my sister called me earlier and asked for help on a paper for her music class. the essay topic is to make arguments for three artists/bands that've debuted in the last five years that have the potential to make it into the rock'n'roll hall of fame. my sister doesn't really get music, but she knows i do, so i am going to help her out with this, but thought i'd also post the question to the obners.

from what she's said, the professor's main goal is just to see who kids really like these days. and i know we've had this discussion before, so bump a thread if you need to. i couldn't find one, though.

[edited to add "artists" and not just "bands"]

Does it have to be three bands rather than artists or bands?

And just to remind folks, you aren't eligible until 25 years after your first release, so what we are talking about is bands (or artists?) that will be relevant at least 20 years from now that just started within the last five years.

god, that's hard.

no, it can be artist or band or whatever. and yes, good to point that out.

[copout] Cold Play? [/copout]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Jack White. I'm not gonna assume that he'll always keep recording with Meg but I think he'll have enough longevity, artistic merit/critical respect, and popularity/cultural significance to be considered in some form. Of course, I'm being lazy and not checking when S/T came out. For all I know it could be 1999.

I don't really have any other ideas.

Ok, another criteria: How popular of a band or artist must they be. I'm sure we can make an argument for an artists or band that will never make the RnRHOF. Like the New Pornographers, would they ever be considered for the HOF?

I guess i can't see any "indie" bands making it into the HOF.

Not to nitpick. but their debut was released in '99. I'm not a huge fan, but I can see that being a good pick.

yeah New Pornographers and Wilco are probably uninteresting enough to make it

this is a good choice though

Yeah I'm not that huge a fan either...I could picture him being deserving though. I just checked Eminem and Slim Shady came out in 1999 also. This would have been a lot easier last year.

MMJ: debut was '99 though

Sufjan Stevens, especially considering the lofty project he's attempting.

Broken Social Scene
Prefuse 73
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
TV on the Radio
Annie
M.I.A.
Arcade Fire
Kanye West

The Redwalls

Sorry, i've got nothin'.

I think Jack White is a pretty good choice. I'm gonna walk out on a practical limb and nominate two. Keep in mind these choices are based on the likelihood of induction, not my affection. I have heard very little of either:

John Mayer (Technically 1999, but I'm looking the other way)
Solo artists are easier than bands, if for no other reason than solo artists don't break up in three albums. Mayer has had pop success, writes his own material and I hear he's a damn good guitarist. He's young and should get better at his craft as his career progresses.

Also throw in his appearances with notables and HOFers Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Eric Clapton and the like. He has also shown is not afraid to veer of the easy sales course (Try! John Mayer Trio Live) at the risk of alienating some of his fanbase and play what he likes.

Add this courage to try something new over the course of 20 years and I wouldn't at all be surprised to see more blues recordings with the adult singer-songwriter output. I may not be a fan of his music, but he doesn't strike me as dumb. I think he has a pretty fertile brain, and with the music industry it's a whole lot easier to sell those ideas once you are established.

John Mayer could be Greater Than or Equal To These Inductees in 2025: Jackson Browne, Bob Seger, AC/DC, Tom Petty, Aerosmith, James Taylor

Alicia Keys
Another young artist with big sales numbers, a bookshelf full of glowing reviews and some gold plated paperweights. She writes some of her own material, but in R&B/Soul that's not so much of a hinderance. She can spend the next twenty years growing as a songwriter, maybe release a covers album or two, and venture even ever so slightly into her influences, and it's in the bag.

Oooh, Alicia Keys is a good one. Her second album was a huge step up from her debut, and I have no reason to believe that she'll regress anytime soon. That track she did with Timbaland was nuts!

James Blunt

What hard rock/not quite metal bands will parallel the crap that's getting in recently?

Wait a second, they don't have to stay together, look at The Police, they were like 77-83, right? And they got in. So all you have to do is make some kind of impact, or be remembered 25 years after you started, right?

Shit, creed will probably get in, won't they.

I'd be more upset if those emo/pop-punk bands these days get nominated.

For that matter the Sex Pistols made it.

neko case?
the shins?
ryan adams?
kings of leon?

who knows.

Ike Reilly could make a run. He's three for three, with solid material that will hopefully show up on his fourth. He's shown remarkable versatility, and writes songs that pack a wallop. Marry all that to a decade of "dues paying" before his first album and critical but not widespread popular acclaim, and you've got a pretty strong case.

aren't most of the artists in the HOF pretty succesful commercially so we may be barking up the wrong tree.

I say:

Green Day