"Management told me the other day we got in," Hagar said. "I'm curious to see if we actually do get inducted. I can't believe we wouldn't, looking at who else is up for it. Certainly R.E.M. deserves to be there. Certainly Patti Smith deserves to be there. The rest is probably just a matter of opinion."

Hagar is skeptical that a Van Halen reunion with David Lee Roth will happen anytime soon, feeling that there are too many egos involved for it to work. Hagar thinks that volatility will be on display at the Rock Hall ceremony:

"I think it could be ugly," he said. "This might be the best one ever! It's what everybody wants. They want to see blows thrown and yelling and screaming and people making fools of themselves and trying to outshine each other.

"This could be a real comedy, man. This could be a reality series right here.

"I don't think it's gonna be a real friendly, beautiful scene. . . .I could go there and jam with them. Ed, Mike, Al and I probably could pull it off, 'cause we just did it [in 2004]. We were professional when we went onstage.

"But you throw Dave in that mix, and I just don't see it working. Dave's gonna want it to be all about him. Ed's gonna want it to be all about him. And that's a tough one right there. I'll probably just be sitting over in the corner, cracking up."

"I'm very thrilled," he said. "There is so much talent out there, and for us to even be nominated is a huge honor. We were at the beginning of the musical revolution called the British Invasion.

"In England, we had to sell a million records to just knock the Beatles off the No. 1 spot with 'Glad All Over.' We then went on to tour the world four times and played to millions of fans."

In other sad news, on December 17th, DC5 sax player, Denis Payton, died of cancer at the age of 63. Before he passed away, Payton had said he was thrilled by the nomination, "I know I won't be around but it was an amazing part of my life that I am very proud of."

Ahmet was a founder of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, as well as chairman of its governing foundation. In recognition of his contributions to popular music, he was himself elected to the Hall of Fame in 1987, and the Museum’s main exhibition hall in Cleveland bears his name.

If the Future Rock Hall poll is an accurate indication of the Rock Hall Voting Committee, then R.E.M., Van Halen, Patti Smith, the Stooges, and Grandmaster Flash & the Furious FIve will be the names announced on January 8th.

The Museum exhibit "will feature memorabilia from No Doubt, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, NOFX, New Found Glory, My Chemical Romance, Joan Jett, Dropkick Murphys, Bouncing Souls, Rancid, Helmet, Taking Back Sunday, Senses Fail, All-American Rejects and others."

After the exhibit closes in September, the Museum will be put the items "into a 'time capsule' to be stored at the Museum for 25 years, opened at a special event in 2031 and again displayed for an additional six months."

While the Museum is waiting around for 2031, Future Rock Hall should be able to give you a good idea of whether or not the above bands will be relevant 25 years from now.

“We have been nominated before, but this time we might make it. People finally have caught up with what my ex [Phil Spector] was doing all those years. Now everybody sees what was going on.”
Asked to elaborate, Spector says her ex had written a letter in 1994 telling Hall of Fame voters not to nominate the Ronettes, because the group was his creation. “My [current] husband (Greenfield) was given a copy of the letter by a business associate,” says Spector.

Keeping in mind the large number of voters that are products of the 60's, and the lack of other similar artists on this year's ballot, this may in fact be the year that the Ronettes get inducted.

I have information from a highly placed source that Van Halen will likely tour in 2007 with David Lee Roth as frontman.

Negotiations are currently underway to re-unite Van Halen with their original frontman for a tour in 2007 that will take in Amercia and possibly other territories. While nothing in the world of Van Halen is set until the band walk out on stage, I can confirm that negotiations between all parties have been underway for some time, trying to put together a big 2007 re-union tour.

One would presume the tour will feature classic VH era songs only. What I do not yet know is whether this plan includes exiled bass player Michael Anthony.

I'd be lying if I said it wouldn't be nice, but you know, that's a boys club too. And the people that run it, they've got their own little agenda. So the truth of the matter is the greatest compliment that I've had is the idea that twenty years and a hundred million albums later -- that's much cooler than anything else.

Nomination and induction into the Hall of Fame is not about popularity, records sales, which label the group is on, or anything other than the process below. The love for, the evaluation of, and the impact of any artist are subjective questions to be answered by the nominators and the voters. Unlike baseball, football, basketball or hockey, statistics are not relevant. Please read below:

The entire nomination and induction process is coordinated by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation in New York City. Individuals can be inducted in four categories: Performer, Early Influence, Non-Performer and Side-Men. The only formal criteria for the performance category is that an artist has to have had their first record 25 years ago. That said, candidates are reviewed and discussed relative to their impact on this music that we broadly call rock and roll. The innovation and influence of these artists is also critical. Gold records, number one hits, and million sellers are really not appropriate standards for evaluation.

The formal selection of Performers begins with an extensive panel of journalists, historians, previous inductees, noted musicians, industry heads, etc. In turn, those nominated are sent to a committee of more than 800 people around the world (journalists, historians, music industry management, all previous inductees, musicians, etc.) who vote. Those receiving the highest number of votes and more than 50% of the votes cast are inducted into the Hall. Usually, this means five to seven new performing members each year. So you can see the road to being inducted is an arduous one and for the most part, removed from the realm of influences or politics.

Halls of Fame [could be] restructured like pyramids. We'll assign each elected player to a level, with the shakiest picks (the Phil Rizzuto types) on the first floor; solid guys (the Terry Bradshaw types) on the second; no-brainers (the Wade Boggs types) on the third; defining superstars (the Tom Seaver types) on the fourth; and the pantheon guys (The Babe, MJ and the like) in the penthouse.

I once pitched this idea in a column about the Baseball Hall of Fame, but why couldn't every sport adopt it? Imagine how fun the voting would be. And how cool the buildings would look. And the goosebumps you'd get as you climbed to the next level.

What exactly is rock and roll? Having spent many years as a member of the Hall of Fame nominating committee (a position I no longer hold), I can tell you that endless hours have been devoted to this question, and it has never been definitively answered. Some critics — most notably the English writer Charlie Gillett, in his groundbreaking 1970 book, "The Sound of the City" — have argued that rock and roll is, if not "dead," at least historically complete, and now a part of the past.

During my second year on the committee, I received a petition signed by 5000 fans of the Moody Blues requesting that the group be considered for nomination. Personally I am not much of a fan, and neither, apparently, was anyone else on the committee (at least no one who would admit it). Still, I felt they were a legitimate contender for the nomination and that it was my duty to present the petition since so many people had taken a lot of time to put it together. I plunked it down on the conference table to a great roar of laughter from the assembled bigshots.

Jon Landau, Springsteen's manager, asked me if I personally was a fan of theirs. 'Not really,' I said. 'End of discussion,' he said.

On the other hand, I saw how Atlantic Records artists were routinely placed into nomination with no discussion at all, due to the large concentration of Atlantic executives on the committee. I saw how so-called critical favorites were placed into nomination while artists that were massively popular in their time were brushed off. I saw how certain pioneering artists of the 50s and early 60s were shunned because there needed to be more name power on the list, resulting in 70s superstars getting in before the people who made it possible for them. Some of those pioneers still aren't in today — but Queen is.

I was finally kicked off the committee after writing a guest editorial for Billboard in which I criticized the Hall for its insider ways.

Almost ten years later nothing has changed.

"They're worthy of induction," Stewart said. "They've influenced many other artists. They've also extended their band into almost a lifestyle, through merchandising."

So why hasn't KISS been enshrined?

"It's not a slight," Stewart said.

"The process is rigorous and methodical."

Worthy inductees eventually are honored, just not always quickly enough for fans or the musicians themselves, Stewart said.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation is no place for the light of heart, that's for sure. The latest scandal involves 20-year chief Suzan Evans, the loyal administrator who despite much criticism has carried out Jann Wenner's whims without fail.

Now Evans has been rudely disposed by Wenner and replaced by an executive from Clear Channel Communications. So much for loyalty. But then again, Wenner is famous for hiring and firing magazine editors all the time. It's a wonder he took this long to dump Evans.

"Jann Wenner is a terrible person," says a foundation insider. "Suzan is very upset."

Kiss is not a great band, Kiss was never a great band, Kiss never will be a great band, and I have done my share to keep them off the ballot.

The beauty of America is that you can basically start any kind of private club you want to. This one happens to be called the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It's a very impressive name for a club but it's an illusion. It's the creation of a group of industry people and critics who decide who they deem as qualified to be in their little admiration society. It's their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but it's not the people's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Have you ever voted? I know I haven't. That's why the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, besides having people who very much belong in there, have an abundance of people who most people will scratch their head and not even have a clue who they are. I don't have anything against anybody who's been inducted, but more than a couple of them are a joke. A band or musician's impact is measured by how they change and influence society and other musicians. That and how many albums and concert tickets they sell should be what gets them into the Hall of Fame. As far as I'm concerned it's a private club with a misleading name. It's a sham.

Fans can rest assured that the KISS legacy will live on whether they are recognized by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame or not.

After eleven years as a band, Sleater-Kinney have decided to go on indefinite hiatus. The upcoming summer shows will be our last. As of now, there are no plans for future tours or recordings.
 
We feel lucky to have had the support of many wonderful people over the years. We want to thank everyone who has worked with us, written kind words about us, performed with us, and inspired us.
 
But mostly we want to extend our gratitude to our amazing fans. You have been a part of our story from the beginning. We could not have made our music without your enthusiasm, passion, and loyalty. It is you who have made the entire journey worthwhile.
 
With love and thanks,
Sleater-Kinney

The Smashing Pumpkins have announced on their website that they are working on material for a new album. Unless Billy Corgan can convince D'Arcy and James Iha to come back, I'm not sure how this will be much different than Billy's other post-Pumpkins projects. Let's just hope it's better than Billy's disasterous solo album, The Future Embrace.