Listening Post received nearly 500 comments after asking, as Colbert did, whether or not Rush deserves to go to Cleveland. But this year's nominations for 2009 induction are in, and Metallica made the list. Wired Nation, start your difference engines.
According to the Associated Press, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame also selected The Stooges, Run-D.M.C., Jeff Beck, Wanda Jackson, Little Anthony and the Imperials, War, Bobby Womack, and Chic. Whittle that list as you like, but I think it would be fair to say that The Stooges helped create punk and garage, and Run-D.M.C. not only rocked but also spearheaded hip-hop's crossover into the mainstream. Done and done.
But Metallica? How does one judge the idea? The metal legend has sold mountains of records, so according to Hall of Fame haters, it's already in. Sales are the only reason the institution exists, they argue.
Then again, the early Metallica coded the new millennium's iteration of epic metal. Sure, the later Metallica spent its life trying to turn back the clock, but it also accumulated platinum, art, enemies and therapists with accelerating ease. It's a think piece.
this audio or video is no longer availablePersonally, I think the band is a lock, although I don't think it it deserves it. In a perfect world filled with a Hall of Fame that makes collective sense, The Stooges would have already been inducted, and same goes for Run-D.M.C. But that's just one reporter's opinion. Yours are the opinions that matter.
Photo: Metallica @ MySpace
See Also:
- Settle the Beef: Does Rush Deserve the Hall of Fame?
- Universal Cancels Metallica Interview over Torrent Mention
- Analysis: Metallica's Death Magnetic Sounds Better in Guitar Hero
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- Video: Metallica Press Conference
- Fans Rip Metallica a New One
- Can Metallica Resurrect Puppets, Save Face?
- Lars Ulrich Fine with Metallica Album Leak
