Hi all!

I started an online petition about 3 weeks ago to induct Todd Rundgren into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. I have it online until October. Once it is done, I will be sending a letter describing all of Todd's various accomplishments as well as the signed petition on to the Hall of Fame. Any help spreading the word would be great! We have links on over 8 websites. I was very happy to see Prince finally get in and I know that Todd had a lot of influence on his music. Please help out and sign the petition! We have over 2,500 names in just 3 weeks!

http://www.petitiononline...ition.html

Thanks,

Marc

P.S. Can't wait to see Prince at the FleetCenter in August!!!

stlrnut30 said:

Signed, sealed and delivered. Todd really IS a fucking genius.

Thanks, Marc!!

Brian Eno maybe.

2freaky4church1 said:

Both.

2freaky4church1 said:

Eno's brilliant.That ambient shit he did in the late 70's and early 80's was way ahead of it's time.Plus a great producer.

Thanks to all of you who have signed!!!!! We are almost at 2800 names!!!

Please keep spreading the word to everyone you know!

Thanks again!

Marc

Thanks to everyone who has signed so far!!!

We are almost at 3000 names!!!!

Marc

Good work.

Brian Eno's sure to be inducted at some point for his production work and early solo albums. His ambient albums don't thrill me, but Before and After Science, Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy, Here Come the Warm Jets and Another Green World are great albums. Experimental, but still loaded with sharply written songs.

Todd Rundgren has been occasionally brilliant (Something/Anything of course, parts of Runt and A Wizard...) but I think he's overall been too erratic and too willfully obscure to be considered truly great.

Just my opinion, of course - feel free to disregard it.

I would be surprised if Eno
ever gets into the RnR HOF
unless its as a member of Roxy Music.
He is more well known for
being a producer then as a solo artist.

And Todd Rundgrens got even less of a chance.

thedoorkeeper said:

And why would you say that????? Have you any idea what Todd has done in his career? I would advise you to look into this first before making such comments. Check out the albums he has produced or played on (not including the 40 plus he made himself and with Utopia and the Nazz). He even spoke at the opening of the Hall. If you want to LEARN more, check out tr-connection.com or even TR-i.com

I'm not saying Rundgren(or Eno for that matter) isn't important in the history of RnR but I think if you look at the members of the RnR HoF they are/were for the most part big stars. Money making stars. Rundgren didn't seek the spotlight in the 70's when he was most successful. He shunned huge commercial success. Look at some of this years inductees - Prince, Jackson Brown, ZZ Top, Bob Seger, Traffic - Rundgren never reached the level these guys did. Brilliant as Rundgren is his career never jelled into a RnR HoFer.
You can't put everyone into the HoF.
Its like you need brand name recognition.
There is no Rundgren sound.

thedoorkeeper said:

If it is only big stars and money that makes someone eligible for the RRHOF, then it shouldn't exist. I am serious when I say that you should really look into his career. His innovations and production credits alone deserve merit. Have you heard Bat Out of Hell? Or how about We're An American Band. He has produced quite a few Top Ten Hits.

thedoorkeeper said:

I respectfully disagree. I think it's extremely unlikely that Roxy Music will ever get the nod (in America, they're perceived as being slightly above the level of T. Rex and well below Bowie), and I think it's very likely that Eno will. He's one of the few musicians who have bridged the gap between true avant-garde/art and popular music, and he's been tremendously influential as a producer (Bowie, Talking Heads and U2). The obvious "classic" performers have all basically been inducted, so I think you'll see more left-field artists getting their due in the coming years.
[This message was edited Wed May 12 19:07:28 2004 by flipwilson]

stlrnut30 said:

I think this is part of the reason Rundgren won't get recognized - Meat Loaf and Grand Funk Railroad were not critical darlings, so having these records on his resume will not work in his favour.

In fact, I'm hard pressed to name a really notable production that Rundgren has done besides XTC's Skylarking (one of the great unappreciated records, I think). He did produce the Psychedelic Furs, but they were already past their prime by that point.

Rats - I just did a little research. I forgot that he produced the New York Dolls - that goes in the plus column.

flipwilson said:

Ok, besides that, here are some "firsts" that Todd is responsible for:

1978: The first interactive television concert, broadcast live over the Warner/QUBE system in Columbus, Ohio (the home audience chose each song.in real time during the concert by voting via QUBE's 2-way operating system).

1978: The first live nationally broadcast stereo radio concert (by microwave), linking 40 cities around the country.

1979: The opening of Utopia Video Studios, a multi-million dollar state-of-the-art facility, where he produced the first demonstration software for RCA's new Videodisc format, the precursor to the DVD.

1980: Creation of the first color graphics tablet, which was licensed to Apple.

1981: "Time Heals," the first music video to utilize state-of-the-art compositing of live action and computer graphics, becomes the second video ever to be played on MTV (after "Video Killed the Radio Star").

1982: The first live national cablecast of a rock concert (on the USA Network), simulcast in stereo to over 120 radio stations.

1982: The first two commercially released music videos ever, one of which was nominated for the first-ever Grammy awarded for "Best Short Form Video."

1992: The release of "No World Order," the world's first interactive record album.

1994: The release of "The Individualist," the world's first full length Enhanced CD.

1995: The world's first interactive concert tour.

1998: Launches PatroNet, the world's first direct artist subscription and digital delivery service


Can any other artist add these items to their resume besides being a musician and producer???

stlrnut30 said:

OK, fair enough - you obviously really know your stuff. I will say one thing in response, though: many of the accomplishments you've listed above are technical in nature. Todd is undoubtedly an extremely intelligent man, a true technophile, but that does not make him a great musician/performer/recording artist, though it undoubtedly helps in making him an effective producer.

I don't have a comprehensive knowledge of his discography, but I do know that the consensus on Rundgren is that he's released one classic album (Something/Anything, which I love), a couple of good ones(like A Wizard, A True Star, from which I really only like International Feel and Just One Victory) and a LOT of very mediocre ones. He's certainly had an impressive career, but was it a hall of fame career? In my judgement, whatever that's worth, it was not.

Rats - I just did a little research. I forgot that he produced the New York Dolls - that goes in the plus column.[/quote]


Big co-sign on that one.

I will end it with this. I really think you may want to go back and listen to some of the "mediocre" records Todd has done. They really are not mediocre. He had a label like Warner Bros who really did not promote his music as they should have. If you have a chance, take a listen to his new album called "Liars". You may be presently surprised.

stlrnut30 said:

You may very well be right - I'll see if I can track it down this weekend. I feel like spending some money anyway...

hey Flip,

Did you pick up Todd's new one yet? I would like to hear your feedback about it if you do.

Anyone else interested in hearing an incredible CD, check out "Liars" by Todd Rundgren on Sanctuary Records. It is probably his best album in 15 years. Hell, the cover is the funniest CD cover I have ever seen (you will know what I mean when you see it).

Marc

stlrnut30 said:

I'm afraid I could not find it - unfortunately distribution seems to be a little sparse, at least in my town. This thread did prompt me to blow the dust off my vinyl copy of Something/Anything again, but I already new that was great of course.

I'll continue to keep an eye out for it. I might even order it off amazon if the mood strikes. I've been pretty stingy with my money lately, so I think I'm ready to loosen my purse strings a bit...