[T]he Rock Hall's future [is] as sketchy as a Detroit Avenue hooker on meth. The Hall's website claims that one of its goals is "to recognize the contributions of those who have had a significant impact on the evolution, development, and perpetuation of rock and roll." But how will it measure that? By record sales? Innovation? Will there be quotas for gender and race, as well as genres like hip-hop and techno? Or is it just one big popularity contest?

Scene called and asked, but Rock Hall spokeswoman Margaret Thresher didn't have a response. "Good question," she said.

The answer is that without a concrete definition of rock, there is no science to make the induction process flawless. Outside of Nirvana, the next decade doesn't boast many safe picks. Even Madonna will be a controversial inductee, seeing as the pop diva never released a rock record in her entire career.

Then there are the guys who sold out arenas, only to end up on the cheesy VH1 rock docs -- the Poisons and New Kids on the Blocks of the world. No one would claim they were innovative or had any staying power (NKOTB didn't even rawk!). But they defined musical eras and sold gobs 'n' gobs of records (even though they now make up 90 percent of the stock at the Record Exchange).

How will this shadowy induction committee weigh those guys against, say, the Replacements and Dinosaur Jr. -- artists that aren't household names and never graced the cover of Rolling Stone, but created whole new genres and birthed hundreds of new bands?

• Judas Priest - too scary
• Guns N' Roses - likely
• Captain Beefheart - too "out-there", but deserving
• Sting - too schmaltzy
• Black Flag - deserving, but too atonal
• Alanis Morissette - influential, but in a bad way
• Dr. Dre - probably with N.W.A., but not solo
• John Mayer - watered down Clapton
• Kraftwerk - should be in, but too German?
• Babyface - the 1990s' Phil Spector

As expected, the Nominating Committee contains a selection of rock critics and historians, music industry insiders, current and former Rolling Stone writers, and a few musicians. What is perhaps noteworthy about the list is that four of the 32 members come from a strong hip hop background (Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five became the first ever rap group inducted into the Rock Hall in 2007). And if that weren't evidence enough that the Rock Hall has officially opened its doors to rap, Jay-Z is on the Rock Hall Board of Directors.

Notable for his absence from the list is Rolling Stone editor and publisher Jann Wenner, who is the Chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation.

I wasn't a big Monkees fan, because, um, I don't know why I wasn't, but I tell you now, I like the records better now that I'm an old guy. You're on the oldies stations all the time. And you know what, Mr. Jones, you guys deserve to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame... and I'm gonna try to make it happen for ya.

In 1987, Rolling Stone devoted a special issue to the "100 Best Albums" of the past twenty years. Critics were polled; results were tabulated. At the top of the list was Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Second was Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, an album which sold less than one tenth as many copies as Sgt. Pepper.

The results angered Jann. Though he had never actually listened to more than a few minutes of the Sex Pistols' record, he could not fathom its lofty rank in the poll. Besides, he demanded, "where's Loggins and Messina on this poll? Where's Hotel California?"

When the magazine ran its "100 Best Singles" special issue a year later, the editor took matters into his own hands. He ordered music editor David Wild to put singles by his friends Billy Joel and Foreigner's Mick Jones on the list. Then Jann personally manipulated the tabulations, a puppetmaster jerking his subjects up and down the list. Thus did the deathless classics "Uptown Girl" (by Joel) and "I Want to Know What Love Is" (by Foreigner) receive the respective designations of 99 and 54, while Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" -- originally given the 6 rank -- languished at 73.

The indie legends are reported to be among the groups set for induction into the music pantheon next year in New York City.

However, the band's iconic former singer has apparently already ruled out attending the ceremony because of an ongoing rivalry with drummer Mike Joyce.

The Smiths were embroiled in an acrimonious lawsuit over royalties in 1996, and Morrissey has always spoken bitterly about his former bandmate.

"Morrissey has never forgiven Joyce and if organizers think he's going to bury the hatchet by joining him to accept this award, they've got another thing coming. The only way he could be persuaded to turn up would be if Joyce decides not to attend," a source explained.

Thanks, David & Tom

Peter Tork... says the Monkees merit consideration for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but one man opposes their induction.

"The only person ... holding a grudge is Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone," says the former Monkee. The magazine editor "has never written a gracious word. He personally has the veto power to keep us out."

Wenner - who didn't reply to an interview request - allegedly denounces Tork, Dolenz, Davy Jones and Mike Nesmith for not playing their own instruments on the band's first albums.

In this "American Idol" era, when acts are "manufactured" like toasters, fewer critics crucify the Monkees for being a TV show that spawned a band. So have they faced an unfair standard? Were they, in fact, a "real" group?

"I've not heard the slightest murmur about the Monkees being fake," Tork, 65, says from his Connecticut home. "Everybody's forgotten it, except Wenner. He's been vicious."

One Rolling Stone reporter, Tork says, wrote a glowing story crystallizing their merits. But before publication, Tork adds, "The writer said, 'Jann took my article, gutted it and rewrote it to [bury] you.'"

Thanks, David.

"We were asked to perform. Kinda what happened was, [David Lee Roth] wanted to sing the song 'Jump.' We felt from an artistic standpoint, and I'm being totally honest with you, that it wasn't a song we felt comfortable with. We don't have keyboards. To bring a keyboard on stage wouldn't work for us. We said we'd do 'Janie's Cryin' ' or 'You Really Got Me,' and he was adamant that wasn't OK."

Joel Peresman, president and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, said the Fox News story was wrong.

When asked if [Jann] Wenner fudged the voting, Peresman said, "No. There is a format and rules and procedure. There is a specific time when the votes have to be in, and then they are counted. The bands with the top five votes got in."

Peresman said the only thing new about the induction process was a reduction in the number of voters. "We used to have 1,000 people who voted," Peresman said. "But we looked at who hadn't been voting over the years and took them off the list. Now we have about 560 or 570 voters. And of those, we have about an 80 percent return in votes."

In Cleveland, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum President and CEO Terry Stewart said he deals with similar charges every year at this time.

"It's aggravating because these kinds of anonymous sources and accusations serve to confirm the beliefs of anybody who feels their favorite band should have gotten in," he said.

[The Max Weinberg 7 plays returning from commercial break.]

Chris Rock: You know Max... Max got the funk tonight! Are you in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Max?

Max Weinberg: No, no.

Conan O'Brien: What are you talking about? What do you mean, the E-Street Band is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Max Weinberg: No, actually. No. No, I looked last night. No.

Conan: You check every night?

Max: Yes, yes I do.

Conan: You go online every night to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame dot com?

Chris: What happened, you bet on baseball?

Max: [looks puzzled] Yeah!

Conan: You should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and I'm going to see to it that you are!

Max: Okay, thank you Conan! I love you! [applause]

Chris: We gotta do somethin about that, man.

Conan: Why would you applaud that? I have no power.

Chris: Isn't Tone Loc in?

Conan: Tone Loc is in, yeah...

Chris: [to Max] And you're not in? That's horrible, man.

Conan: Funky Cold Medina is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Chris: Young MC is in there.

Conan: Oh yeah.

Chris: Color Me Badd, they in there! You really must have pissed somebody off!

Max: Yes, yes.

Conan: We're going to find out more about this. We're going to find out what you did.

So, Conan, it's your move. If you need help getting Max into the Hall of Fame, just let us know.

I think we all believed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Because it represented what was most important to us, music.  Sure, we railed about who has and has not gotten in.  But we liked that acts were recognized, were given a stamp of approval, additional longevity.

But what if the process is tainted, what if it’s failed?  If we can’t believe in our institutions, what have we got?

I don’t need to believe in Jann Wenner.  But I don’t want him messing with my institutions.  Sure, he gets credit for helping establish the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but George Bush has a program that keeps alcoholics off the street.  Most people aren’t all bad.  But when they’re bad when it counts, that’s important.

We need an investigation.  Who will do this, I’m not sure.  It’s not like the heads of the major labels are trustworthy.  And a bunch of the music industry lawyers…well, there’s the same problem.  But someone’s got to check into this.  And if what Mr. Friedman says is true, Mr. Wenner must lose his job.  Must have nothing to do with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ever again.  Oh, he can visit the museum, but he can’t nominate, can’t vote, certainly can’t chair and must stay home and watch the ceremony on television.  Sure, Jann Wenner has done a lot for rock and roll, but Pete Rose did a lot for baseball.

So Jann…  Say it aint’ so.  Or do what you always urge the politicians to do.  Lay it on the line, tell us the truth.  We may not forgive you, but we’ll accept what you say.  Do it in the name of the Hall.  it’s bigger than you, it deserves its dignity.

According to sources knowledgeable about the mysterious ways of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, British Invasion group The Dave Clark Five and not Grandmaster Flash finished fifth in the final voting of the nominating committee and should have been inducted on Monday night.

According to sources, Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner, who recently appointed himself chairman of the Foundation after the death of Ahmet Ertegun, ignored the final voting and chose Grandmaster Flash over the DC5 for this year's ceremony.

"Jann went back to a previous ballot instead of taking the final vote as the last word," my source insisted. "He used a technicality about the day votes were due in. In reality, The Dave Clark Five got six more votes than Grandmaster Flash. But he felt we couldn't go another year without a rap act."

R.E.M., Van Halen, The Ronettes and Patti Smith were the top four vote-getters, with Grandmaster Flash finishing fifth when the votes were counted on the first date ballots were due in to the Rock Hall office.

But when all the ballots were counted a few days later, the DC5 had pulled ahead. Wenner decided to ignore that and stick with the earlier tally.

It would be simple enough for the Rock Hall to avoid these nagging controversies (which have dogged them for years). They should make public the voters and the vote totals the way the Baseball Hall of Fame does. Or they could use an independent accounting firm, the way the Oscar ballots are handled.

• The Ronettes will be inducted by Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards
  
  
• Patti Smith will inducted by Rage Against the Machine's Zach de la Rocha.
  
  
• Van Halen gets its due, inducted by Velvet Revolver.
  
  
• Hip-hop enters the Rock Hall courtesy of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, inducted by rap mogul Jay-Z.
  
  
• And R.E.M. will be the finale, inducted by Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder.
  
  
• On the menu at the Waldorf-Astoria: Smoked salmon appetizer, tournedo of beef, chocolate cake.
  

At one time in the '70s and early '80s, instrumentally adroit bands such as Yes, Genesis, Emerson, Lake and Palmer and The Moody Blues ruled radio-land, with others -- King Crimson, Rush, Jethro Tull, The Electric Light Orchestra -- dabbling in similar approaches but with their own unique stylings.

For good or bad, the genre has spawned dozens of stepchildren, from Styx to Supertramp, from the Alan Parsons Project to Kate Bush, from Dream Theater to Porcupine Tree. But just try to find a prog-rock band among the 153 inductees thus far.

Let me save you time, because there's only one: Pink Floyd...

When I called the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland the other day, curatorial director Howard Kramer declined comment on the situation, noting all inductions are handled by the Hall of Fame Foundation.

But he conceded the fan contingent backing "prog-rock probably is the most vocal" in e-mailing and campaigning for the genre, which certainly has been represented in museum exhibits if not the Hall of Fame itself.

Singer/guitarist James Young of Styx, a progressive rock band eligible since 1997, is accustomed to musical ostracism.

"Like any sort of competition for awards, it's decided by human beings who have bias," he says, noting that Styx has been copiously rewarded in record and ticket sales. "I celebrate the people who went to the trouble to form the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Without it, I'm not sure a lot of black artists would have been recognized."

Besides, he hasn't given up. "How long did it take for Martin Scorsese to win an Oscar?" he says.

Eddie Vedder inducting the Ramones in 2002

To create the trophy, a model was sculpted in clay to match a sketch provided by the Hall of Fame. The form comprises a stylized human figure, its arms reaching over its head to hold a circular disk representing a record. Next, a plaster model was made from the clay design and sent back to the foundation for approval. Once R.S. Owens received the go-ahead nod, the plaster pattern was sent to a Chicago foundry, where hand-finished steel molds were made. "Then you're ready to go into production," Prohaska says of the initial set-up process. The steel dies will last for years - or until a client changes the design.

The award's metal pieces are crafted one at a time by skilled tradespeople, Prohaska says. A 980-degree Fahrenheit zinc alloy is poured into the mold, hardening within seconds. When the form is removed from the mold, its rough edges are sanded down. In preparation for the plating process the award is polished by hand with a buffing wheel to a mirror-like finish so there are no visible seams. As the award heads into preplating, it is degreased in a tank to remove any unwanted coating. Then it's ready to be dipped into four different metal baths: copper, nickel, silver and, finally, black nickel. After a rinse, it's coated with an epoxy lacquer.

The Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame Award is electroplated in black nickel with a satin finish, complete with a 3x3-1/4-inch gold-plated record. The record disks (which are not cast) are added to the award between the figure's hands and mounted with an adhesive. The figure is then placed on a 3-1/2-inch-square black and white marble base, personalized with a plate that's engraved with the recipient's name. When complete, the trophy stands more than 15 inches high.

Each year, the number of individual trophies R.S. Owens manufactures for the Hall of Famers fluctuates, usually from around 30 to 40, plus some spares, just in case. "The quantity varies depending on the number of people who are inducted each year," Siegel points out. The company also does trophy repair or replacements, if necessary. Siegel recalls one incident early in the award's history when the records held by the trophy figure were made of solid gold. Three heavily celebrating winners managed to misplace the records from their awards during the plane ride home. R.S. Owens replaced the lost discs; now the records are gold-plated.

About six to seven hours of skilled labor go into making each trophy, Prohaska estimates, and along the way the award passes through about eight different departments, ending with shipping. "The greatest thing to me is getting them out the door in time," Prohaska laughs. The finished awards are shipped by truck in a form-fitted shrink-wrapped Styrofoam box. Fully insured, the trophies arrive well before the festivities and are locked in a secured room at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, where the Hall of Fame ceremony is held. The company takes pride in the entire process and never loses sight of what the award itself represents. "There's a lot of prestige," Prohaska says. "The recipients are Hall of Famers. For us to participate in that is a great honor."

"The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is sorry that David Lee Roth will not attend this year's induction of Van Halen. We offered him opportunities to play and sing a Van Halen song of his choice with our House band, including his own guitar player or a song with Velvet Revolver and he refused those opportunities."

Peresman concluded the e-mail with a curt denial that the Hall is somehow the bad guy in all this: "We made every effort and the decision not to come was solely his, not ours."

The Roth camp says that the only offer they had received before Friday was an invitation to perform "You Really Got Me" with Velvet Revolver. Roth balked in part because that song, off Van Halen's first album, was originally recorded by the Kinks and is not a "true" Van Halen song.

Roth wanted to do his trademark tune, "Jump," but that was a curveball for Velvet Revolver, apparently, with rehearsal time limitations. On Friday, according to sources close to the show, event producer Joel Gallen offered Roth a chance to do "Jump" with Paul Schaffer and some players of Roth's picking but, for Roth, that came too late, apparently, to allow travel and needed rehearsal time.

Hall officials, privately, were surprised and wondered if Roth really wanted to perform at all. They also said if he had traveled east to New York to work with the producers on site, everything would have worked out.

It's time to shake things up. Today's most compelling stars — Shakira, Timbaland, the Dixie Chicks, the ever-evolving Kelly Clarkson — are natural cross-pollinators who rock without necessarily being "rock." The underground is alive with mongrels and mutations, because its denizens grew up with samplers and guitars. "Rock 'n' roll" is dead; long live whatever's next. And let's hope our Hall of Fame finds a way to name it.

In a note addressed to fans he stated: "I have always and will always feel a responsibility to give you my best. At the moment I do not feel that I can give you my best. That's why I have decided to enter a rehabilitation facility to work on myself, so that in the future I can deliver the 110% that I feel I owe you and want to give you."

Meanwhile, David Lee Roth has decided to boycott the event because he is not being allowed to perform. After Eddie and Alex Van Halen chose not to attend, the Rock Hall didn't want David Lee Roth, Michael Anthony and Sammy Hagar to be the only ones performing VH songs, so they brought in Velvet Revolver to do the honors. Roth isn't happy about the situation:

"I don't make speeches for a living; I sing and dance for my dinner," Roth said, adding that the decision to skip the event "rips my heart out."

Roth said he had been preparing since December for the chance to perform for the industry elite and the audience watching on VH1 Classics.

"It's just not an option for me to go and watch some other band — who are only performing because they have some new record coming out — do our music," Roth said. "I have nothing against Velvet Revolver — I'm not familiar with their music — but that was my 3 minutes and 22 seconds up there."

A reunited Van Halen was going to be the highlight of the 2007 ceremony. It's too bad that it probably won't happen now, but who knows -- things could change over the weekend.

"That's one thing I like about the Hall of Fame. I never expected to be inducted. I really didn't. I knew Van Halen would eventually somehow, someway, but it was still hard for me to imagine Sammy Hagar being part of it. But it is. I'm so honored....

"This is something that is so etched in stone that when you say I'm a Hall of Famer," Hagar says, "you have to live up to it. I think that every time I step up to a microphone from that day on, I have to live up to it. I think I'm going to have to be a f -- Hall of Famer."

After you read the press release, check out the new and improved Rock Hall website. Or if you're into this sort of thing, they have a MySpace page.

This is a great alternative for people who would like to see the show but don't have access to VH1 Classic or MHD.

• R.E.M. -- Eddie Vedder
• Van Halen -- Scott Weiland and Slash
• The Ronettes -- Keith Richards
• Patti Smith -- Zach de la Rocha
• Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five -- Jay-Z

Scott Weiland and Slash from Velvet Revolver have been selected to induct Van Halen. Velvet Revolver will then perform a selection of Van Halen songs during the ceremony, similar to how Metallica performed in place of Black Sabbath in 2006. Sammy Hagar had openly lobbied for his friends in the Red Hot Chili Peppers to be the ones to induct Van Halen, but apparently his voice doesn't carry much weight with Eddie and Alex Van Halen these days.

If you don't get VH1 Classic or MHD, you will still be able to see a 2-hour edited version of the ceremony on regular VH1 on Saturday, March 17th at 9:00 PM.

In January, it was reported that VH1 was not going to be broadcasting the ceremony this year since their contract with the Rock Hall had expired, so this is obviously great news for fans of the five inductees and of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in general, since this should be an eventful night.

This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone familiar with the various reunion attempts over the years, because they all end the same way -- a Van Halen without David Lee Roth.

AVC: The A.V. Club recently did a feature weighing the possibility of various bands making the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. We said XTC wouldn't make it. Do you think it will?

AP: I hope not! Hard Rock Café sent a letter asking if they could have one of my guitars. I just said, "Fuck off! Of course not, I bought that, you go buy one." No, we won't make the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. You know why? Because it's down to sales figures, ultimately, and we never sold that many records, because we were too off-the-wall for most people. A lot of people really don't like what we do. I don't think it's anything unusual. I think it's kind of interesting pop music. It's guitar, bass, and drums. It's really pretty damn straight stuff. But for some reason, people think I'm expecting them to eat barbed-wire salad with fetus in it.

Van Halen --> Gene Simmons or Ted Templeman
R.E.M.--> Mitch Easter or Scott Litt
Patti Smith --> Lenny Kaye or Clive Davis
Grandmaster --> Chuck D
Ronettes --> Bruce Springsteen

As for the performances, there will be a lot of reunions. The original R.E.M. lineup plans to play, as well as the three Ronettes. Grandmaster Flash hasn't performed with the Furious Five in years, but should come together on this occasion. And then there's Van Halen. The lineup will probably be the one that was announced for a summer tour -- Eddie and Alex Van Halen, with Eddie's son Wolfie on bass, and David Lee Roth back in front. Hopefully they will find a way to include Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony on stage with them too.

One of the highlights of the ceremony is the "all-star jam" which takes place at the end of the ceremony (ably backed by Paul Shaffer and company, who probably deserve to be recognized by the Rock Hall someday). This year's mix of artists and personalities should make it a fantastic ending. Let's just hope we can see it.

I went to the wrestling school over the summer and picked up a little bit of moves. I wanted to see if it was something that I wanted to do, other than just dreaming of wanting to be a wrestler. It's a little rough, but it's something that can be done.

Overall, the A.V. Club chose an excellent sample of artists to highlight, the majority of whom will likely be in the Rock Hall within 25 years.

How about [...] Peter Gabriel?  How come he can’t get nominated, never mind get in.  His third, eponymous album, is far superior than the GREATEST HITS of Ms. Smith.  Hell, his Ezrin-produced debut is more challenging than "Horses".  But he gets no traction, no respect.

Or what about Gabriel’s work with Genesis?  They’ve got to be in the Hall, right?

Of course not.  Prog rock doesn’t exist in the minds of the Hall.  Yes isn’t in either.  Don’t you know chops are anathema?  That it’s better to NOT KNOW how to play?

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame used to be cool.  One used to want to go to its induction ceremonies.  Because they were insider events.  Everybody wants to be an insider at someplace cool.  But now they’re on TV, they’re just as phony and evanescent as the usual network fare.  But you’ve got to follow the buck, right?

How could things get so screwed up, how could reality get so warped, how could respect be eliminated from the equation.  You let in second-rate people like Patti Smith, and you taint the rest of the inductees.  I mean who next, TELEVISION??

In the past 15 years, the Rock Hall has enshrined 97 performers, while the Baseball Hall admitted only 22 players. A key reason is the way voting is conducted.

To make it to Cooperstown, N.Y., a baseball player must get at least 75 percent of the votes, cast by writers who have covered the sport for at least 10 years. To get into Cleveland's Rock Hall, an act needs only 50 percent of the votes.

More than 600 music industry experts (including me) receive ballots -- and don't ask me what the criteria is to be a voter. Moreover, vote totals are not announced, unlike the Baseball Hall, which discloses the results from its 575 or so ballots.

While baseball players can be weighed statistically, a potential Rock Hall of Famer is supposed to be measured by "the influence and significance of the artist's contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock 'n' roll." That's totally subjective, which explains why such lesser acts as the Dells and Percy Sledge are in, and John Mellencamp and Luther Vandross are not.

The rock nominees are chosen by a committee of music-business insiders that, in the past, has included legendary producer Phil Spector, Best Buy exec Gary Arnold and Los Angeles Times critic Robert Hilburn. Their choices often reek of elitism. Stars who have never even made the ballot include Neil Diamond, Kiss, the Moody Blues, the Doobie Brothers, Hall & Oates, Journey, Steve Miller Band, Genesis, Linda Ronstadt, Rush, Yes, Heart, Peter Frampton, Jimmy Buffett and Alice Cooper. That sounds like a Classic Rock Hall of Fame right there.

Are there any other voters who want to step out of the shadows to either support or criticize the process? Contact us.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame certainly understands the significance of this event. Terry Stewart, Rock Hall Museum President & CEO, responded to the objections of allowing rappers in:

"We've been getting the same question since the group originally was nominated a few years ago: 'Why in the heck would you have a hip-hop artist here?' " said Stewart, who is a member of the hall's nominating committee.

"You have to step back and understand the history of the music," Stewart said. "The term 'rock 'n' roll' has been around for more than 100 years. . . . Hip-hop is just another form of it, one we're very proud to recognize.

"Hip-hop is a derivative 50 years later of what Alan Freed was playing, which was called race music or rhythm and blues, then retitled rock 'n' roll."

Expect to see more hip-hop acts enshrined in the future, Stewart said.

As for the artists who didn't make the cut, the Stooges now have the dubious distinction of having been nominated the most times (6) without being inducted, since longtime nominee Patti Smith finally got in this year. But they can take comfort in the fact that most artists who get nominated eventually get into the Rock Hall (roughly 70%).

Since this is Future Rock Hall, let's take a look at who will be eligible for next year's induction. The artists that have the best chance for induction are Metallica, Madonna, the Beastie Boys, and Sonic Youth. Other contenders could be Sting and Janet Jackson.

Let's not forget some of the most popular artists who have been eligible for years and have been consistently ignored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominating Committee. Artists such as Rush, Yes, Deep Purple, KISS, Alice Cooper, Brian Eno, Joy Division, King Crimson, Dire Straits, Peter Gabriel, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Tom Waits, and many others have never been recognized.

But let's just be thankful that this year we get the treat of seeing the Van Halen soap opera play out on stage at the induction ceremony. We can all agree on that.

The results overwhelmingly indictate easy induction for R.E.M. and Van Halen, each receiving over 90% of the vote in their first year on the ballot. Patti Smith showed up on roughly 3/4 of your balllots, which should mean that her losing streak will finally end this year. The Stooges (71%) and Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five (61%) round out the five predicted inductees.

Not quite getting over the magical 50% mark were the Dave Clark Five (41%) and the Ronettes (38%). There wasn't much support for three-time nominees Chic (18%) and Joe Tex (14%).

The poll results closely mirror the "Future Rock Hall Induction Chances" score, which has been calculated using user voting and other historically determining factors for induction, so Future Rock Hall stands behind the five predicted winners our users selected.

The official inductee list will be announced via press release on January 8th. Keep checking Future Rock Hall for all of the latest 2007 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame news.