Apocalypse Is Near – Rush to Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame

The Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame has announced that Heart, Public Enemy, Donna Summer, Randy Newman and Albert King will be joining their ranks. For some reason Rush is being inducted as well.

I know, we're not a station that plays Rush or any of the artists on the list. Forgive me while I subjectively rant.

Today's artists are a blurred reflections of the past, though Bruno Mars is a much clearer reflection. We've gone from Heart to Katy Perry, Public Enemy to Eminem, and Donna Summer to Rihanna. And nothing is truly original in popular music (See Axis of Awesome for proof). It's not as if new scales or notes have been discovered. The instruments have evolved from purely pianos, drums and guitars to the inclusion of digital synthesizers and computer generated music. Rush on the other hand didn't reflect into the future. They broke the mirror and stayed in 1981.

The best reason I have for not putting Rush in the Hall of Fame is that their music simply never elicited a positive emotional or physical response from me. They elicit rage and nausea from me, and those are not things that should get one into any select group. When I hear Heart's 'Barracuda' it makes me want to drive fast. Public Enemy's 'Fight The Power' causes me to jump up and down and give the finger to the man. Even Randy Newman warmed the cockles of my heart when I hear that cheesy music he does for the Toy Story movies. Hall of famers Metallica and Aerosmith have actually given me those chilled adrenaline rush feelings just from listening to their music. The only thing Rush ever gave me was diarrhea.

An artist who managed to have a long significant career does not necessarily make them a hall of famer. Def Leppard cranked out tons of pop-metal during the 80s and 90s. Decent, fun music, but I don't think they're HOF worthy. Linkin Park, while not eligible until 2025 or 2026, has had a notable twelve years of albums. They are one of my favorite bands, but I don't think they are significant enough for HOF consideration either.

Is this hatred for the Canadian power trio fair? No, it isn't. I am sure they are nice guys and I don't dislike them personally. I just think I would rather listen to rocks in a blender while sitting in an unsupervised daycare full of four year-olds than listen to 'Tom Sawyer' ever again. And I'm not the only one who thinks so. Just Google "Rush sucks" and you'll find lots of people who agree with me.