Originally Posted by
thelastresort
There are loads of decent bands that have been overlooked (in many cases never even nominated) - Chicago, Def Leppard, EL&P, Gram Parsons, The Jam, Jethro Dull, Judas Priest, Motorhead, Procol Harum, Sonic Youth, Steppenwolf, T-Rex, Thin Lizzy in addition to the rest mentioned on here... I agree with you fully, Dire Straits are as important and 'big' as 90% of the current residents of it. To have someone like Mark Knopfler not in there is absolutely incredible.
I agree with some of these. Def Leppard, Gram Parsons, Judas Priest, Motorhead, Steppenwolf, T-Rex, Thin Lizzy, etc. Not a big fan of prog rock except RUSH and even I'm picky on their stuff.
KISS started I think one of the worst things about rock / metal - 100% image-based music. If they didn't prance about on stage in make up and firebreath and use zipwires and the rest of it they'd have been another run of the mill 80's band. A truly deserving band to be in the RRHOF for me would be bands like Eagles, LZ, Cream, Dire Straits, Black Sabbath and all those sort of bands - the ones who defined music and dominated and molded their genre.
I totally disagree with this part. They are every bit as deserving. Image is a big part of rock n' roll to me. If they just came out in plain clothes, with a plain stage, and just played and sang I wouldn't be near as happy as say, AC/DC with Angus' stage antics, or Cheap Trick with the 12 string bass and 5 neck guitar. I love stage image and use of effects. I think we have a thread on that from years past on here where I go into more detail.
Their songs aren't very deep but they sure do rock and they are great party tunes. Perhaps THE rock n' roll anthem, "Rock N' Roll All Night" - is one that everyone knows and loves and can't help but to move to.
Gene is a polarizing figure, but I like him. Paul is Paul. I prefer Gene, but it isn't KISS without Paul. Gene and Paul of KISS are like the Don and Glenn of the Eagles.
IMO, KISS is a HUGE part of RnR history, for better or worse, and they are more deserving than some other bands nominated IMO, and certainly more than some who have made it in (Blondie, fer christ sakes?!). But yeah, they have inspired a lot of our favorite musicians to take up music, so at the very least - we have to give them props for that.