The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2019 nominees are ...

[Yachtzee]

Big rock is still around in its own weird way. It's just highly segmented. We don't have radio stitching it all together the way it used to.

Personally, I blame the Decemberists for any perceived de-rocking we've endured. They were held up as some sort of new standard and they do not rock, at all. If only we had embraced the Electric Six like we should have.

Define "Big Rock." Is it back when classic rock bands used to sell out football stadiums? I actually think "Big Rock" was killed by Hair Metal. I remember watching one of those VH1 rockumentaries about the heyday of Heavy Metal, from it's beginnings in the '70s to the Hair Metal era in the late '80s/early '90s. They had an interview with Lita Ford on some beach, wrapped in a blanket, staring wistfully at the sea. They ask her what her feelings on the era were and she went into this diatribe about how Hair Metal was the last genre when it was still "Rock and Roll" and how Grunge killed true Rock music. She was so bitter. All I can think of is, "No, you and your compatriots did it to yourselves, with your focus on hair, makeup, overly slick production and formulaic songwriting." You want to talk about music that is "gross?" "Kiss Me Deadly" was terrible.

I worked the summers of 90-92 at Blossom Music Center when Hair Metal and Arena Rock were on the way out and Grunge and Alt-Rock were on the way in. One of the things you noticed was that there was a serious disconnect between what was being played on the radio and what shows were selling at the concert venues. Cleveland radio stations were still all about the Hard Rock and Hair Metal, but most of those bands were really struggling to sell tickets to their shows. Bands like Motley Crue and Poison, who used to sell out arenas couldn't even sell out the pavilion and Tesla's ticket sales were so bad the concert promoter asked us to bring in all the fans off the lawn and put them in the pavilion so that it didn't look so bad. Meanwhile, Lollapalooza would come through and sell out easily. I can remember playing Jane's Addiction on my college radio show and then, six months later, seeing them sell out the James A. Rhodes Arena at the University of Akron with the Rollins band opening up. Fun and interesting times.

I would say that I like bands like the Decemberists, that bring in influences from other music genres. And I like the White Stripes and the Black Keys. I suspect they'll get some mentions for the Rock Hall when the time comes. If you want to talk about gross bands that might get some Rock Hall love, I'm waiting to see what happens when Limp Bizkit, Nickelback, Fall Out Boy, and My Chemical Romance are eligible.

[M2]

I've got a soft spot for Limp Bizkit, MCR and Fallout Boy. They've got identifiable sounds and I don't run screaming if one of their songs play. Good for them managing to be big deal bands with people who aren't me.

Nickelback is just kind of funny. They got over by being the most generic band on the planet.

[Larry Schuler]

For a fleeting moment, Decemberists took over the entire market for folk/indie/maudlin-emo rock and then Mumford and Lumineers teamed up with Lana Del Ray and that niche was narrowed down and dried out even further into Coachella "indie".

At that point, the rock connection was killed off entirely and it basically became electro folk pop and now it's a sub-division of Spotify pop. That portal for the rainy city folky indie bands like the Decembrists, or even more emo 90s rock bands, to crack the mainstream now belongs to Instagram models and the children of the wealthy who want to buy a single to sing on with the hope Spotify spins it into a career.

If you're a talented rock band with career aspirations, you have to hope you become a Soundcloud/Bandcamp darling like Alex G or Car Seat Headrest or resign yourself to being on a cool label that has a decent following and let the critical and fan acclaim pay your bills. As terrible as My Chemical Romance are, they are a reminder of a time when niche sub-genres could turn into huge radio genres, for better or worse.