Not that anybody in their right mind cares but… why are these guys not in the hall of fame?
I know he doesn’t care because he is dead but why the hell is Tony Wilson not in the rock and roll hall of fame? Factory Records were the most important record company of the late 1970s and early 1980s. If all they had done is recorded Joy Division and New Order it would have been enough. But between the manchester club the Hacienda and hand shake deals with all his artists, Happy Mondays, A Certain Ratio, all of them, he made a different kind of label-band relationship, one that could well be the blueprint for all the Saddlecreeks, Sub Pops and Matadors of he world.
And as long as Tony is in what about Joy Division? Their goth dance rock is the template for indie rock to this day. How can you leave them out? And if we’re putting Joy Division in, can we leave the Smiths out.
How about some writers. Whether Wenner likes him or hates him shouldn’t Lester Bangs -the poet laureat of rock criticism- be in here. How about Christgau? If Wenner can put himself in can’t he put any one else in?
How about T-Rex? Cliff Richard and the Shadows? The Jam? The Sex Pistols and the Clash, yes. The Jam, no? One of the most beloved of all English rock bands but I guess they didn’t sell enough stateside.
Is there nobody from France? Why not Serge Gainsborg? Sure, Jann probably didn’t like him but hey he invented sex on “Je T’Aime Moi Non Plus” and invented lounge leche rock thereby giving careers to everyone from Scott Walker to Pulp.
Come to think of it, where is Chic? Where is Casablanca records? What about Giorgio Moroder -not just for disco but having so many brilliant bass and drum patterns sampled by rap. Where is rap without Morodor?
WHERE THE FUCK IS LA HARDCORE? Minutemen, the Germs, Husker Du, Black flag…???
Actually, now I’m getting a little pissed off so I think I’ll stop with one more thought:
In the end, and all appearances notwithstanding, the hall Of fame are a bunch of insulated assholes who have a little list and a pin each name. It’s the hall of fame for people who don’t much like rock. Fuck em.
