HOT: Rock Hall’s Next Class
If you even glance at social media, you know the 2016 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees have been announced, because every music fan posted their opinion — “If (fill in the blank) isn’t in the Hall, the whole thing’s a sham!” Die-hard fans of Cheap Trick, Chicago, Deep Purple, Steve Miller, Yes, The Cars, Nine Inch Nails, Chaka Khan, The Smiths, Chic, The J.B.’s, Janet Jackson, Los Lobos, N.W.A. and The Spinners might soon have to admit the Rock Hall is totally legit if those short-listed nominees make the cut this year. The 2016 inductees will be announced in December. Fans can have a say by voting at rockhall.com.
FACT: This is the most “Rock & Roll” nominee for the 2016 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:
WARM: Petty Opens Up
It’s rarely shocking when we learn a Rock star has/had substance abuse problems. But, even though he’s always seemed reallllly laaaaiid baccckk, the revelation that Tom Petty was a heroin addict came as a pretty big surprise, especially considering he was addicted in the ’90s, when Petty was in his 40s/early 50s. The news was leaked in advance of a forthcoming biography on Petty (due Nov. 10) by rocker/writer Warren Zanes, who told The Washington Post he had to assure Petty his addiction wouldn’t be romanticized before the rocker agreed to talk about it.
COLD: Back Up Your Phones!
What if Keith Richards had taped his initial idea for the “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” riff on a smartphone instead of a bulky recording device in a hotel room right before passing out? Rock history might have changed had Keef simply lost his phone. In April, Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett said 250 recording ideas for the next Metallica album were wiped out when he lost the iPhone on which he recorded them. More recently, Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith said the same thing happened to him, though his demos were embarrassing videos he recorded in his underwear. Luckily (?) for Smith, his phone was returned to him by a fan who was able to watch the videos, because (of course!) the guitarist didn’t have his device password-protected.
This article appears in Oct 14-20, 2015.