The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame have announced the nominees for induction to the 2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Rage Against The Machine and Radiohead were nominated in their first year of eligibility, while Stone Temple Pilots were not. Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails, and Jane’s Addiction continued to be snubbed.
In Soundgarden’s case it is very surprising since Chris Cornell died in May, and he appeared at the Rock Hall of Fame before. Critics have always hated Stone Temple Pilots, but many have reappraised the band after Scott Weiland’s death in 2015 and the recent 25th anniversary of Core reissue.
Fan voting will take place soon to help determine the 2018 inductees.
2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees:
Bon Jovi
Kate Bush
The Cars
Depeche Mode
Dire Straits
Eurythmics
J. Geils Band
Judas Priest
LL Cool J
MC5
The Meters
Moody Blues
Radiohead
Rage Against the Machine
Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
Nina Simone
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Link Wray
The Zombies
Chris Cornell revealed why he doesn’t think too much about Soundgarden getting into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in an April 2017 Den of Geek interview, despite his bandmate Matt Cameron being inducted with Pearl Jam.
“To be honest, it doesn’t really make any difference to me,” he said, although he himself inducted Heart a few years ago and admitted he’s “really proud” of bandmate Cameron (who would go in again if Soundgarden gets the nod).
“I’m not trying to be negative about it. The one thing about inducting Heart was that I was actually really moved by their fans, and the fans were the people in the cheap seats that were screaming, and they were outside saying hi every time you’d come and go over the course of the two days. That was when it made sense to me, that it matters to the fans, and if it matters to the fans, then I think it matters. But they deserve ownership of it.”
Soundgarden have been eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for a few years now, but weren’t even listed in the fan voting poll last year for band’s eligible for induction, despite being the first Seattle Grunge band to sign a major label deal. Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic proclaimed on social media following Pearl Jam’s induction that Soundgarden should go into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
