The Case (Study) of KISS

While this blog is not about the merit of this or that act, the reasons KISS was Inducted are worth discussing, because they could help other bands (and genres) under the same situation. 

KISS was one of the most contentious inductions to the Rock Hall. The Hall seemed dead set on keeping them out… and yet, they did get inducted. Eligible since 2000, they did not get in until 2014, with only one other nomination along the way, in 2010— a decade after they were first eligible. 

I feel that there are two factors at work here, neither of which have to do with the quality of KISS’s music. They both have to do with the fact that the Hall is also a Museum. It’s right there in the full name of the place: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

The Museum set itself up, from the get-go, to embody a huge oxymoron; they want you to come see what you ordinarily only hear: music. So they have to have some things, some physical objects, to put in the displays, right?

And, say what you will about their musicality, few bands are a visually arresting as KISS. What are you going to display about, say, Nirvana? A flannel shirt? A notebook? With KISS, you have a guitar shaped like an executioner’s axe, and sky-high boots with skulls on the toes. Those, my friend, are some museum-quality artifacts worth selling tickets for.

Further, as a Museum, they need to sell tickets to stay open. And when tens of thousands of people— who call themselves an “army,” no less—  say they will not buy a ticket until you do a thing, but they will when you do do the thing, well… after a few years, you start to wonder if doing that thing just might be worth it.

TIME magazine once asked Spinal Tap to explain their longevity. They responded, and I’m paraphrasing: “We weren’t the strongest. We weren’t the smartest. But we were the loudest.” 

So there’s your lesson from KISS. You want your favorite band or genre in? Get organized, get stubborn... and get loud.

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/tom-morello-salutes-kiss-army-in-rock-hall-induction-speech-244529/

Oh My (Guitar) Gods

Even though we call them “gods,” there is a group of musicians not enshrined in the Rock Hall.

On the one hand, those who play guitars in bands get inducted as part of those bands, as Performers. On the other, those who play behind the bands, in the studio and on tour, can get in with the Award for Musical Excellence, formerly the “Sidemen” induction.

But on the, um, third hand, if you play guitar as a lead, but don’t sing? Then, even if you are a “guitar god,” you aren’t getting in.

Instrumentalists Miles Davis (trumpet) and Booker T. (keyboards) of the MGs are in. And many of those “guitar gods” who do sing... well, they do get in.

And Jeff Beck is in, yes, but he’s the lone exception (well... Carlos Santana doesn't sing much). None of the other “guitar gods” who are best known as, or are purely, instrumentalists have gotten in.

They have legions of fans (and tons of record and ticket sales). Their music, free from language, transcends borders and nationalities. And their musicianship is not simply unquestioned-- it is unparalleled.

Influence is a big part of eligibility, and these are the pioneers of the sounds that get picked up by the players in bands. They are “the guitarists’ guitarists.”

I remember a viewer’s poll about rock musicians in the ‘80s. Phil Collins was voted best drummer. Steve Winwood was voted best keyboard player. Mark Knopfler was voted best guitarist. 

Now, these guys are great, I thought— but are they the absolute very “best”? No, not really. Then I realized that they all sing. They were not the best, but they fronted their groups and so were the most familiar to fans.

The public can be forgiven for such biases. But the experts who run the Hall are supposed to know better.

This is an easy one. The list of universally acclaimed, non-signing “guitar gods” is small. While there may be valid disagreement on some individuals, a handful are absolute shoo-ins. They just need someone to, you know, actually shoo them in. It would only take a few rounds of inductions to right this wrong.

The Rock Hall is symbolized by a pyramid not unlike a mountain. The “guitar gods” should be elevated to its Olympus.

These are the greatest guitarists-- so why aren't so many of them in?https://www.guitarworld.com/features/the-100-greatest-guitarists-of-all-time

Update: Randy Rhoads got in with an Award for Musical Excellence in 2021. So maybe some who led bands with only a guitar and no vocals are next?

In 2023, Link Wray got in. He's not a guitar god per se, but he's in as an Early Influence and I think it's fair to say that the guitar gods are among the ones he influenced. 

Can You Rock Too Hard?

This is not a post about what counts, or does not, as “heavy metal.” But even by the widest, loosest definition of the term, it would be hard to argue that the genre has gotten its due from the Rock Hall, in terms of the number of metal bands inducted.

Sure, some acts simply do not rock hard enough to get in. But it is mystifying to consider that some acts seem to rock too hard.

Punk has the same issue. There are, at best, a half-dozen such acts in. This is even baffling-er, for while metal has a hard time pleasing rock critics, punk (and its makers) is often fawned over by them.

One of the things that make music “rock music” is that it makes someone twice your age bang on your door yelling, “Turn that crap down!” (Which is another good argument for why rap belongs in the Rock Hall).

There is little music, these days, that evokes that codger-ly rage. But metal and punk still can.

As someone who is eligible for an AARP card, I think it’s OK for me to say that keeping metal and punk out of the Hall reeks of “Get off my lawn”-ism.

If they are going to raise their cane at you, raise some Cain right back, you noisy kids. Someday, you’ll make it past the lawn and right up into the Hall.  

https://wmmr.com/2020/01/17/the-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-has-a-heavy-metal-problem-2/

https://ew.com/article/2001/12/27/punk-rock-enters-hall-fame/

Update: Randy Rhoads was inducted with a Musical Excellence award in 2021... and that's fair, he was mostly an accompanist, which is what this award is for. But then in 2022, Judas Priest were also inducted... also for Musial Excellence. Even though they are a whole band, you know, not a bunch of sidemen. Still, they were graciously overjoyed at being in the Rock Hall, despite what I consider getting the Miss Congeniality sash. 

In 2023, Rage Against the Machine got in after multiple attempts. I feel the Induction is deserved, but wonder if the holdup was over concerns of conflict of interest, since the band's lead singer is very active in the Hall's nomination process.