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 2014: Got it right for once

Who cares if Paul Stanley's face looked like an ice cream cone that half-melted, then was frozen, then half-melted again. Who cares if Peter Criss looked like a cleaned-up Phil Spector. Who cares if Ace Frehley resembled a bloated Kenny Rogers. Who cares if Gene Simmons appeared to have come straight from his audition for a "Planet of the Apes" sequel.

Kiss was finally in, and the induction was shown in all its glory on HBO's recently released telecast of the ceremony. If Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bill Haley, etc. invented Rock and Roll, Kiss pumped it with steroids and ensured it would go on to have a Barry Bonds-like career for the ages (well, something like that).

The best part of all came when Stanley said exactly what we've been saying for almost four years now: Let the people vote and take control out of the hands of lame-ass old shits like Jann Wenner and his crusty cronies.

The other best part was Tom Morello's amazeballs induction speech. Which was the exact opposite of Michael Stipe's.

More justice was served by the induction of Hall & Oates. Seriously, these guys dominated the radio for a decade with pop tunes that people will be singing until the world ends. Nope, no way that's Hall worthy. Gotta make sure we get Red Hot Chili Peppers in there first, because they made 50 RS covers. Gotta make sure Donovan gets in there because Wenner beats it to his tunes incessantly.

You could quibble a little with some of the things that went down with H&O's induction. Like Questlove's puzzling induction speech. And Oates' bizarre forehead-framing hairstyle. And the fact that freaking G.E. Smith was not included in the performance portion (at least not the ones televised on HBO).

Without G.E., it just ain't Hall & Oates.

But hey, they're in, so it's all good.

Oh yeah, and I almost forgot: A little band called Nirvana got in. They're overrated as one of the greatest bands of all time (they're not), they're underrated as hack ripoffs of the Pixies and Husker Du (they're not, well, they are a little bit), and they are properly rated as a Hall of Fame band. Most encouraging of all was the revelation that Dave Grohl does still possess a rock soul, as he played a part in one of the coolest Rock Hall performances of all time: Joan Jett, Kim Gordon, St. Vincent and Lorde fronting in place of Kurt Cobain. I mean, wow. You HAVE to watch all four performances.

Can't say that Peter Gabriel or Cat Stevens getting in really matters either way. Gabriel got in with Genesis, skipped the ceremony, so eff him, he blew his chance. He does not have a Hall of Fame career. Cat Stevens: Eh.

And so, on to 2015, where we push for the Pixies and The Replacements and try once again to stop Green Day. It won't be easy.

Breaking news: Dave Grohl is old

Relevance to the Rock Hall: Mr. Grohl's Foo Fighters can never get in.

From: G.E. Smith
Date: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:32:55 -0500
To: Michael Anthony
Subject: three amigos

OK, I got no problem with Butch Vig. He did Nevermind and some big early 90s albums. I got no beef with Dave Grohl, mainly because he's Flipout Wilson’s boy. I have no beef with Rick Springfield, because he rocked some great tunes. Yet all three together, doing something musically seems….wrong. Disingenuous maybe. What is up with this sh*t.
________________________________________

From: Michael Anthony
Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2012 11:34 AM
To: G.E. Smith
Subject: Re: three amigos

Maybe Vig is Rick's stunt double?
___________________________________

Corgan, or the New Radicals guy?

From: G.E. Smith
Date: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:38:39 -0500
To: Michael Anthony
Subject: RE: three amigos

First rubbing d*cks with Fogerty and now this. In the Facebook post where this pic comes from Rick says "yes we look happy" and reveals they had just finished recording a song for "Dave's project" called "The Man That Never Was." Yes they do look happy. They look like they just "finished" something if you know what I mean.
___________________________________

From: Michael Anthony
Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2012 11:46 AM
To: G.E. Smith
Subject: Re: three amigos

They need to get Corgan in there to complete the sh*t sandwich.
________________________________________

From: G.E. Smith
Date: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:49:56 -0500
To: Michael Anthony
Subject: RE: three amigos

I'm thinking Corgan would be the hockey-puck-like, too-old-to-eat patty and Rick would be the "special sauce."

Check out this clip when you get a chance. Kurdt calls Dave's first Nirvana co-writing contributions (on "In Utero") "simple" and "bone-headed."

Also, this photo answers the question: "When does irony become reality?"
________________________________________

From: Michael Anthony
Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2012 11:55 AM
To: G.E. Smith
Subject: Re: three amigos

Yeah seriously. Like you said - I respect Vig for his work, deeply admire Springfield and his music for what it is, and give Grohl some points for drumming in a decent band.

No, we will not die like dogs! We will fight like lions!

But who would have thought the guy who produced Killdozer, and the supposedly once-cool drummer from a pioneering grunge band would be doing this now? Or I guess - maybe - this is what we should have figured all along?

Either way, Michael Gerald from Killdozer should stop by to take a steaming dump on the soundboard, then kick their asses.

_______________________________________

From: G.E. Smith
Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2012 12:03 PM
To: Michael Anthony
Subject: RE: three amigos

Look, you get older, your tastes change. You get a little lamer. Maybe you don't chuck a best-of Boston CD when it gets mailed to you by their PR people. Maybe you leave Styx's "Too Much Time On My Hands" on when the vid comes on Classic. But you can still be cool. As long as you're aware of getting older and lamer, you stay cool.

This, this right here, is not being aware, and not staying cool. Allow me to drive the nail in Dave Grohl's coolness coffin.