Meet The Nominees Vol. 10

Soundgarden

Every once in a while the musical scene in a particular region becomes a centerpiece of the larger culture, and Seattle in the early 90s was a prime example. Soundgarden was one of the premiere components of that scene and they were trailblazers to boot, having released their first major label album while Nirvana were still on Sub Pop Records. Chris Cornell was arguably the best pure singer from that batch of bands in addition to being a compellingly charismatic frontman, and guitarist Kim Thayil is an exceptionally talented musician.

Part of what made them so successful was that while they were clearly a major example of the grunge sound and feel, at the same time they didn’t sound terribly different from many of the classic hard rock bands who proceeded them. As a result, even after the grunge craze began to wane, they never felt out of place on the radio. Those monster riffs and passionate vocals were timeless and not dated. In other words, they were emblematic of their time but were not too beholden to that era.

They clearly have a lot of fans among the movers and shakers. There was a Soundgarden tribute held during the induction ceremony the year that Cornell died, and I can’t recall such a tribute previously occurring for someone who wasn’t already in the Hall. There is once again the concern that multiple artists on this year’s ballot that are in the same lane may siphon votes away from each other, but the prominence of Cornell and Thayil might help them stand out from the pack. It would be fitting if they could join Nirvana and Pearl Jam in forming a Seattle trinity in the Hall.

If elected, would they perform at the ceremony? I think so, the surviving members have frequently performed together in recent years under assorted permutations. I don’t think they would have much trouble recruiting a big name to step in on vocals. The speech portion would be awkward, as there have been multiple lawsuits and counter suits filed between Cornell’s widow and the other band members.

Biggest Billboard Hot 100 hit - This one has an asterisk attached. Billboard’s chart policy for a long time was that a song was ineligible to chart without a physical single, but record companies were hesitant to release singles from rock acts for much of the 90s, hoping to force fans to purchase full albums instead. The policy didn’t change until the end of the decade, or long after Soundgarden’s commercial peak. As a result, Black Rain - which is far from their most famous or beloved hit - is the only song of theirs to hit the Hot 100, peaking at a whopping #96. Had it been eligible to chart, their biggest hit would have been Black Hole Sun.

My personal favorite - Burden In My Hand

Possible Side Category Inductee - Rick Rubin

This is one that’s only a matter of time & I’m frankly a bit surprised that it hasn’t happened already. He has had an impressive career, the genesis of which came when he started one of the most important record labels in history from his NYU dorm room. Slightly more impressive than what I & most of my acquaintances did in their dorms. He went on to produce records for a tremendously wide range of artists, often contributing mightily to their creative and/or commercial peaks.

The litany of artists on his resume is stunning in its breadth. Initially best known for his production work on some of the key recordings in the earliest days of hip-hop, he broadened his musical palette over the years and eventually cemented his image as the barefoot zen master of the music industry. In addition to those key tracks for LL Cool J, Public Enemy, Run DMC, etc., his fingerprints are all over music from the likes of Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tom Petty, AC/DC, Audioslave, and too many others to mention.

Most importantly, his work with Johnny Cash brought the Man In Black back into the spotlight, as he stripped the music down to its raw essence and introduced Cash to an entirely new generation. It became one of the most spectacular final acts in musical history.

A big part of what has made him so good is that he is a music geek at heart. The Showtime documentary series Shangri-La tells his story well, but even better was the McCartney 3,2,1 series on Hulu. It was simply two music men discussing craft, and Rubin looked like a kid in a candy store as he listened to Paul McCartney talk about technique. A terrific watch. Rubin is an Ertegun Award waiting to happen.

It’s also worth pointing out that Rubin’s co-founder of Def Jam Records is arguably even more qualified than he is. There is less than zero chance that Russell Simmons would ever be considered, however. The list of allegations he has faced ranging from sexual harassment to credible accusations of sexual assault immediately disqualifies him. In this case it is impossible to separate the professional accomplishments from the personal misdeeds.

CPAC

Or, the largest gathering of aggrieved white people on the planet. The lineup of speakers generally flips back and forth between eye-rolling and downright frightening. Orange Man pledged to his cult followers that he will be their “retribution?” Yikes. And alleged moderate Nikki Haley claims wokeness is a virus more dangerous than any pandemic? The surviving loved ones of the million+ in this country alone that died from COVID would beg to differ.

That clown show demonstrates the odd position the GOP is in at the moment. Yes, there are a disturbing number of people frothing at the mouth over whatever they are instructed to get mad about. (Woke Lego? Really?) Yet C-Span cameras sure showed a lot of empty seats for non-Trump speakers. On the other hand the attendees still enthusiastically sit through his ramblings. Which demonstrates that as much of an albatross as he was in last year’s midterms, there is a sizable cult that refuses to quit him. I really thought that by this point the fever would have broken, but there’s no sign that it’s imminent. Kari Lake reminds me of nothing as much as she does of those stories of lone Japanese soldiers found in jungles years after the war ended because they could not believe that Japan would actually surrender. Deal with reality, people.

We Will Still Remember Him

There have been few, if any, bands more star-crossed than Lynyrd Skynyrd. Even beyond the plane crash which killed 3 members, many of the survivors died relatively young. When they were elected to the Hall, a total of 9 band members were included. With Gary Rossington’s death earlier this week, drummer Artimus Pyle, is the only one of them still with us, and even he was not part of the original lineup.

It seems fitting that Rossington was the last man standing. IMHO they were the single greatest southern rock band by a wide margin. Ronnie Van Zant was a major reason for that, but just as crucial was their triple guitar attack and Rossington was the most vital of the three, as a chief songwriter as well as the man behind the iconic Free Bird solo.

Following the tragic plane crash, he picked up the pieces and formed the Rossington/Collins Band with fellow guitarist and survivor Allen Collins. They achieved solid commercial success in the early 80s before going their separate ways. Skynyrd eventually followed up a tribute concert by reforming as a full band with Van Zant’s brother Johnny taking up the lead vocal mantle. As it turns out, the new lineup actually released more studio albums than the classic lineup did, although to be fair this version was more of a workmanlike band of road warriors than their predecessors were. The Skynyrd songs that everybody knows all came from the Ronnie era.

But give Rossington and the band credit where credit is due. They worked their you-know-whats off year after year and gave the people what they want. I was always uncomfortable with their embrace of Confederate iconography, which they sadly doubled down on way too much in their V2.0 era, but the power of their classic tracks from the 70s is undeniable and timeless. I have no idea if the band will continue to carry on, but Rossington’s death truly marks the end of an era.

My Dips*** Mayor

Having to deal with Eric Adams makes me long for the steady hand and well-focused stewardship of (checks notes) Bill de Blasio? At times Adams appears to be little more than an extended conceptual art experiment. Strange how he seems to have stopped extolling the virtues of crypto, but on a daily basis I continue to wonder what goes through that head of his.

Just last week he dismissed the separation of church & state although he did eventually walk those comments back after a couple of days of intense criticism. His latest gem was his suggestion that to combat shoplifting he would like to have shopkeepers prevent patrons from entering stores while masked. I suppose any customers who may be immunocompromised, or who simply wish to remain cautious for themselves and others are out of luck. We picked a real winner this time, my fellow New Yorkers.

Ja & The Grizz

I have a natural affinity to root for teams that have not had much recent success; it’s always nice to see some new blood rather than the same teams year after year. The Memphis Grizzlies in particular, going back to their days in Vancouver when they actually played in a city with a significant population of grizzly bears, have long been one of the most insignificant NBA franchises. There have been a handle of successful seasons here & there but nothing sustainable and they have never been a real threat to make much of a playoff run. So it has been a pleasure to watch this club emerge from years of wandering in the desert to become a legitimate contender with lots of exciting young players. I’d hate to think that promise could quickly vanish.

They are a young, cocky club & sometimes I’ve wondered if they’ve become a little too quick to talk a big game without much to back it up. But beyond that, there have been multiple disturbing incidents involving Ja Morant. By this point, there have been enough of those stories that a pattern has started to develop & the hope is that the fallout from the gun flashing incident will be the cold splash of reality he needs to shape up before it’s too late.

I so hope that he does find his way. He is one of the most exciting young talents in the game, and his backstory is compelling, rising from mid-major obscurity to become one of the faces of the NBA future at the snap of a finger. Has his rise & subsequent behavior been a case of too much too soon? I can’t answer that. It was not cool that he punched out a 17 year old kid after a pickup game. Regardless of how much the guy may have disrespected Morant, he’s in too large of a spotlight to act like that. And the recent story of friends of Morant aiming a laser pointer at a car containing Indiana Pacers staff members raises disturbing questions as well.

I’m rooting for the guy. The NBA benefits from his presence, and I hope the multiple incidents are more a matter of growing up in public & associating with too many people that don’t have his best interests at heart. He’s young enough that he has plenty of time to change his personal narrative for the better.

That’s All For Now

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