Songs Of Proof: The Class Of 2020

 It was the year that nobody wants to relive.  The death toll was insane.  Fashion included new facial wear.  Everyone became proficient in making sourdough bread.  Japan officially granted Godzilla citizenship.  Civil rights unrest so incindiary, it almost felt nuclear.  By the end of the year, the whole world knew it was a boy, there were fewer baby girls being named "Karen," and the murder hornets didn't even make the highlight reel.  It was a year so traumatic that it still feels like it's that year.  A year so bad, we've all but completely stopped saying, "Hindsight is 20/20."

But if you were looking at the Class Of 2020 for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame when they were announced at the end of 2019, you might not have suspected it'd be so bad.  The downsides were the continuing trends of poor representation of women and people of color (especially living) and the claws of cronyism still firmly inserted in the Non-Performer category.  The upsides though, included electronic music finally gaining some ground, and the move to represent the '80s seeming to be succeeding.  Eight inductees, and there were a lot of high hopes for the ceremony, as new things were expected to be tried.  In all fairness, new things were tried too, just not what was hoped to be attempted.  In any event, it was a class of inductees that most people had some degree of excitement for, and in my little tradition of making a great playlist and program out of it, it is time to honor each of these inductees with a single song either by them, or that relates to them in some way.

Irving Azoff:  My choice for Big Shorty is a rather amusing one.  Indeed, when I read that he would be an inductee, I immediately took to looking up who some of the bigger name artists that he managed might be.  It didn't necessarily have to be a big name, but it would help.  Honestly, my choice of song for this man was pretty much set in stone early on.  My choice of artist is partially a protest, but it is also sincere in its own right.  There's an additional irony that the artist I chose was managed by Azoff at the time I did my research, which was after the announcement of Irving as an inductee, but who by the time the HBO broadcast aired, was on the way out the door, if not already out.  Regardless, I'm sticking with this song because it otherwise checks all the boxes.  This is an artist that Azoff managed for two decades, that he may have had to flex his business muscle to free out of an unfavorable contract situation, and was the manager of at the time this song was popular.  This artist was also chosen as a protest against the lack of female representation in the Hall.  Finding the right song was serendipitous.  Even in my own playlist, this is the third song by a female artist to represent a male inductee in this category (unless you count the Teddy Bears representing Phil Spector).  But the song chosen, primarily for the title, speaks to Azoff's clout in the industry.  This is a man who can get things done.  If you want an image change, Azoff will usually nurture it.  If there was a contract you wanted out of, he could break it for you.  And if you thought anyone could do it as quickly, efficiently, or as powerfully as Irving Azoff, well... "Ain't No Other Man."  Christina Aguilera debuts in this great passion project of mine.

Depeche Mode:  For the longest time, my choice of song for Depeche Mode was "Just Can't Get Enough," because it's so iconic and catchy.  What it is not, however, is representative of their sound.  I don't always do it that way, but after some consideration, I decided to change the Song Of Proof for this band.  As a truly innovative band that drew inspiration from the most bizarre places, always looked for ways to update their sound, and largely had a dark and brooding feel to many of their songs; it seemed like the best choice was something that at least attempted to reflect all those things.  In that vein, I thought "Strangelove" would be an appropriate choice for them, but not the original.  So often we prefer the original, but in this case, I chose the 1988 version, a slightly bigger hit on the pop charts, but the much lower charting version on the dance music charts..  Still, doing new mixes and updating their sound in new ways is part of how they've stayed cutting edge and is a better reflection on why they deserved their enshrinement into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.  Side note: their acceptance speech Zoom conference was the highlight of the HBO special for me.

The Doobie Brothers:  It's not a Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction class without some semblance of classic rock, it seems.  This year, it was the Doobie Brothers.  And I'm actually glad they got in.  "Yacht rock" is a derogatory term of hindsight for what was, at that time, was a hodgpodge of singer/songwriter, blue-eyed soul, and an evolution from the hippie love-in style of the '60s.  The truth is a song like "Takin' It To The Streets" was soulful enough to have been covered by the O'Jays or the Spinners, in my opinion.  Same for "Minute By Minute."  Earlier songs like "Black Water" and "Long Train Running" maybe weren't quite as soulful, but they weren't cookie cutter, either.  It's okay to have a purely populist pick, and the Doobie Brothers were a good selection for that slot this time around.  My choice for this band is unchanged from what it was back when they were still only "Previously Considered."  "Jesus Is Just Alright" has a great rock and roll feel to it, with a hint of soul that comes through in the lyrics, harmonies, and doo-wop-like lines between chorus and verses.  It's nowhere near their biggest hit, but it's one people know and generally like.  Solid song from a solid band.

Whitney Houston:  An absolute powerhouse of talent and memorable songs, it's embarrassing that it took this long to get Whitney Houston inducted.  Maybe the powers-that-be thought her torch ballads were a little too saccharine or too prominent in her catalog,  Other than maybe "I Will Always Love You," I'd say that's a patently absurd argument, and even with that song, it's really more the inescapability of that song when it was topping the charts that made people sick of hearing it, similar to "All I Want For Christmas Is You" every December.  But when you just stop and think that this is someone who took a national anthem into the pop charts, that's just so implausible that the fact it happened speaks volumes about the quality of the performer.  That's not even getting into the danceable jams that made her a staple of R&B in the late '80s.  So grab your favorite being and flail around this strange planet, because the song for this legend is the fourth of her seven consecutive #1 hits, "I Wanna Dance Somebody (Who Loves Me)."  One of four songs that recharted after her death in 2012, it still cracked the Top 40, and despite its unquestionably 1980's production values, it's still as fun to play at your party, and maybe even attempt at karaoke night.  Not that I've ever tried that.  Seriously, I haven't, it's just fun and catchy enough that someone you know has attempted it at some point. 

Jon Landau:  As much as I wanted to use another female artist to protest the lack of representation, I also felt it would have been really disingenuous to use a Shania Twain or Natalie Merchant song for this man.  I thought that would have been corroborating or legitimizing the skewed storytelling that the Hall tried to feed us in the video package for him during the HBO special.  I've already expressed my disdain for the general idea of inducting critics into the Hall for their work as critics, and his production credits are too sporadic and minor to go that route.  It's about his work as a manager, and whereas it's legit to use a female artist for Azoff, because he's famous for representing a multitude of acts and talents, Landau, by contrast, is ultimately famous for managing one act, period.  That's without even getting sinister about his place in the Foundation organization, but we're here to pay tribute to Caesar, not bury him.  It has to be the Boss.  As was the case with Irving Azoff, the title of the chosen song just really lends itself naturally to honoring Landau.  And as a bonus, it's a song that Landau had a hand in producing.  Not that I'm throwing a bone to his defense, it just happened to work out that way.  A good manager takes care of their artists, covers them, one might say.  It's also one of my favorite songs by Springsteen and company; so crank it up for "Cover Me."

Nine Inch Nails:  This was actually the very last Song Of Proof for this class to be chosen.  Much of that had to do with the fact that what I wanted to believe archetypal industrial music sounded like and what a good chunk of Nine Inch Nails' music actually sounds like are two different things.  Basically, I wanted "Head Like A Hole," but faster and even more brash and cacophonous.  Needless to say, I needed to reprogram my understanding of this music.  I feel like I went a little bit cliche, but it's still a solid pick.  I can't really describe why this seems to be the best choice, given everything I was looking for, but the serendipity of this song being in a movie soundtrack was just icing on the cake.  It feels really experimental.  The perfect blend of pace and emotional feel, the perfect marriage of technical and technological wizardry, the perfect mental picture painted by the lyrics to describe Nine Inch Nails, the perfect song to use, really.... "The Perfect Drug."

The Notorious B.I.G.:  The choice for Biggie was "Big Poppa."  It might not be quite as famous as "Hypnotize" or "Juicy," but it was still a pretty big hit for him.  It really gives an overall feeling to the general gestalt of Mr. Wallace's music.  It has some real pop sensibilities, but it also still has a little bit of a street feel to it.  It projects an overall vibe of the man, demonstrates his flow rate, and firmly establishes his claim as one of the all-time greatest rappers.  The choice of sampling is impeccable, and it is a song that you can either relate to or just chill while listening to.  It's uniquely his, even to the point of being the only artist of credit on the song, but it feels like a song that's for everyone to some degree.  Great song overall.

T. Rex:  In terms of legacy, T. Rex is a rather odd band.  Marc Bolan was clearly at the helm, and yet, it definitely wasn't all about him.  Their music had very strong hints of bubblegum music from the '60s, but it was more than that.  There were sometimes hints of folk, psychedelia, and harder-edged rock.  They were also considered by many, especially in the United Kingdom, as pioneers of both glam and punk.  I personally don't hear the simplicity and rawness of punk in their songs, but if they were influential to punk and post-punk bands, then I certainly won't attempt to argue.  Calling T. Rex "bubblegum" is unfair, but not without merit.  I think of them more as Tootsie Pops.  There's the really sweet, fruit-flavored layer to it, but underneath lies the darker-flavored chocolate of their distortion and palpable bass.  Yet that part of it is also sweet, but a different kind of sweetness.  And while I was strongly considering "20th Century Boy" and "Metal Guru," I ultimately concluded that it isn't necessarily playing up to Americentric biases in the Hall's Foundation to keep "Bang A Gong (Get It On)" as the choice for this band.  It might be a little grittier than some of the other songs, especially "Ride A White Swan," but it still has the elements there of all that T. Rex was said to be influential upon.  So it stays. 

And with that, we have reached the end of the Class Of 2020.  Eight inductees, eight songs.  We'll never know what the live broadcast would have looked like, but the presentation we were given was pretty awesome.  As vaccinations are taking place, it's looking more and more like there might be an actual gathering for the Class Of 2021.  I don't think I'll be able to attend this year, unfortunately.  Having the ceremony in the fourth quarter of the year, which is the first quarter of my work calendar, certainly doesn't help, but I do hope to join all my fellow hobbyists at a ceremony one of these years.  Meanwhile, until then, I'm not officially committing to any song for any of those thirteen inductees.  As for 2020, do you have any thoughts on these eight selections?  Any songs you would have used instead?  Feel free to chime in; the Comments section awaits below.  And as a recap:

Irving Azoff: "Ain't No Other Man" by Christina Aguilera
Depeche Mode: "Strangelove" ('88)
the Doobie Borthers: "Jesus Is Just Alright"
Whitney Houston: "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)"
Jon Landau: "Cover Me" by Bruce Springsteen
Nine Inch Nails: "The Perfect Drug"
the Notorious B.I.G.: "Big Poppa"
T. Rex: "Bang A Gong (Get It On)"