METALLICA - BBC Radio 1, London 2008

Well, thank the Metal Gods! Today the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame pulled its addled head out of its bloated ass, for once, and nominated Metallica in their very first year of eligibility.

Given the eternal black mark on the Hall's record regarding Black Sabbath (ten long fucking years to induct, ehh, y'know, only one of the most influential bands in the entire history of popular music), I was hardly expecting them to get it right this time. But surprise surprise, I guess popularity and longevity do make a difference after all. (Except in the case of the dreaded Bon Jovi. Please, God, never them!)

Of course, Metallica's actual induction, on the first ballot or not, is a whole 'nother matter. I predict a wait of at least five years, during which time eighteen more shitty rap, disco and R&B acts will sail in.

But I predict Metallica still gets inducted before Rush, The Zombies, Todd Rundgren, Yes, Randy Newman, Harry Nilsson, Deep Purple and about 97 other eminently worthy inductees waiting out in the cold who'll probably die of old age (well, except for poor Nilsson) before the Nominating Committee geniuses realize "Wait, you mean we're actually called the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for a reason?"

Because if there's one group that can always be relied upon to try and look cool, desperately, pathetcially, in defiance of all taste, logic and common sense...it's rock critics. Remember, it took Rolling Stone 34 years to finally do a decent feature on Rush, just this past summer in fact.

So forget about any other metal greats getting in, from Maiden and Priest on down -- that ain't never happening. But more rap acts? You bet your Bentley.

Anyway, that does that, for this year anyway. Here's a wicked killer BBC broadcast from just a week ago (!) in celebration of Metallica's richly deserved nomination and also their rawk-solid new album Death Magnetic. Go dudes go!

METALLICA
BBC Radio 1 Theatre - London, England - September 14, 2008 (FMB)
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