# Sex Pistols say "Bollocks!" to Hall of Fame
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-pistols-say-bollocks-to-hall-of-fame/348253
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [March 14, 2006, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-pistols-say-bollocks-to-hall-of-fame/348253 "2006-03-14T00:52:22Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2006, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-pistols-say-bollocks-to-hall-of-fame/348253/1 "2006-03-14T00:52:22Z")
Johnny and Steve aren’t interested, but they’re being inducted anyway. Jones read Lydon’s response on NPR today:
> [@](#):
>
> “…the Hall of Fame is a piss stain–your museum, urine in wine…”
Well, would you expect anything else from Mr. Rotten?
I don’t know if it’s true or not, but they said that the Pistols are the only inductees with just one original album to their credit.
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### Author:  [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2006, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-pistols-say-bollocks-to-hall-of-fame/348253/2 "2006-03-14T01:07:17Z")
i respect this. they never went out looking for fame (or so i’ve had the impression) and when given it, they kinda turned away from it. makes me wish that mick jagger would have done the same when he had the shiny biscuit of knighthood dangled in front of him. keith richards was pissed about “sir mick”, if my memory serves me right.
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### Author:  [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2006, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-pistols-say-bollocks-to-hall-of-fame/348253/3 "2006-03-14T02:17:08Z")
Johnny’s constant rebellion grates on me after a while. I saw SP with Bad Religion, Blink 182, Pennywise, Social D, and Offspring at Inland Invasion II a few years ago. The whole thing is organized by and is a big promotion from KROQ-FM radio, which is the grandaddy of alternative radio in southern California.
Everyone else was upbeat and thanking people for coming out (like 40K people!), and Johnny had to talk about the “Crock” radio station (Crock, not “K-rock”, get it?). Mind you, this was the only station for a radius of about 150 miles in any direction that played his band more than 1x every three weeks, and he still couldn’t act grateful at their promoting his band and making him the headliner.
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### Author:  [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2006, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-pistols-say-bollocks-to-hall-of-fame/348253/4 "2006-03-14T02:51:27Z")
The thing is, the Sex Pistols were basically a manufactured punk band. Malcolm McClaren was a very cleverl marketer the the lads lived up to the loutish image.
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### Author:  [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2006, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-pistols-say-bollocks-to-hall-of-fame/348253/5 "2006-03-14T02:56:53Z")
> [@Cardinal](#):
>
> Johnny’s constant rebellion grates on me after a while. I saw SP with Bad Religion, Blink 182, Pennywise, Social D, and Offspring at Inland Invasion II a few years ago. The whole thing is organized by and is a big promotion from KROQ-FM radio, which is the grandaddy of alternative radio in southern California.
>
> Everyone else was upbeat and thanking people for coming out (like 40K people!), and Johnny had to talk about the “Crock” radio station (Crock, not “K-rock”, get it?). Mind you, this was the only station for a radius of about 150 miles in any direction that played his band more than 1x every three weeks, and he still couldn’t act grateful at their promoting his band and making him the headliner.
Especially when they were by far the least talented band on that bill!
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### Author:  [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2006, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-pistols-say-bollocks-to-hall-of-fame/348253/6 "2006-03-14T03:21:26Z")
Sometimes it amazes me that Johhny Rotten thinks he is as relevant as he thinks he is.
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### Author:  [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2006, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-pistols-say-bollocks-to-hall-of-fame/348253/7 "2006-03-14T03:23:38Z")
> [@Casey1505](#):
>
> Sometimes it amazes me that Johhny Rotten thinks he is as relevant as he thinks he is.
He was. For 20 minutes. In 1977.
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### Author:  [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2006, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-pistols-say-bollocks-to-hall-of-fame/348253/8 "2006-03-14T03:42:20Z")
> [@Casey1505](#):
>
> Sometimes it amazes me that Johhny Rotten thinks he is as relevant as he thinks he is.
Well he was just inducted into the hall of fame. Good for them for blowing it off. The very idea is unconscionable.
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2006, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-pistols-say-bollocks-to-hall-of-fame/348253/9 "2006-03-14T04:06:50Z")
> [@saoirse](#):
>
> Well he was just inducted into the hall of fame. Good for them for blowing it off. The very idea is unconscionable.
I hope you mean by this that the idea of inducting them alongside people who could actually play their instruments, and in the same year as Miles Davis of all people, is an insult to everyone in the history of popular music. I hope you mean that attitude should never be taken as evidence of talent or ability. I hope you mean that they should be in the same trashbin of cultural fads as the pet rock. I hope.
I probably hope wrong.
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### Author:  [@Soapbox\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soapbox_Monkey)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2006, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-pistols-say-bollocks-to-hall-of-fame/348253/10 "2006-03-14T04:46:51Z")
> [@Lochdale](#):
>
> The thing is, the Sex Pistols were basically a manufactured punk band. Malcolm McClaren was a very cleverl marketer the the lads lived up to the loutish image.
Exactly. The Sex Pistols were the epitomy of style over substance. They were all about the image and the rebellion; the music sucked. I can’t see why so many view them as a cornerstone of the punk movment. It’s an insult to bands like The Clash and The Ramones.
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### Author:  [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2006, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-pistols-say-bollocks-to-hall-of-fame/348253/11 "2006-03-14T05:18:45Z")
> [@Soapbox Monkey](#):
>
> Exactly. The Sex Pistols were the epitomy of style over substance. They were all about the image and the rebellion; the music sucked. I can’t see why so many view them as a cornerstone of the punk movment. It’s an insult to bands like The Clash and The Ramones.
**Monkey** , I haven’t always agreed with you on this board, but I agree 100% with that statement.
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### Author:  [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2006, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-pistols-say-bollocks-to-hall-of-fame/348253/12 "2006-03-14T05:36:49Z")
Good for them. The entire concept of a “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame” is an oxymoron. If there’s one defining concept of great rock and roll, it’s the individualistic, anti-authority attitude of the musicians. The willingness (and intelligence) to see through the prevailing wisdom and do your own thing, whether it’s Ornette Coleman’s Harmolodics or Black Francis screaming in 7/4 time. That attitude is what makes rock attractive, and that’s what makes some of the great innovators seem so much larger than life.
The thought of a “Hall of Fame”–of solemnizing, exalting, and _institutionalizing_ the visceral, anti-establishment ethos–is ludicrous at best, offensive at worst.
> [@](#):
>
> Huh, you think it’s funny
> Turning rebellion into money.
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### Author:  [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2006, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-pistols-say-bollocks-to-hall-of-fame/348253/13 "2006-03-14T07:37:09Z")
> [@Exapno Mapcase](#):
>
> I hope you mean by this that the idea of inducting them alongside people who could actually play their instruments, and in the same year as Miles Davis of all people, is an insult to everyone in the history of popular music. I hope you mean that attitude should never be taken as evidence of talent or ability. I hope you mean that they should be in the same trashbin of cultural fads as the pet rock. I hope.
>
> I probably hope wrong.
Steve Jones could play his instrument quite well, as well as Sid’s. And Johnny played all the instruments Mick Jagger did. The idea that you think anyone belongs in a “Rock N Roll Hall of Fame” is probably an indication that you never got it in the first place.
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### Author:  [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2006, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-pistols-say-bollocks-to-hall-of-fame/348253/14 "2006-03-14T08:13:02Z")
I remember my active “search phase”. The “search phase” is what I and my music geek friends call the time of our time when we were going through and discovering all the classics – all the big names from Dean Martin to Frankie Knuckles and everything in between.
Anyway. I remember buying Never Mind the Bollocks. And I remember the total _relief_ when I got to sell it. It was like I had been magically purged from evil demons, rinced with holy water and then given a massage. Best feeling ever. I am totally convinced that the Sex Pistols as a phenomenon and inspiration were needed, because the punk movement in itself led to a lot of interesting changes, but as a band they stunk.
Keep them as far away from Miles Davis as possible, please.
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### Author:  [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2006, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-pistols-say-bollocks-to-hall-of-fame/348253/15 "2006-03-14T09:16:16Z")
Well, they weren’t Rock and Roll.
If there exists a Punk Hall of Fame, OK.
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### Author:  [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2006, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-pistols-say-bollocks-to-hall-of-fame/348253/16 "2006-03-14T09:28:22Z")
I was so happy when I heard that the Sex Pistols told the Hall of Lame to stuff it.
Great band, great album, and if you don’t understand _why_ they said this, you just don’t get what they were all about.
Oh, and believing they were just a band put together by Malcolm is what Malcolm wants you to believe. As usual, tho, it’s not the whole truth.
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### Author:  [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2006, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-pistols-say-bollocks-to-hall-of-fame/348253/17 "2006-03-14T12:39:17Z")
The thing about the Pistols is that they spawned literally thousands of bands. While their output was not much, they are getting well-deserved credit for their influence, not so much their music. Same with the Ramones or the Clash.
You could also say the same thing about R.E.M., which should be due for nomination in a year or two. They spawned literally thousands of bands, and they paved the way for “alternative rock” in the 90s.
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### Author:  [@ayalabmaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ayalabmaj)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2006, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-pistols-say-bollocks-to-hall-of-fame/348253/18 "2006-03-14T13:05:05Z")
> [@Soapbox Monkey](#):
>
> Exactly. The Sex Pistols were the epitomy of style over substance.
True
> [@](#):
>
> They were all about the image and the rebellion;
True
> [@](#):
>
> the music sucked.
False
> [@](#):
>
> I can’t see why so many view them as a cornerstone of the punk movment. It’s an insult to bands like The Clash and The Ramones.
False. So what if the Sex Pistols were all style and no substance? Punk was a reactionary genre. It’s point was that it valued the immediate over the revered. The best punk bands, The Clash and The Ramones included, understood this. Why do you think The Ramones tried to imitate girl groups and bubblegum? Why do you think the Clash ignored three chord simplicity in favor of ecleticism and experimentalism? They, like The Sex Pistols, knew that punk was a limited phenomenon based around creating entertainment for the now irrespective of what the excessively revered past thought of it. Bullshit like “It’s an insult to bands like The Clash and The Ramones,” is not only ridiculous, it is directly contrary to the irreverent nature of the punk period. You can try to turn The Clash into today’s Pink Floyd if you want, but it’s entirely against the band’s reason d’etre.
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### Author:  [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2006, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-pistols-say-bollocks-to-hall-of-fame/348253/19 "2006-03-14T13:10:19Z")
> [@cactus waltz](#):
>
> Keep them as far away from Miles Davis as possible, please.
I just put my God Save the Queen mp3 in the same folder with Dear Old Stockholm, and my computer crashed.
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### Author:  [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2006, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-pistols-say-bollocks-to-hall-of-fame/348253/20 "2006-03-14T13:23:49Z")
Johnny’s just being Johnny. I got a kick out of his comments even if I do recognize some of the hypocrisy.
FTR, I love Miles Davis, The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, Ornette Coleman and The Clash.
cheers,
Hodge (biding his time 'til John Zorn is inducted)
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