News: The Smiths, NIN, Green Day Up For Induction
By Marc Blanc, Contributor
If Reagan and Clinton era alt-rock wasn’t already the establishment, consider its supremacy christened this week. The 2015 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ballot seats The Smiths, Nine Inch Nails and Green Day right beside classic rock and blues gods Lou Reed and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Even if no alternative band wins this year, the act of setting them on equal footing to the likes of Reed and Vaughan acknowledges the millions of lives such groups have touched in 20-30 years.
Green Day does, however, have a strong shot at induction, currently claiming around 15% of fans’ votes, placing the pop-punk “elder statesmen” second out of fifteen. Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, an influence on Green Day’s aesthetic, is third with 7% of votes.
Musicians must be at least 25 years removed from their debut record to be inducted, making 2015 only the second year of Green Day’s eligibility. An EP called 1,000 Hours was the trio’s introduction, released in 1989. For perspective, the late Reed has been eligible for 17 years, since his first solo album came out in 1972. He is presently in fourth place.
Nine Inch Nails are currently seventh in voting and The Smiths are ninth, each pulling about 6% of votes. NIN was seminal in exposing the masses to industrial rock during the 90s, and The Smiths have had unbridled influence on countless bands from indie pop to emo since assembling in the 1982.
