Last year, the Blerd Radio team had one of its most interesting discussions centered around the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. That discussion went so well, we decided to attack it this year with a fresh list of nominees. The end result was another interesting discussion. How interesting, you ask? So interesting that we had to split the discussion in half. Look for the second part later this week.

Dr. Z couldn’t make this podcast, so you’re left with a trio of Mikes: myself, Mr. Parr and Mr. Cunningham. Three is definitely not a crowd in this instance, and the first half of this edition of Blerd Radio covers:

-General overview: what elements of the Hall of Fame do we like and dislike? This is a rehash of our discussion from last year…what are the parameters, and will there come a point when everyone is in the Hall of Fame? Furthermore, what is rock ‘n roll?

-Ladies and gentlemen, the ageless Jann Wenner.

Rolling Stone magazine's founder, Jann Wenner.

-Are we looking at a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with Taylor Swift and Britney Spears in 15-20 years? And can we get some love for Cher, for Chrissakes? (leading to a discussion on whether the Hall of Fame is discriminatory towards female artists.)

-This year’s nominees are:

PAUL BUTTERFIELD BLUES BAND- (collective yawn and WTF? from the panel, for the second straight year.)

CHIC- Another second-straight-year nominee, and one we’re all (still) quite passionate about. We run through a list of Nile Rodgers’ accomplishments, and also make the connection between Nile and another performer on the list of nominees, Stevie Ray Vaughan.

-Did Chic kick off the modern-day producer’s era?

(we almost go into fits about Isaac Hayes not being in the HOF, before realizing he was inducted thirteen years ago.)

GREEN DAY– Are Mike, Tre and Billie Joe first-ballot worthy? They’re certainly influential, although Cunningham might be not as much a fan as the rest of us. How punk rock!

-Sidebar: Might the HOF go easy on the star power this year?

JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS- Does an induction for her (them? Who are The Blackhearts, anyway?) ensure that The Runaways will never get inducted? And what does this mean for other rockers of the ’80s? (Melissa Etheridge, Tracy Chapman, Sinead O’ Connor…)

-Is the HOF unfairly biased against non-American artists?

KRAFTWERK– This really just gives Parr and Cunningham a chance to bust out their German accents.

THE MARVELETTES- Does “the 5th best girl group on Motown” deserve a spot in the Hall of Fame?

N.W.A.– Is Dr. Dre the richest Black musician in the world?

Does N.W.A.’s music deserve a critical re-evaluation? Where do they stand in the hip-hop canon?

We also show respect to Salt ‘n Pepa (who haven’t even been nominated yet) while also cracking a joke at their expense.

NINE INCH NAILS: Let’s be real, here. This is one fairly long gush for Trent Reznor.

There’ll be a Part II!: We talked so much we decided to split the podcast up. Look for the second half, coming soon.

In the meantime, listen to Part I in the player below, or download it directly from LibSyn.

You can also get our podcast on iTunes, and be sure to leave us a comment!