Graciously Bitter (Hall of fame, my ass!)

This piece was originally written when I had first learned that Rush would be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2013. I had mixed emotions about it at the time as you can tell from the piece.
After 44 years of dedication to their craft, their ideals and their fans, Rush are due to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame on April 18th, 2013. Doing the honors will be Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins of The Foo Fighters, both extreme Rush fans who are said to be on cloud nine to have been selected to do the actual induction. They have been eligible for over 15 years for induction however, a small but powerful minority of the induction committee made it clear years ago that Rush would never get into the Hall Of Fame. Such is true for many of the progressive rock acts that defined an era during the 70’s. Bands like Yes, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, King Crimson and Genesis were passed over time and again because they simply weren’t mainstream enough to be included.

The politics of Rock & Roll has long been a bone of contention where the induction ceremony was concerned when one considers some of the acts already inducted. While acts like Madonna and The Beastie Boys have no doubt had an impact on popular music, it still seems a bit strange that an act like Rush, with their enormous virtuosity on their instruments, the forward themes in Neil Peart’s lyrics and the millions of albums sold to loyal and adoring fans, has been ignored for so long.

There is a great deal of crow being served to the induction committee by fans all over the world who think that the time has been long overdue. For myself, an ardent Rush fan for many years, I am split as to the decision to finally induct them. After having been ignored for so many years, the obvious question is - Why now? It’s not out of a sense of duty on the part of the committee nor can it be ascribed to a genuine sense of accomplishment.

They simply had no choice. In a fan poll conducted by Rolling Stone Magazine, the entity most responsible for keeping Rush out for so long, the band was selected overwhelmingly by fans for induction by a margin of 2 to 1 over any other act. Rush has never been more popular these days with concerts selling out and record sales of their new release, “Clockwork Angels” outpacing the newer acts that Rolling Stone sings the praises of in every issue.

Why now, indeed.

Over the past few years I have lent less and less credence to the Hall Of Fame not just because my favorite band couldn’t manage to get in but because the entire selection process seemed suspect in my mind. My own personal feelings aside, Rush has been together since 1969 and apart from a personnel change after the first album, the lineup has stayed the same. In those 44 years, Rush has led the way in achieving and maintaining their artistic integrity in the face of record companies that hated them, critics who despised them and a musical culture that glorified looks over ability. They’ve survived disco, the punk invasion, hair metal, grunge, death metal and the androgynous English acts that made the 80’s so unbearable. In those 44 years, they’ve managed to keep their core audience despite changes to their sound and expand their audience to new generations who recognize the band as an iconic legacy that will forever shape music and musicians.

In a cookie cutter industry where formula rules, they still show that if you do what you love, the audience will love it too. They prove that sticking to your ideals and principles has merit in a business where both can be so easily cast aside in order to get a deal. From their self titled debut album to the recent “Clockwork Angels” they’ve shown time and again that it’s the fans who decide what they like and those same fans don’t need some suit with a calculator to tell them what’s going to be the next “big thing”.

A friend asked me if I was excited that Rush were being inducted and while it’s true I feel it’s an honor that is way overdue, I find myself somewhat bitter about the whole thing. Rush has always been a fan’s band. They belong to us and you industry types never got what they were trying to do. You can’t have them. I almost wanted the band to do to the induction committee what it had done so many times.

Just ignore it. Ignore the induction altogether and continue to do what they do best. Thumb their noses at critics and the wizards of smart at the record labels and say, “Thanks but no thanks.” It would be so fitting to simply decline the award but Rush, showing the enormous class and grace that has been a hallmark of their career, have opted instead to accept. When interviewed about the induction, all three members have tread very lightly on the subject of being ignored for so long but I know in my heart that they’d all love to just say, “Where were you when we were selling out huge arenas and selling millions of albums? We’ve done just fine without you and we’ll continue to do so.”

They won’t say that though. They’re too classy for that despite what it ultimately took to get where they are. There’s a part of me that secretly hope that Neil delivers a speech that throws it right back at the committee and that Geddy and Alex will just raise their middle fingers in defiance though.

I can hope…right?