4 Bands the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Should Welcome

People love to argue about bands. And music is (mostly) subjective. However, if you created an institution like the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and haven’t yet voted the following legends in, one wonders, why not? These bands should be welcomed—deserve to be welcomed—into the Hall of Fame, and some of them have even shaped current inductees.

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Oasis

Oasis, like Nirvana, helped start a cultural revolution in the 1990s. It’s notable to mention Nirvana because Kurt Cobain’s song “I Hate Myself And I Want To Die” led Noel Gallagher to write “Live Forever”. Meanwhile, Britpop bands occurred as a reaction to American grunge and how its dominance had reached the U.K. The first two Oasis albums remain among the greatest one-two punches to open a recording career. Even if Oasis had stopped after Definitely Maybe and (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?, the Gallagher brothers’ impact was enough to deserve entry into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Typing the names Oasis and Nick Cave onto a list of artists the Hall of Fame has not yet voted in still shocks this writer. A master of wit and irony, Cave emerged as one of the most emotional and thoughtful lyricists in rock and roll. You could talk about his undeniable songs: “Jubilee Street”, “Into My Arms”, “Red Right Hand”, and “O Children”. That should be enough. But Cave wasn’t finished. Ghosteen is an utterly heartbreaking album about Cave’s 15-year-old son Arthur, who died after falling from a cliff near Brighton, England. Arthur, the ghost teen that Cave holds metaphysical conversations with, also informed Wild God, a gorgeous meditation on finding joy after unspeakable tragedy.

Pixies

You have to wonder what the Hall voters have been listening to. Without Pixies, you don’t get to Nirvana, Weezer, or Radiohead. Black Francis and his loud-quiet-loud song arrangements changed the course of rock music. It shifted culture. Not only did it inspire the bands above, but their most iconic hits: “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, “Say It Ain’t So”, and “Creep”. Also, how is a group where Kim Deal is the bassist and backing vocalist not in the Hall of Fame? And while we’re on the subject of Kim Deal, dear voters, The Breeders deserve entry, too.

Sonic Youth

Okay, Hall voter, consider this an intervention. Sonic Youth should be in the Hall of Fame. Yes, they have the greatest band name in history. But there’s so much more. Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo crafted signature guitar styles using unconventional tunings. Kim Gordon became such a legend that she sang for Nirvana at their 2014 induction ceremony. And drummer Steve Shelley gave Sonic Youth’s experimental arrangements a groove. The band took New York’s underground noise rock to mainstream audiences, creating a blueprint for Pavement, Dinosaur Jr., Nirvana, Radiohead, and many others. And when you see Kurt Vile or Wilco’s Nels Cline playing a Fender Jazzmaster, you can probably trace the roots to Sonic Youth.

Photo by Simon Emmett