The Jann Wenner Revelation: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Always Sucked
The faux-populism of the Rock Hall is the same as the faux-populism of all elite institutions
…before I begin, let me state that my life has run across many bumps the last 8 weeks. If I owe you an email or a response, please know it’s on its way.
Jann Wenner, the publisher of Rolling Stone and co-founder of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, was practically lab-designed for the scandal he found himself embroiled in the middle of September.
If you've bothered to read this, you probably already know the story. But the short version is, Jenner wrote a book about seminal figures in Rock and Roll history and, when questioned about his myopic focus on white men, embarrassed himself and everyone who read his comments with clumsy and idiotic racially-tinged statements about the ability to "articulate" thoughts. It was ugly and Janner was rightfully booted from the Rock Hall.
I did read one article about the sequence of events (at the NPR website) that drew a line between Janner's comments and the general cultural assumptions of the Rock Hall. However, a lot of the reactions I've seen generally gloss over the institution's inherent hypocrisy.
In short, the Rock Hall is to Rock and Roll, what Hot Topic is to goth culture.
I am from Cleveland and lived in Northeast Ohio most of my life (until the harsh mistress of academia took my act on the road). I have been to the Hall of Fame and Museum a number on times. If you happen to ever visit Cleveland, I suppose the postmodern pyramid on Lake Erie is possibly worth a visit, though it most certainly isn't worth the price of admission. Even fifteen years ago I was aghast at the cost of a ticket. I dare not even look it up now. (A much better kitschy cultural excursion in Cleveland is the A Christmas Story house, by the way).
But the cost of admission is the point, isn't it? The price gouging in service of artificial cultural prestige is emblematic of the rot at the core of the whole enterprise. It's the same dynamic that plays out in the field of Ivy League education, which thrives primarily on an artificial scarcity that bestows prestige and authority.
The Rock Hall works this out on both ends. First, through a hazy, yet still obviously elitist process, it selects the sanctified few who get in as artists, then it prices out most of the fans who would complain.
So my basic reaction to all those who are appalled at Wenner's comments is, "and you're surprised by this?" And to those who are somehow satisfied that this will return the Rock Hall to respectability, I say, "pleeze." Better yet, make that "puhleeeeeeeeez."
It Really Happened to Me
Let me tell you a quick story about the time when my thoughts on the institution were formed.
When I was in grad school at Case Western Reserve, I helped teach a class with a couple of really nice and wonderful people from the Hall of Fame's educational arm. Like I said, they were great, so this has nothing to do with them, or the class, which was also great.
A few sessions of the class were held in the museum itself so we could tour some exhibits and discuss. The interesting thing about the experience was the fact that we entered in the back, not where the paying customers were herded in, but in the back, where the VIPs arrived.
Some of the details are hazy now...I seem to remember going through a security check of some sort. But the big lounge where we waited for our hosts was memorable enough. It had carpet and fancy couches, a giant lava lamp, like 4-feet tall. I seem to remember one of those hand-shaped chairs where you sit in the palm of an open polyethylene hand.
It was all kind of like the image one has of a backstage green room when one has never actually seen a real version of such a room. This is peak Rock Hall.
But the thing I most remember was a long wall full of signatures, messages, and other graffiti left by the titans of the biz. "Some that you recognize, some that you've hardly even heard of," as Ray Davies once put it.
I have to admit that was cool. I am hopelessly childish about meeting the artists I admire, and have a growing collection of selfies and autographs. I get kick out of that kind thing, so the wall itself didn’t really bother me.
The sign above the wall made me literally LOL, however. I may not remember the exact phrase, but it said something very close to "All graffiti must be authorized."
That my dear reader is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in a nutshell.
It is there to pay tribute to and to immortalize rebellion, but all rebellion must be sanctioned in advance by the powers that be. And of course, the powers that be are tightly and inexorably wrapped up with all the other powers that are. And in all elite institutions, Like the Rock Hall, artificial prestige is an instrument of power. The Rock Hall was never, nor could it have ever been, less sexist and racist than all the other institutions of elite power. Nor could Rolling Stone, for that matter.
This is the enlightened ideal that politically incorrect Jann Wenner blighted by, as NPR put it, "saying the quiet part out loud."
This is such a great article! I researched Rolling Stone Magazine and Jann Wenner when I was designing a music listening learning experience for my students. I wanted to have students create a Rolling Stone-like magazine to indicate their diverse listening tastes. The more I read about Wenner, the more I vowed to make our student version the most diverse and accessible final product as possible. Thanks for sharing your experience!
I keep thinking of a story a friend told me about working in the archives there on a temp job (they wouldn't hire anyone from Cleveland full-time despite them doing the legwork, it was always from "cooler" cities. There was a Christmas party and the full-time staff got envelopes with Christmas bonus cash, and the temps got EMPTY ENVELOPES.