A page in a sociology textbook shows two photos— one of businesspeople in suits and ties, and one of hippies in fringed vests and bellbottom jeans. The caption for both?
“Conformity.”
Even nonconformists tend to conform… to each other. They rebel in the same way, forming their own norms. As my college roommate, who showed me the textbook, put it, “What if I totally believed everything the hippies did, but felt most comfortable in a rugby shirt and khakis? Wouldn’t that be truly rebellious?”
How many acts in the Rock Hall are truly like no other, in the Hall or outside it? Yes, many acts are unique, but they still fall within certain parameters.
Their songs have verses and choruses. And a 2/4 or 4/4 beat. And they use guitars, basses, drums, and keys.
Truly “out there” acts, where the music— not just the fashions— stretch the boundaries of what “music” even is? Not so much.
I can think of only a couple of acts in the Hall like this, whose music is abstract, unpredictable, left-field… just plain weird.
Then again, maybe such acts don’t belong in a hall of fame. Maybe the simple fact of their incomprehensible unapproachability keeps them being niche acts with relatively few, if ardent, fans.
Still, it would be nice to have a few more of the most influential ones in there. Putting some more in the Hall would certainly raise the profile of those artists…
And what is rock music, if not a series of sounds that raise an eyebrow or two?
Update: In 2023 eyebrow-raiser Missy Elliott was Inducted as a performer.
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