I do this every year — I vote for the latest class of Rock Hall nominees, and then I share my ballot. This is my rationale, which I always state before I begin: I started voting for the Rock Hall in 2021. Before that, I spent a lot of time online complaining about the Rock Hall. I still complain about the Rock Hall online. Therefore, I feel like it is only fair to make my ballot public, so that people can complain about me if they want. (Don’t worry, I won’t hear it, you will be muted.)
Before I share my ballot, here are some disclaimers — most will sound familiar, though at least one is not.
1) There are 14 nominees this year. I did not pick the nominees. I do not know how the nominees are picked. Do not blame me for the nominees. Do not say, “Why didn’t you vote for Warren Zevon?” as that is not an option this year. (I wish it were, but it is not.)
2) “But why are there non-rock acts nominated for the Rock Hall?” Sir, this question has been asked and answered one billion times. I will not waste time addressing it here.
3) You are allowed to vote for seven acts. There are no write-ins.
4) I have no idea how much weight the fan vote is given but my guess is “not much.”
5) This is the most nineties rock-centric class that I can ever remember. And that makes me happy, as I have historically railed about how nineties alternative and indie music remains criminally under-represented in the Rock Hall. (The treatment of eighties alternative and indie is actually much worse — sadly, no remedy for that this year.) Anyway, my votes reflect my gratitude for this development.
6) I understand that you might believe that the Rock Hall “does not really matter” and that you might “not give a rat’s ass about who is voted in.” That is all well and good. Nobody is forcing you to care. You may exit the conversation now.
Okay, let’s get to the ballot.
Bad Company
A quintessential classic-rock radio band. If you have a radio station in your town known as “The Bear” or “The Eagle,” there’s a good chance they are playing “Can’t Get Enough” or “Feel Like Makin’ Love” at this very moment. Rock Hall voters appear dead set on inducting every last notable rock group of the seventies, so I would bet on them making it. And while I’m not personally a fan, I can appreciate their legacy. The frontman, Paul Rodgers, is viewed as one of the great singers of this era of arena rock. And guitarist Mick Ralphs comes from one of my personal glam-rock faves, Mott The Hoople.
They don’t have my vote, but if they make it I won’t be mad (or surprised).
My vote: No.
The Black Crowes
Maybe the biggest surprise of this year’s nominees, though in my case it’s a pleasant one. (There’s another nominee coming up that is just shockingly bad, but we’ll get to that.) I have long been a supporter of The Black Crowes, to the point of co-writing a book about the band with their former drummer and my current good friend, Steve Gorman. So, I won’t even pretend to be unbiased here. But allow me to make a quick case to other voters out there: The Black Crowes are a secretly influential band! Not so much on contemporary rock music, per se, but on that intersection of rock, country, blues, and folk presently classified as “Americana.” It’s fair to assume that any southern musician who has come of age in the past 30 years has spent a lot of time in bars where “She Talks To Angels” and “Remedy” were playing ad nauseum, and the osmosis effect of that is discernible. Also, at their peak — the “classic” lineup from 1992 to ’97 — they were simply one of the finest live bands of their time, a hard-rocking and jammy outfit that marks the midpoint of two other bands we will discuss in a minute, Oasis and Phish.
My vote: (Hell) Yes.
Mariah Carey
I thought she was a shoo-in last year, so I will be doubly shocked if she doesn’t make it now. I’ll just repeat what I wrote last year: “The most famous and commercially successful nominee this year. Twenty years ago, her stock was at rock bottom in the wake of the Glitter debacle. But now, she is pretty much universally beloved. She has sold 220 million records worldwide, she has the record for most No. 1 singles by a solo act (19), she owns the most popular Christmas song of all-time, and even Glitter is now considered a cult classic.”
I didn’t think she needed my vote last year, which I guess was technically wrong. But I really don’t think she needs it now.
My vote: No.
Chubby Checker
A truly preposterous nomination, and I say that as a fan of his collaboration with The Fat Boys. With that, I cede the rest of my time to Vic Berger.
My vote: No.
Joe Cocker
Great singer. Also a distinctive singer, which is different but arguably more important. His Woodstock appearance is obviously iconic. And the Mad Dogs And Englishmen album is one of my favorites. He also recorded a ton of dreck after the early seventies. In most years, that wouldn’t bother me. But this year, given the competition, it’s a liability.
My vote: No.
Billy Idol
As a person whose earliest musical memories involve watching MTV as a young (possibly too young) kid in the early eighties, I have some affection for Billy Idol. It’s possible that he was the first “punk” coded singer I ever heard. (Though The Clash’s “Rock The Casbah” was also popular at the time, so I was luckily getting some Joe Strummer face time as well.) And I still like his most famous songs, including “Dancing With Myself,” “White Wedding,” “Eyes Without A Face,” and the cover of “Mony Mony.” I even enjoy cornball early nineties fare like “Rock The Cradle Of Love” and “L.A. Woman.” But I go back to one of my base criteria for Rock Hall voting: Can you write the history of popular music without this person? With Billy, I think the answer is “yes,” and therefore my answer must be “no.”
My vote: No.
Joy Division/New Order
I didn’t vote for this awkwardly packaged combo in 2023 because I naively assumed that two of the most important post-punk bands ever were a slam-dunk for induction. Alas, I was wrong. I’m not making the same mistake this time.
My vote: Yes.
Cyndi Lauper
I also didn’t vote for Cyndi in 2023 because I thought she was a shoo-in. Despite my love for She’s So Unusual, one of the greatest debuts of the eighties or any other decade. Given the relative lack of women on this year’s ballot, I actually think she’s got a very good shot in 2025. If I’m wrong again, I will feel bad about it.
My vote: No.
Manà
Kudos to the Rock Hall for nominating one of the world’s most popular Mexican bands. But I can’t even pretend here: I know nothing about them other than once hearing a glancing comment about how they’re the Mexican Bon Jovi. I apologize if that’s a mischaracterization!
My vote: No.
Oasis
Anyone who knows anything about me is already aware of how I’m voting here, and not only because I voted for them last year. I thought it was, frankly, incredibly moronic that Oasis wasn’t inducted in 2024. Though maybe, given their upcoming reunion tour this year, the honor is more adequately timed for 2025. Regardless, Oasis remains one of the precious few nineties rock bands that is at all relevant to younger generations, to say nothing of their status as the defining British rock group of the last 30 years. Put them in already, you bozos!
My vote: (Hell) Yes.
Outkast
I could have sworn that I voted for Outkast at least once before. But while they have been eligible since 2019, this is their first nomination. Also, they’re the only hip-hop act on the ballot this year. Perhaps people have forgotten this, but Outkast was the most culturally significant and beloved American musical act of the early aughts — not rap act, but musical act. Pretty much everybody agreed they were great. They had huge hits. They swept year-end critics’ lists. They won Grammys. Indie-rock bands covered their songs (particularly “Ms. Jackson”) like sixties bands reviving blues standards. I can’t think of a comparable “consensus” act from my lifetime, other than Thriller era Michael Jackson. Did I vote for them? Of course I did! Anyone who doesn’t is a fool!
My vote: Yes.
Phish
Similar to The Black Crowes, this nomination was somewhat surprising, but also (in my view) richly deserved. Simply put, Phish successfully created a world around their music that was independent of the mainstream music business. Even more than the Grateful Dead, they garnered a following large enough to fill stadiums without servicing radio with hit singles or playing the game in any remotely conventional sense. That they did this while constantly challenging audiences with long, unpredictable (and frequently brilliant) concerts largely composed of improvised music only makes their career achievements more impressive. For decades, music critics dismissed them out of hand, based mostly on outmoded (and plain ignorant) clichés about drug-addled hippies and noodly guitar solos. The lack of critical curiosity about this kind of music amounts to journalistic malpractice, though Phish obviously proved that building a career without the media results in a much stronger long-term foundation.
My vote: (Hell) Yes.
Soundgarden
In their time they were widely respected but less successful than their fellow Seattle brethren, Nirvana and Pearl Jam. So perhaps it’s fitting that those groups preceded Soundgarden into the Rock Hall. Though, at the same time, it’s extremely not fitting, given Soundgarden’s roots in the American indie underground of the eighties. This is an often-overlooked part of their history — long before grunge, Soundgarden was on the same label as Black Flag and the Minutemen. Of course, neither of those bands are in yet either, another remnant of the Rock Hall’s shameful treatment of a prime decade for American rock music.
My vote: Yes.
The White Stripes
Like Outkast, this one was one of the consensus favorites of aughts-era music, a fact also weirdly lost to time. In recent “best albums” lists like last year’s Apple 100, The White Stripes don’t rate at all, no matter the continued sportsball relevance of “Seven Nation Army.” And they didn’t get in when nominated in 2023. I suspect that’s related in part to Jack White’s unfortunate latter-day reputation as a scold, though that shouldn’t affect his artistic reputation, which over the course of The White Stripes’ career is practically flawless.
My vote: Yes.
