Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2016 Nominees Announced

It feels like it was just yesterday that we were announcing the nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class of 2015 and now, the class of 2016 nominees have been unveiled. On Thursday (Oct. 8), the official list of nominees which includes 15 potential inductees was released. Making it onto this year’s list are Nine Inch Nails, The Smiths, The Cars, Cheap Trick, N.W.A., Janet Jackson, and more.

Other potential inductees include Chic, Deep Purple, Chicago, Steve Miller, Yes, Los Lobos, The Spinners, The J.B.’s, and season 21 Dancing with the Stars contestant Chaka Khan.

This year’s list marks the second year both Nine Inch Nails and The Smiths are eligible to be inducted into the Hall of Fame while it’s the first year Janet Jackson, The Cars, and Cheap Trick can rightfully be nominated. In a twist, this year marks the tenth time that Chic has been nominated for this honor. (Can we just give it to them already?)

N.W.A.’s nomination comes on the heels of the success of their biography-based film, Straight Outta Compton, while Jackson released her new album, Unbreakable, earlier this month and is currently in the middle of touring in support of the new record.

In order for an artist to be eligible to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, their first recording must have been released at least 25 years ago. But, being nominated is just half the battle for this honor. From now until Dec. 9, a group of artists, historians, and music industry members will get to decide who gets entry to the museum in April 2016.

Recently, fans have been given the opportunity to vote for their favorite artists by using the “fan’s ballot.” The “fan’s ballot” will count as one of the more than 600 ballots used to determine who gets inducted next spring. Currently, fans can head on over to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s official website to cast their votes. The polls will officially close on Dec. 9 with the top five artists being announced later that month.

Last year,  Green Day, Lou Reed (posthumously), Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Bill Withers, and The Paul Butterfield Blues Band were inducted into the iconic Cleveland museum.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2015 Nominees Announced

It’s that time of year again; the time when the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announce the nominees for the class of 2015.

Among the 15 artists being considered for inclusion at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland are: Green Day, Nine Inch Nails, The Smiths, Lou Reed, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Kraftwerk, N.W.A., Sting, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, The Marvelettes, The Spinners, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Chic, War, and Bill Withers.

In order for a musician to be considered for a nomination into the Hall of Fame, their first recording (or debut record) must have been released at least 25 years ago.

For Green Day and Nine Inch Nails, this is the first year that either band have been eligible for consideration. Green Day’s debut record 1,000 Hours and Nine Inch Nails’ Pretty Hate Machine were both released in 1989.

Unlike Green Day and Nine Inch Nails, The Smith have been eligible for years now, but this is the first time they have been nominated. Joan Jett & the Blackhearts as well as N.W.A have been nominated a total of three times now, while Kraftwerk have been nominated one time before.

Lou Reed was previously been inducted into the Hall of Fame as a member of Velvet Underground while Sting was inducted as a member of The Police.

Ballots will now be sent out to an international voting body of over 600 rock experts which include artists, historians, and music industry members. The top five nominees with the most votes will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in April 2015.

Fans can also vote on their worthy nominees with the “fan’s ballot” which accounts for one of the 600 ballots. Fans have until Dec. 9 to put in their votes over at RollingStone. com.

The Smiths Rare Demo Surfaces

Yesterday, Smiths’ drummer, Mike Joyce posted on Twitter a link to rare demo tracks from the band. The track titled, “The Pablo Cuckoo Tape,” is a 39 minute mixtape recorded in Manchester in 1983, according to the video’s description. The full mixtape can be seen below as well as the full description of the video.

“Astonishing newly Unearthed, Very Rare Rehearsal Recording
{Awash with Unusual idiosyncrasies & early lyrics}
Recorded @ Crazy Face, 13~15 Chapel Walks, Manchester.
~
You’ve Got Everything Now
Accept Yourself 04:26
What Difference Does It Make 08:46
Reel Around The Fountain 12:52
These Things Take Time 19:28
I Don’t Owe You Anything 22:37
Hand In Glove 28:06
Handsome Devil 31:04
Miserable Lie 34:11
~
The origins of, ‘The Pablo Cuckoo Tape’ as told by the original ‘Source’ & ‘Up-loader’, ‘bellapintura’ c/o http://www.smithstorrents.co.uk/forum….
~
‘In May 1983 (exact date unknown), while preparing to record their debut album, The band ran through & recorded a selection of songs at a rehearsal in band manager, Joe Moss’ jeans warehouse (Crazy Face).
The cassette tape was recorded for Troy Tate in order to give him something to work with before going into the studio
I was lent the master cassette by a source close to the band who made the recording, let’s call him Pablo Cuckoo in 1997 with a view of trying to put it out as a semi-official release.
It’s pretty rough, but considering it was recorded on cassette with a stereo Mic pointing into the room, the quality isn’t too bad.
Morrissey’s vocals are a bit distorted – maybe singing too close to the mic or maybe the cassette Mic was too close to the PA but everything else is surprisingly clear.
There is some tape flutter at various points’.
~
Free & Safe HQ lossless audio download available at the ever excellent Smiths Torrents http://www.smithstorrents.co.uk/forum… Courtesy of the very generous bellapintura.
~
The Moz & Joe Moss picture is sourced from, The Arcane Old Wardrobe http://foreverill.com/gallery/details… A Morrissey & The Smiths Photo cornucopia lovingly maintained by the indispensable Comtesse DeSpair”

Morrissey Readmitted into Hospital

Not even a month after being released from the hospital, Morrissey has once again been admitted into the hospital, but this time in San Francisco. Due to his ailing health, the singer has had to cancel yet another couple of tour dates from his current tour.

“Due to Morrissey’s medical condition, tonight’s engagement at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco will need to be rescheduled and will now take place on May 1,” read an update on his Facebook page concerning his cancellations.

According to True to You, a Morrissey webzine that usually release statements about The Smith frontman, Morrissey “is presently being treated in San Francisco for ‘double pneumonia,’ but remains on court to headline the Vive Latino festival in Mexico City on March 14.”

This will be the second time that he has been admitted to the hospital in 2013. The first time was in Michigan this past January where it was confirmed that he had a bleeding ulcer which resulted in him having to reschedule stops in Chicago, Minneapolis and Atlanta.

After being released, he resumed his touring duties on Feb. 9 in Las Vegas and then pulled out of his Jimmy Kimmel Live appearance once he was informed that the co-guest stars would be the cast of A&E’s Duck Dynasty who make their living from selling equipment used to capture and kill ducks.

In case you didn’t know, Morrissey is a super serious about animal rights and just finished performing at the beginning of the month at the first ever Vegetarian Concert at the Staples Center in LA.

Morrissey Cancels Three More Tour Dates

After having to cancel several tour dates last month, Morrissey has released a statement letting fans know that he would have to cancel three more tour stops because of his health had been getting worse. Last month, he had to cancel six tour stops in Asheville, North Carolina; Nashville; Atlanta; Lawrence, Kansas; Clear Lake, Iowa; and Lincoln, Nebraska after being admitted into a Michigan hospital for a bleeding ulcer, but promised that he would postpone the dates and return as soon as he got better.

Dated Saturday, Feb. 16, Morrissey released a statement letting fans know how his condition has worsened and how he needs to cancel a few more tour dates. You can read the frontman’s full statement below:

I am terribly sorry that the next three shows have been moved back. The worst is for the best. I am certainly on the road to recovery, but caution and prevention demand further IV blood work lest I keel over and die before your very eyes. I apologize to an almost annoying degree for any trouble I’ve caused to anyone by way of travel plans and dog-sitters and ticket-outlay and re-molded hairstyles. I should be as fit as a ferret for San Diego. Please don’t be too appalled if you see me out and about this week in the Hollywood area. Perversely, it’s all in accordance with doctor’s orders: to have myself re-integrated with the call of the greasepaint and the smell of the crowd; the flash of light and the full thrust of mosh-pit sound. Illness turns the body into a complete stranger, and I’ll be testing the capabilities of my strides at the most unlikely music shows this week. The will to get on with it runs strong. Even death can be used as a springboard. For those scholars who are heatedly curious, my ulcer is now under reins, even if neither asleep nor dead, but the continued cause for concern is a slightly embarrassing absence of blood – most of which the bleeding ulcer relieved me of. Anemia sets its own terms with quite obvious biological conclusions, and I have spent these last weeks under expert medical care in Los Angeles with an almost erotic dependency on various IV drips. Sitting around reading indecent books is no substitute for continuing the tour, but my progress holds great promise and Flint shall not escape quite so lightly. We are all at the mercy of biological chance, and I once again beg for your liberal tolerance. If you bump into me this week at a heavy rock show, please understand that I’m lowering myself into the cut and thrust after weeks on ice – horizontal, with sockets empty of eyes. In the midst of the abyss, I’m saved by the news that tickets for the tour continue to sell very well, and my straightjacket twitches with excited gratitude. But the patient must be patient. Our goal, now, is San Diego, by which time my blood-work shall have finally taken its course and I shall be shot from a cannon and might even be equipped with an extra eye. We just never know, do we? Being on life’s danger list, I’ve found, actually prevents you from thinking about how you are, and there’s a bread-like warmth in giving in to whatever was meant for you and whatever wasn’t. The only critical mistake might be to confuse your pre-med with creativity – which is certainly worth the confusion if it renders you not fully present in your own life. Finally, I gorge myself on thanks for the many and varied messages of support that I’ve received over these recent four weeks. They have yanked me out of prolonged mood dips and cured a crisis of spirits. I fully realize that the word ‘cancellation’ in every known dictionary is followed by my own name, but no morale drops as low as my own at the mere suggestion of re-jigging shows. I sincerely ask for your pardon and your understanding. As for those of you who claim to now be officially sick to death of me – if this is really true, then why exactly are you reading this? As a matter of fact, I am even prepared to humble myself to nothing before those who carp; you see, any hospital-stay leaves us in danger of becoming unnecessarily agreeable. Life will right itself.

Whatever happens, I love you.

Morrissey
Los Angeles
16 February 2013

Morrissey is currently scheduled to perform at the first ever Vegetarian Concert at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on March 1, but with his current state of health, there’s a chance that he might not be able to.