Dee Snider Says Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Doesn’t Respect Metal: “They’re Elitist Mothereffers”
Once again, Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider has slammed the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his belief that they do not respect nor care about heavy metal as a genre. In a new interview transcribed by Blabbermouth, Snider says that they should call it the “Music Hall of Fame” because it would better reflect the artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
“The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame could have saved themselves a lot of problems by simply calling themselves the ‘Music Hall Of Fame’. I lived on Long Island, and there’s a Long Island Music Hall Of Fame, and in there is Arlo Guthrie and Neil Diamond and Twisted Sister and Zebra is in there and Public Enemy‘s in there and KISS is in there, because it’s music.
“The minute you put that word on it, everybody’s, like, ‘Okay, I get it. It’s the Music Hall Of Fame. And these are great musicians.’ So by calling it the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, it positions itself to criticism, and the people who run that thing, it’s still Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone and Meg Griffin from WNEW in New York City, the hip radio station from the ’70s and ’60s. NEW has been off the air for decades…
“These are the people who are the panel, the voting panel of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. So these old mothereffers are picking the stuff that they grew up with — they’re old. Of course they’re picking… And the minute they go and die — the sooner, the better, guys and girls; the sooner, the better — and they bring in some contemporary people… Again, they’ll either vote to change their name or they’ll just start acknowledging bands…”
He continued by lambasting the fans’ choice part of voting, saying that it gives the Rock Hall a way out of seriously acknowledging rock and metal bands.
“For me, sales do matter. Being beloved does matter. The amount of fans you have does matter. And they threw us a bone when they had the fans’ choice. This way they can say, ‘We didn’t pick KISS. We didn’t pick Judas Priest.’ They’re elitist mothereffers.”
The only rock or metal band inducted in 2023 is Rage Against the Machine, so I can see where Snider is coming from but complaining about it won’t change it. In fact, it only reminds the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that we care about metal, even if they don’t.
