Todd Rundgren has finally broken his silence about being passed over for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this month, despite coming in third in the Fan Vote with 365,000 ballots.
During a Q&A (with Premiere’s Sal Cirrincione aboard last month’s On the Blue Cruise), Rundgren blasted the Hall.
“I was never serious about the Rock Hall of Fame and they know it. And that’s why they gerrymandered up the fricking fans out of the pop vote. You know, they picked eight acts – they usually pick like five, sometimes six – they picked eight acts. We were voted up to number-three by the fans [and] they picked one, two, four, five, six, seven and eight. Quite obviously they know my attitude and they’re willing to take it out on the fans. So, do not nominate me I won’t show up and therefore you should not be taken in by their fake Fan Vote.”
Even if Todd thought the Fan Vote were on the up-and-up, he still takes issues with a music hall of fame.
“The Hall of Fame is for somebody who hasn’t done what they do for like 20 years. You know, you retire from baseball and then 15, 20 years later they put you in the hall of fame. Rock musicians don’t have to quit. You know, in fact you better not quit because you’re gonna have a hard time finding another line of work. Me, I plan to play until I have an aneurysm on stage. So what am I doing in the Rock Hall of Fame, I’m not done, you know. It’s not time to measure everything that somebody’s done if they’re still doing it. So that doesn’t make any sense to me.”
What does make sense to Todd, and what validates him as a musician, is his fan base, not an institution created by music industry executives.
“I was 35 years old when they established the Rock Hall of Fame. I already had three careers at least by then, you know, and I’m looking for validation from the Rock Hall of Fame? Certainly not. The fact that I still have fans is the only validation [I need].”
In addition to Todd, this year's other nominees who came up short wereLL Cool J,John Prine,Rage Against the Machine,Rufus featuring Chaka Khan,Devo,KraftwerkandMC5.
Those being inducted on Friday, March 29th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York areDef Leppard,Stevie Nicks,The Zombies,The Cure,Janet Jackson,Roxy MusicandRadiohead.