2025 Rock Hall Ballot, David's version

Plus, Charles and David return to the "Who Cares about the Rock Hall?" podcast

The 2025 class of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will be announced this Sunday. Charles and I wanted to share who we each voted for this year.

We were once again invited by the good folks at the Who Cares about the Rock Hall? podcast to talk through our picks. Co-hosted by Joe Kwazkala and Kristen Studard, “Who Cares…” normally keep their ballot talks with individual voters behind the Patreon paywall, but they’ve very generously allowed us to share our appearance with No Fences Review readers. You can check it out here. They’re both very smart and fun, and I know Charles and I had a great time. I especially appreciated that this year they asked about our process once we know the nominees.

Below are thumbnail versions of my thinking as I made my way through this year’s nominees. Always subjective process, but not to be confused with an arbitrary one. Hopefully, besides giving a partial explanation for my YES or NO votes, they also include some of the multiple and conditional criteria I draw upon to make those calls. I take this privilege seriously—as does Charles, who will post about his choices on Thursday.

To the polls!

Bad Company – YES. As I wrote when Charles and I previewed this year’s list of nominees, and as I also shared with Who Cares about the Rock Hall?, “Bad Company’s case for the Hall will focus on its role in mainstreaming blues rock and on its best-in-class lead singer, former Free frontman Paul Rodgers—though don’t forget the masterful kickoffs and fills of drummer Simon Kirke, formerly of Free himself.” That the band’s lead guitarist and one of its songwriters, Mick Ralphs, was formerly of the still un-inducted Mott the Hoople was another point in their favor. A few more points: Bad Co.’s version of blues rock eschewed the pretentiousness of fellow blues rockers like The Doors and Led Zeppelin. But what finally clinched it for me was figuring out that they were low-ley influential in ways I’d missed in all the years I’ve enjoyed their music while also taking it for granted. Their “Shooting Star” was among the first, maybe even the first, I-want-to-be-a-rock-star songs to follow the narrative through to a tragic end. The song leads directly to Foreigner’s “Jukebox Hero,” just as Paul Rodgers’ vocal attack is the primary inspiration for the early vocal style of Mick Jones. And their eponymous hit, “Bad Company,” leads straight to Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive.” Those kinds of connections matter to me, particularly since Foreigner and Bon Jovi are already in the Hall.

Black Crowes – NO. In my experience the last few months, the Black Crowes are the nominee that has most often provoked a “WTF?” response. I second that demotion. Their sound—a graft of the Stones and the Faces plus an olio of southern rockers—is not original in any way and, a far more significant crime in rock and roll terms, isn’t even particularly distinctive. The Crowes haven’t proven influential to any degree that I can discern, and even their best album both critically and commercially, The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, is not what you’d call a masterpiece. Robert Christgau once rated them this generation’s Humble Pie. That made me laugh even though I like them better than that. But I also know liking a band and declaring it Hall of Fame-worthy are not the same thing.

Mariah Carey – YES. I didn’t vote for Carey last year but should have. It’s pretty obvious: She’s an amazing, distinctive singer who bridged R&B and pop, helped codify R&B and pop and hip hop as all just parts of one thing, via duets with Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Jay Z, and Ludacris, and has influenced later acts like Adele, Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keyes and others likely to be nominees themselves one day. She’s cut so many jams that still move the crowd or speed the commute, and she has the Christmas song of the century. That counts quite a bit for me as holiday music is one of the ways kids learn about old acts and sounds and also a way that parents catch up to new ones. Too few women artists on this year’s ballot. Fingers crossed Carey makes the cut.

Chubby Checker – NO. I was a hard “no” the instant I saw his name on the ballot but will admit my certainty began to diminish a bit as I studied on it. He’s known primarily for his “The Twist” (with younger audiences he may not even be known for that). But the much better “Pony Time” was also a No. 1, and he scored eight Top 10s and 17 Top 20s besides, including that one with the Fat Boys as late as 1988. And “The Twist,” even if it was a straight copy of Hank Ballard’s original, was world historical, topping the pop charts twice nearly a year and a half apart, along the way opening up more and more kids, and then even their parents, to the joys of touchless dancing. I didn’t vote for him but figure he’ll get in without my help. As our friends at Who Cares about the Rock Hall? have noted, lots of voters, many of whom may be mistaking him for Fats Domino, will respond with “Wait! He’s not already in?”

Joe Cocker – NO. An absolutely great singer, probably the greatest of rock’s many children of Ray Charles, and if he makes the cut as I suspect he will, he will totally deserve it. I thought about voting for him but finally didn’t only because I thought his truly essential moment, Woodstock to Mad Dogs and Englishmen, was just so brief.

Joy Division/New Order – YES. I tend to lean poppier the better, so predictably New Order hits me harder than Joy Division. But “Love Will Tear Us Apart” is one of the great singles of all time, that opening Who-like guitar flourish, then swimming in all the synths—it’s post-punk from when punk was still going pretty strong. JD cuts like “She’s Out of Control,” “Candidate,” and “I Remember Nothing,” all on Unknown Pleasures, anticipate a great deal of Goth to come, a little bit of Shoe Gaze too. New Order, meanwhile, looks ahead to trance. Both Joy and Order were dance bands that stayed connected to punk, in attitude and tone. I’d short list Power, Corruption and Lies as among the best albums of the 1980s, and the band’s work was a huge influence on electronic dance bands, from contemporary OMD on to LCD. All of that, plus the dancing in the graveyard aesthetic feels eerily apt in 2025. Hopefully my second time voting for Joy Order will prove the charm.

Billy Idol – Oh, hell NO. I have a bad feeling Billy Idol is going to get inducted, but I have to say I think this is an unserious nomination. His cover of “Mony Mony,” at the start of his chart career in 1981, is pretty good, but that’s primarily because “Mony Mony” is indestructible. Or at least I thought so until I revisited the live “Mony Mony” that became his only No. 1 late in his run. It is edgeless and low energy, just theme park terrible. (When I was playing it here at the house, my wife, a self-described rocker, yelled in from the other room: “This sounds like it’s from Billy Idol: The Musical.”) His potential case for the Hall basically comes down to whether you think punk-face hits “Rebel Yell,” “Dancing with Myself,” “White Wedding” and “Eyes without a Face” amount to a Hall of Fame career. I don’t think they come close. His next to last charting record, a tedious double-time version of “L.A. Woman,” doesn’t help.

Cyndi Lauper – YES. Lauper was on my first ever ballot a few years back. I didn’t vote for her then because I thought she wouldn’t need my help; I was wrong. She may not need my vote this year for real, but she got it anyway. What I like about Lauper is that she’s a stylist—and her one-of-a-kind style, coming out of a new wave/synth pop moment that’s still underrepresented in the Hall, feels like freedom, like she’s breaking through, breaking out. Lauper just wants to have fun because she knows that is one key path to discovering yourself. Her She’s So Unusual, even beyond the big world-changing MTV hits, is a masterpiece. Her covers of the Brains and Prince feel consequential, and even if they aren’t as good as the originals, they’re hers. And it’s not just that album. I love “True Colors” and quite like her cover of “I Drove All Night” off A Night to Remember in 1989. In 2016, she did an album of country songs, called Detour, that I really enjoy even with my high standards for that genre. All that and she also sang “The Pee Wee’s Playhouse Theme Song.” An easy Yes.

Maná – YES. Didn’t know these guys much at all beyond their name, so I’m glad their nomination forced me to begin exploring their body of work, which is massive. I started by making myself a playlist of the band’s ten No. 1s and 18 Top Tens on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart, which consistently impressed. Fher Olvera, is a fantastic singer—husky in a kinda Springsteen way but smoother in a way that feels wise and inviting. He’s the group’s main songwriter, and while I can’t speak to his lyrical skills, being merely monolingual, his melodic sense is, to my ears, off the charts. Alex Gonzalez, meanwhile, is an absolutely powerhouse drummer. Listened to several of their albums across 30+ years and enjoyed them all. I also watched their riveting 1999 MTV Unplugged set. I recommend it as a good place to start. All of that was enough to get me thinking I should vote for them, but I also know the Hall needs to get more acts of color and, very important, to follow the many musical worlds around the globe that have descended from the rock and roll revolution. A vote for Maná and for the future.

Oasis – NO. Borrowing from what I wrote when I voted “NO” for Oasis last year: “Their biggest hits here in the states (“Wonderwall,” “Champagne Supernova”) are memorable and representative of guitar rock in their moment, but so are Foreigner’s…” Uh oh! But I’ll still pass. Look, I have no personal attachment to the band or to their music. On the other hand, a key corollary to my “Just because I like a band doesn’t mean they deserve induction” is its logical flip: “Just because I don’t like a band all that much doesn’t mean they don’t deserve induction.” In any event, I expect they’ll make it in—if not this year, then someday. And in the meantime, I’ll keep listening.

OutKast – YES. OutKast should have been first ballot inductees years ago instead of having to wait until 2025 even to be nominated. Without another rap act on the ballot this year, I think they’re going to get in, which I’m happy about. I’m also a bit frustrated because I’ve heard be a bunch of “They deserve to get in for ‘Hey Ya’ alone” kind of arguments. That feels like code for “I still don’t really like hip hop all that much but did enjoy that one poppy hit they had!” So, just as a thought experiment, cut “Hey Ya” from the catalog and see if they aren’t still a lock. I have them down for at least three “A” albums, maybe as many as five. But they get in for “Rosa Parks” and for “Gasoline Dreams,” for “So Fresh, So Clean,” for “We Luv Deez Hoes” and “Bombs Over Baghdad” and “I’m Sorry Ms. Jackson OOOH I am for real.” “The Way You Move” and “Roses” and… So just a fantastic album act who was also a great singles band. Not too many of those around anymore. No brainer.

Phish – NO. Simply put: I expect members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to have some, and preferably many, great studio recordings. To my ears, Phish does not meet that minimum requirement. Their devoted audience seems likely to insure they’ll win the fan vote, but I suspect the bulk of voters shares my bias on this point.

Soundgarden – YES. When I realized that my sense of the Hall of Fame argument for Bad Company was the same basic argument as the one I’d make for Soundgarden, or if you prefer vice versa, I knew that I would have to vote for neither of the bands or both of them. I went with both. Echoing my Bad Company quote above, here’s the thumbnail version: “Soundgarden’s case for the Hall will focus on its role in mainstreaming grunge rock and on its best-in-class lead singer, future Audioslave and Temple of the Dog frontman Chris Cornell—though don’t forget the thunderous chops of drummer Matthew Cameron, subsequently of Temple of the Dog and Pearl Jam himself.” Along with Nirvana and Pearl Jam, this finishes the grunge boys I want to see inducted. That they were so metal friendly compared to their grunge peers pads their case, given how heavy metal remains woefully underrepresented.

White Stripes – NO. One thing I’ve heard repeatedly about the White Stripes since their nomination is how they just changed everything on the rock scene. I don’t understand that. They were contemporaneous to that entire garage band revival, but I wouldn’t cite them as its catalyst. They have surely influenced other bands but no Hall of Fame-bound ones—a key distinction to me since, like the Crowes, they aren’t original. On the other hand, their post-punk blues rock/roots rock is at least distinctive: When you’re listening to Jack and Meg White, you know it. For that reason, and because the Hall loves guitar bands and there aren’t too many more of those in the pipeline, I expect them to get in at some point. I won’t complain about it. Well, I’ll probably complain about it if they line jump Hole. (Or, for that matter, X. Don’t get me started…) I will also complain if it turns out their induction, due in large part to their main claim to fame, the sports stadium ubiquity of “Seven Nations Army,” means a Gary Glitter nomination is on the way.

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