Back in the 80's, I remember being excited about the concept of The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.  Several cities were vying for the honor of having it built within their borders, and the competition was fierce.  Each city had some claim to the roots of Rock & Roll music, and made their case to the committee running the project.

Having a connection to Cleveland, OH, I was glad when it was chosen.  Now I wonder if it wasn't just another "mistake on the lake".

A "Hall of Fame" is a place where the best and most successful of a chosen theme is celebrated.  The criteria for induction is usually pretty stringent, since the powers that be running the hall of fame want to protect the intergrity and prestige of the institution.  "Inclusion" isn't the goal here.  To even be nominated for a Hall of Fame a parcipant has to go above and beyond... and then some.  Those inducted should only be among the pinnacles and icons of the industry in question.

Then we have the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.  I'll admit that the standards are pretty high.  The categories are Performers, Early Influences, Lifetime Achievement, Non Performers and Sidemen.  That seems fair enough as people in each of these categories have made their mark in the Rock & Roll world. 

I guess that brings us to my point... What is the "Rock & Roll World"?  I doubt the "committee" even knows what that means.

Cases in point...

Madonna is going to be inducted.  Now, if it was called the "Music Hall of Fame", or "American Pop Culture Hall of Fame", then (even though I can't stand any of the music Madonna has ever made), I'd say she not only deserves to be inducted, but should be listed among the top inducties.  Her success and influence on her genre of music is well known and well documented.  She has reached true "Fame" status, since even those who aren't into what she does, know who she is... but she isn't, has never been, and never has claimed to be "Rock & Roll" in any of it's subgenres.

There have been others.  Others I really like, but it's not supposed to be about "like and dislike", it's supposed to be about Rock!  Elton John was one of my first favorite musicians... he and Bernie Taupin have written a few Rock & Roll songs, but they've written a few country songs too, but that doesn't change the fact that he is a Pop act.  Steely Dan I really like too, but Fagen and Becker themselves made a point of only using Jazz studio musicians... because they considered themselves Jazz.

Joni Mitchel was inducted against her will.  When she was nominated, she talked about how stupid it is or a folk singer to be included in a museum for Rock musicians.  In fact, if you played folk music back in the 60s and anyone ever heard of you outside your own hometown, you are probably in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

There are some who "crossed over" from non Rock & Roll genres to play Rock and made it to the top, so sure, people like Bob Dylan, The Byrds and Van Morrison can feel comfortable with their place in Rock & Roll history, but what did Woodie Guthrie do that was even CLOSE to Rock & Roll?

No, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has just become little more than a non telivision version of "The Grammy Awards".  The 500 people who get to vote on the nominees seem to do little more than ask themselves, "Have I heard of this nominee", if so, apparently they mark the "yes" box.

For what I think is the first time ever, I agree with Johnny Rotten (another musician that got inducted against his will), when he said...

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is a Piss Stain.