Light On Dark Water

A Controversial Question

I tend not to bother writing about the standard big controversies of the day. It's not that I don't care, or don't think they're important, but most of what I have to say about them is being said perfectly well by other people, and most people already have well-defined views on them, and many other forums in which to air those views if they're of a mind to. But I do venture into that territory when it's warranted, and I think in this case it is:

Should ABBA be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

My answer: yes.

Ok, you can argue that their music should not, strictly speaking, be called "rock and roll." But if, e.g., Madonna, The Four Seasons, and the Bee Gees, are in there, ABBA very much deserves to be. Just call their music timelessly brilliant pop, if you prefer. And don't try to take my copy of Gold away from me. Hier stehe ich; ich kann nicht anders.

Maclin Horton

17 responses to “A Controversial Question”

  1. Janet Cupo

    I’m glad we’ve settled that. It’s been weighing heavily on me all day.
    AMDG

    Reply
  2. Pentimento

    Well, yes. Of course.

    Reply
  3. Mac

    So it’s not as controversial as I thought? And here I am all prepared for martyrdom.

    Reply
  4. Janet Cupo

    Well, you know, the readers of this blog are just brainwashed clones.

    Reply
  5. Mac

    Of course, most of you/us being Catholic.

    Reply
  6. Janet Cupo

    Maybe the clone thing is why you and Pentimento have the same icon. Of course, that’s only when you are Mac, when you are Maclin Horton, you have another icon.
    AMDG

    Reply
  7. Mac

    Yes, there are probably only a dozen or so basic Catholic clones, maybe fewer. Funny it took us so long to figure this out. But I guess that goes with being brainwashed and programmed.

    Reply
  8. antiaphrodite

    Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus have been listed as rock stars. So yes, I don’t see much controversy in your argument.

    Reply
  9. Mac

    Oh no. Now you’re making me reconsider. If it means I have to let them in, perhaps ABBA shouldn’t be there. Perhaps the Hall of Fame should be reconfigured as a box holding a few 45s of Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, the Beatles, and five or six others.

    Reply
  10. antiaphrodite

    Aheh.

    Reply
  11. Paul

    Who could possibly think otherwise?

    Reply
  12. Janet Cupo

    The comments seem to be working well.
    AMDG

    Reply
  13. Basil Seal

    I’ve always thought that entrance into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was a bit like the Sex Pistols reunion tour being sponsored by American Expression. If you know what I mean…
    Although I’m pretty sure ABBA does not belong in the same club as the Ramones…

    Reply
  14. Basil Seal

    erm… make that American Express though American Expression sounds nicer.

    Reply
  15. Mac

    Yeah, it’s not to be taken seriously at all–like the Grammies, the Oscars, so-and-so’s list of the 100 greatest albums ever, etc. I was slightly surprised at ABBA being included, though. I suppose they’re not as un-hip as they used to be. In the mid-’70s I worked a couple of jobs where the radio was playing a lot, and ABBA was always a breath of fresh air.

    Reply
  16. Basil Seal

    On the rock family tree ABBA belongs somewhere on the disco trunk I suppose and somehow or other one of my favorite bands, New Order, is more a less a descendant in that line although it drew its members entirely from the surviving members of the goth/punk Joy Division. To say nothing of later projects of the Clash’s Mick Jones (Big Audio Dynamite) and even John Lydon nee Rotten’s Public Image Ltd. And of course Blondie, whose greatest success was probably their disco-ish cover of The Tide is High. When I think about it like that, ABBA seems like a natural but maybe it’s just because I watched Muriel’s Wedding the other night…

    Reply
  17. Mac

    Yeah, I suppose ABBA does fit there, but I think of them more as something the disco crowd adopted than as a real part of that development. To me they seem more like a development of the lighter side of pop. How that fits with their actual history and intentions I don’t know. Though at least one of them was in a Scandinavian rock band that was popular there in the mid-60s.
    Funny you should mention New Order–I’ve been considering…what’s the name of it?…famous album with flowers on the cover…as one of my monthly downloads at eMusic.com. I like Joy Division’s “Closer” though I know NO sounds nothing like that.
    Not familiar with Muriel’s Wedding.

    Reply

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