Art and Competition
The latest list of nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has been released . Among them are Guns N' Roses, Heart, Cure and Joan Jett. Among a list of artists who are not only not in the R&RHOF but have never been nominated are T-Rex, the Smiths, Yes, Jethro Tull, Devo, Todd Rundgren, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Roxy Music, Willie Nelson, Warren Zevon, the Replacements, ELO, Chubby Checker, Hall and Oates, Los Lobos, Black Flag, X, the B-52s, Dick Dale, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Nick Drake, Captain Beefheart, Sonic Youth and the Go-Go’s. Some people are up in arms over these omissions. Such is life when you confuse art with competition. The same thing happens with Emmy Awards, Oscars, Grammy Awards and Tony Awards. Some expert opines that so-and-so has been shafted by either not being nominated or not winning. That's a shame, but it's the issue that one encounters when one brings competition into art. The two should not commingle, becaus...