Sonic Youth.

This weekend, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts its class of 2012, which consists of Donovan, the Beastie Boys, the late singer-songwriter Laura Nyro, the Small Faces and the Faces, blues guitarist Freddie King, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Guns N' Roses, although not lead singer Axl Rose, who declined the induction earlier this week. Rose notwithstanding, dozens of artists have been snubbed for the Hall over the years; it took the Stooges—the Stooges!—a half-dozen ballots to make it in. The Hall's official party line states that it honors "the influence and significance of the artists' contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll." But the list of artists who issued their first records 25 or more years ago (the Hall's qualification for nomination) who would be first-ballot shoo-ins in any Rock and Roll Hall of Fame committed to the continuous, vital culture of rock music is long. Even without considering influential jazz, folk, hip-hop, electronic, dance, pop, funk, dub, and dance artists, staggering amounts of genuine and important rock artists have never even reached the ballot.

Here are 10 artists who've made legitimate contributions to rock and roll as the term is generally understood (even by baby boomers). Sure, to actually enshrine any of them would also negate the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's symbolic importance for all that is hilarious about itself, and that would be a loss. But it's only rock and roll.

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This morning the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame announced its 2012 inductees, and topping the list is the snarling chroniclers of Sunset Strip decadence Guns N' Roses. (Will they get back together for the induction dinner? Is Axl Rose only going to call up Izzy for the big night? How does Tracii Guns feel about this? So many questions!) Also making it in: the psych-folk troubadour Donovan; local Carvel aficionados the Beastie Boys; the late singer-songwriter Laura Nyro; the collected British bands the Small Faces and the Faces; blues guitarist Freddie King; and, sigh, the Red Hot Chili Peppers. There are some disappointing things about these choices—Eric B. and Rakim were also on the ballot, and while I certainly enjoy the Beastie Boys' music I'd argue that as far as quote-unquote importance goes I'd give it to the duo over the trio. (Although the Beasties were on the ballot last year, as were the Chili Peppers and Nyro and Donovan.) Of course my saying this will probably incite a bunch of chattering about how It's The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, Man, and to that I say that the term "rock and roll" is a red herring, one that effectively trips people up into thinking that only guitar-based bands (hey, remember, the Beastie Boys started out as a hardcore outfit!) are worthy of induction. Certainly the body of artists on the museum's roster represents pop—yes, it's a certain idea of pop, one with a stamp of Importance that's defined by values rooted in privileging rock's ethos over others, but it's pop nonetheless. And yes I can sigh and complain about this because I voted! My ballot's below.

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Guns N' Roses ca. 1987: If nothing else, that pouf should be immortalized for eternity.

The Cure, Eric B. & Rakim, and Guns N' Roses are among the new-to-the-ballot artists on the list for for the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame's class of 2012, announced this morning; they join previous nominees the Beastie Boys, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Donna Summer. Full list below.

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The 2011 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony
The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
Monday, March 14

Better Than: Whatever was happening at Death by Audio tonight that Bruce Springsteen didn't show up to, for whatever reason.

First off, let's tell you what you want to hear: Tom Waits stole the show.

Introduced via improvised ramble by brother-in-scraggle Neil Young, Waits accepted his Rock Hall induction with his trademark stream of comical platitudes, zen-like aphorisms, and dry half-truths. It looked like he was reading them from his passport.

Here are some of the best ones:

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Yeah, some wacky and/or poignant stuff happened at last night's Rock Hall induction, but rest assured that this moment, captured by the NYT's Dave Itzkoff, was the highlight. "Roll over Woodstock, we won," Iggy declared, upon the Stooges' official acceptance, alongside ABBA, the Hollies, Jimmy Cliff, and Genesis. Phish were also involved, and Wyclef. So, again: This was the highlight.

This is exactly what it'll be like.

Iggy Pop on live television: Always a treat. The Stooges join Genesis, the Hollies, Jimmy Cliff, and ABBA, who're triggering the usual that's-not-rock hoo-hah; our own Jason Gross grapples with the Rock Hall's legacy/future/point here. Lotta love for Chicago out there, folks.

Ooooh plus "Iron Man"

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Celebration
Madison Square Garden
Friday, October 30

"When we were down, rock 'n' roll lifted us up," says Tom Hanks in his introductory remarks for the final night of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's benefit-concert extravaganza at Madison Square Garden. "Rock 'n' roll music was American," he later adds. "And it changed the world." Despite his use of the past tense, tonight is anything but a eulogy: Friday's slate features a wider palate of curators than the previous night, this time including Aretha Franklin, Jeff Beck, Metallica, and U2. The headliners' guests, a pop-music dream-team ranging from Ray Davies to Ozzy Osbourne to the Black Eyed Peas, also do a better job than last night's cavalcade of explaining how far rock has come.

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Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Celebration
Madison Square Garden
Thursday, October 29

The first half of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's two-night benefit concert and 25th-anniversary celebration lasted six hours, ended at 1:30 a.m. and featuring star-studded sets by curators Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, and Crosby, Stills, and Nash, with guests ranging from Billy Joel to Tom Morello to doo-wop legends Little Anthony and the Imperials. All these artists showed a real humility and gratitude for the 60-odd-year-old genre: "Everybody's got their own Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their hearts," as Springsteen put it. And no matter what you think of the museum itself or the state of rock at the moment (the closest thing to a hard-line rock album in this week's Billboard Top 10 is the New Moon soundtrack), the evening proved what a great emancipator the music still is.

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