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Rolling Stone co-founder Jann Wenner removed from Rock & Roll Hall of Fame board

Y2kTheNewOldies

Y2kTheNewOldies

apnews.com

Rolling Stone co-founder Jann Wenner removed from Rock Hall leadership after controversial comments

Jann Wenner, a founder of both Rolling Stone magazine and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, has been removed from the hall’s board of directors after making comments that were seen as disparaging toward Black and female musicians.
apnews.com apnews.com

www.reuters.com

Rolling Stone co-founder Jann Wenner removed from Rock & Roll Hall of Fame board

Rolling Stone magazine co-founder Jann Wenner was removed from his position on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's board of directors after comments he made about Black and female artists that were widely criticized, the hall said in a statement.
www.reuters.com www.reuters.com

Well this brings up a long running issue about diversity in Music for some time though.
 
I read this article, and concluded that Jann is suffering from boomer disease that seems to hit a lot of people his age. They lose their mind and say things that they would never have said when they were younger. There are obviously a lot of black people and women he has never interviewed because I know there are a lot who are very articulate. More articulate than Dylan. Some, like Dylan are more articulate when they write, not when they speak.

Also I'll just say that Wenner himself isn't very articulate. I've learned that the quality of an interview can really depend on the quality of the questions. If Wenner asked inarticulate questions, he likely got inarticulate answers. But far be it from Wenner to admit he asked inarticulate questions.

When I think of black artists I've interviewed who I'd consider articulate, the first name that pops up is Drake. This guy is extremely well spoken, and is in stark contrast to his music. In fact I told him that, and he said it was by design. I wonder if Wenner ever spoke to Drake. Perhaps Wenner never viewed black people or women as worth interviewing because they weren't rock stars in the way of Lennon or Jagger. That's a problem inherent in rock music that tends to marginalize those two groups. But that gets us back to why he really isn't qualified to comment on the qualities of black people and women.
 
Now that I've had some time to think about this, I have no problem with Wenner being removed from the Rock Hall board. For a long time, people have complained about the musicians getting inducted, and quite often he is given as the reason why. One needs an open mind with clear thoughts, and it sounds like that's no longer the case. In his book, he said that blacks and women don't fit his "zeitgeist." That means he has preconceived ideas and prejudices about music, and that's not good if you're part of a committee that decides who goes in the Hall of Fame.

He likes who he likes, and that makes him no different than anyone else.
 
TheBigA said:
He likes who he likes, and that makes him no different than anyone else.
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And if he said to The NY Times reporter these are the artists he likes the most instead of stating no women or people of color were articulate enough to interview he might not be in deep sh*t now.
 
My personal opinion is that the RnR HOF is a incompetent sham and deserves to be totally ignored. Their selections are often times completely irrelevant which removes all intelligence. There are many musicians who should have been in the HOF years ago but continue to be ignored and others whose main output was miles away from being related to RnR.

I pay no attention to this 'institution' or its mentally challenged selectors.
 
More on the downfall of Jann Wenner:



Among the least surprised by the comments — for which Wenner later said he apologized “wholeheartedly” — was biographer Joe Hagan, author of 2017’s acclaimed “The thing about Jann, the thing that made him successful but also is his Achilles’ heel, is that he’s a narcissist who lacks self-awareness,” said Hagan, a writer for Vanity Fair, in an interview. “This is how he talks inside the bubble he lives in. He receives a lot of affirmation for it, and he thinks it’s okay.”
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TheBigA said:
Now that I've had some time to think about this, I have no problem with Wenner being removed from the Rock Hall board. For a long time, people have complained about the musicians getting inducted, and quite often he is given as the reason why. One needs an open mind with clear thoughts, and it sounds like that's no longer the case. In his book, he said that blacks and women don't fit his "zeitgeist." That means he has preconceived ideas and prejudices about music, and that's not good if you're part of a committee that decides who goes in the Hall of Fame.

He likes who he likes, and that makes him no different than anyone else.
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Wenner was a co-founder of Rolling Stone. I don't know what credentials are required for being on the Rock Hall of Fame board. It's kind of pointless. Why not just have a museum that features artists from many genres of music? Why must any artist or group be "inducted" for inclusion? It's just another vanity exercise. Wenner made a clumsy statement that reflects his bias.

I don't enjoy listening to Rap, Country or Taylor Swift. It doesn't resonate with me. I wouldn't be qualified to write about Swift. The Grammys in recent years have seen ratings tank. Obviously, many people aren't impressed with some of this modern music. Bias will always exist when it comes to musical taste, but it's OK to like a variety of artists from many genres. A music museum that offers diversity would be more fitting...
 
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tbolt909 said:
Wenner was a co-founder of Rolling Stone. I don't know what credentials are required for being on the Rock Hall of Fame board.
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Money. At one time, he was respected. Not any more. Read the article in post #7. His own son doesn't condone what he said.
 
TheBigA said:
Money. At one time, he was respected. Not any more. Read the article in post #7. His own son doesn't condone what he said.
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Wenner was called "A narcissist who lacks self awareness"
Americans once elected a President like that. Wenner is 77. It's unrealistic to expect someone of that age to be "hip" to what is happening with 20 year olds. The average 20 year old probably isn't listening to Bob Dylan or the Beatles. Wenner was "hip" when he founded Rolling Stone, but that time is long gone. His remarks are out of touch and indefensible.

The Beatles were largely scorned by the Lawrence Welk crowd. Folk Purists turned their wrath on Dylan when he committed "sacrilege by going electric". Times change. The artists that survive the test of time (Like Bob Marley, Elvis, Miles Davis and countless others) have the substance to back up the style. They generally have huge influence on other musicians as well...
 
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tbolt909 said:
Bias will always exist when it comes to musical taste, but it's OK to like a variety of artists from many genres. A music museum that offers diversity would be more fitting...
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One of these does exist - The Museum of Music (MIM) in Scottsdale, AZ. Rather than focus on genres/songs it focuses upon musical instruments from all over the world. A well deserved attraction if you're in the area. (And, my electrician son helped build it.)
 
johnbasalla said:
It may be that music industry politics, instead of pure music, may drive, at least, some of the decisions.
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I've read over the years that most, if not all nominations and elections to the RRHOF had to be approved by Wenner himself.
 
tbolt909 said:
The average 20 year old probably isn't listening to Bob Dylan or the Beatles.
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For what it's worth, every August I do an 18 hour long "Beatles Marathon" on radio and this year I had a 20 year old ask if she can be part of the show. She was, and did an excellent job, including her observations on some of the songs she played. A couple of listeners complemented her on her performance.
 
Rock 'N Roll primarily evolved from rhythm and blues (a genre performed mostly by African-American musicians), with a little influence from jazz (again, a genre with many black performers) and a little influence from country (a genre with relatively few African-American performers).

All in all, most of rock music's lineage can be traced back to black music.
 
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