The Hall still needs more women, queer folks, people of color, and underground music. But this class is an improvement in the overall picture of popular music of the past 50 years.

Ed Sullivan going in is very funny because he famously hated rock and roll. It’s like Frankenstein’s Monster going into the Fire HOF.

I approve of all of the Early Influence folks: MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, Gram Parsons, Fela Kuti, and Celia Cruz.

As a wannabe producer of my own dumb songs, I’m also cool with 3/4 of the producers/songwriters getting in (J. Miller, A. Martin, L. Creed). But fuck Rick Rubin for political reasons.

The ballot has been announced, and I predicted 6/8 that got in. No Mariah Carey, instead Phil Collins and Billy Idol got in. This is dumb, but I’m happy for Maiden, JD/NO, Sade, Vandross, and Wu-Tang. I feel fine about Oasis.

This is triggering

[slurps newly harvested milk from a sea creature on Ahch-To]

#NoKings

This is XFL erasure

Talking Twin Peaks

Every day Instagram shows me the first 2/3 of a Threads post, and curiosity gets the better of me. The surrounding posts fall into one of 4 categories: Trump horseshit, people using the magic text to try to entrap perverts, cranky Gen X libs, or Stan accounts for things like “70s bush.” What an app!

I second Walt in saying 👀👀👀

Which is funnier: Lee "The Refrigerator" Perry or William "Scratch" Perry?

I think Buckley is a crazy talent, I just don’t know if the body of work is there. If they inducted albums, GRACE would get in.

Re: Shakira, I just think that if you want to open the Hall to Latin artists (and they 100% should), I would start elsewhere. I don’t disagree that she eventually deserves a spot, I just like things going in a more linear direction

Re: Buckley, again, put in Elliott Smith or Nick Drake first.(1/2)

OH SHIT I forgot that Salt n Peppa got in last year in a side category! I'll swap them out for...TLC

LOL. For me, the Rock Hall needs to celebrate artists who are bigger than one moment, and she just has one moment, sadly. And like I said, I enjoy her!

Thanks pal

After 1999?

See you all next year.

But as a reminder, this would be my pie in the sky ballot:

The B-52s
Pixies
Hüsker Dü
De La Soul
The Monkees
Salt N Peppa
Os Mutantes

The voters get seven votes. If I had a ballot, my seven would be:

Mariah Carey
Iron Maiden
Joy Division/New Order
Oasis
Sade
Luther Vandross
Wu-Tang Clan

Wu-Tang Clan: as previously established, ain’t nothing to fuck with. Another slam dunk.

Luther Vandross: I would induct him solely on his “Young Americans” backing vocals. Not nearly enough soul in the Hall, and you don’t get more deserving in that genre than Luther.

Shakira: see what I said about P!nk. BUT, Shakira would get a world/latinx artist in, and that’s a plus. But I would still want the artists who paved her path in first.

Sade: Hell. Yes. This checks so many boxes: female fronted, mixed race band (yes, Sade is a band and the lead singer’s name), innovative and influential l.

P!nk: this is way too early when there are MANY female pop artists who have been around longer and deserve it just as much if not more, but she’ll get in one day and I won’t complain. Hits for days.

Oasis: this isn’t interesting or exciting, but they just had the biggest tour of the year and have six songs you still hear in CVS. Plus it’s a story. They’ll get in this year.

New Edition: a lot of hits, still around, will clearly perform at the ceremony. But I can’t help but feel like there are a ton of pop/r&b acts that are clearly more deserving and overdue.