mattsmith
Platinum Member
Yeah, I thought about God Save the Queen before I made my comment about hits. But as I tell my European friends all the time, hits over there mean very little in the bigger picture, because the world view of making it starts and stops with success in the US. And that has nothing to do with what's fair, that's just is what it is. In the bigger scheme of things a #2 hit in the UK only equates to having a hit in Texas. As for queen related controversies, that too is of no consequence in America where most of the HOF voters reside. Now if those guys had pulled that stunt with Princess Diana, then you would have had something. The American critics who have so much to do with HOF voting simply don't think Europe exists until it visits America. That's the way it's always been.[/QUOTE]Actually, the Sex Pistols did have a major hit in "God Save the Queen" in May 1977, a single which sparked a lot of upheaval and social irritation. They released this song during Queen Elizabeth's Jubilee celebrations--something which the patriotic public took enormous offensive at--almost like giving the Royal Family a big, fat, blatant "V" sign. The song made it to number one on the New Musical Express charts in the UK, but the song was slighted at #2 on the official BBC UK Singles Chart. In fact, I think some printings of the BBC chart listings back then left the slot blank as a way to censor the band.
Mattsmith makes a good point about the American South and religion, however; I lived there for a time and some people in the North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia corridor possess a religious attitude that dates back to the 1950s. Extremely conservative and, depending on your point of view, amazingly close minded..
I was born in North Carolina and spent years there. I live in Georgia now. Try 1550s. I had a friend in middle school who had a 1970s era picture in his den of his high school aged mom burning Alice Cooper records at a church rally. And in Alabama and Mississippi its even more conservative than that. In the south, for a large number of people, protection of literal biblical interpretation comes before all things, including life itself.
I think a lot of lyrics coming out of the punk and post-punk scene in England were a lot more severe than Jethro Tull--they sort of took the political critique in some prog rock, like Tull, and raised the volume level well past 11.
Tull was also far more popular in their time. My parents claim that Aqualung was everywhere, whereas punk never really gained a foothold in farm country. As for Clockwork Orange, that was banned in the rural areas too.
I'm not going to pretend I totally know what they're thinking, but my guess is that the committee that dictates what the RRHoF does is purely motivated by doing what they think will bring money and attention to the hall, not by serving some higher purpose to honor the legacy of rock.
I think there is much to be said for this opinion. But if that's true then how is Rush being hurt? Apparently, there is this extremely vocal, if not rabid core group that make a lot of noise for these guys, Peart especially. A hundred or so Rush devotees could walk around the HOF building in Cleveland holding signs, and it would be on the MTV News in 10 minutes, followed by Stephen Colbert's inevitable parody.
By staying within the commonly accepted boundaries defined by the genre of Rock & Roll they limit themselves to one segment of the buying public. But by branching out and including acts from Dance, Rap, Hip Hop, Jazz and Blues genres they will be able to suck more $$$$ from different portions of the general public that might otherwise not be interested in trekking to Cleveland to see the museum..
Broad parameters also protect an ethical consideration more important than money. Keeping the parameters for induction broad is what helps get Rush inducted, not the other way around. You never want someone officially defining commonly accepted boundaries. Too much of that is nothing but personal opinion anyway, and is open to real predjudice and class warfare. Just think of all the groups who believe that nothing came before Elvis, the real stuff ended with the death of John Lennon, or that all rap is about nothing but shooting cops and slapping your mama.
Of course this is now getting off topic and becoming a thread about why the R&RHoF sucks. I've been there and I found it only mildly interesting. I think pretty much everyone can agree Rush should be in their by this point in time.
Threads get off direct topic all the time, and in this case I think it's fine since HOF induction tying into the Peart legacy, has been at the core of Peart related discussions for the past three years or more. We all know that Peart has few listeners with a middle ground opinion. Most either see him as an icon on the same level as Rich, Williams, Elvin Jones and Krupa, or can't believe how overrated he is. I've always thought the truth was somewhere in the middle, which may explain why this interesting Rush HOF drama continues to play out like it does.
And yeah that's an opinion too.