The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has announced its 19 nominees for possible induction in 2018, which includes nine first-time nominees, two of which are eligible for the first time this year.
Per the induction rules, artists first become eligible 25 years after the release of their first record. So this year, new artists circa 1992 are eligible, and thus Radiohead and Rage Against The Machine are on the ballot. Other first-timers include Eurythmics, Kate Bush, Nina Simone, Judas Priest, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Dire Straits, and The Moody Blues.
The nominees are voted on by more than 900 artists, historians, and members of the music industry, with the top five vote-getters making the cut. (The top five recipients of votes in the Hall’s online poll form one ballot, “which is weighted the same as the rest of the submitted ballots,” and that tells you how much they value the input of the public.)
Nominees that don’t make the top five are thrown back into the lake for possible re-nomination in subsequent years, so the remaining ten this year are previous nominees: Depeche Mode, Bon Jovi, MC5, The Zombies, The Meters, Link Wray, Rufus with Chaka Khan, LL Cool J, J. Geils Band, and The Cars, the poor Cars, who’re now nominated for the fifth damn time. C’mon, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Let’s go! (See what I did there?)
Check out the full list of nominees, and cast your not-very-highly-valued vote, here.