# Why Rush Won't Get In to the Rock Hall **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 1, 2009, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-rush-wont-get-in-to-the-rock-hall/491612 "2009-04-01T19:15:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-rush-wont-get-in-to-the-rock-hall/491612/101 "2009-04-03T17:08:53Z")
> [@Birdmonster](#): > > I’d rather see Def Leppard in there than Styx, quite honestly. DL were shockingly successful, were my favorite of all the hair metal bands (with the exception of Van Halen) and, you know: ONE. ARMED. DRUMMER. Def Leppard were the biggest rock band in the world for ~3 years. I think that merits inclusion in and of itself. I don’t think you could say that about Styx for any period. ---
**Author:** ![Birdmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71e660/32.png) [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-rush-wont-get-in-to-the-rock-hall/491612/102 "2009-04-03T17:18:14Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Lamb Lies Down or Trick of the Tail. Although, if “Selling England By the Pound” doesn’t do it for you, this era of Genesis might just not be for you. I definitely enjoy it and, honestly, have only had for a week or so—listened to it maybe five times. It generally takes me a while to get my teeth into any album, let alone a prog album. ---
**Author:** ![Birdmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71e660/32.png) [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-rush-wont-get-in-to-the-rock-hall/491612/103 "2009-04-03T17:33:53Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Def Leppard were the biggest rock band in the world for ~3 years. I think that merits inclusion in and of itself. I don’t think you could say that about Styx for any period. Fun fact: Def Leppard is among a total of five acts to put out two 10 million selling albums consecutively. I read that on a placemat once. Seriously. (For the record: Pyromania & Hysteria) It’s quite a feat. Michael Jackson never did it. U2 either. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-rush-wont-get-in-to-the-rock-hall/491612/104 "2009-04-03T17:58:52Z")
> [@Birdmonster](#): > > I definitely enjoy it and, honestly, have only had for a week or so—listened to it maybe five times. It generally takes me a while to get my teeth into any album, let alone a prog album. I gotta dig out the mp3s. I haven’t listened to any of these albums in about five years. It’s about time to check them out again. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-rush-wont-get-in-to-the-rock-hall/491612/105 "2009-04-03T18:00:28Z")
> [@Birdmonster](#): > > What about 'em? If you’re suggesting inclusion into the RRHOF, I’d probably start laughing pretty hard. > > Beyond just sheer popularity, they have no argument, far as I see it. Including them forces you to include other bands that were simply popular without a whole lot of, shall we say, meat on the bones… My point is, why should a band that _sounds good_ count for so little? Isn’t sounding good what music is all about? Styx managed to strike the perfect balance between all the elements that make good rock music–guitars, vocal harmonies, keyboard, lyrical concepts… But no, rock has to be edgy and rebellious. As for Def Leppard, they sound pretty good too, but they can’t hold a candle to Rush, Yes, or Styx. And yet I’m willing to wager that they get into the RRHoF before the others. ---
**Author:** ![Birdmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71e660/32.png) [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-rush-wont-get-in-to-the-rock-hall/491612/106 "2009-04-03T18:00:46Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I gotta dig out the mp3s. I haven’t listened to any of these albums in about five years. It’s about time to check them out again. I’m discovering that Peter Gabriel is just a lawmower. I can by the way he walks. ---
**Author:** ![Birdmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71e660/32.png) [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-rush-wont-get-in-to-the-rock-hall/491612/107 "2009-04-03T18:09:51Z")
Well, you can account for taste **sqweels** , so we’ll just have to disagree on Styx. Always felt fluffy and borderline bogus to me, though there are of course legions who’ll disagree with me on that. I do have an affinity for “The Grand Illusion” though. That said, rock _did_ start out as “edgy and rebellious.” It isn’t anymore—in fact, the simple existence of the RRHOF speaks to that—but upthread someone mentioned there seems to be a premium placed on innovation. Indeed, if it’s a hall of fame, it should be reserved for innovators and the absolute best of the best. It’s why I wouldn’t have put Mellencamp or Aerosmith in there—they’re popular, certainly, but they didn’t advance rock musically or do much of anything that, to me, deserves some sort of canonization. I know we’re arguing about the inclusion of acts in an institution that I’ve professed to not really give a shit about, but still: in our own, hypothetical pantheon of Rock Deities, I’d not include Styx for those reasons stated above. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-rush-wont-get-in-to-the-rock-hall/491612/108 "2009-04-09T04:38:21Z")
It just occurred to me that The Moody Blues are perhaps one of the main instigators for the whole Prog Rock sound, combining rock guitars with classical orchestras, harmonicas, and wonderful vocals. If any prog rock group deserves to be inducted then The Moody Blues must certainly be at the top of the list: no? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-rush-wont-get-in-to-the-rock-hall/491612/109 "2009-04-09T16:19:04Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > I totally agree. I call it Geek Rock myself. 🙂 There was a very well-written article about Rush in Rolling Stone a few months ago. I never really paid much attention to Rush, despite growing up during their heyday, and counting other prog-rock bands among my favorites (and, just being a big geek in general, as my handle here probably attests to). In reading the RS article, I said to myself, “man, by all accounts, I really _should_ be a Rush fan!” ---
**Author:** ![acetylene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@acetylene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/acetylene)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-rush-wont-get-in-to-the-rock-hall/491612/110 "2009-04-09T16:35:28Z")
I’m surprised nobody mentioned this, but Metallica’s James Hetfield, in his speech during the induction ceremony last Saturday named several bands that he thought needed to be inducted into the RRHoF as well. Among those bands he named was, of course, Rush. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-rush-wont-get-in-to-the-rock-hall/491612/111 "2009-04-09T16:37:45Z")
> [@Birdmonster](#): > > Well, you can account for taste **sqweels** , so we’ll just have to disagree on Styx. Always felt fluffy and borderline bogus to me, though there are of course legions who’ll disagree with me on that. I do have an affinity for “The Grand Illusion” though. Styx is an interesting example, because there are significant parts of their catalog that veer towards the pretentious / theatrical / prog (typically written by Dennis DeYoung), while they’ve also got a number of straight-ahead rock songs (such as “Fooling Yourself” and “Renegade”), which were usually written by Tommy Shaw or James Young. ---
**Author:** ![acetylene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@acetylene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/acetylene)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-rush-wont-get-in-to-the-rock-hall/491612/112 "2009-04-09T16:38:31Z")
> [@Birdmonster](#): > > Don’t be ridiculous. He can be in the hilariously fast sweep-picking hall of fame though. I have to disagree with this. I’m not a huge Yngwie fan but the man can play. I’ve watched \*A LOT \*of videos of him and he really doesn’t do that much sweep picking. ---
**Author:** ![Birdmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71e660/32.png) [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-rush-wont-get-in-to-the-rock-hall/491612/113 "2009-04-09T16:44:51Z")
> [@acetylene](#): > > I have to disagree with this. I’m not a huge Yngwie fan but the man can play. I’ve watched \*A LOT \*of videos of him and he really doesn’t do that much sweep picking. Fair enough. I was using “sweep-picking” as a sort of shorthand for the style of hyper-complicated guitar favored by Yngwie and his contemporaries. I see him as more of a hyper-talented virtioso type but not one who really has a case for being in the RRHOF. If someone’s got an argument though, by all means, I’d like to hear it. If you’re going the solo guitarist, I’d say Satriani is probably a better choice—highly skilled, more successful, more melodic (to my ears, at least). Leo Koetke would be great too, but he’s outside the RRHOF’s definition of rock, which apparently includes bubble gum pop and rap. ---
**Author:** ![acetylene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@acetylene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/acetylene)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-rush-wont-get-in-to-the-rock-hall/491612/114 "2009-04-10T01:50:33Z")
> [@Birdmonster](#): > > Fair enough. I was using “sweep-picking” as a sort of shorthand for the style of hyper-complicated guitar favored by Yngwie and his contemporaries. I see him as more of a hyper-talented virtioso type but not one who really has a case for being in the RRHOF. If someone’s got an argument though, by all means, I’d like to hear it. > > If you’re going the solo guitarist, I’d say Satriani is probably a better choice—highly skilled, more successful, more melodic (to my ears, at least). Leo Koetke would be great too, but he’s outside the RRHOF’s definition of rock, which apparently includes bubble gum pop and rap. Yeah, I agree about Malmsteen. He has a lot of technical prowess but he doesn’t play with soul. I don’t think he should make the HOF. Satch should but probably won’t, either. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-rush-wont-get-in-to-the-rock-hall/491612.md?page=5)