I don’t think it matters who I vote for in this round, because none of my choices will be anywhere close to the top 3.
My guess is Pearl Jam and Yes will get in easily this week. I could really see almost anyone making it to third, though.
Edit: well, while I was writing that three more people voted, and still no votes for PJ or Yes, so maybe I’m wrong.
Yes was such an amazing group, but gets little love. There is still a version of them touring. Steve Howe is now the center of the group with Squire gone & Anderson mostly retired.
They are one of my 4 favorites. The other 3 were automatic Hall of Famers, being Zep, Floyd & The Beatles. Yes just isn’t in the same league for popularity but the main 70s line-up was beyond amazing in talent.
Joan Jett leading the pack? Really, guys? I mean I like Joan Jett. But at the end of the day she at least started out as a straight Suzi Quatro knock-off, right down to the hair and clothes. Which I’m sure she would agree with, she idolized Quatro. But while Jett was absolutely an influencer, she wasn’t exactly an innovator, more just very solid representation. I Love Rock and Roll is a dumb song - fun, but dumb 
. Fanny was a more talented and earlier all-woman rock band than The Runaways (well, at least live).
Anyway Beasties and NWA. My off-kilter and idiosyncratic vote is for ELO, but I’m not going to defend that one too hard. It was a coin-flip between them and Yes and I just like ELO more. Yes out-bombastized and out-talented them, but at the end of the day I preferred ELO’s pop hooks.
“It’s absolutely crazy that I’m not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame” – Suzi Quatro.
31
Beastie Boys
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
We have a special runoff election this week:
- Electric Light Orchestra
- Pearl Jam
0
voters
The regular ballot is a bit more manageable this week, as quite a few acts dropped off. Here we have the 2018 class, and Van Morrison returns for a second bite at the apple. Vote for three.
- Bon Jovi
- The Cars
- Chicago
- Dire Straits
- Green Day
- The Moody Blues
- Van Morrison
- Nina Simone
- Booker T and the MGs
- Yes
0
voters
Relatively weak ballot. Odd to see Nina Simone randomly popping up after decades of eligibility, but I’ll certainly vote for her here. The Cars and Booker T were the other acts I considered voting for.
My easy votes were The Cars and Green Day. They both changed the direction of music in their time.
After that, I’m a bit baffled. Nina Simone is probably the best choice for cultural influence and artistry, but I’m having trouble pulling the lever for her. I like Yes, the Moody Blues, and Dire Straits well enough, but innovators? Plus, Genesis and King Crimson did the prog rock thing better and with actual emotion.
I’m tempted to vote for Bon Jovi, but I’m only halfway there. He defines stadium rock (which isn’t really my thing) and can write a catchy hook. But it’s pretty bog-standard music. Then again, he’s a nice guy.
I see the argument that Green Day brought in a short burst of “bands trying to sound like Green Day” but the burst didn’t last, provided only bad music, and Green Day themselves are one of the most overrated bands in the history of rock music.
You have an argument for their first album Dookie. It certainly was influential, but it’s pretty simple. But American Idiot is at an entirely different level. If it’s not your thing, that’s fine. But there’s a good reason they are regarded so highly.
So in a narrow hall I’m kind of on the fence with both ELO and Pearl Jam. As big of a fan of 90’s alternative rock as I am, I’ve never been a big fan of Pearl Jam. I think it might just be Eddie Vedder’s kinda garbled and dark voice. Yet I like The Smashing Pumpkins and Billy Corgan sounds like a strangled cat half the time, go figure. Anyway, I think I enjoy ELO more and influence verges on six of one, half-a-dozen of the other. On the other hand Pearl Jam has their own Sirius radio station . I guess Pearl Jam is more important, but it’s pretty close to a wash for me.
Van Morrison should be in, cranky prick though he is. I think The Cars are too influential on late New Wave, synthesizer pop-rock and emerging alternative rock not to be in. Green Day…maybe. Nine Simone is another sentimental pick, I’m kind of giving her the nod based on longevity and breadth of influence. I think Green Day was more important in the moment, but it was a much briefer and I suspect narrower moment.
I’m voting for both of them, but I think Nina is more likely to still have listeners in fifty years.
Per Google, Green Day are the most popular punk rock band in history, which certainly sounds like it should describe a Hall of Fame act. OTOH, the next two in line are The Offspring and Blink-182, so I don’t want to lean too hard on that argument. But I agree with TroutMan that GD are clearly on a different level artistically than those bands.
You really shouldn’t 
.
Green Day are important in terms of influence on pop-punk in the 2000’s, which was definitely a thing. But I think it’s a slightly limited, niche importance like a lot of more “modern” bands. I think they’re almost bigger for being big as it were. Like KISS, only less sucky 
. As a modern inductee in the current hall, I think they’re perfectly worthy. In this limited one they feel more borderline than slam dunk to me.
I think this is going to be the nature of the beast for acts from the 90’s onward. The world of rock starts getting pretty diverse and a lot of the innovation is outside of traditional rock music (e.g. hip hop).
Well, slam dunks are few and far between at this point. They’re certainly not The Clash or The Ramones. I like Green Day, but there are dozens of 20th century punk bands I like better. In fact, I give Green Day and their ilk credit for drawing renewed attention to the far better bands that influenced them.
Green Day brought punk into mainstream, which is why they are so popular. It’s also why they are thought of as “sell-outs” in some circles. (That is a label I truly abhor - any niche band in any genre gets called “sell-outs” when they become popular. R.E.M. is a classic example.) I’m an old-school late-phase punk who grew up on bands like Husker Du, Black Flag, and Social Distortion. Nevertheless, I like Green Day, and definitely think they are HOF-worthy.
I see what you did there…
32
Dire Straits
Green Day
Pearl Jam