Great list. The nominating committee would do themselves a favor by reviewing it before meeting. It's helpful not only to think about who's not yet in the RRHoF but who is most-deserving of induction. I just wanted to highlight two artists I would consider omissions.
1. Gram Parsons: An extraordinarily important figure who is often considered the creator of country rock. His work with the Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers, and as a solo artist is really influential; ask none other than Keith Richards. Astonishingly, the Hall didn't induct Parsons with the Byrds when they had the chance. Instead of nominating him, maybe it makes more sense to honor him with a Musical Excellence Award.
2. Pink: According to Future Rock Legends, she's eligible this year. A lot of the commentary I've read so far about potential nominees has suggested there isn't an obvious first-year nominee. Those commentors haven't given enough consideration to Pink. Of all the pop acts that emerged at the turn of the millennium, she's had the longest, most durable career. She would be able to assemble a solid, filler-free greatest hits compilation. She gets great reviews as a live performer. Her music scans pop, but it also rocks, and she's got a rock and roll attitude. She has legions of loyal female fans who consider her music a tremendous source of strength and inspiration. People have grown out of Britney Spears and NSync, but they keep Pink in their playlists and aren't ashamed to to be fans. Pink hasn't reached elder status yet, but she deserves it for her ability, not unlike Dolly Parton, to reach across our cultural divides and win credibility in every corner of the country. She's way underrated, but she more than deserves the flowers.
Gram Parsons - When I started this Project 5 years ago, he was one of the artists I didn't know whether or not to rank him. In a perfect world, he would be going for a two-time induction (as a member of The Byrds, who were inducted FYE in 1991) and for his solo career. He was nominated thrice in the early 00s but hasn't appeared on a ballot in 20 years. My guess is that he would get a side category induction at this rate, likely for Musical Excellence. He is hugely influential and important, especially to the development and popularization of country-orientated rock.
Pink - She is not eligible (yet) for this Project (same applies to Linkin Park). In order to be considered for the Project, the artist must have been "overlooked" or "passed over" by the members of the Nominating Committee during their first year of eligibility. In other words, they have to be have been "snubbed" to be considered a Prospect for the Project (I hope that makes sense). That's why Lil Wayne and John Mayer are newly eligible to the Project and were swiftly ranked this year (they were first eligible last year).
I came up with my own metric recently and I've posted it over on FutureRockLegends a few times. It essentially ranks the likelihood of being on the ballot + induction via a 1 to 5 star rubric with acts with likely NO chance of making the ballot not even appearing on the list.
So I'll second Gram Parsons (as Jason also brought him up) as he's the highest ranked candidate on my list (3 out of 5 stars) that didn't appear on yours.
My ranking also includes a "tiebreaker" number (1 to 5) that groups the artists based on a rough estimate of how important they were to rock history which I figure gives them a slight edge on getting on the ballot or being inducted.
On my list but not yours:
Gram Parsons - *** (4)
Donny Hathaway - *** (2)
Chic - ** (4)
The Buzzcocks - ** (4)
Wilco - ** (4)
Love - ** (3)
Nick Cave - ** (3)
The Guess Who - ** (2)
Jim Croce - ** (2)
Brian Eno - * (5)
Nick Drake - * (5)
Captain Beefheart - * (4)
Flaming Lips - * (4)
Sleater-Kinney - * (4)
Rufus with Chaka Khan - * (3)
So, effectively, you missed two names with a real good shot and then some less likely ones that arguably may not deserve to make the Top 100 as far as prospect values are concerned. My metric purposely considers the likelihood of making a ballot coupled with actually getting inducted. In other words, those at the top of the food chain would likely block those that are lower ranked from getting in NOW but chances will improve as more of the biggest names are inducted.
My two 5-star candidates that I think are 100% inducted if they make a ballot appearance:
Outkast - ***** (5)
Diana Ross - ***** (4)
I also have this interesting placement given that I just don't feel the votes are there right now with a super populist-leaning electorate:
Joy Division-New Order - ** (5)
For what it's worth, my list drops below three stars for induction challenge before I even get to 40 names. I tend to believe that the actual near-term crop of candidates is usually only around 40 names in a given year.
I rank Maiden as * (5) so basically a shot at making the ballot and an outsider chance at induction but unlikely. I fully expect them to be on the ballot this year, fail to be inducted and be immediately side-doored via Musical Excellence.
Great list. The nominating committee would do themselves a favor by reviewing it before meeting. It's helpful not only to think about who's not yet in the RRHoF but who is most-deserving of induction. I just wanted to highlight two artists I would consider omissions.
1. Gram Parsons: An extraordinarily important figure who is often considered the creator of country rock. His work with the Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers, and as a solo artist is really influential; ask none other than Keith Richards. Astonishingly, the Hall didn't induct Parsons with the Byrds when they had the chance. Instead of nominating him, maybe it makes more sense to honor him with a Musical Excellence Award.
2. Pink: According to Future Rock Legends, she's eligible this year. A lot of the commentary I've read so far about potential nominees has suggested there isn't an obvious first-year nominee. Those commentors haven't given enough consideration to Pink. Of all the pop acts that emerged at the turn of the millennium, she's had the longest, most durable career. She would be able to assemble a solid, filler-free greatest hits compilation. She gets great reviews as a live performer. Her music scans pop, but it also rocks, and she's got a rock and roll attitude. She has legions of loyal female fans who consider her music a tremendous source of strength and inspiration. People have grown out of Britney Spears and NSync, but they keep Pink in their playlists and aren't ashamed to to be fans. Pink hasn't reached elder status yet, but she deserves it for her ability, not unlike Dolly Parton, to reach across our cultural divides and win credibility in every corner of the country. She's way underrated, but she more than deserves the flowers.
Thanks Jason for the kind words.
Gram Parsons - When I started this Project 5 years ago, he was one of the artists I didn't know whether or not to rank him. In a perfect world, he would be going for a two-time induction (as a member of The Byrds, who were inducted FYE in 1991) and for his solo career. He was nominated thrice in the early 00s but hasn't appeared on a ballot in 20 years. My guess is that he would get a side category induction at this rate, likely for Musical Excellence. He is hugely influential and important, especially to the development and popularization of country-orientated rock.
Pink - She is not eligible (yet) for this Project (same applies to Linkin Park). In order to be considered for the Project, the artist must have been "overlooked" or "passed over" by the members of the Nominating Committee during their first year of eligibility. In other words, they have to be have been "snubbed" to be considered a Prospect for the Project (I hope that makes sense). That's why Lil Wayne and John Mayer are newly eligible to the Project and were swiftly ranked this year (they were first eligible last year).
I came up with my own metric recently and I've posted it over on FutureRockLegends a few times. It essentially ranks the likelihood of being on the ballot + induction via a 1 to 5 star rubric with acts with likely NO chance of making the ballot not even appearing on the list.
So I'll second Gram Parsons (as Jason also brought him up) as he's the highest ranked candidate on my list (3 out of 5 stars) that didn't appear on yours.
My ranking also includes a "tiebreaker" number (1 to 5) that groups the artists based on a rough estimate of how important they were to rock history which I figure gives them a slight edge on getting on the ballot or being inducted.
On my list but not yours:
Gram Parsons - *** (4)
Donny Hathaway - *** (2)
Chic - ** (4)
The Buzzcocks - ** (4)
Wilco - ** (4)
Love - ** (3)
Nick Cave - ** (3)
The Guess Who - ** (2)
Jim Croce - ** (2)
Brian Eno - * (5)
Nick Drake - * (5)
Captain Beefheart - * (4)
Flaming Lips - * (4)
Sleater-Kinney - * (4)
Rufus with Chaka Khan - * (3)
So, effectively, you missed two names with a real good shot and then some less likely ones that arguably may not deserve to make the Top 100 as far as prospect values are concerned. My metric purposely considers the likelihood of making a ballot coupled with actually getting inducted. In other words, those at the top of the food chain would likely block those that are lower ranked from getting in NOW but chances will improve as more of the biggest names are inducted.
My two 5-star candidates that I think are 100% inducted if they make a ballot appearance:
Outkast - ***** (5)
Diana Ross - ***** (4)
I also have this interesting placement given that I just don't feel the votes are there right now with a super populist-leaning electorate:
Joy Division-New Order - ** (5)
For what it's worth, my list drops below three stars for induction challenge before I even get to 40 names. I tend to believe that the actual near-term crop of candidates is usually only around 40 names in a given year.
This is my predicted ballot for comparison:
Coldplay
The White Stripes
Fiona Apple
Daft Punk
Weezer
Beck
Bjork
OutKast
No Doubt
Mariah Carey
De La Soul
Pixies
Cyndi Lauper
Billy Idol
Iron Maiden
Bad Company
Diana Ross
Donny Hathaway
All are in my Top 40 and given a *** or higher ranking in my metric.
Oops. One exception.
I rank Maiden as * (5) so basically a shot at making the ballot and an outsider chance at induction but unlikely. I fully expect them to be on the ballot this year, fail to be inducted and be immediately side-doored via Musical Excellence.