World of Weird Al Yankovic

TMBJon wrote:I'm not even saying that Jann Wenner is a bad guy or a boogeyman.

I know you weren't saying that. That was directed more at the tone in the article that was posted.

I like what you're saying, but I'm concerned about finding the right person to target. According to some lists, Jann Wenner doesn't even sit on the nominating committee anymore.

Well here's a question: Who of the people that are on the nominating committee (or are close with those who are) is most likely to play the role of Elton John to Al's Leon Russell? If there is such a person, someone who would go to bat on behalf of Al and corral a bunch of votes in his favor, then Al might actually have a shot. If no one on the committee would have any interest in getting Al inducted, it is probably borderline impossible that he would ever get inducted.

Not trying to discount or discredit any of the other tactics you've used in this campaign, but I think we can all agree at the end of the day this comes down to playing politics with a few dozen influential musicians and if someone as influential as Leon Russell requires Elton John to corral the votes then I am guessing Al is going to need someone like that in his corner.

CatraDhtem wrote:All right, gang, here's a question I wanted to throw out there.

This year we're of course going to have another tweet-in over on the big, bad Twitter, as it seems as if everyone had a fun time doing it last year, but should we limit it to just Weird Al tweets...or should we attempt to include fan bases of other snubbed artists such as Rush, Alice Cooper, etc.?

I can see the pros and cons of either option, and at the moment I have no preference just yet, but I was curious what everyone else thought.

Was on vacation. Did this happen yet?

Also: how is Rush not in yet? The hell's going on at the Hall? No Al, no Rush, seriously?

And, I kinda agree with/see what Jon is saying. Al would need someone directly on the commitee with influence or a major artist like Elton John to give him some push. Although, who's Jann Wenner?

He is most well known for being the founder and editor of Rolling Stone, but he is also a very important figure in the music industry. He is responsible for the careers of Hunter Thompson, Annie Liebowitz, Cameron Crowe, and others. In a way, Wenner is to music journalism what Lorne Michaels is to comedy. Thus his influence over who gets into the Hall of Fame is naturally quite large.

No Al this year either.

Bon Jovi, the Beastie Boys, Neil Diamond, Alice Cooper, Donovan, Tom Waits and LL Cool J are among the 15 artists nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. Also on the list: Chic, Dr. John, J. Geils Band, Darlene Love, Lauro Nyro, Donna Summer, Joe Tex and Chuck Willis.

Several great options on the list anyway. Beastie Boys, Neil Diamond, Alice Cooper, Tom Waits, and LL Col J would be an excellent class of 2011 in my opinion.


More encouraging:

A notable omission among this year’s nominations: Kiss. Last year its fans got their hopes up when, after years of being snubbed, their heroes finally got a nod. (Those hopes were dashed when Kiss lost out to Abba.) For the Rock Hall, that might be a risk: four years ago hundreds of members of the Kiss Army – a k a fans – protested at the Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, with slogans like “Thou Shalt Not Delay the Induction of Kiss” and, perhaps most frighteningly, Kiss costumes.

Could we stage a Rock Hall protest for Al?

Encouraging:

After their first nomiantion a couple years ago, the Beastie Boys weren't nominated last year, but they're back. This, coupled with no consecutive Chili Peppers nomination, proves my theory: An artist's commercial viability sometimes plays more of a part than "first recording"

Discouraging:

We're smack dab into Al's commercially viable 80s period and still not even a nomination.

Doesn't matter. As long as the Hall refuses to recognize the genius of Huey Lewis, I ain't buying anything they're selling

For those of you who follow Al on Twitter, I'm sure you already saw this (via Lifesize Lynn), but if not....

Presenting the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Most Egregious Snubs

Al got quite a favorable mention, so I guess we can forgive the writer for not knowing the correct year when he first became eligible...and I've yet to understand why it's so hard for some writers to put the quotes in Al's name in the right spots.

Meanwhile, for those who for some reason don't follow the campaign blog (http://www.allthingsyank.com/blog) or the Twitter/Faccibuke, time is running out to vote for Al in the "Plain Dealer's" annual Rock Hall readers poll. There is again a write-in option, and this year it's a simple web poll thing. They are inviting comments (to use in the eventual article), but it's not necessary in order to vote. Just go to the web site, add Al's name in the "Other" slot, click the vote button, and you're done!

http://www.cleveland.com/popmusic/index.ssf/2010/09/bon_jovi_neil_diamond_and_alic.html#poll

Voting ends October 11.

As always, this is just for fun and will have no bearing on the actual induction announcement, but the folks at the museum itself (including one or two nominating committee members) do read the results every year (hey, it's their hometown paper), so any bit of press in which it's conveyed that a lot of people want Al inducted can only be a good thing.

Please be sure to vote and spread the word on your various social networking things (if it makes it easier for you, use this URL: http://tinyurl.com/pdrockhallpoll" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;).

Hopefully, "Rolling Stone" will also host a poll as they did last year, but since it was such a surprise I don't want to assume that they'll be making it an annual thing as the "Plain Dealer" has. But fingers crossed!

Also, in case it wasn't clear yet, the Second Annual Tweet-In will take place on Al's birthday, October 23.

So go vote!!!

Just a reminder, TODAY IS THE DAY OF THE SECOND ANNUAL MAKE THE ROCK HALL "WEIRD" TWEET-IN!!!

At some point during the day, just send a tweet to the Rock Hall's official Twitter account (@rock_hall) and show your support for Al. Please also be sure to add the tag #WeirdAl to your tweet, even if it looks redundant.

Throughout the day, I've been trying to post some fun little things over on the campaign's Twitter account (@rockhallweird) just to keep things festive. Nothing we haven't seen before, but still.

So, go tweet!

Sampson is the name of the person who writes the critiques of artists on Digital Dream Door and the qualifications rating of their chances for entering the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, but he does not allow anyone to send him private messages on DDD. http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/forum/m ... file&u=238" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Digital Dream Door website does not have a critique on Weird Al Yankovic or a qualifications rating for his chances of being inducted into the Rock Hall. He would fall under their categories of 50 Unlikely Candidates http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/b ... e_xlf.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; or Outside Genre Possibilities http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/b ... e_out.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; .

I`m not sure how they would rate him.

QUALIFICATIONS

1 - Non-existant
2 - Mostly Insignificant
3 - Recognizable, But Minor Credentials
4 - Modest Accomplishments
5 - Worth Examining, But Will Often Fall Short
6 - Strong Case To Be Made
7 - Solid Choice
8 - Unquestioned Credentials
9 - Dominant Artist
10 - The Immortals