Already halfway through the oh-oh's, it's time for the 2005 HOA election. The chances to get your favorites in are diminishing fast!

Submit a ranked list of your ten most deserving artists. 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 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, August 16, at 6:00 pm US Central time (midnight GMT).

Voting is now open. Vroom!

Woohoo! First!

1. THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS - Still one of my favorite bands ever.

2. LORETTA LYNN - I watched Coal Miner's Daughter again yesterday. It was on the free movie channel. It's a really good movie (that's why I had it as no 18, i think, in the movie poll). Her songs are really, really good and she sings like a goddess. I wanted to wait until Van Lear Rose was released before voting for her, because that is one helluva record.

3. HANDSOME FAMILY - They have the quirkiest, weirdest and best lyrics of any band. Is it trad country or alt-country? I don't know, but it sounds like nothing else.

4. MANIC STREET PREACHERS - Still puzzled how The Holy Bible had been in my collection so long without really being listened to. I needed to hear it on Spotify to realize what a genius album that really is.

5. JEFFERSON AIRPLANE - Can they do it. It'll be weird if they get in now, but they've never been closer.

6. RICHARD AND LINDA THOMPSON
7. THE LIBERTINES
8. INTERPOL
9. A-HA
10. FRANZ FERDINAND

Backstage vote
1. Henrik Franzon

1. Loretta Lynn - Similar to Johnny Cash, Loretta's recent work with Jack White showed what a true country legend she is. Plus, her streak of country hits in the 1960s were as good as it gets.

2. Ornette Coleman - For his innovation and vision.

3. Lucinda Williams - For being so earnest.

4. Herbie Hancock - For being a jazz legend.

5. Lynyrd Skynyrd - For Sweet Home Alabama. Turn it up.

6. Buzzcocks
7. Townes Van Zandt
8. Fugazi
9. Grateful Dead
10. Eric B. & Rakim

My fifth special edition of HOA: Sweden
(me and my family are spending some really WONDERFUL days at Henrik’s apartment in Stockholm, so the special edition is obviously about Swedes; the following list is directly influenced by Henrik himself who gently gave me some Swedish CDs that I truly enjoyed)


01. ABBA: of course, no other band could top a list of Swedish bands. The most successful act coming from Sweden was initially seen with prejudices by critics and rock-oriented audience but the fervent love of many unsuspected fans amidst the rock aristocracy (like Elvis Costello or Bruce Springsteen) and, of course, the undisputed quality of their songs gave them a wide credibility that lasts today.
My favourite album: Arrival (1976).
My Top 3 Songs: Dancing Queen (1976), The Winner Takes It All (1980), Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight) (1979).

02. THE CARDIGANS: also a widely successful Swedish band singing in English and fronted by with a beautiful woman in search of the perfect pop song (with a delicious extra dose of sugar).
My favourite album: Emmerdale (1994).
My favourite song: Rise and Shine (1994).

03. THE HIVES: to compensate for the two previous melodic bands here they come, with their dirty sound of garage-rock à la Stooges.
My favourite album: Veni, Vidi, Vicious (1985).
My favourite song: Hate to Say I Told You So (2000).

04. BOB HUND: a indie band that knows how to extract twisted beauty from their particularly angular sound.
My favourite album: Omslag: Martin Kann (1996).
My favourite song: Düsseldorf (1996).

05. JAKOB HELLMAN: he released an only album at the end of the 80s that was considered the best Swedish album ever. A shy Jakob was unable to replicate it under that pressure and the second album was apparently delayed forever (the “Loveless” syndrome, you know).
My favourite album: …och stora havet (1989).
My favourite song: Vara vänner (1989).

06. JAN JOHANSSON: the main name on Swedish jazz, an excellent piano player with classical background and an exquisite taste.
My favourite album: Jazz på svenska (1964).
My favourite song: Visa från Utanmyra (1964).

07. THE KNIFE: a brother and a sister playing their particular brand of synth-pop that is equally revivalist and advanced, simultaneously dark and brilliant.
My favourite album: Deep Cuts (2003).
My favourite song: Heartbeats (2003).

08. JOSÉ GONZÁLEZ: folk at the surface, the guitar-and-voice minimalist arrangements on the singer-songwriter tradition, but indie at the core. But, of course, of the intimate faction.
My favourite album: Veener (2003).
My favourite song: Heartbeats (2003).

09. STINA NORDENSTAM: a sweet voice whispering lullabies in your ear wrapped by delicate electronic arrangements good enough to keep you warm during the cold Swedish winters.
My favourite album: And She Closed Her Eyes (1994).
My favourite song: Little Star (1994).

10. HÅKAN HELLSTRÖM: I don’t understand the lyrics but I should trust the AMG reviewer that described him as someone “able to write upbeat, melodic songs while handling topics that are sad and melancholic”. Like Bruce Springsteen shouting passionately a Morrissey song.
My favourite album: Känn ingen sorg för mig Göteborg (2000).
My favourite song: Känn ingen sorg för mig Göteborg (2000).

Bonus track: FRED ÅKERSTRÖM: Jag der dig min morgon (1972). I haven’t heard a Fred album but this precious love song is reason enough to appear on the list. And... it was played on Henrik and Malin’s wedding.

And at the backstage (the two first are direct suggestions by Henrik):
01. MICHAEL B. TRETOW: the man behind the famous and unique “ABBA sound”.
02. LENNART PERSSON: the best music critic in Sweden ever, the John Peel or Lester Bangs of Sweden.
03. HENRIK FRANZON: the man behind that fabulous webpage, Acclaimed Music. And a dear friend of mine.

1. The Streets: Instead of rapping about how badass he is or how much money he has, he complains about his broken TV.

2. Buzzcocks: Made several classic 70’s punk songs.

3. Sleater-Kinney: Babes who can wail.

4. Dinosaur Jr.: Made songs that combined all the different rock genres swirling around the American underground.

5. Fugazi: Great guitar interplay and a rhythm section that blows all others out of the water.

6. The Libertines
7. Jane’s Addiction
8. Erik B. & Rakim
9. MC5
10. Tom Petty

01. Red Hot Chili Peppers : BSSM is my "madeleine de Proust" and the summit of a very decent discography
02. IAM : best band in French hip-hop history (and probably best French band ever)
03. Rage Against the Machine : come oooooooon, here is the only real guitar hero of the 90s with very solid song and awesome bass lines
04. Built to Spill : Perfect from now on is the most incredible discover I have made this year, the five first tracks are, well, perfect, which an intensity I have very rarely heard, goes right to my guts.
05. Millencolin : I guess punk-rock or any music related to skateboard is kinda disregarded here, however Millencolin has quite an interesting discography, starting with ska-punk albums, discovering a more poppy songwriting on Four Monkeys, becoming much straightforward with great riffs on their best album Pennybridge's Pioneers (2000) and releasing a more rock less punk album in 2002 : Home From Home
06. Kanye West
07. The Arcade Fire
08. Puppetmastaz
09. At the Drive-in
10. Dizzee Rascal

Backstage special vote : personal thanks !
1) Shawn Fanning : inventor of Napster, probably the biggest change on the music industry since the creation of MTV. Whether it is for the best or the worst is open to discussion, but this guy changed my life by allowing me to listen to tons of music (even if I have used emule, kazaa and torrents much more)
2) Henrik Franzon : Creator of the site which made me discover much more music than any magasine, friend of mine or radio. So thanks again Henrik !
3)Johanna Seban : she wrote on 2004 an article about a deceased singer on the a special edition of "Les Inrockuptibles" celebrating the 50 years of rock'n'roll. After reading it, I have decided to listen to Either/Or. I really doubt any single page of a magasine ever change my life more than that one.

1. New York Dolls – I gotta ask you one question: Do you think that ... you could maaake it ... with Frankenstein?

2. Sleater-Kinney – Dazzling vocal and guitar interplay between singer-songwriters Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein, backed by the mighty noise of Janet Weiss, one of the most powerful drummers – of any gender – rock has ever known.

3. Ornette Coleman – A true visionary who, unlike far too many of his contemporaries, lasted long enough to become a living legend. Long overdue for induction!

4. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – What I said in my earlier top 5 entry about T.P. and company – they’ve lasted this long for a reason. And, again, Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench transcended sideman status a long time ago.

5. Kanye West – Love him or hate him (indifference doesn’t seem to be an option), his impact and omnipresence over the last few years can’t be denied.

6. Lynyrd Skynyrd
7. Belle and Sebastian
8. Lucinda Williams
9. Sonny Rollins
10. The Arcade Fire

BACKSTAGE WING
1. Henrik Franzon – I see a few other people had the same idea I’ve been flirting with for the last couple of elections. Another vote for the creator of the greatest music site on the net!
2. Booker T. Jones/Steve Cropper/Donald “Duck” Dunn/Al Jackson, aka The MG’s – Great idea from last week, Klauw!
3. Greil Marcus

1. ABBA - Deceitfully simple, their repertoire contains some of the most brilliant pieces of songwriting.
2. Nina Simone - One of the top singers of the second half of the 20th century.
3. Missy Elliott - Dare I say it? Along with buddy Timbaland, she's probably the biggest innovator in mainstream music right now. Not afraid of experiment, she's always somewhere on the border between avant-garde and pop.
4. Jefferson Airplane - Hippie's finest.
5. Red Hot Chili Peppers - One of the leading bands in rock music, thanks to an irresistible mix between funk, punk and rap.
6. The Prodigy
7. Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
8. Belle and Sebastian
9. Foo Fighters
10. Lynyrd Skynyrd

Backstage:
1. Henrik Franzon - Not just a case of 'if you can't beat them, join them', but a big thanks for what he did for this little community. Congrats!
2. Booker T. & The MG's - Thank you, Harold. Maybe we get them in next time.
3. Gerry Goffin & Carole King - Favorites: Will You Love Me Tomorrow (The Shirelles, 1960), Crying in the Rain (The Everly Brothers, 1962), One Fine Day (The Chiffons, 1963), (You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman (Aretha Franklin, 1967)

1. Arcade Fire - Hello? How does Arcade Fire not auto-top all ballots? True they only have one album and an EP, but their debut is not only among the best debuts of all time, but has a special place in valhalla that is occupied only by the greatest records of all time. I can type for hours about how Funeral is the decade's best album, and is by far the best record since OK Computer, but I don't know how much that would accomplish. The sound of Arcade Fire is massive yet very personal. Their songs are deep and complex but are also easily understood and related too. They may one day go down as one of the true greats.

2. The Verve - They've cracked the T10 of the eligibles list, so why not the Verve? Please?

3. The Shins - The premeir baroque-pop group of the decade, and along with my #1 one of the first indie bands to break heavily into the mainstream.

4. Sleater-Kinney - Their best album doesn't come out untill next year, but they've assembled a solid catalogue that warrants their inclusion.

5. Brian Wilson - I dare someone to argue that Brian isn't one of the true geniuses of 20th century music. A composer who will one day be looked back upon as the equal of Beethoven or Schubert.

6. Belle and Sebastien
7. Interpol
8. Dinosaur Jr.
9. The Streets
10. Franz Ferdinand

Wow…after years of logjam, my top three all broke through in one year. Time for a bit of a reshuffle, I think.

1. JEFFERSON AIRPLANE. Now that Primal Scream is in, I’ve taken a look at the remaining top 10 on the eligibles list to see who I think should really make it. I conclude that the Airplane is most deserving. By 2005, they’ve long since turned into an embarrassment, but let’s get ‘em in.
2. BUZZCOCKS. The finest punk band not yet in the HOA. More than deserving.
3. RICHARD AND LINDA THOMPSON. Despite all those nasty things I keep saying about Fairport Convention…
4. WARREN ZEVON. I’ve dropped Lucinda Williams and am putting all my No Depression eggs in this basket.
5. THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS. Megabyte hit things.
6. THE SHINS. Yes, they’re one of the more retrograde indie acts of the last 10 years, but hey, I’m 41.
7. ARCADE FIRE
8. SLEATER-KINNEY. Were originally at #10 before I decided it was unconscionable to put them behind Karen O.
9. YEAH YEAH YEAHS
10. BELLE AND SEBASTIAN

Also considered: Kanye and Modest Mouse.

A couple of notes on some folks I’m NOT voting for:

I do not care for Ornette Coleman’s stuff, I suspect because I don’t have enough of a grounding in bebop and modal jazz to appreciate what he was departing from, if that makes sense. That could change…I didn’t appreciate 20th century art until I had a good grounding in Impressionism. Actually, I have met Ornette—I have friends who live in his apartment building in New York.

Grandmaster Flash: I think I might have thrown him a vote or two back in the 80s, but I have since discovered that he actually had no involvement in “The Message.” Much as I like “The Adventures of…” and “White Lines,” for me, those tracks aren’t sufficient by themselves.

****

For the Backstage, I vote for HENRIK FRANZON, creator of the niftiest music site I know. Then, I propose we formally close the Backstage Wing.

Ok, I,ve been reading and loving this thread since its inception and I think now would be a good time to chip in before its to late.

1. Ornette Coleman: I have a very limited knowledge of jazz but his music stills stands out as being ground breaking and the hall could do with a bit more jazz.

2. Abba: They may not have as much critical acclaim other artists, but their appeal is practically universal. So for infiltrating the lives of so many millions of people they deserve to be inducted.

3. Modest mouse: My all time favourite band. The many voices of Isaac Brock must appeal to the voices in my head.

4. The Shins: Perfect indie pop. I know theres a lot of great bands that have been knocking on the door for awhile now, but I,d really like to see the last few votes pay respect to the some of the great music of what I consider to be a really great decade.

5. Belle and Sebastian: I run/ran quite a bit before a long running injury struck. For some reason my pre-race routine involved listening to two of their songs and Orion by Metallica. Hardly the type of music to get you pumped up, but I,ve become a bit superstitious so its to late to change now. Beautifully crafted songs song sung with passion. One of the songs is "The stars of track and field" which at least makes a bit of sense.

6. Arcade fire
7. Interpol
8. Weezer
9. Dusty Springfield
10. Robert Wyatt

Backstage: Henrik Franzon. Creator of the biggest excel sheets I,ve ever seen, and oh yeah, Acclaimed Music.

schleuse, I'm sorry that I haven't participated during the last weeks. So many polls...

It was tempting to follow Honorio and do another Swedish special, but that would be like voting twice and this game deserve better than such a riot. So, stubborn as I am, I'm back with my usuals.

1. Ennio Morricone
Now that we have voted Leone's movies so high in the movie poll, the time seems right to me.

2. ABBA
The best disco band and this should be reason enough, but they were much more than that.

3. (NEW) Nina Simone
I've always loved her, but now I have also heard an album that went straight into my top 100 albums of all time, namely WILD IS THE WIND.

4. Judas Priest
I'm listening to Sad Wings of Destiny again for the 1976 poll and it remains one of the true gems in my collection.

5. Genesis
I used to think of Genesis as a favorite band mainly because of Foxtrot and Selling England by the Pound, but now I have also "discovered" The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.

6. The KLF

7. Nat King Cole

8. Iron Maiden
Melodies and musicians. And Bruce.

9. Erykah Badu
The neo-soul queen.

10. Rage Against the Machine


Backstage: Never heard of this Henrik Franzon guy. Must be overrated. But I have heard that Acclaimed Music would never had existed without rocklist.net, so my vote goes to Julian White.

1. Lynyrd Skynyrd - time for some classic/southern rock in here
2. Richard & Linda Thompson - i want to see the bright lights tonight
3. Kanye West - in order of preference 1. Graduation 2. The College Dropout 3. Late Registration 4. 808s & Heartbreak
4. Warren Zevon - excitable boy, they all said
5. Drive-By Truckers - http://www.avclub.com/articles/hang-on-to-your-ego-16-great-bands-with-more-than,2295/
cool list. was this ever discussed on here?
6. The Magnetic Fields
7. The Blue Nile
8. Jackson Browne
9. Dwight Yoakam
10. Prefab Sprout

I didn't think I'd get my votes in on time! Pretty much the same as last week, with a few exceptions.

1. Siouxsie and the Banshees- I really hope they manage to get in somehow, someway.

2. Kylie Minogue- 2005 would be a tough year for Kylie, with breast cancer bringing a thriving career to a screeching halt. Thank God she's recovered.

3. Janet Jackson- 2004 was the year of Nipplegate, and she's never really recovered from a commercial vantage point. Damita Jo isn't my favorite Janet album by any stretch of the imagination, but it deserved a lot better than Janet being blacklisted while Timbertwat gets by free of any stigma.

4. Annie- Anniemal saved my life. I can't really put it more plainly than that.

5. Grace Jones- Am I the only one to have lodged a vote for her?

6. Missy Elliott

7. Aaliyah

8. Donna Summer

9. Annie Lennox

10. Franz Ferdinand- Their debut is indeed amazing and gave me a wonderful concert experience.

Backstage: Henrik Franzon- My only vote for the backstage wing is so appropriate. Henrik's site is my favorite site on the Internet. Its lists have educated me in ways that no other impartial site could, and its forum has opened me up to a great community of people. Thanks, Chief.