Earlier this week, U2, the Pretenders and a few others were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and I had the same reaction I do whenever I hear anything about it: So what. The whole idea of a Hall of Fame for rock n roll is ridiculous. If nothing else, rock n roll celebrates the freedom of youth. Even the most commercial rock n roll has an anti-institutional undercurrent to it. Even fake rock n roll (every generation has a Limp Bizkit, you know) tries to appear to thumb its nose at the “establishment.” And then we have the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame standing as a monument, not to the artists inside, but to the forces that are killing what made them great. It’s absurd. Music isn’t sports. It shouldn’t be competitive. And it’s not just about the big artists. It would dry up and die without kids starting bands in garages the world over. The Hall of Fame ignores that and instead celebrates the celebrity of the elite few, at least some of whom have surely forgotten why they started playing in the first place.
