This is the eighties, and the HOA is down with the ladies. Here's the 1988 election.

Choose the ten most deserving artists, based on records released through the end of 1987.

You may want to check out the top 100 eligible candidates. For a reminder of who’s already been inducted, see the results thread.

For your ballot to be eligible, submit a ranked list of your ten most deserving artists.

***IMPORTANT!***
Also, for your top FIVE artists (at least), you must explain why they deserve to be in the HOA. You may recycle your comments from past elections if you wish, but I want us to have a context for WHY we're selecting these artists. Ballots without comments for the top five will NOT be counted!

In addition, you have the option to nominate up to three people for the Backstage Wing. This isn't required.

Deadline for ballots is Sunday, March 8, at 6:00 pm US Central time (midnight GMT).

Voting is now open.

1. GEORGE JONES – If Hank Williams is the greatest country singer, then George Jones is on the level just below, along with Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash.

2. XTC – Catchy and smart pop, and a pretty big catalog to boot.

3. THE ZOMBIES – If they had released all of the same music during the 1980s, they would be getting votes now.

4. T. REX – Let’s hear it for glam rock!

5. LYNYRD SKYNYRD – Let’s hear it for Southern rock!

6. BUZZCOCKS
7. RANDY NEWMAN
8. LOVE
9. GRATEFUL DEAD
10.EMITT RHODES

Backstage: LEON RUSSELL

1. PET SHOP BOYS - With two pop gems out on the streets, they're into first place now. Some of the best singles of the 80s. No, hang on. Ever!

2. LOVE - It's sad not to see them voted in. I've been a fan ever since I played Forever Changes at a party some years ago, and I was the only one who really "dug" it.

3. GUNS N’ ROSES - They changed hairy metal forever. Not that they knew that back then, but that album could never be topped and everybody else understood so.

4. KATE BUSH - Magical, mystery voice. She both sings and moves like a cat, and strangely that's a good thing.

5. JEFFERSON AIRPLANE - One of my teen love interests, which I still can understand. Actually, I can understand all my music related teen love interests, but I'm having trouble with some of the girls.

6. VIOLENT FEMMES

7. ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN

8. ERIC B. & RAKIM - What a great year for hip hop music. They squeezed out old dude Grandmaster Flash, and I couldn't even find room for LL.

9. THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN

10. PUBLIC ENEMY

1. George Jones - best country artist not yet inducted, and one of the purest voices in any genre
2. Randy Newman - beneath that wicked humor, do i sense a compassionate populism??
3. Eric B. & Rakim - rakim da god
4. Todd Rundgren - sometimes his pop gems get lost amidst all the prog wankery, but if a 1-trick pony like zappa's in, how bout some love for TR?
5. Warren Zevon - in some ways (not all good), L.A. is the most American of cities, and nobody sets it to music like zevon. again, the nathanael west of singer-songwriters
6. Lynyrd Skynyrd - moving up...(word, paul)
7. Jackson Browne - giving up...
8. John Cale - giving up...
9. Cheap Trick - mainstream rock (?) at its weirdest
10. Hall & Oates - mainstream pop at its catchiest

1. T. REX. Crap. They’re gonna sit on top of my ballot forever, aren’t they? I thought about putting them at #2, but I ain’t making Marc wait in line behind Axl.
2. GUNS N’ ROSES. My experience with GNR was probably fairly typical; after nearly a full decade being snottily dismissive of hair metal, Appetite won me over. I no longer think it’s quite as good as I once did (though I haven’t heard it in years), but still. Just as Nirvana was the successful culmination of a decade of indie, GNR was the successful culmination of metal.
3. BUZZCOCKS. Looks like they have legs after all…I certainly won’t cry if we can get yet another first-generation punk band in, especially one that made music about the personal rather than the sociopolitical.
4. VAN HALEN. I’ve dropped them a spot, a) because I’m promoting the Buzzcocks, who actually seem to have a shot, and b) because if my top 3 consists of all hard rock bands, they’re gonna confiscate my copy of The Pitchfork 500. But I defy anyone to explain to me why Eddie should be kept out of the HOA.
5. KATE BUSH. Lovely. It wasn’t easy to be both understated and a female pop star in the 80s. And she still sounds to me like Cyndi Lauper’s older sister who’s more cerebral (and cuter) but just as goofy. She’s so unusual.
6. THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN
7. LYLE LOVETT. No, he has no shot, but if Honorio and nicolas can honor their countrymen, so can a Texan (LL is from a northern suburb of Houston). He was alt-country when alt-country wasn’t cool.
8. THE POGUES
9. PUBLIC ENEMY
10. XTC

1. Cream - of the Crop. Hey, I've put them on number one for so long, I think I'm entitled for making such an obvious joke. Or is it still too... cheesy?
2. Janis Joplin - Still loving that voice.
3. Guns N' Roses - "Appetite for Destruction" took quite some acclaim for a genre not generally known for critic love.
4. Eagles - Well, I like them.
5. Deep Purple - I have no idea what line-up they're touring with these days, but this nomination goes for their best years, the first half of the 70's.
6. Jefferson Airplane
7. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
8. Kate Bush
9. Dusty Springfield
10. Public Enemy

Backstage:
1. Norman Whitfield & Barrett Strong
2. Leo Fender
3. Gamble & Huff

backstage

1. Norman Whitfield
2. Hoagy Carmichael
3. Eddie Kramer

George Jones is also from Texas. Just sayin.

Yeah, but from a part of the state we don't like to acknowledge...the oil-industrial wasteland of the Beaumont/Port Arthur area. He was raised in Vidor, infamous as the KKK's strongest bastion in Texas.

(Lyle, on the other hand, is from Klein, which is just down the road from Cut and Shoot. Unfortunately, I think he went to A&M, but one can't have everything.)

No reflection on George and his music, of course--which I like.

Someone else once told me that Amarillo was part of Texas that the real Texans didn't fully acknowledge. Very complicated...

Lyle's buddy in school at A&M was Robert Earl Keen. Lots of good music down there in Texas.

Speaking of Lyle, I saw him in concert a few years ago north of Detroit. Great show but lots of empty seats. The highlight was this drunk girl in the front row with a pretty face and an extremely loose fitting top. Lyle acknowledged her more than a few times.

Well, here in Houston we acknowledge Amarillo...it's just that it takes more than a day to drive 800 miles to get there so we don't know much about it.

(Lubbock is only a little closer, but Mr. Charles Hardin Holley comes from there, so it's safe.)

To be fair, when I think of a part of the state that I don't consider "real Texas," I usually name Dallas. But that tends to annoy a couple million people.

1.GUNS N' ROSES : "Goddamn they don't make em' like they used to. Guns N' Roses rules! Crüe! Def Lep! Then that Cobain pussy had to come around & ruin it all. I'll tell you somethin', I hate the fuckin' 90's." quote from The Wrestler courtesy of Klauw.
2.IRON MAIDEN : same. Hair metal is so poorly represented in this site it just makes me want to do a whole list of it. That would be fun, but I don't make "beautiful lists". I just list what I prefer or consider important.
3.DOKKEN, no I'm kidding… TELEPHONE
4.EAGLES
5.Joe JACKSON : excellent singer songwriter and musician, especially in his first albums
6.The POGUES
7.Ry COODER
8.GRANDMASTER FLASH
9.Randy NEWMAN
10.Herbie HANCOCK

saw lyle and john hiatt play an acoustic show a couple weeks ago. they traded off songs and talked a lot. it was fantastic. (sort of) glad lyle didn't play north dakota - i would've wept uncontrollably.

i'd like to see townes in the hoa, but i stopped voting for him a while back. maybe steve earle has a shot? no, i doubt it

Greg,

I'd put Townes in second place after George if I thought he had a shot. I'm not as enamored of Steve Earle as TVZ, and I agree he probably also has no chance.

We could put together a pretty nice ballot of Texas musicians on the outside looking in.

01. DEPECHE MODE: while it seems that every synth-pop star of the early 80s is looking for a more organic sound (Eurhythmics, Marc Almond or David Sylvain for instance), Depeche Mode are still practicing a sound based completely on synthesizers. But not in an unimaginative way, they are continuously enriching their sound with industrial textures, dark subjects and dramatic vocal performances.
My favourite album: Music for the Masses (1987).
My Top 5 Songs: Everything Counts (1983), Never Let Me Down Again (1987), Strangelove (1987), Just Can’t Get Enough (1981), A Question of Time (1986).

02. RADIO FUTURA: probably the best Spanish rock band so far, geographically part of the Madrid “movida” but not philosophically. They are a more serious affair, an art rock band with influences ranging from the cool New York scene to the warm tropical beats.
My favourite album: De un país en llamas (1985).
My Top 3 Songs: La estatua del jardín botánico (1982), Han caído los dos (1985), Semilla negra (1984).

03. DAVID SYLVIAN: I was the only one who voted for Japan so I don’t expect another one joining me on voting for Sylvian, but he’s releasing fascinating works with the sophistication of Roxy Music and David Bowie as guiding light and with forays into jazz and avant-garde.
My favourite album: Secrets of the Beehive (1987).
My Top 3 Songs: Forbidden Colours (1983), The Ink in the Well (1984), Orpheus (1987).

04. GUNS N’ ROSES: the choice for the classic rockers. The Guns are being received with open arms by the lovers of hard guitar riffs, shouted vocals and arrogance, the ones who were waiting for young ones willing to live the typical rock and roll way of life, this time with a plus of danger.
My favourite album: Appetite for Destruction (1987).
My Top 3 Songs: Sweet Child O’ Mine (1987), Welcome to the Jungle (1987), Paradise City (1987).

05. THE HOUSEMARTINS: and, contrasting with the previous, here I go with The Housemartins, a band whose strong points are the funny and combative lyrics (with a bizarre mixture of socialism and Christianity), the pop melodies and even some hints at... a-cappella gospel!
My favourite album: London 0 Hull 4 (1986).
My Top 3 Songs: Me and the Farmer (1987), Happy Hour (1986), Caravan of Love (1986).

06. XTC.
07. RY COODER.
08. BILLY BRAGG.
09. THE POGUES.
10. KATE BUSH

And at the backstage:
01. RICARDO PACHÓN: he’s the man behind all the groundbreaking works of the last decade that are taking the flamenco to its complete renewal without losing its pureness, with excellent productions for Lole y Manuel, Camarón de La Isla, Veneno or Pata Negra. Favourite song: LOLE y MANUEL Tu mirá (1976).
02. GREG GINN: it’s not a secret that I don’t particularly enjoy the USA post-punk and alternative scene (I prefer the music coming from Britain during these 80s) but I can deny the innovative, solid and cohesive body of work that the independent label SST has been releasing during the last years. Black Flag (in which Ginn is songwriter and guitarist), Minutemen, Meat Puppets, Hüsker Dü, fIREHOSE, Bad Brains, Sonic Youth or Dinosaur Jr. (no less!) are some of the bands. Favourite song: SONIC YOUTH Schizophrenia (1987).
03. GEOFF TRAVIS: despite being qualified as a “flatulent pain in the arse” by Morrissey (it’s rumoured that Travis is the Mr. Shankly of the Smiths song) he continued releasing fabulous records, not only the complete works by The Smiths (even after that song!) but also by Robert Wyatt, Jonathan Richman, David Thomas or The Woodentops. But frankly, Mr. Travis, you shouldn’t have shown your poems to “Bigmouth” Morrissey. Favourite song: THE SMITHS Frankly, Mr. Shankly (1986).

Those who dare to click on the Lole y Manuel link will be rewarded with a precious song, trust me. Or don’t trust me if you don’t want to, but you should trust Mr. Henrik Franzon (he loved that song when I recommended to him) or Mr. Quentin Tarantino (he included the song of his Kill Bill soundtrack.

Paul & Greg,

I'm with you in the TVZ lobby

1. Randy Newman – No singer-songwriter has ever inhabited a wider variety of delusional, pitiable, or downright despicable characters, with so little regard for how he might be viewed by the confused among us who can’t separate the singer from the song.

2. New York Dolls – They only made two albums, but they’re one of the all-time great bands, and their influence is incalculable.

3. Ornette Coleman – The music he was making in the late eighties STILL sounded like The Shape of Jazz to Come (the concept, not the album). A true visionary who, unlike far too many of his contemporaries, lasted long enough to become a living legend.

4. Peter Gabriel – His solo career, on a lot of levels, couldn’t have been more different from his previous incarnation. Once fearsomely insular, he expanded his sound to embrace seemingly the whole world, and by this point in time – improbably – the world embraced him back.

5. Public Enemy – They won’t really deserve to be inducted until next year, but it was clear that they were game-changers right from the start.

6. Wire
7. Can
8. Love
9. Cream
10. Metallica

BACKSTAGE WING
1. Nicky Hopkins
2. Rudy Van Gelder
3. Greil Marcus

1. Metallica : already released the best metal album ever + 2 great albums
2. T.Rex : first votes in the 1971 poll seems to confirm the lack of love for Bolan's band on this forum, such a shame ! Including him in the HOA would be a logic way to celebrate the 2nd most important artist of glam rock
3. Violent Femmes : their self titled album is one of the best grower for me in those past months, maybe my favourite album released between 75 and 85
4. The Zombies : quite a surprise they have not been induced before given the amount of acclaim they usually get in our forum's polls
5. The Pogues : probably the only folk band I love
6. Motorhead
7. Beastie Boys (anyway, they're gonna be on top of my ballot starting 1990 voting thread until they are included or either/or is released)
8. Lynyrd Skynyrd
9. Telephone
10. XTC

Nassim - I was the only person voting for The Zombies, so I gave up.

1. Metallica - See last year.

2. Guns N' Roses - Say what you will about the debacle that is Chinese Democracy, GNR rocked when they came out. Appetite for Destruction is a killer album, and Slash truly is a guitar hero.

3. Beastie Boys - See last year

4. Grandmaster Flash - Don't forget the Furious Five either.

5. Grateful Dead - "Touch of Grey" is a decent excuse to vote for the Dead; they have inspired plenty of other jam bands (and Deadheads).

6. Dire Straits - See last year.

7. Eric B. & Rakim - Don't quite get their due for their hip-hop innovations.

8. Pet Shop Boys - Not my favorite synthpop duo but still worthy of a vote.

9. Afrika Bambaataa - See last year.

10. Def Leppard - "Pour some sugar on me!"

Same as last week.

1. Eurythmics

2. Grace Jones

3. Siouxsie and the Banshees

4. Depeche Mode

5. Janet Jackson

6. Donna Summer

7. Can

8. Echo and the Bunnymen

9. Joan Jett

10. Kim Wilde

1. THE MOODY BLUES - Please correct me if I'm wrong, but this band probably made a blip in the late 60s on the eligibles list before disappearing, which is too bad, because they're probably the last band from that musical era that isn't inducted. A lot of bands from the Beatles onward got props for incorporating orchestras and strings, but for me nothing quite captured the sweeping majesty of classical music and cavernous sounds of orchestras in pop music like the Moody Blues. The release of their last halfway decent album in 1981, Long Distance Voyager, is a good a time as any to put them at the personal top and see how long they last.

2. SONIC YOUTH - With their early eighties explosions and sprawling adventures with Evol and Sister, this band shoots up to the top. It's hard to take huge liking to them yet, since their material lacks some level of focus (I still can't hum the melodies to most of their songs). But this band is on a mission to create their own wall of sound with things to discover with each listen.

3. BUZZCOCKS - Singles Going Steady presents such a wide spectrum of interesting punk sounds. Autonomy and Ever Fallen in Love? are the standouts but band combined artistry and attitude.

4. THE CRYSTALS - Fitting to give this group props after I finished listening to the non-Christmas Back to Mono set. Beautiful infectious pop melodies. Who cares if I get them confused with the Ronettes.

5. RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS - There's something real dark to the elements of the Wall of Sound, which make the booming choruses and orchestrations so timeless. You hear You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling and while you are uplifted with romantic sentiments you also have a sense that something in lingering around the corner to remove you from your fantasy. Maybe it's growing up on Lynchian film images that borrow from sixties sentimentality and the sounds that go with it, but this is powerful dramatic music.

6. CREAM - While I've only listened to Disraeli Gears, Cream songs from all their albums seem to pop up everywhere, on my playlists, in movies, in cover versions. To combine gritty blues (aka Crossroads) with psychadelica (Blue Condition, Sunshine of You Love others) with guitar fuzz holding it all together creates a sound that fused more experimental rock n' roll with the early Delta music pioneers, creating a close bond of musical influences across the pond.

7. JETHRO TULL

8. DEEP PURPLE

9. TODD RUNDGREN

10. LOVE

1. Dinah Washington

2. Crosby, Stills, Nash (& Young)

3. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five

4. The Staple Singers

5. The Grateful Dead

6. Peter Gabriel

7. The Jackson 5

8. Pet Shop Boys - I'm much more into their earlier stuff... so here's a vote for them.

9. Blossom Dearie

10. Eric B. & Rakim -- Hesitant as I am to give a vote to a rookie artist... they get the vote above G 'n R.


Backstage:

1. Norman Granz
2. Gamble and Huff
3. Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, J.J. Jackson and Martha Quinn