So It Goes, Week 3: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2023

Thoughts on this year's nominees, plus some new records

Ice Storm

This, the third 2023 installment of what's intended to be a weekly newsletter, arrives the second week of February thanks to the ice storm that blew through Austin at the end of January. It knocked out our power for the better part of the week and, in the process, knocked the wind out of me, so it's taken me a little bit to get back up to speed. Part of getting back into a groove is clearing out the thoughts that have built up while waiting for the power to be restored…and they're mainly about the Rock Hall noms, as that's what I was working on the day the lights went out in Austin.

Rock & Roll Hall Nominations 2023

I’ve long thought that the White Stripes represents the endpoint in the conventional Rock & Roll Hall of Fame history of rock & roll. They were the last popular rock band who could credibly claim to be part of a lineage that stretches beyond the inception of rock & roll while also being part of the indie underground. That blend is a rare thing, a combination that the Strokes, Vampire Weekend, Arctic Monkeys, and Coldplay—to just name some 2000s-era rock bands off the top of my head—can't declare. 

All of this is a roundabout way of saying I have no idea how the Rock Hall proceeds with relatively recent acts after they inevitably induct the White Stripes—if it doesn’t happen this year it will in the near future—but that’s a problem for a future date. There are still plenty of worthy artists from the 20th Century that haven't made the cut although their chances of induction are dwindling, especially with the Hall making strides to move away from the 1960s and 1970s. That evolution can be discerned within the 2023 RRHOF nominees, which is a ballot that’s far more balanced and interesting than the previous year. Maybe that evolution was preordained. They’ve gotten a lot of dull classic rock acts out of the way in the last six years, so they're now free to sculpt the ballots a bit more deliberately, subtly emphasizing that the Hall's purview really is popular music made since the birth of rock & roll instead of the music itself.

I found the 2022 round of nominees pretty well-balanced but the inductees still wound up being pretty boring; instead of DEVO or the New York Dolls, we got Pat Benatar (and Neil Giraldo, who apparently must be mentioned every time his wife's name is uttered). I don't think that will be the case in 2023: any way these nominees are cut up, it'll be an interesting class. 

I’ve had the privilege of voting for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for several years now. I hope to do so again this year. What follows is not what boxes I'd check on my ballot but rather quick takes on these 14 (or 15) nominations. 

Kate Bush 

If she’s ever going to make it in—and I have serious doubts that she will—it would be this year, a year after a dose of concentrated Netflix nostalgia gave her a belated American hit. I have no quarrel with her induction but do think she’s way too precious, arty, and British to appeal to voters who likely would leap at the chance to check a box for Boston.

Sheryl Crow

A classicist by nature, Sheryl Crow never was an innovator but she was a master stylistic synthesizer ushering 1970s values into the post-grunge era. Hard to underestimate her value as an AOR gateway drug for generations that came of age in the 1990s and 2000s and her records still sound good. 

Missy Elliott

Formally innovative, daring, and distinctive, Missy Elliott naturally belongs in the Hall but the voting bloc remains resistant to rap, so I doubt this will be her year.

Iron Maiden

Ever since fans of Randy Rhoads, a great guitarist who is a legend only among headbangers, wound up with a Musical Excellence nod in 2021, I’ve maintained that far from shunning metal, the Rock Hall now harbors a slight bias for metal. People working behind the scenes help push Judas Priest into the Hall in 2022, a fate that likely will be replicated with Iron Maiden, a band who—unlike Preist—never had anything approaching a rock radio hit. And, sure, they're "influential" and "important," but so are countless Amerindie bands—or British groups— who have no apparent vocal advocates among the nominating committee. 

Joy Division/New Order

Covering two birds with one stone, just like they did with Small Faces and the Faces, Joy Division/New Order occupies the post-punk/new wave slot this year. Clearly deserving, also hard to see a voting bloc that favored Lionel Richie garnering enough support for this induction. 

Cyndi Lauper

A lifer who built her career upon the phenomenal She's So Unusual, Cyndi Lauper is currently running away with the fan vote which indicates she's likely a lock for induction. Lauper left pop behind somewhere in the 1990s, moving onto Broadway, eventually winning a Tony for Kinky Boots—the kind of showbiz career that engenders fame even if it runs parallel to rock & roll. I would not be unhappy if she made it into the Hall. 

George Michael 

George Michael designed himself as the platonic ideal of a pop star then slowly let the facade crack after he got restless at the top of his field. He should've made more music—it's hard to believe he didn't release a new album in the last 12 years of his life—but even if he had, it would've been those 1980s blockbusters that would've guaranteed him entry into the Hall. They still shape the sound of pop music in the 21st Century.

Willie Nelson

A more natural fit for RRHOF induction than Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson is ground zero for what's now called Americana and also led one of the first unabashed jam bands. There's no way he's not getting in.

Rage Against the Machine

I don’t care for this band.

Soundgarden

A band that can seem great if I look at them from a certain angle, Soundgarden wouldn't quite be my first choice among 1990s alternative rockers for RRHOF induction. Then again, I play "My Wave" more often than any other grunge of its time, so maybe I'm lying to myself. 

The Spinners

I’ve voted for this group every time they’ve been on the ballot and will continue to do so. I have no expectations of them ever getting into the Hall.

A Tribe Called Quest

Their pitch-perfect farewell record helped put A Tribe Called Quest's career in perspective for me, confirming that they were a truly special group. I'm not overly optimistic about their chances, though, considering how the Hall tends to favor harder hip-hop.

The White Stripes

Even though Elephant came in lower on Roling Stone's 2020 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list than I expected, I still think the White Stripes get in on the first ballot because Jack White became something of an industry player. Not only has he collaborated with everybody from Alicia Keys to Insane Clown Posse, but his advocacy of vinyl has also helped power a crucial portion of the music biz—a combination that seems like a clear path to induction to me. 

Warren Zevon 

He should've gotten in years ago.

In Rotation

King Tuff—Smalltown Stardust 

Garage rocker King Tuff remade himself as a Wings-ian soft rocker and the results are as comforting as a summer breeze.

Sunny War—Anarchist Gospel

Working with producer Andrija Tokic helps folk-punk Sunny War warm up her sound…and she delivers a pretty great cover of Ween's "Baby Bitch" too.

We Are Scientists—Lobes

This probably would sound great as you're playing Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

The Arcs—Electrophonic Chronic

I miss the song-oriented concision of the first Arcs album but the grooves here are quite welcoming.

Shania Twain—Queen Of Me

I was ready for a fun Shania album but this isn't it for me: too bright and brittle, its cheerfulness seems forced.