I don't know about you guys, but I've come to think that the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame is a steaming crock o' shit, its members determined by a room full of geriatrics pretending they're still relevant in an industry that left them behind decades ago. (Oops, the Pynchon must be getting to me.) Check out the list of inductees and you'll see that it's laughably scattershot, almost as if bands were chosen by free association.But I happened to catch Eddie Vedder's induction speech for R.E.M. the other night, and I must say it was rather moving. Mr. Vedder is actually a pretty funny guy, and much more self-deprecating than I would have suspected. Michael Stipe and Peter Buck said a few heartfelt thanks, and then the band proceeded to rip into "Begin the Begin," "Gardening At Night," "Man on the Moon," and the Stooges' "I Wanna Be Your Dog."
Today I've spent the morning listening to the R.E.M. albums that had a profound impact on me in high school. (That would be Reckoning, Fables of the Reconstruction, and Lifes Rich Pageant, in case you're curious.) And I must say, I'd forgotten how good this stuff is. So maybe the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame does serve some noble purpose after all, to remind us of what made these bands so amazing in the first place. Maybe it's not just some bullshit marketing ploy to help drive tourist traffic to the museum.
On the other hand, I'm not sure it counts if the noble purpose is unintended.
5 comments:
As long as I live, I will never understand why the RR HOF isn't in Memphis.
And Murmur is also a great album. After 'Fables' I pretty much lost interest in REM, though. That said, those first few albums were transcendent.
Only things with measurable statistics should be allowed to be called Halls of Fame. They would get less flack (but also less press) if it was simply called the Rock 'n Roll Museum. But a "Hall of Fame" doesn't just inform and celebrate, it judges. No one's indignant if a museum has some pictures in it they don't care for, or doesn't have a single neo-impressionist represented. But a Hall of Fame is rigorously accountable in a way nothing as subjective as music really should be. REM: yes, Murmur, Reckoning and I'd add that first EP, what the hell was the name of it? Gardening at night was on there.
Chronic Town, my newbie friend. And I agree with your sentiments 100% re: Halls of Fame v. Museums. Especially in something as amorphous as rock and roll music, its really difficult to figure out what it even means. Should James Brown be in the RRHOF? He is, and I have no problem with that, but another type of purist might. And Grandmaster Flash? I'm glad he's in there- I think the Furious Five and Public Enemy rock far harder than a lot of 'rock' bands, but others might beg to differ.
As for REM, I've remained a fan. I don't know that they 'matter' any more, but they have remained sonically adventurous even if the results are often dull, if you know what I mean.
Ah yes, Chronic Town, with that gargoyle on the cover. Go raibh maith agat, as they say in the gaelic.
Sonically adventurous is a good way to put it with REM. And it does seem like Memphis would've been a more historically relevant spot for it than Cleveland.
Ping goes the nail on the head, on all counts.
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