Rock Hall 2015: Green Day to follow in Nirvana's footsteps?

Don't get me wrong. Nirvana should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Nevermind the fact that they only had three studio albums. Nevermind the fact that Dave Grohl is only a mega-millionaire because of Kurt Cobain and, really, was almost a nobody before Cobain and Krist Novoselic canned Chad Channing and anointed Grohl as the new beatminder. Nevermind that "Nevermind" wasn't really as mind-blowing and revolutionary as rock critics claim it was. They were worthy first-ballot entries.

But how can you justify putting them in before The Pixies, Hüsker Dü and The Replacements, the

You be me for a
while... er, nevermind

three well-known bands that made up the majority of Cobain's musical DNA?

At the very least, the Hall could have inducted The Pixies in the same class.

Grohl and Novoselic handled the whole thing really well, and their selection of a crew of female vocalists to fill in for Kurt was super classy. All is forgiven. Let's move on.

But let's not forget. Because what could happen with the Class of 2015 would actually constitute a historical crime compared to the slight of 2014: Green Day could very well get in before the three aforementioned bands.

The absurdity of this is really driven home by Billie Joe Armstrong's recent fanboy appearances with The Replacements, one of which is captured here:

It's not even worth the keystrokes to compare the importance and brilliance of The Replacements with Green Day and their limp stabs at everything from classic punk to mainstream alt-rock to Clash-esque anthems to pop radio hits.

The Pixies' chances of ever getting in are probably crushed now that the Nirvana induction has come and gone. Same for Hüsker Dü, which probably never really had a shot anyway (despite some vigorous campaigning by the very same Mr. Grohl).

If Green Day gets in, the Hall loses any and all legitimacy. And this blog shuts down.

Rock Hall 2015: Green Day must be stopped

I'm not saying Green Day is the worst band ever. I'm not saying they don't have some decent tunes that provided some cool memories for me in the early 1990s. And I'm not saying you are an idiot if they are your favorite band. 

But what I am saying is that they are not worthy of being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, or any hall of fame for that matter, unless it's the Douchebag Hall of Fame, or the Rip-off Artist Hall of Fame, or the Overrated Hall of Fame.

There is nothing original about what they have accomplished. Their "punk" phase that began in the early 1990s produced homogenized bastardizations and regurgitations of late '70s punk coated in a too-sweet alt-rock candy coating. 

Their big sell-out phase that began in the early 2000s spawned overproduced, radio-ready tracks that aimed to be reproductions of The Clash at their most political but only succeeded in achieving the effect of an overly earnest high school class president acceptance speech.

We've already covered some of their more egregious crimes, including "Warning," a blatant rip-off of The Kinks "Picture Book." 

But another horrible rip clicked for me last night while watching '80s videos on VH1 Classic.

Not only is Green Day's "Good Riddance" a wretched tune, but the prom theme song for every kid who got their diploma between 1997 and 2000 is identical to the massive hit "For the Longest Time."

Is it possible that Billie Joe had Billy Joel in mind?

Crud:

 

Decent cheese:

This isn't the first salvo we've fired in this war, and it won't be the last. 

Join us as we try to salvage the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's last shred of legitimacy.