It's funny, it's weird and sad - that at this point the Rock Hall would be announcing the inductees for 2021. In mid-October, they probably would have announced the nominees and as always the case, us RHWs would have a fun time predicting who would go on the ballot. Well, not this year. We all are aware 2020, mainly the Covid pandemic has altered the course on things, hopefully temporarily. So things got pushed back.
So....predicting this as always was more than a challenge. Except this year, even before the pandemic there have been a lot of changes in the Rock Hall landscape. I really don't need to explain since all the Rock Hall watchers (RHWs) know, such as the installment of a new Rock Hall Foundation Chairman, which was in January of this year. John Sykes, who I admittedly knew nothing about until this all happened, has an impressive resume as far as the music business. One would think that things will change for the good as far as replacing longtime chair Jann Wenner, who of course was the target of many criticisms for several years. I'm saying this all because the ballot may look very different this year, compared to recent years. Then again, with the same Nominating Committee, things may not be different. Does this mean more people of color and more women? 2021 will be the year to find that out.
The induction ceremony, which typically takes place sometime in the spring, didn't happen for obvious reasons until last month (November). But because I'm too cheap for HBO and satellite radio, I missed out. There are some YouTube clips on the Rock Hall's channel that I still need to watch! People are already predicting if 2021 will be a sequel to 2020, with several entertainment events still being on hold. No one knows for sure, so I'm guessing that goes for the ceremony...whenever that will be. Maybe it will be back to being a main event where everyone is there, or it will be just another telecast.
I list these factors because these have kind of influenced my ballot. We all know there's a huge backlog of acts to get into the Rock Hall. Now we are into the mid-1990s, where acts that started in 1995 are now eligible. 1995 was one of my favorite years in music, and there were several great acts I heard for the first time. Alanis, DMB, Foo Fighters, the list goes on. Some of them are already eligible, but either way it's crazy that a lot of them will be waiting for years to get into the Rock Hall. On a side note, that was the year the actual Rock Hall museum opened its doors. Another reason it was a challenge to predict was it was very difficult for performers to stand out this year - again, for the obvious reasons. Some released albums, some did live webcasts or participated in such big thing, and some just interacted with fans through social media. A lot of big-name concerts were supposed to happen and it's safe to assume a lot more were going to be announced after March, but we all won't know now. I say this because I usually use this to help me predict as well.
That doesn't mean that 2020 was a drag for all of us. Back in the Spring, a lot of us RHWs got together on Zoom, as we all interacted with each other for the first time, live. We did our own kind of ballot, each submitting two acts and eventually voting on them. This was known as the Mock Nom Com project. Altogether it was cool that a lot of us who we've communicated with over the years (for some of us, over a decade!) got to be in one place at once. And a lot of us didn't know what our faces looked like or what our voices sounded like. I do hope there's sometime in the future where I can meet a lot of you in person at the Rock Hall induction ceremony or any related event. (It was very awesome to be invited, and despite of my weird predictions for our predictions ballot, I hope I get asked again next time!)
Here it is: my 2021 predictions, better late than never! Of the 16 of them, 9 (including newly-eligible) of them have never been nominated. Part of me thinks there will be more previously-nominated but I'm just taking chances here.
-Newly eligible-
Foo Fighters - Surprisingly, not a lot of my friends who I have talked music with for years have never heard of the genre "post-grunge". It actually just sounds so generic, but you gotta start somewhere I guess! This is where the Foos fall in. They are one of the leaders of this phase in music, which is ironic because the group's founder Dave Grohl was one of the leaders of grunge. Grohl is rock's greatest fanboy, living the dream, like most of us wish to. Unfortunately, what may hurt for Grohl is he's not an outsider unlike his late friend Kurt Cobain, but the fans, the music world and the Rock Hall love him that it would not shock me or any RHW the Foo Fighters will make the ballot. Not so sure about getting inducted right away, however.
Jay-Z - I don't even know where to begin, how to explain Mr. Carter's legacy, if I should. Let's just say, not putting the most successful hip-hop artist in the last 25 years would be a travesty. You have his label, sampling, critically acclaimed and best-selling albums, concerts and all, and how he shaped the music industry, and though he may have 99 problems, the Rock Hall induction won't be one.
-Nominated before-
Pat Benatar - Most of us RHWs were more than shocked she didn't get in on her first try, BUT she had a strong showing in the fan poll, so that may be a reason for the NomCom to give her another shot. Also, with John Sykes taking over the Rock Hall, that may do well for her: Benatar's cover of the Rascals' "You Better Run" was the second video to ever play on MTV. Just saying!
Kate Bush - Meg Myers covered her hit "Running Up That Hill" last year (it was arguably Bush's most successful single in the States) and it was big on Alternative radio. Her influence isn't fading anytime soon, as it goes to show.
J. Geils Band - Just a gut feeling...
Kraftwerk - Let's do this again...
Motorhead - I should be putting the Priest or MC5 here in this spot, but since Lemmy & crew finally were put on the ballot last year, I'm just gonna leave this here.
John Prine - No need to explain on this one.
Todd Rundgren - see the next one.
The Smiths - If there will be no live ceremony in 2021, it would be great and perfect to get these guys in. It's not like they will all show up anyway, right?
-Never been nominated-
The B-52's - I'm just gonna go with the others on this one. Of course, the Athens party-alternative band is overdue for the Rock Hall anyway, and it's boring without them in!
Carly Simon - Whitney was inducted recently, so a lot of us RHWs are wondering: does this open the door for Cher, Gloria and Mariah? The answer remains unknown, but as far as my predictions, I think the NomCom will venture into other female artists who have not been considered yet. Since they seem to be past the whole 60's phase, it would be perfect to start things off with Simon, who had her first hit on the charts 50 years ago.
The Go-Go's - Another act I'm definitely sticking with the others on - and for the same reasons. We all know about their legacy, and a lot of us watched the documentary that came out this year on Showtime. Unfortunately, I have yet to watch it, only because I'm too cheap for Showtime...
The Guess Who - One of those classic-rock groups and Canadian acts that should have been in several years ago; in fact, I've included them in past lists (I just don't remember at the top of my head the last time...). This is probably the only act on this list that was around during the 1960s, but they made their mark mostly in the early 1970s. I almost put Jethro Tull in this spot as "the one Classic Rock act to fill the void". And who knows, they could still be nominated. But that's what makes the whole predictions thing fun to begin with.
Kool & the Gang - Another one that should have been inducted as early as 25 years ago, but it's hard enough for R&B acts these days to even get considered. Like most RHWs, it wasn't until 9/9/2020 that I seriously was going to add them to my list. (Luckily, others have as well.) Despite of that, I still think it's a long-shot, for a lot of reasons. A lot of people know that I have compared them to Earth, Wind & Fire. What's odd is EW&F was enshrined two decades ago. But K&TG has been remembered as funk pioneers, as well as their 80s department store songs and their "Celebration" hit. On a personal note, I got to see K&TG open for Van Halen 8 years ago (yes you read that right!) Apparently, David Lee Roth was/is a huge fan, and I'm not entirely sure how he feels about the Rock Hall, but this would be a great opportunity for somebody like Diamond Dave to push for their nomination and induction.
The Pointer Sisters - I'm going to go a little overboard for these ladies, for many different reasons. I'm not going to list them all, of course, but let's just say the NomCom has been tough on people of color and women for so long. Then you also have Bonnie's passing in June of this year. While they are mostly remembered for their 80's pop hits, it should be noted that they have crossed over successfully to several genres. Actually, Nick Bambach does a better job explaining this.
George Thorogood/Destroyers - As early as February I think, I decided to let loose to my Twitter followers who my farthest "left-field pick" would be. And it was George Thorogood. I even nominated him in the RHW's "Mock Nom Com" thing. Looking back, maybe I was a little "too far-out" on that one, and I probably should have changed it. But, I'm a man of my word, and since the real NomCom has put some odd candidates on their past ballots, how can the Delaware Destroyer be any different?
-Why I didn't pick-
There were a lot that I was wanting to put on my list, including Devo and Thin Lizzy (both were nominated for the first time last year), and RATM and Jane's Addiction, but like I said the backlog is so huge it's not even funny. I couldn't include everyone!
Dionne Warwick - For those of us on Twitter, we've seen a lot of her great, sometimes witty tweets in the last month. And she turned 80, so she has more than proven to us she's still got it and she's an all-around amazing person. She should have been in a long time ago. Her niece was recently inducted. I almost put Dionne on this list for those reasons, but I'm just not seeing it yet. If a nomination were to happen, then that's totally awesome with me. She'd get in right away, and she wouldn't be the first to be inducted in their 80s.
Dave Matthews Band - Alright so why didn't I pick Dave and the crew...well, despite of their success on the fan poll last year, I think the NomCom will skip them this year just so they can focus more on snubbed acts from all time periods. That's just what I'm thinking for now. As we all know, music fans were sort of divided on DMB getting nominated and almost inducted last year. I really don't care, as for me it would've been a "get them out of the way" kind of thing, but at the same time I felt like the others: there are more deserving 90s acts that should be nominated/inducted.
Rufus/Chaka Khan - While they are all deserving, most voters didn't pick them during the four years they were nominated. Hopefully that sent a message to the NomCom, so when the time is right (whenever that will be!), it will happen but for now I think they'll put someone else from that genre in their slot.
LL Cool J - I almost put two rap acts on this list, and LL would've been that guy. But I decided to keep this list very diversified.
-Thoughts on other newly-eligible acts that debuted in 1995-
Backstreet Boys - no way, at least not until NKOTB gets in (laughs)
Ben Folds Five - one of the most intellectual-looking and sounding acts of the last 25 years has came in and out. He has a great fanbase, as well as working with big-names like Weird Al. May be a long time for him and his band.
Deftones/Incubus - Two major bands that arguably peaked in the early-to-mid 2000s during what is now called the "post-grunge" era probably will not get in for a long time.
Faithless - If there is a Dance Music Hall of Fame, or Euro-dance one, definitely.
Garbage - Butch Vig may get in as a Non-Performer in the future.
Robyn - The Swedish pop sensation was somewhat big near the late 90s, and disappeared. However, she made a great comeback in the international music world later on, especially among the American press. Last year, her 2010 European dance hit "Dancing On My Own" was #1 on Rolling Stone's Top Songs of the 2010s list. Probably will be a long while for her.
D'Angelo - another one that has gotten a lot of respect from the music press. But it's a long-shot for him.
