Meet The Nominees Vol. 4

Iron Maiden

I’ll start off by saying that I’m not a big fan of metal, and much of it from the 80s was off of my radar, so Iron Maiden’s peak years largely passed me by, particularly since they only received minuscule radio airplay. I do acknowledge a couple of key points, however, that strongly improve their Hall worthiness. First, although the doors to the Hall have opened a bit wider for hard rock acts in recent election cycles, pure metal is still an underrepresented genre. Second, they were far and away one of the giants in their field, and likely the most deserving metal act still awaiting induction. Either them or Motörhead.

Iron Maiden was one of the leaders in what was branded as the New Wave Of British Metal. Like their brethren, they were hard and driving, making no compromises in hopes of achieving commercial success. No waving Bic lighters in the air during power ballads for them. Their authenticity payed off. Once they hit it big, their albums were consistent sellers, and they were one of the major live bands of the time with next to no radio support. And let us not forget that they had one of the most iconic mascots in rock history.

They continue to be a major concert draw to this day. One big selling point when making a Hall of Fame case is to see how many of their fans are passionate rather than casual. In other words, would a large portion of their fan base consider them to be their favorite band rather than a band that they merely like? I’d say that’s a big “yes” for Maiden. As I said, I’m not enough of a metal fan to say I would vote for them and there is the annual concern that multiple hard rock acts on the ballot would split the vote and cancel each other out, but if they do make it in it would be a defensible choice.

If elected, will they perform at the ceremony? Doubtful. Over the years Bruce Dickinson has been one of the more outspoken anti-Hall voices. There have been instances of artists who blast the Hall yet change their tune when they’re elected, but Dickinson appears to be someone who would still treat it as a bunch of bollocks if they get the call. The best that fans could hope for is probably a Radiohead type scenario - a member or two accept trophies and make speeches, but no full band attendance and no performance.

Their biggest Billboard Hot 100 hit: N/A. They never hit the Hot 100, never mind the top 40, so Casey Kasem didn’t need to come up with an Iron Maiden anecdote.

My personal favorite: Run To the Hills

Possible Side Category Inductee - Paul Shaffer

Admit it, when you watch some type of multi-artist event, doesn’t it seem odd to see that the house band is NOT the CBS Orchestra? Paul Shaffer and the rest were a ubiquitous presence at practically every big show for years. Going back as far as the Blues Brothers days it’s apparent that he has one of the biggest Rolodexes in the business, which he always puts to good use. Since he has so many friends in the industry, it’s only a matter of time until he wins the Musical Excellence prize. The only question will be if it goes to him alone or if Will Lee, Sid McGinnis, Anton Fig, and Felicia Combs share the honor with him.

It’s also worth noting that he transformed the idea of what a late night talk show band could be. Doc Severinsen is the long-standing template of talk show bandleader, exemplifying the well defined model of the form, almost all of whom were big band jazz combos. What was initially known as the World’s Most Dangerous Band on David Letterman’s original Late Night on NBC is the first talk show band I can remember that was a straight rock & roll group. Their versatility, which enabled them to use contemporary music for commercial segues/guest walk-ons and to credibly back up musical guests paved the way for those that followed - Arsenio Hall’s Posse, Jimmy Vivino, The Roots, Reggie Watts, etc. As I’ve said, this induction is more a matter of when than if.

Legacies and Regrets

As we slip towards outright fascism in too many states, the phrase “history will judge them” gets thrown around a lot. I’m not sure that’s much of an impediment, do the likes of Ron DeSantis really care if the evil that they do lives after them? The crazies that are dominating school boards and banning books don’t have legacies in mind, they just want to prevent the “wrong” people from having their say. But there is one thing that I think of a lot.

Spike Lee’s 1997 documentary 4 Little Girls was a powerful piece of work. One of the more striking elements of the film is the fact that George Wallace was still alive when it was filmed, and he appears as a talking head. By that point he was quite elderly and feeble, and the combination of his weakening voice and his deep drawl made subtitles necessary to understand what he was saying. As cliched as it sounds, he actually said that he has a black best friend, but there was also this. He had the demeanor of a man who recognized that whether out of his own personal beliefs or out of political expedience he had enabled evil, and that it was much too late for him to do any sort of meaningful penance for that.

I’m not naive enough to think that it would truly change anyone’s mind, but deep down I’d like to think that it would be a good wake-up call for DeSantis and his ilk to watch the film, not only to witness the consequences of rhetoric, but also to serve as a warning sign so that they can avoid looking back on a lifetime of regret as they reach their sunset years. And in a related note stop using the word “woke” as a catchall term to describe anything you don’t like. We can see right through you, you’re trying to find a safe way to use the “n” word.

This Is Not ‘Nam, It’s Baseball. There Are Rules

Another new era begins with this year’s MLB season, as several major rule changes promise to significantly impact game play. We’ll have to see how long it will take players and umpires to adjust, as well as exactly how impactful these changes will prove to be, but fans and participants alike have known about the new rules for months and have at least had a chance to mentally prepare. This week gave us a slight new twist as the league’s competition committee has approved two additional changes that will take place this season as well.

The first is not a change, merely an extension of what was a temporary rule but it’s a big one. The extra innings Manfred Man rule will become permanent, much to the chagrin of purists. (BTW, I know that we reached the consensus to call that runner the Manfred Man, but I have to acknowledge the great suggestion made by Cespedes Family BBQ. He should be called the trust fund baby, having been born on second base. I don’t remember if it was Jordan or Jake who came up with it, but I wish that one had taken hold.) I’m ambivalent about cementing this one in stone. I get the criticism that it changes something fundamental about the game, and who doesn’t love the occasional example of Weird Baseball with exhausted players dragging themselves through inning 15, 16, etc? On the other hand, marathon games have a ripple effect. Too often a young pitcher that goes above and beyond by pitching multiple innings gets “rewarded” with an option to the minors as the big league team needs reinforcements to replenish a spent bullpen. In addition, with the standard managerial maneuvering in any game, by the time a game hits extra innings benches are often already cleared, so we’re stuck watching the “B” team the rest of the way. My overall take on Manfred Man Baseball is that I don’t particularly like it, but I see its necessity so I won’t grumble too much. If I could change one thing it would be to go with the compromise that I often see presented. Play inning 10 normally and don’t go with the automatic runner on second base until either the 11th or 12th.

I’m much more in favor of the other new rule that further restricts position players coming in to pitch. I’m dating myself with this reference, but I’m old enough to remember the days when a position player stepping on the mound was so rare and unusual that it would get a mention on This Week In Baseball. Mel Allen would say “how about that?” over a clip of a utility infielder tossing 60MPH meatballs. Now it’s become so routine that the novelty factor has completely worn off. It’s become so routine that there are several position players with multiple pitching appearances on their Baseball Reference pages. It used to be cute, but now farcical. One of the selling points for the universal DH is that it’s not entertaining to watch pitchers make inept attempts at hitting, unless the hitter in question was Bartolo Colon. There’s a similar lack of entertainment seeing non-pitchers throw a bunch of eephus pitches. The new policy restricts such appearances to a 10 run lead in the 9th or an 8 run deficit at any point.

Can’t Unsee This

This photo made the rounds of The Internets last week. It’s always a good idea to remind the world that the original Star Trek was a Desilu production. And with their penchant for recycling sets to cut down costs we have this glorious result. If only we had gotten a crossover episode in which Chekhov gets stuck in a bank vault with Lucy and Mr. Mooney.

Conrad Dobler

I see that former NFL offensive guard Conrad Dobler passed away earlier this week at the age of 72. It’s not easy for an offensive lineman to gain national fame, particularly for someone such as Dobler who played most of his career with the relatively low-profile St. Louis Cardinals. To make a name for oneself would require some sort of unique quality, and in Dobler’s case it was the fact that, shall we say, he had a tenuous hold on the rules of propriety. To be less charitable, he was considered to be one of the dirtiest players in league history. Whether that’s fair or not, his longtime line mate Dan Dierdorf perpetuated that less than sterling reputation by frequently telling tales of Dobler’s exploits during his stint in the broadcast booth.

If nothing else, he starred in one of the many memorable ads from the classic Miller Lite ad campaign.

Closing Thoughts

Is it a coincidence that months after we blew an asteroid apart there has been a sudden increase in the number of UFOs? Hmmm? Only asking questions here. We just may have pissed off the wrong E.T. So why not subscribe before the aliens attack? The button is conveniently located below. Click away!