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Music

Your Stepdad Picked Most of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees Again

Bon Jovi, Dire Straits, the Moody Blues, the Cars, and Nina Simone make up the Class of 2018, with Sister Rosetta Tharpe receiving the Award for Early Influence.
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The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has confirmed its inductees for next year, and your stepdad is pretty happy. Again. Bon Jovi, Dire Straits, the Moody Blues, the Cars, and Nina Simone are all included in the class of 2018. Pioneering artist Sister Rosetta Tharpe will receive the Award for Early Influence. Radiohead and Rage Against the Machine, both in their first year of eligibility, miss out.

Though Nina Simone’s inclusion is long overdue and Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s acknowledgement is heartening, the shocking thing about the 2018 class is the Hall’s turn away from contemporary artists and less conventionally rock-oriented musicians. Radiohead were the bookies’ favorites this year; LL Cool J must be wondering what he has to do after missing out for a third time; Kate Bush is a genius; Rage Against the Machine’s back catalog isn’t exactly sprawling, but the band seemed a fair bet in the midst of political turmoil.

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The induction ceremony will take place in beautiful Cleveland, Ohio—home to this chandelier—on Saturday, April 14. As ever, there will be chatter about which bands will reunite with old members. Bon Jovi have already made it clear that they’re willing to reunite with guitarist Richie Sambora and bassist Alec John Such. Dire Straits haven't played together in 25 years.

What’s more exciting is the potential for onstage tributes to the posthumous inductees. Tharpe died in 1973, Simone in 2003. A bunch of stars will likely turn out to honor them in Cleveland.

In the meantime, congratulations to your stepdad.

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