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Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 4:11 pm
by scottidog
I wonder if contacting fans of people who have been inducted would shed any light on the situation?

I certainly don't mean to rain on the parade. I would love to see Al inducted into the RRHOF. He belongs there, and I think it would mean an awful lot to him. But like I said, I am very invested in the Star fund. I wouldn't want to try to figure out the amount of hours I have spent working on it. So take my comments in that light.

I would also support and do all I could to help this effort.

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 4:47 pm
by Insert Coin(s) to Continue
You know, Al isn't really rock-n-roll like some of the people in there. Maybe he'd do better in the Comedy and Polka Hall of Fame.

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 4:48 pm
by scottidog
Why isn't he?

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 4:49 pm
by Insert Coin(s) to Continue
Probably because there isn't a Polka and Comedy Hall of Fame yet. But there should be.

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 4:51 pm
by scottidog
You misunderstood my question. Why isn't he rock n roll? You've heard his music, right? Not all of it is polka. And when it is polka, in most cases, it's polkafied rock music. I think that was a remark posted just to try to incite an argument unless you can back it up with some facts.

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 4:52 pm
by Kevbo1987
iisryan27 @ Mar 23 2004, 09:47 AM wrote: You know, Al isn't really rock-n-roll like some of the people in there. Maybe he'd do better in the Comedy and Polka Hall of Fame.
Why isn't Al rock-n-roll? He does parodies of rock songs, and many of his originals have a rock flavor. Pluss, I'm not sure that it's meant to be taken so literally. There are plenty of people in there who aren't "rock artists" by definition. Al has just as much of a right to be in there as anybody.

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 8:58 pm
by CatraDhtem
scottidog @ Mar 23 2004, 09:11 AM wrote: I certainly don't mean to rain on the parade.
Oh, I know, and I certainly hope my previous comments weren't implying that you were. We all know about all the work you guys have done with the Star Fund, and I don't think there's any intention to take anything away from that. Besides, I think that last thing anyone would want to do is divide the Al fan base.

On the subject of if Al is considered "rock and roll," it's really a matter of opinion. No, Al is quite mild compared to, say, the hair bands or the Stones. But MTV did help make him a star, and back in the 1980s the network did have a lot of say as to what is and what isn't "rock and roll."

Kevbo already brought up the point that the Rock Hall seems to have a very loose definition of what is "rock and roll" anyway. Since the Hall seems to take great care at representing the history and origins of the genre, it does allow them to use a wider net, so to speak. And I do think "pop-music satire" definitely falls under the Hall's loose definition.

As far as Al specifically, yes I definitely think he belongs there. I don't want to go into all of my reasons right here and now, but it simply boils down to that when people think of funny rock music, they almost invariably think of Weird Al. As he was described at the 1996 American Music Awards, he's "rock and roll's class clown," and that kind of distinction should be able to guarantee him an induction.

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 10:39 pm
by Elvis
I fully support getting Al into the R&R Hall of Fame. If anyone deserves to go in there to represent comedy music, it's Al. I'll help out any way I can.

I don't think it's too early to be doing something on that front either, and I don't think there's any conflict with Weird Al Star Fund either. In fact, they probably play off each other nicely. Being inducted into the R&R HOF would be a nice thing to add to Al's resume on the star application, and I imagine having a star couldn't hurt Al's chances of getting into the R&R HOF.

Does the R&R HOF work the same way as, say baseball's HOF? In that I mean would Al be voted in by music critics the way baseball players are voted in by sports writers? Also with baseball, the unwritten rule is that only the best of the best get voted in during their first year of elligibility, the next tier of players on the second or third year, and if you're not in by the third year you might as well give up. After 15 years, or if you don't reach a certain threshold of votes, you're off the ballot and you've gotta get voted in by the veteran's committee.

If it works that way, I think Al's best chance would be getting in during his second or third year of eligibility.

Dave

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 11:30 pm
by scottidog
Can we get Al into the Baseball HOF?

Ok, seriously... I will do all I can to support both efforts, I was just voicing my own personal concern.

I think Al's uniqueness alone should earn him a spot. Go Al!!

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2004 12:15 am
by anthontherun
I don't know how much it helped, but I started a petition to get George Harrison in the RNRHoF about 18 months ago. Once I had about 800 signatures, I printed it out and mailed it to them. And George was just inducted this year, so I wonder if my petition had anything to do with it.

The point is, I think they do listen to suggestions for inductees.