Love Stinks.  Yeah yeah.

(Love Stinks)

Love Stinks.  Yeah yeah.

(Love Stinks)

Are these lyrics Hall of Fame material?  No no. 

Look, there’s nothing wrong with the J Geils Band.  Give them credit for endurance, and for actually having their moment in the sun, finally, in 1980/81, when “Love Stinks,” “Centerfold,” and to a lesser extent “Freeze Frame” became hits.  They were unpretentious fun.  But if durability and a few hits is all that’s required to get into the Hall of Fame, then longtime Yankees second baseman Willie Randolph should be enshrined in Cooperstown. 

Actually, Willie had over 2000 hits and was a multiple All-Star; but that still wasn’t enough for him to be nominated to the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Look over the list of nominees this year to the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame and you’ll see lots of musical equivalents to Dave Parker and Harold Baines – sturdy, dependable types who did their jobs well and were often among the top players of their day.  Darlene Love, Laura Nyro, Donna Summer, Joe Tex, Chuck Willis, and yes, the J Geils Band were all big in their day, in their particular fields (except Donna Summer, who was big everywhere).  It’s nice that they’ve been nominated.  But of the 15 artists on this year’s list of nominees, only a few definitely seem Hall of Fame worthy.  The Beastie Boys leap off the page, for one.  Tom Waits would be so cool as a Hall of Famer, but then Tom Waits is so cool he doesn’t need to be in the Hall. 

But for many of these artists, let’s just go with the old saying, “it’s an honor just to be nominated.” 

Who would you vote off the list?  Who would you put in the Hall?  Leave a comment.