Their sounds defined the 1990s and gave voice to an entire generation of burnt-out, fed-up, terminally bored teens looking for a soundtrack to their lives. And even though their music was about rebellion, angst, smashing the system and rejecting the mainstream, now they seem like shoo-ins to make it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on the first ballot.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Green Day and Nine Inch Nails have been nominated for induction into the Rock Hall as part of the class of 2015, which also includes L.A. gangsta rap crew N.W.A., legendary 1980s mope rockers the Smiths, punk godfather Lou Reed and former Police bassist and solo superstar Sting. They join a list of previous nominees up for induction again that ranges from electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Chic and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band to the Marvelettes, the Spinners, Stevie Ray Vaughan, War and Bill Withers.
From ‘Dookie’ To Domination
FilmMagic/Carley Margolis
Though they started out as snot-nosed teens playing all-ages shows at underground punk venues in Berkeley, California, Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool rose to worldwide domination in the 1990s. They’ve sold 75 million albums on the back of such massive hits as “Longview,” “Basket Case,” “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life),” “Holiday,” “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” and countless others, not to mention spawning a Broadway musical, “American Idiot.” They’ve won Grammys, created some of the greatest music videos of all time and they made it in their first year of eligibility, duh!
Head Like A Hole
Archive Photos/Paul Natkin
Industrial rock had been bubbling under for much of the 1980s, but when Trent Reznor burst out of Cleveland late in the decade with the 1989 debut from his one-man musical wrecking crew Nine Inch Nails things would never be the same again. The dark, throbbing, angry attack of songs like “Head Like A Hole,” “Terrible Lie,” “Down In It” and “Sin” turned Reznor into an overnight goth godhead. He’s continued to share his dim vision with varying lineups over the years, branching out into Oscar-winning scores for films such as “The Social Network.”
As for the other nominees, the late Reed is already in the HOF as part of the Velvet Underground, Sting is in thanks to the Police and its the first time we’ve seen bids for the Smiths, late Texas guitar god Vaughan and “Lean on Me” singer Withers.
The final list of nominees will be announced later this year, with the induction ceremony taking place at the HOF building in Cleveland on April 18. The public will once again get to vote on the final nominees alongside the group of artists, music historians and music industry insiders who make up the Rock Hall voting bloc. And, as usual, artists were eligible for this year’s ballot if they released their first single or album in 1989 or earlier.
Last year’s inductees included Nirvana, Kiss, Hall & Oates, Linda Rondstadt and Peter Gabriel.
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