Letting the Freaks and Geeks Into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

As the years progress, the process of getting into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is beginning to look a lot like the process of earning a letter for a high school letter jacket: The superstars (Bruce Springsteen, Prince, Aerosmith) are awarded just for showing up, as are the academic overachievers who are still social enough to get a seat on student council (U2, The Police, Talking Heads). However, the nerds who create the science fiction clubs and painstakingly put together the yearbook (Rush, Genesis, Yes, Kraftwerk) face a much steeper battle for recognition.  And while you can’t really letter in smoking, there’s no way to recognize the smokers and the class-skippers (Slayer, The Replacements), those folks who are just as essential as the jocks and student council presidents in defining the experience that is Rock and Roll High School.

Perhaps by coincidence, the same year the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame turns 25, KISS may finally get their due as inductees. They have been eligible for almost a decade. And while I’ll be the first to praise Hall of Famer Jackson Browne, there’s no question who has been more influential in rock. Alice Cooper may have been first, but KISS made makeup and pyrotechnics almost essential in a big-time rock show. KISS was one of those bands that inspired thousands of teenagers to want to form a band to get to that level—the stage explosions, the groupies, the outfits. But the Hall of Fame is like a selection committee for a state dinner: you want to invite the people who’ll make you proud, not ones that will embarrass you. But sometimes you have to acknowledge those very folks (which is one possible reason why the Sex Pistols took a great deal longer to get into the Hall of Fame than the Clash).

Fans, and even non-KISS fans, have been screaming to let KISS into the Hall of Fame. But now that their work is done, people have started to raise a ruckus about why progressive rock has not been represented. As for speed metal fans, a Metallica nod won’t be enough to keep people from demanding a Slayer induction as well.

The nomination of Genesis is a decent start for progressive rock, but King Crimson, Yes, and Rush are still patiently waiting for nomination. One problem for progressive rock is that, in general, it’s not a genre adored by rock critics. But regardless of whether you think 2112 or Relayer is a masterpiece, progressive rock’s most notable characteristics (the odd time signature shifts, full albums broken into “acts” or “suites”) are everywhere in rock. If a song by a rock band exceeds eight minutes, chances are high that there’s going to be a Yes comparison. Even a band as critically adored as the Decemberists has garnered plenty of prog rock comparisons.

At least Rush or King Crimson will put on a polite show at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concert if and when they get inducted. What the hell would a Slayer performance be like? Don’t think that doesn’t cross a voter’s mind when he or she is filling out their ballot. As most rock historians should know, rock was never intended to be pretty or suitable for an awards banquet. And the exclusion of the geeks, nerds, and troublemakers—who not only contributed significantly to rock, but helped build foundations for an entire genre of music—is inexcusable.

—Sean McCarthy