2019 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominee lineup the coolest, most competitive in years
The latest batch of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees were announced Tuesday morning on SiriusXM’s Volume channel, and the good news is, the class of 2019 is a straight-A lineup, featuring deserving (and sometimes previously ludicrously overlooked) luminaries of techno, R&B, hip-hop, post-punk, new wave, folk, and glam rock. So what’s the bad news? The Rock Hall committee is spoiled for choice this time around and faces a daunting task narrowing down these worthy contenders to the top vote-getters who will make it to the induction ceremony next year.
Here’s Yahoo Entertainment breakdown of the nominees.
The Cure — One of the most influential bands of the 1980s and the voice of an entire doomed generation, the Cure have been shortlisted for the Hall twice but passed over. In general, what one anonymous insider snarkily dubbed “mascara bands” of the early-’80s new wave era (Depeche Mode, Joy Division, the Smiths, Duran Duran) have been snubbed by the Hall. But these Goth godfathers, who just celebrated their 40th anniversary at London’s Hyde Park, could (and should) change all that.
Kraftwerk — It could be argued that all electronic music — the synthpop bands and sampledelic hip-hop turntablists of the ’80s, the electronica explosion of the ’90s, the superstar DJs of today’s festival circuit and Vegas megaclubs — can be traced back in some way to these German techno pioneers. Their influence simply cannot be overstated. Incredibly (and downright criminally), this is Kraftwerk’s fifth nomination.
Janet Jackson — In the #MeToo era, it seems like all the world is rallying around Jackson — whose career tragically stalled after the “Nipplegate” scandal at Super Bowl LII (reportedly due to the dastardly scheming of disgraced CBS executive Les Moonves), while her equally responsible halftime duet partner, Justin Timberlake, walked away unscathed. Jackson’s recent politically charged “State of the World” tour was a massive success; she just received the Icon Award at the Billboard Music Awards; and she’s finally being rightfully heralded as the forerunner to triple-threat divas like Beyoncé and Rihanna. A 2019 induction would be the perfect way for the three-time Rock Hall nominee to wrap up Miss Jackson’s comeback story arc.
Def Leppard — The Sheffield pop-metal survivors boast one of the greatest against-all-odds, triumph-from-ashes stories in all of rock ’n’ roll, and their production experiments with Mutt Lange on Pyromania and especially the 25 million-selling Hysteria changed the game for commercial hard rock. This is Lep’s first nomination — but following the recent Hall inductions of Bon Jovi, KISS, and their 2018 tourmates Journey, it seems like it’s their time, especially when you factor in fan voting.
Roxy Music — The British art-rockers, featuring suave and androgynous crooner Bryan Ferry and, in one incarnation, ambient pioneer Brian Eno (both of whom truly deserve their own solo Rock Hall nominations), were at the forefront of both Britain’s 1970s glam scene and ’80s New Romantic movement. And yet they’ve never been nominated until now.
Radiohead — One of the most fearless, experimental, and critically loved bands of the ’90s and beyond, the arty Oxford quintet were nominated in 2017, in their first year of eligibility. It was actually a shock that they didn’t make it through then. They’re basically the Pink Floyd of their generation and practically a genre unto themselves, and the Hall has been kind to ’90s alternative rock bands (Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers). So the second time will likely be the charm for Thom Yorke and company.
LL Cool J — LL’s fellow rap trailblazers Grandmaster Flash, Run-D.M.C., Public Enemy, the Beastie Boys, N.W.A., and Tupac Shakur have all made it into the Hall. But Queens, N.Y.’s finest, James Todd Smith — the man who put Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin’s Def Jam Records on the map with the label’s first single, “I Need a Beat” — has now been nominated five times.
Devo — Casual fans might know them as that “Whip It” band, but these energy-domed, intellectual Ohio art-poppers were never a novelty act. The cult band pushed forward the new wave medium (and the art of music video) in endlessly creative ways and made it hip to be square, and no one ever sounded or looked like them before or since. This is their first-time nomination, and they’re a long shot for sure, but they’re completely deserving.
Stevie Nicks — The witchy woman is already in the Hall with Fleetwood Mac, but this is her first solo nomination. If Nicks were to make the cut, she’d be the first female artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice.
Todd Rundgren — The uncategorizable Todd the God’s storied career, both solo and with bands like the Nazz and the recently reunited Utopia, have run the gamut from pure powerpop to bizarro prog-rock. And that’s not even counting his groundbreaking production for everyone from Meat Loaf to the New York Dolls to XTC, his visionary early music videos, or the fact that he was the first musician to present and market his work solely on the internet, way back in the ’90s. How has Rundgren not been nominated before? If he doesn’t make it in, he deserves a special honor like the one Nile Rodgers received in 2017.
Rage Against the Machine — Like Radiohead, RATM were nominated last year in their first year of eligibility. They too were passed over, but in this politically turbulent era, Rage’s message is more relevant and needed than ever, and their induction would make a real statement. It remains to be seen if older, stodgier Hall voters are willing to make that statement.
MC5 — The Detroit punk forefathers and radical political activists, who were nominated last year, recorded their incendiary live debut, Kick Out the Jams, 50 years ago this month. It still sounds as relevant and ferocious as ever, and surviving member Wayne Kramer, at age 70, is currently playing the album in its entirety with an all-star “MC50” lineup that includes Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil, Fugazi’s Brendan Canty, Faith No More’s Billy Gould, Zen Guerrilla’s Marcus Durant, and special guests like Guns N’ Roses’ Duff McKagan and the Afghan Whigs’ Greg Dulli. They’re definitely an outlier here, but just like with RATM, MC5’s inclusion during such politically dark times would be noteworthy.
The Zombies — This is the fourth appearance on the Rock Hall ballot for the British Invasion pioneers, whose “Time of the Season” captured the spirit of the late ’60s, and whose brilliant orch-pop concept album Odessey and Oracle is considered one of the greatest LPs of any decade.
John Prine — The Americana legend — one of the most heralded singer-songwriters of his generation, whose compositions have been recorded by Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, Kris Kristofferson, George Strait, Bette Midler, Paul Westerberg, Dwight Yoakam, and others — is also a first-time Hall nominee.
Rufus featuring Chaka Khan — This is the third nomination for the Chicago funk/soul collective that famously launched the career of one of the greatest R&B divas of all time.
A voting pool of more than 1,000 artists, historians, journalists, and music industry professionals will select the 2019 inductees, along with fans who can vote online or in person at the Rock Hall’s Cleveland museum. The final inductees will be announced later this year and honored at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on March 29, 2019.
Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:
The Cure at 40: How Robert Smith became an enduring, unlikely rock star
The sugar-sweet, bittersweet story of Def Leppard’s ‘Hysteria’
Hello, it’s him: Todd Rundgren returns with all-star album ‘White Knight’
Kraftwerk at L.A.’s Disney Hall: 4 nights, 8 albums, all in 3D
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