After announcing yet another crop of debatable HOF inductees: The Rock Hall also announced two recipients of the Ahmet Ertegun Award, which honors non-musician industry professionals including songwriters, producers, record executives, and others. One recipient is Jon Landau, the journalist and producer best known for his production work with Bruce Springsteen. The other is Irving Azoff, CEO of Azoff MSG Entertainment.

I just saw the video of Robert Plant talking about him. Who was Ahmet Ertegun and what contributions he did to Led Zeppelin?

I'm having a friendly (so far, lol) argument with some of my co-workers. Two of them insist that Robert's vocals on this performance only sound as good as they do because they're performing the song in a lower key than the original. I'm with the OTHER 3 who are certain that it's the same key as the original recording. Who's right, Reddit?!

So since the Hall started inducting hip-hop acts in 2007 10 have gone in (8 in the performer category, and 1 each in early influences, if we count Gil Scott-Heron, and Award for Musical Excellence categories).

Coming off of 3 hip-hop related acts going in 2021, 2022 offers an interesting situation as at least one first time hip-hop related contender is basically feels guaranteed to headline the whole thing, that being Eminem, and other first time contenders, Missy Elliott, is currently seeing her obvious influence at an all-time high and probably also a strong contender for a first ballot hall of famer. \

Beyond them Sean Combs and Timberland, two super influential figures in their own rights, are also eligible for the first time and past snubs like Outkast, Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, A Tribe Called Quest, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, Salt N Peppa, De La Soul, and The Sugarhill Gang are kinda just waiting in the wings.

With that it feels like there's a very real chance, if 9 acts go in this year, 3 to 5 are from the world of hip-hop. A class with Eminem (as the headliner, which itself would be a game changer for the hall), Missy Elliott, and Wu-Tang Clan entering as performers, Sean Combs getting the Ahmet Ertegun Award, and The Sugerhill Gang earning an Early Influence nod feels incredibly plausible.

With that do you think the moment for a hip-hop dominated class is right and what do you think the reaction would be at large, as classes with even 1 rapper have proved moderately controversial?

PS: before someone says it, yes the hall is not overly serious and deeply flawed

from Face Value, 1981

Listen to it here!

It’s easy to forget given the Genesis history, but Phil Collins showed an interest in songwriting right from the get-go. In 1968, having just joined a band called Hickory, Phil was riding high.

> Phil: Suitably inspired, I embark on...trying to write a song… I start messing about on the piano in the back room. I hover around D minor - which, as any Spinal Tap fan knows, is the saddest chord of all - and pick through some lyrical ideas… Soon I think I have something… This is ‘Lying, Crying, Dying’, and it is the first song seventeen-year-old [me] has ever written… I am, temporarily, a songwriter. ^1

But we know how that story ends: Hickory becomes Flaming Youth, releases a concept album called Ark 2 which goes nowhere, and Phil quits for the greener pastures of Genesis. What’s curious is how Phil, excited to have written a song that he thought was pretty good, evidently lost all songwriting ambition as soon as he joined this other band. Where did it all go?

My contention is that it didn’t really ever go anywhere; that it was merely suppressed for a time. Look at the evolution of Phil’s role with the band over the course of the 1970s and I think you’ll see what I mean. First, as any new band member must, he has to learn the existing catalog (essentially just Trespass tunes and ‘The Musical Box’ at that point in time). Then, starting with Nursery Cryme proper, he can add a little bit of his own voice to the mix. Literally, considering ‘For Absent Friends’. 1972 comes and finds him jamming in earnest, writing the Apocalypse in 9/8 section of ‘Supper’s Ready’ with Tony and Mike (and Steve...?). They explore that three-piece energy further in 1973’s ‘The Cinema Show’ even as Phil gets another spotlight performance singing ‘More Fool Me’.

By The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway in 1974, Phil is so highly respected by his Genesis peers that there’s no flinching when he encourages them to stretch a little more. His influence is instrumental in getting the band to do more, well, instrumentals.

> Phil: The blowing side of the band, like the area on The Lamb for instance. Like ‘Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats’ and ‘The Waiting Room’. Which we all loved, you know, that’s really one of the things the band does best: visible soundtracks, these little pictures... ^2

In another post, I had mentioned the hope I have that popular music has a 30-year echo:

• mid-1930s to mid-1940s: Birth of Jazz, Blues, Big Band, Sinatra, etc.
• mid-1960s to mid-1970s: Maturation of Rock as a genre, Birth of Disco, Metal, etc.
• mid-1990s to mid-2000s: Grunge, Alternative, Rap

If that's the case, we're nearing the return of the echo. I'm always interested in what's new in music, but I'm especially curious (being a mature adult for this reverberation) if it will be possible to identify the coming sound before it gets big...which is when I thought of Butch Vig. In the early-to-mid 90s, it seemed like he was involved in everything. In fact, naming an iconic album of the mid-90s grunge/alternative rock scene that he didn't produce is a hard task. (One could argue that Ahmet Ertegun was the "Butch Vig" of the prior echo...not sure who the equivalent for the mid-30s would be...)

So, with the theory that finding the talent behind the talent is the best way to see what's coming: who are the producers/A&R/other non-musician industry people who I should be watching today?

So the list of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees was just announced, and SP is once again not included. At what point does SP get in? Surely they have to get in at some point...

Performer Category: · Foo Fighters · The Go-Go's · JAY-Z · Carole King · Todd Rundgren · Tina Turner

Ahmet Ertegun Award: · Clarence Avant

Musical Excellence Award: · LL Cool J · Billy Preston · Randy Rhoads

Early Influence Award: · Kraftwerk · Gil Scott Heron · Charley Patton

Do your worst!

For context I'm a Refuse Driver (Garbage man) & today I was on food waste. After I'd tipped I was checking the wagon for any defects when I spotted a lone pea balanced on the lifts.

I said "hey look, an escaPEA"

No one near me but it didn't half make me laugh for a good hour or so!

Edit: I can't believe how much this has blown up. Thank you everyone I've had a blast reading through the replies 😂

Pilot on me!!

When I started this project at the beginning of January, I had no idea it would turn into everything it has in the months since then. I envisioned this as a fun little mini-exercise five days a week, where I could hop onto the computer with my breakfast at hand and spend five minutes typing out a few semi-informative, semi-witty thoughts about each song in my list and then go on my merry way. Over time, I started to feel increasingly more compelled to do a little more, and more, and more, until this series has arrived nine months later into its current form. When I look back on the first post in the series for my #197 ranked “Who Dunnit?”, it’s hard to even recognize the work as my own. Indeed, calling it “work” at all feels a little dirty given everything that’s come after. I mean, you don’t even have to scroll down to see the whole thing! Shameful!

So I thought now that we’re in the final stages of this whole shebang, it’d be nice to revisit the first post in the series and bring it up to my current standards. I think it’ll make for a great side-by-side to look back on later on; a sort of “Wow!” comparison of what a difference several months and a more dedicated attitude can bring. Unfortunately, we have to face the reality of what such an endeavor means: the first post is the worst post, not just in terms of writing quality, but also by the project’s entire main conceit in terms of the music. To do the song justice, we have to do the song at all, and I’m afraid that means returning to the depths of despair called “Who Dunnit?” one more time. My sincerest apologies. Here we go.

#197 - Who Dunnit?

from Abacab, 1981

Listen to it here! HERE BE DRAGONS

Many bands, if they’re lucky enough to have significantly long careers, hit a kind of musical crossroads over time. It’s that place where, for one reason or another, the band’s trademark style simply isn’t as appealing to the people creating the music anymore. There are a few reasons why that might be. Maybe it’s because the style has gone out of public favor and the band is chasing sales by trying to keep up with the times. Maybe it’s because the band found some new influence and is really passionate about following that where it might lead, even if where it leads isn’t the band’s natural territory, so to speak. Maybe they just get bored with their old mate

Dad jokes are supposed to be jokes you can tell a kid and they will understand it and find it funny.

This sub is mostly just NSFW puns now.

If it needs a NSFW tag it's not a dad joke. There should just be a NSFW puns subreddit for that.

Edit* I'm not replying any longer and turning off notifications but to all those that say "no one cares", there sure are a lot of you arguing about it. Maybe I'm wrong but you people don't need to be rude about it. If you really don't care, don't comment.

What did 0 say to 8 ?

" Nice Belt "

So What did 3 say to 8 ?

" Hey, you two stop making out "

I won't be doing that today!

You take away their little brooms

There hasn't been a post all year!

This morning, my 4 year old daughter.

Daughter: I'm hungry

Me: nerves building, smile widening

Me: Hi hungry, I'm dad.

She had no idea what was going on but I finally did it.

Thank you all for listening.

It’s pronounced “Noel.”

After all his first name is No-vac

What, then, is Chinese rap?

Edit:

Notable mentions from the comments:

• Spanish/Swedish/Swiss/Serbian hits

• French/Finnish art

• Country/Canadian rap

• Chinese/Country/Canadian rock

• Turkish/Tunisian/Taiwanese rap

There hasn't been a single post this year!

(Happy 2022 from New Zealand)

Bob

So that I could frequently say, "I am going to walk 5 miles now."

Edit: My most popular post on Reddit! 😀 Thank you for the awards.

Just to clarify, 12345678

This is an excellent interview. I've got a lot of respect for Hugh and a lot of the stuff he's done. He goes into a lot of detail about the behind the scenes for Face Value. Quite a few little anecdotes I had never heard before, I learned a lot - and I like that! For example, I didn't know it was Ahmet Ertegun who insisted they add a backbeat to In The Air Tonight or else it couldn't be a single. I don't think many people nowadays are familiar with that rather obscure single mix, especially since most radio stations play the album version (rightly so, it's far superior, Ertegun was wrong).

Legendary Producer for Genesis, Phil Collins, & XTC: Hugh Padgham - YouTube