It’s been said that the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame Inductions are…well, lame. On the one hand, they surely have sponsors breathing down their necks to pick the biggest names for induction. They’ve reportedly passed up many acts, but I suppose a rumour is only that. It may also explain why acts like Lynyrd Skynyrd and AC/DC have seen inductions before…say….Yes. Not that I’m a huge fan of Yes, but you see where I’m going with this.

On the other hand, you have the entire music community (most of which is displeased with every facet of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) criticizing pretty much everything about the museum, the nomination process, and the ceremony. The Hall of Fame gets criticized for not inducting enough acts, for inducting too many acts, for snubbing artists for too many years, for nominating artists their first year of eligibility, etc. You can’t ever please everyone. Surely, Metallica fans would sooner die than see Madonna inducted. We may actually have a mass suicide on our hands very soon.

The nominees for the 2008 Hall of Fame inductions were announced yesterday, and are they ever odd, and arguably Rock and Roll-less. First, you have The Dave Clark Five. Jann Wenner (founder) was accused of using the excuse of a technicality to induct Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five over The Dave Clark Five this year after a hiphopless 2006. Madonna and The Beastie Boys are the most eye-catching on the list this year, making it easy for a backlash that mostly revolves around the meaning of the term “Rock and Roll.” Other nominees include Leonard Cohen, Afrika Bambaataa, John Mellencamp, The Ventures, Donna Summer and Chic (yup…Chic).

Noticeably missing are Journey (again), Chicago (again), Kiss (again), and every other prog-rock band ever. The question is, is this really a concern? Would you like Kiss to get precedent over an artist like Madonna or Beastie Boys simply because they do not fall into the extremely loose category of “Rock and Roll”? What is Rock and Roll exactly? Madonna…is arguably…the most rock and roll you can get without being the Sex Pistols (see below). Both her and the Beasties practically defined the MTV Generation in their own way (when MTV actually had a generation), and both are equally influential in their respective genres.Both are more than deserving of their first year nominations, regardless of the fact that they are not technically rock acts. The Hall of Fame managed a pretty diverse list this year, what with an instrumental rock band, a disco funk act, a hip hop DJ, a poet…it’s exhausting. While it’s nice to recognize achievement in so many different aspects of popular music, it’s so blatantly calculated to be eclectic, that it’s…well, lame. I can’t really think of a better word than ‘lame.’ Of course, if the list of nominees included 9 rock bands, I’d be bitching about the lack of musical diversity. Figures.

I’d like to know if the artists actually care as much about this induction as the fans do. It seems to me that Wenner just wanted to find a way to bring Rolling Stone magazine to life, picking favorites for the biggest critics list ever and then getting to watch them perform and be in his museum. The Sex Pistols may have put everything into perspective last year by turning down their invitation to perform at the ceremony. They responded to their induction last year with this hand written note that is barely legible. “Next to the Sex Pistols, rock and rock and that hall of fame is a piss stain…we’re not coming. Your not paying attention.” Ironically, it does not get any more Rock and Roll than that.