I'm no absolute believer, but on the whole, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame generally exhibits a reasonable sense of musical taste. At least they were smart enough to institute the "25 years" rule when considering the inclusion of new inductees, which at least separates the wheat from the chaff simply by virtue of the passage of time. If only they had utilized such a rule regarding their list of the "200 Definitive Albums". As reported here in Rolling Stone, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has managed to compile the worst "greatest albums" list I have ever seen. It is embarrassing. It is beyond description. Many have concluded that it is, in fact, a prank. Ultimately it must be seen to be believed, but heed my warning - staring directly into the list may cause blindness:
The Definitive 200 - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
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6 comments:
I can certainly see why you are so upset with the list. I was not surprised by many of the choices because they are the same old, go to albums.
Just being curious, which albums in the top 25 do you think should be x-ed out? Rearranged? Added?
Another question - Do the albums have to be from bands that are actually in the Music Hall of Fame? It didn't look like it to me, but I'm no expert on such things.
No, much of that list is from bands that aren't in the HoF. To even be considered you have to be around for 25 years.
Thriller, Tapestry, Joshua Tree, Ten, Supernatural, Metallica, Back in Black, American Beauty, and Born to Run should not be in the top 25. Ten, Supernatural, Tapestry, Metallica, and Back in Black shouldn't be in the top 200 at all.
I am glad, however, to see Shania finally getting the critical respect she deserves.
If they had called this list '200 Popular Albums' it wouldn't bother anyone. But what if they made a list of movies called 'The Definitive 200' and put Lethal Weapon 2 ahead of Star Wars and 8 1/2?
Another problem is that this list is ridiculously artificial. No one anywhere would actually be happy owning these 200 albums. There is not a man alive that listens to Gearge Harrison's 'All Things Must Pass', pulls it out and puts on 50 Cent, and finishes up with some John Coltrane. Have any of the people who made this list even listened to A Love Supreme? I doubt it.
Now that I think about it, it's difficult to concieve of a method to even come up with this list. It's like they threw Rolling Stones list and random Top 100 lists from the 90's into a hat and just used whatever they pulled out, in the order they pulled them out. Oh, and then they put Sargeant Pepper's at the top because that's what everyone does.
And how the fuck did Kenny G get on that list? Even if your panel put him on there wouldn't the editors remove him just to avoid emarassment?
Here's what "Jim G" says in the comments section:
"What the RS piece does not mention is that the HOF list was co-sponsored by the 'National Association of Recording Merchandisers' and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. According to the Washington Post, the list 'was chosen by a committee of music retailers within NARM.'
Well no shit Sherlock. What's weird is that the HoF would want to willingly associate itself with such an unabashedly corporate, Billboard-esque list, given that their taste in inductees is much higher. As "AJ" says, "the rock and roll hall of fame should really stop letting their 11 year old sister choose albums to be on their list." Or as "Jared" says, "It’s almost as if they walked into Best Buy and picked up 200 albums at random…"
In response to ninquelote:
I'm not exactly upset so much as amused. It all depends on how many other lists of this type you've seen. If you've seen a lot of them, you can tell right away that this list isn't very credible.
The top 25 is actually not that bad. To say that certain albums "should" be there or "should not" be there is to invite a much longer argument about musical taste and rock criticism than one that I feel like going into right now. But I do feel safe in saying that, with a couple of possible exceptions, probably no album less than 10 years old should be in the top 25. So to me the most awkward inclusions are Supernatural and Come On Over. The rest at least all have their fans, and probably always will, whether I like it or not.
I can tell you which albums I PERSONALLY don't think belong in the top 25 (as Yoggoth did), but as you can see from the Rolling Stone comments page, there are a lot of wildly different ideas about rock among the general public. Some people actually seem to prefer the HoF list over the RS list because the HoF list recognizes more recent music and is less dominated by "Baby Boomer" music. I pretty much feel the exact opposite way. To me, the only thing to keep in mind with a "Greatest Albums" list or a "Greatest Movies" list is a sense of perspective. Namely, "What albums will still sound good 20 years from now?" Given that criteria, I find the RS list much more successful (they provide a link to it on their page, and I recommend taking a good perusal).
The HoF list really starts flying off the map after the top 25: Norah Jones, Dixie Chicks, The Grease Soundtrack, Whitney Houston, 50 Cent, Jewel, Usher, Kid Rock, Faith Hill, Linkin Park, Matchbox 20, Celine Dion, Natalie Cole, the Footloose Soundtrack, Toni Braxton, Will Smith, Avril Lavigne, Shakira, the Forrest Gump Soundtrack...These aren't even albums! It would be like listing the "200 Definitive Movies" and naming Girls Gone Wild 3 or something. There seems to be no central concept of "great album" at work. Instead it's just, "CDs that have sold a lot and keep selling." That's why the list is so bad. Some of these artists aren't even that popular anymore. Anita Baker? I didn't think anybody even remembered who she WAS. Most of these people would probably be laughing to find themselves on a "200 greatest albums" list.
Now if you want to have a debate about RS's 500 Greatest Albums list, then count me in, because at least that one is in the ballpark. But the HoF is more like a train wreck than a list.
The funny thing is that it seems like some of the people on the panel kinda took it seriously and others didn't at all.
I mentioned A Love Supreme before and it still amuses me to no end that it ended up on a list with the Titanic sdtrk. Not only is it like putting Girls Gone Wild 3 on a movie list, it's like putting it right after L'Age d'Or!
The list really is a keeper. They're never gonna live this down. I just want to know what the conversations were like between the people putting it together.
"So Al, how about Ziggy Stardust at number 171?"
"Yeah sure, and maybe...Shakira's Laundry Service at number 172."
"One just follows the other doesn't it?"
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