Rush on the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, "We don't care!"

[That 70s Guy]

blabbermouth.net

RUSH Guitarist: 'We Really, Really Don't Care' About Being Inducted Into ROCK HALL - June 18, 2012
In a brand new interview with RollingStone.com, guitarist Alex Lifeson of Canadian rock legends RUSH was asked how he feels about having yet to be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. "Honestly, we really, really don't care about it," he replied. "It's someone's thing, and they can do whatever they want with it. They can have whomever they like. It's their thing." He added, "It's a little bit different here in Canada. We've received awards that mean an awful lot more to us than being in the Hall Of Fame. We got the Governor General's Performing Arts Award a couple weeks ago. That's really the highest accolade you can get in this country for the performing arts, and it's recognized nationally, and I felt so proud as a Canadian to be in this esteemed group of artists that have been there for the last 20 years."

When asked if he and his bandmates would show up at the ceremony if they were eventually chosen to be inducted into the Rock Hall, Lifeson said, "I think we'd consider it at the time and just see where we're at. I mean, you don't want to be rude, and we're Canadians, and we find it very difficult to be rude as much as we'd really like to. [Laughs] So we'd probably have to look at that one, if it ever came. I know there must be pressure from their end. We keep going on and getting more popular…

"Look, there are a lot of other bands that should be in there before we should be in there... If the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame doesn't want us in there, that's fine. I don't care. It really, really doesn't matter at the end of the day. It's probably better left the way it is. There's more controversy for them and for us."

 

[zephead]

I am not sure why the hall of fame selectors are so against Prog Rock bands? Only Pink Floyd which is/comes close to this genre has been inducted so far.
Rock n roll hall of fame is an effing JOKE!!!

The greatest honor is that they are loved and adored by fans worldwide!

 

[stepcousin]

Rock n roll hall of fame is an effing JOKE!!!

The greatest honor is that they are loved and adored by fans worldwide!

I am assuming you are refering to Rush, and not the RnR HOF!!!

 

[LG]

The list of great bands not inducted is ridiculous and nice of Geddy to mention the legendary bands ahead of Rush not in there already.

Doesn't matter that much to me, I have every Rush album and their success over nearly 40 years making quality music puts them in the Absolute Elite category as musicians in my book.

 

[METALPRIEST]

I think Billy Corgan said it best in the Behind The Lighted Stage movie, that the RNRHOF didn't mean anything at the end of the day, and that rock and roll was a people's game and RUSH proved to win this race.

They keep on winning.

Would be FAIR to see them in, but not necessary

 

[Big Ears]

I am not sure of the purpose of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They claim their objective is to archive the history of the most influential and best-known artists and backroom staff, but I have not seen their criteria for 'history', 'most influential' and 'best known'. The basis for the location of their bizarre building in Cleveland seems dubious, in that it is where Alan Freed worked as a disc jockey. He was destroyed by payola and died an alcoholic, so it can hardly have claimed to have nurtured the birth of rock 'n' roll. The city happened to put up 65,000,000 dollars for the building.

Their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll, is described as a list complied by curator James Henke, with input from the museum’s staff, along with various rock critics and 'music experts'. I am always dubious of people who are self-proclaimed 'experts'. After all, they say self-praise is no praise at all. Few critics know their own mind, much less how to construct sentences which are truthful, economical and direct.

There are also stories of the organisation rigging results to ensure the induction of groups which reflect current fashions. For example, Grandmaster Flash, a rapper, was inducted in 2007, ahead of a British group, The Dave Clark Five, who had garnered more votes. Earlier, in 1998, even though the much maligned Danny Kirwan had been inducted as a part of Fleetwood Mac, Bob Welch was snubbed despite taking the band to LA.

In 2006, there was an embarrassing debacle, when Deborah Harry refused to allow key musicians, Nigel Harrison and Frank Infante, to perform with her group, following the induction of Blondie.

Usually, when someone says they don't care about something, they care a lot. Shakespeare's quote from Hamlet springs to mind, "The lady doth protest too much, methinks." Rush must be disappointed at being publicly spurned, when they have sold more records internationally, and in the US, than many American bands. I can only conclude that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is the result of collusion between Cleveland politicians, wealthy record companies and bullshit journalists . . . or perhaps I am just being cynical!

 

[zephead]

I am assuming you are refering to Rush, and not the RnR HOF!!!

Yup!

 

[Vehicle]

I am not sure of the purpose of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

 

[coltrane2]

It means nothing to the true music fan. Pretty confident that very few of the musically distinguised people on this very forum need a committee to tell them that Rush are one of THE classic bands in hard rock history.

To be honest, I think Jack Black's less than one minute "hard rock essential home work" listening list to the students in School of Rock (which included 2112) had more validity to it than RNRHOF.

 

[stepcousin]

yeah, I don't think I've ever met a rock fan who really hated Rush. Most people who say they don't care much for Rush really just don't "get" 'em, or haven't been properly intruduced to them (i.e. "listen to this album on headphones" or "crank this up when nobody else is home and read the lyrics along with it".