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The ASV Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: "A" List

I've narrowed down the A choices (and sorry Faith, but Asia doesn't quite cut it).

The following are going to fight it out to be the second inductee in our hall (and I say our, because this HoF belongs to ALL of us):

  • Alice Cooper (who gets here under "A" and not "C" because the band was named Alice Cooper at the start)
  • AC/DC
  • Anthrax
  • Alice in Chains

Not only do you have to vote, but you have to give at least one sentence in testimonial so I can use the testimony in the induction ceremony (see, Rush).

The winner will be announced this evening, along with a new category. And remember, just because three bands will be shut out this time doesn't mean they won't get in on another ballot, as the categories are going to cover just about everything imagineable.

Comments

What? No Aerosmith? Heresy!!!!!

Alice Cooper. Any hall of fame that doesn't include the artist who recorded "School's Out", "I'm Eighteen", "No More Mr. Nice Guy", and "Under My Wheels" doesn't deserve to be called a hall of fame.

Alice in Chains. Layne Staley was a friggin' GENIOUS. For a grunge band, the harmonies were simply AMAZING and Staley's voice was one of the best around.

AC/DC. Got to be. I like the rest, respect some more than others even. But AC/DC, pre or post Bon, rock with a joyous, racous abandon. The first cassette I ever bought, on my own, with my own hard earned money, was "Dirty Deeds". Let's face it, they've got the biggest balls of them all!

I agree with Lisa - their harmonies are great, and Layne Staley could scream like no one else. My guitar player used to say "If I was Layne Staley I'd just sit in my bedroom all day and scream lyrics."

The thing that puts them ahead of any other Grunge/Seatlle band (except Stone Temple Pilots) is their phrasing. The opening riffs to "What the Hell Have I", "Bleed the Freak", "Sea of Sorrow", etc. are signature and just make you want to rock to the whole friggin' song.

AC/DC, clearly. The music is fun and loud and makes you smile. And Beavis wears the band's shirt.

AC/DC - it's fucking 3 chord magic and Angus and brother are magicians. Every song from Bon's days to Brian's got you banging your head or shaking your ass. It's what rock was meant to be.

I just don't belong here!!!! ;)

That's a toss up between AC/DC and Alice in Chains. I'll have to go with AC/DC. I went to the Ball Breaker Tour in 1996. I am pretty sure that I was one of the youngest people there. The experience will last a lifetime.

This group of extremely drunk people came into the arena on a virtual time warp from the 80's. One lady was in this neon orange scrunchy dress and hair that was bigger than Texas....or maybe Axl Rose in the "Welcome to the Jungle" video...anyway, she was so drunk that she threw up on the floor. Security "invited" them to leave. It was great.
The show was incredible, especialy "For Those About to Rock" and "Back in Black." To AC/DC for making it in this H of F, I salute you.

It's got to be AC/DC. Whole Lotta Rosie, The entire Highway to Hell album, For Those About to Rock, It's a Long Way to The Top... every album rocks, and that's just the records.

AC/DC is absolutely amazing when you see them live and in person.

It's not even a contest in my mind. They have been one of the greatest bands to listen to (and play along with) since day one. FIRE!!

AC/DC, if for no other reason than "Down Payment Blues".

Alice in Chains. Staley/Cantrell were the Tyler/Perry of the grunge era.

Why Alice Cooper?
Two words: "School's Out."

Alice in Chains. Nothing like the Staley/Cantrell combo. Awesome harmony, great lyrics. Very few songs that I don't love, and I at least like those. Their Unplugged cd is the best testament to their talent.

AC/DC if for no ther reason than they've somehow managed to get people to buy the same album over and over and over again.

I used to think that Layne Staley was the genius behind Alice, then I realized from unplugged that it was most definitely Jerry Cantrell, the backbone of the amazing dischordant/harmony juxtaposition.

But anyway, it's gotta be AC/DC. AC/DC has a lot of songs about rockin' while Alice just seems to be about self pity. For those about to rock...

Alice in Chains, because I still hear new things listening to "Dirt" after 13 years.

AC/DC. Simply because the music they make is exactly what you think of when you think of ROCK. The vocals are loud and rambunctious and the music practically throbs. Not that the other bands here aren't great examples of rock in their own right.

I was going to go with Anthrax, but I have to go with AC/DC for purely nostalgia purposes... they were the FIRST band I saw live... I believe it was late '82 or early '83. I was nine years old and bleeding rock 'n roll.... and my ears bled for a week and the smile lasted at least a month, so it's AC/DC, for being the best live band. EVER. (and I've seen more than I could count)

AC/DC. Then they come on the radio, the hand automajically reaches out on its own to crank the volume. AC/DC cannot be background music.

AC/DC-I remember roller skating to You Shook Me All Night Long wearing my pinstriped jeans that lit up under the black lights.

Alice Cooper!

Alice changed the face of rock 'n' roll. Without Alice, we would not have had the New York Dolls, Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Kiss would not look the same, Ozzy would not have been as outrageous.

Alice's songs are so much more sophisticated than the other nominees. His songs are built around movements, tempo modulations, and he tells stories.

Alice didn't push the envelope, he burst through and created an entirely new genera of rock.

Don't get me wrong; I like AC/DC and Alice in Chains. But the Coop deserves this honor more than the others. AC/DC has some decent songs and cool hooks, but their songs are made from the same cookie cutter. Three chords, same progression, similar lyrics, but a different guitar riff. Meanwhile, Alice crafted epics. Alice in Chains was one of a half dozen bands cut from the same peice of plaid flannel, and I can easily say that they were the WORST live act I've ever seen. However, the Coop was a pure original that changed the direction of rock--and one of the best live acts I've ever seen.

Mark, The AIC comment is interesting, I've heard (from several people) that they were either the Best or the worst they'd ever seen.

I have to go with AIC in this round. Staley had such a unique voice, that, along with Cantrell's harmonization were two of the many things that seperated them from the rest of the Seatle bands of the late 80's & early 90's.

Alice Cooper. Because rock and theater were stuck on "Hair" until Alice came along.

coolrobc:

Staley had something up his ass. He was cursing the crowd, flipping us off, refusing to play at times, throwing shit. I don't know what his problem was. The band seemed pretty frustrated with him. He acted like an idiot, and the band sounded like shit. In fact, I think he announced they would break up at the end of the show.

This was at the Pacific Ampitheater in Costa Mesa, CA in 1993. They were opening for Van Hagar.

Alice Cooper.

Why? Because he's the only one people will still be listenting to in 50 years, that's why.

AC/DC - For the simple reason that they just flat out rock. They are the epitomy of rock and roll. Loud, balls to the wall rock. No pretty boys. No big hair. No gimmicks. 'Back In Black' is the greatest hard rock album of all time. EVERY song on that album kicks ass and they put on an amazing live show.

Alice Cooper is great, but please note what I just said about gimmicks.

AIC was great. I was listening to them and Soundgarden before people knew the word 'grunge', but I also saw them live and Layne Staley's drug problems caused them to sound horrible.

Sorry, but a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame just isn't a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame without AC/DC.

Strip Alice Cooper of his "gimmicks" and what are we left with?

Under My Wheels
No More Mr. Nice Guy
Billion Dollar Babies
School's Out
Is it My Body
Elected
I'm Eighteen
Be My Lover
Caught in a Dream
Dead Babies
I Love the Dead
Sick Things

Great, purely original, hard rockin' songs.

Many of his songs are anthems that will be around forever. What good is a Hall of Fame if the anthem makers are not inducted?

Alice Cooper.

The last day of school when I was ending my junior year, the administration played "School's Out" over the loudspeaker. Until that moment, I thought Alice belonged to the kids, and then I understood that even the "establishment" generation loved him. I'm proud to have moved to Alice's home town, and live to see him around town. At his restaurant, the wait staff wear the Alice eyeliner under the eyes and it's been 30 friggin' years. He's the coolest, the music will live forever, and he opened the door to heavy metal.

In the absence of Aerosmith, I'll go with AC/DC. A band that can reach down and make their best record of all time after replacing a lead singer who was already damn good . . . not everyone can do that. "Back in Black" is just one of the best wall-to-wall albums ever; in college, it was always the first thing I popped in my stereo the first day of a new semester. Although my favorite AC/DC track may be the live version of "Let There Be Rock." You could take someone who'd never heard of rock n' roll and play that for them, and they'd get the whole thing.

Alright, here is the reason why AC/DC should NOT win today:

Because their supporters don't know what they're talking about. Back in Black was NOT their greatest album, it was only their second greatest. Highway to Hell was their true masterpeice. Then again, Shook Me All Night, Hells Bells, Drink On Me, Back in Black.... So ok, well maybe its a tie.

Nevermind.

Alice in Chains (what, I'd vote any other way in this category?). Prior to Dave Grohl's emergence from behind the drums, Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell were the only true songwriters in grunge. Even their off moments ("Nothing Song") were memorable, and they put out entire albums full of gems (is there any song on "Dirt" that's not above average?).

I know it's Alice Cooper the band and not Alice Cooper the person, but let us not forget that in addition to songs like 'Eighteen', he also brought as wannabe hair band piece of sheot stuff like 'Poison.'

Alice Cooper

Because he's been rocking hard for 36 years, and he survived what Bon Scott and Layne Staley could not.

Jay, it was Alice the solo artist, not Alice the band, that did Poison.

Alice the band disbanded before Welcome to my Nightmare, and everything later was the solo Coop.

In my opinion, the Alice Cooper Band days provided the best material. I saw Alice live last week, and he can still deliver that older stuff like he did in the early 70's.

AC/DC

Highway to Hell takes on a whole 'nother level of trancendence when listening to it while driving down Hwy 6 from College Station to Baylor University in Waco, Texas

I have to with Alice Copper too. I agree he started a lot of what we see today and halloween is coming

Alice Cooper solely because the man's cameo in the exquisite film entitled "Wayne's World" was simply rad.

I have to go with AC/DC. They are the only bad I can think of that's rocked three generations of my family. My parents, me and my siblings, and now my kids.

And incidentally, my son had the same reaction I did when I found their music...."Mom, you know this stuff?!"

Mark-

Sounds about right, most people that said they were great caught them early on.

Sounds like Cantrell has taken over where Staley left off at that show.

Alice Cooper deserves the fame award because Vince Furnier once spent $30,000 a year on beer.

And he'd mention this award on http://www.nightswithalicecooper.com

Alice Cooper. The man turned tragic makeup and torn stockings into true Rock and Roll, without coming off all femmy.

Alice Cooper, for sure. I loved him growing up, and my kids (aged 5 & 7)love him today. That's the great sign of true talent.

Alice Cooper.

Although it was a close call with AC/DC. My good friend Mark is a rockumentarian and his opinion tipped the scales in favor of the coop.

What the hell is a rockumentarian, does one get paid for it and how can I get in on this?

AC/DC, hands down.

They wrote more compelling three-chord guitar licks than any band I can recall, yet managed never quite to repeat them. That and high-school wanna-be guitar players are still murdering the opening lick of "Back in Black". Only "Stairway to Heaven" gets played badly more often.

AC/DC

"It's the Platonic form of heavy metal--animist guitar-worship, unmoored from '70s irony, Tolkienish tom-bombadillo-foolery, phony artistic aspirations, and contempt for the audience." Colby Cosh, on the occasion of "Back In Black"'s recently surpassing the 21 million sales mark.

http://www.colbycosh.com/old/june05.html#wsyb

And anybody who's ever spent time at Guitar Center knows what Jimmie is talking about. My ears bleed just thinking about it.

Thank God GC went online with Musician's Friend so we don't have to risk the ear blisters every time we need strings and picks.

Michele,

Induct the Coooop, and I'll pull some strings over at Rockumentarians R Us for ya. Wink wink.

Simply have to go with Alice Cooper,simply because Michael Bruce wrote their best songs.

I have to go with Alice Cooper (both the band and the individual) because unlike AC/DC and Alice in Chains, they/he injected something new and exciting to Rock and Roll (and something terrifying and obscene to every parent). Alice Cooper's merging of shock theatre and gut-wrenching rock and roll spoke to the first generation following the flower power hippies of the 60s. I wore out the grooves on Love it to Death, Killer, and School's Out. And my parents hated it and I'm sure prayed for my soul every night. One morning as I was getting ready for school, my dad said, "Jesus Christ, how can you listen to that?--it sounds like somebody is being killed in your room. I wouldn't even know where to buy music like that."

Alice Cooper was a trailblazer--AC/DC and Alice and Chains, although good bands in their own right, were not.

And as a drummer, many people think AC/DC's drum beats are simple. They are. But listen to any beginning drummer try to copy Phil Rudd. They can't do it. He does it with a simplicity that almost calls out for something more complex. It takes a lot of discipline to do that.

Alice Cooper.

Because anybody who had the balls to wear trashy lingerie and sing about necrophilia in southwestern cowboy bars deserves the HOF.

Alice in Chains. Grunge got me through my late teens and early 20's and AIC were a part of that.

AC/DC

Seattle Center Coliseum, 1982 - Brian Johnson with a sledge hammer in his hands bangin on a bell 5 foot wide gold bell as Angus plays the opening riff to "Hells Bells".

Mmm, as good as a shot of Johnny Walker Blue.

I gotta go with Alice in Chains since I nominated them, but it looks like AC/DC is going to win. I don't get AC/DC. All their songs sound the same and none of them are any good.

You know, I'm really sorry to bash on all the Alice In Chain-iacs, but they don't belong on this list any more than Asia did. They haven't lived long enough to be on the hall of fame ballot.

And, not to slam on Alice Cooper or anything, but "I'll Never Cry" pretty much puts him behind AC/DC. Where's the AC/DC power ballad? (crickets)

For that reason alone, AC/DC should get the nod.

Sing it with me. EVERYBODY!
Break a heart, break a heart of stone 'Cuz that's all I got to give you
Believe me Babe, it ain't been used
My heart's a virgin, its never been tried
And you know I'll never cry
Never cry
I'll never cry

And who but AC/DC could pull off the biggest double entendre in the history of rock and roll - "Big Balls"?

Alice Cooper. Not only did those first five or six albums have some of the best hard rock songs ever, they were just flat-out, great fucking songs period.

You could go with AC/DC because it would be the popular choice, but early Alice is hard to beat for quality songs.

AC/DC. Bon Scott taught me about love. And the venerial diseases that sometimes come with it.

I don't get AC/DC. All their songs sound the same and none of them are any good.

At least AC/DC is always recognizable as AC/DC. Sound Temple Garden Pilots In Chains, on the other hand, I always found to be fairly interchangeable.

I keed, I keed. The disadvantage AC/DC is at here is that they've stuck around for almost 25 years after their last memorable album, whereas AiC ended before it had the chance to really thoroughly jump the shark.

It's kinda like the Beatles were only around for 6 years, and are thus remembered entirely for their most creative period, while the Stones (who were every bit as good as the Beatles in their heyday) have gone about as long as AC/DC without putting out a great album, and are thus thought of today primarily as dinosaurs. Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin would probably be in the same boat today had either survived that long.

Anyway, I put in my vote for AC/DC, the Bon Scott years, because they brought out the mischievous schoolboy in all of us.

People wanna slam Alice Cooper for "I Never Cry" and "Poison," but haven't you guys seen Bon Scott playing the recorder in some wimpy assed psychodelic folk song on VH1's Least Metal Moments??? Puh-leeze!

I think Crazy Horse said everything that needs to be said, above.

Oops,

That last post from Erin was really from me. My daughter used my computer earlier, and her comment info remained behind. Sorry.

For consistent being one of the best live bands in rock: AC/DC.

When I visited the rock hall last year, I couldn't believe Alice Cooper was not in it.

A big vote for Alice Cooper--his 2005 show is as great as his 1973 one- albeit a much different band.