that sums up his pre-So sound nicely. The two disc Hit is a decent compilation, but it is somewhat haphazardly programmed.