I don't think a band having a niche audience should exclude them from induction. Just look at the Velvet Underground as one example. To clarify, I'm referring to when they were new, not the amount of fans they have now.

Wasn't Plant's feather symbol inspired by another, similar symbol? As for the handwriting, it doesn't look all that close to Plant's. In fact, it looks like most anyone's handwriting that has halfway decent penmanship.

Yes, I do. I was never all that fond of "Jackie Blue" but I do like a whole bunch of their other stuff such as "If You Wanna Get To Heaven (You've Got To Raise A Little Hell)". Several years back that song took on a totally new life when it was used in the opening sequence for the documentary on Jesco White called Dancing Outlaw which originally aired on West Virginia public television. It soon went on to become a cult classic and more recently spawned the full length feature film The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia. http://youtu.be/y0h3a7MmMss

Rush most definitely deserve to be in based on their influence alone, which is among the chief criteria for induction. On top of that they sound just as vital and innovative today as they ever have while most of their peers bank on nostalgia.

Since it was never officially released, I imagine he wanted to give some of his fans the opportunity to own it. I seriously doubt recasting it as you see fit ever crossed his mind.

^8/10 I like that. Short but sweet. Too bad they've never been able to make more of a go of it.

I think Kiss deserve to be in but before he opens his mouth, Gene Simmons should probably do some fact checking first. Like the fact that Tone Loc isn't in and that Blondie wasn't a "disco act". It's that sort of ignorance and bitching about not being in that's probably keeping them from being inducted. There's lots of other artists that deserve to be inducted (such as Rush) but you don't see them openly complaining about it. Kiss Still Sore Over Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Exclusion (from Rolling Stone)

Whitney Houston Drowned with Cocaine in Her System, Autopsy Reveals (from Rolling Stone)

Mike Mills DJing on Dave FM in Atlanta. His first song is "Scarred But Smarter" by Drivin' n' Cryin'.

The liner notes (which include the story behind every song) for Americana are already online here.

Lydia Loveless covering "Allison" by Elvis Costello. From what I understand, she recorded a version of this that will be released as a 45 on Record Store Day (4.21.12.). The A side is "Bad Way To Go", the opening track to her latest album, Indestructible Machine.

Someone just opened a new record store in Raleigh called In the Groove that specializes in used vinyl. The owner has a blog where he posts lots of cool stuff about records that find their way into his shop. You can check it out here. Next time I'm in there, if he still has that rare copy of Some Girls with the recalled cover I may just have to pick it up.

'Digital Music Created the Resurgence In Vinyl...'

It's Alana Blanchard:

I've noticed the same thing with Lynyrd Skynyrd. Yes, it's a bit more difficult to spell than Led Zeppelin but if you're a fan it seems like you would make the extra effort to spell it correctly. I've also seen Jimmy Buffett fans get all up in arms if someone misspells it as "Buffet" (which happens just as frequently, it not more so than misspellings of Led Zeppelin and Lynyrd Skynyrd).

Like I've said, I think it depends on one's passion for music and you, myself and a few others here are obviously very passionate about music. If someone thinks music is "dead" it's pretty clear that they're not making the effort to seek it out because it is everywhere you turn. Right now I just can't seem to get enough of Sharon Van Etten's Tramp album. I've purchased several other records this year but I've become so enamored of that one that it's been hard to give the others any airtime. I've also noticed some folks being put off by labels. They're necessary because we need some way of describing music to others but they can also be confining. For instance, one member said they had steered clear of Wilco because they were put off by the "alt.country" label. When they finally listened they realized they weren't "country" at all. Their early albums were definitely influenced by country music but their newer stuff is not very country sounding at all. So, sometimes it's best to put those labels aside and try our best to listen with an open mind.

I have no idea who it is, I just liked the shot.

From a Glide Magazine article about Americana:

I've always thought of garage bands as the majority of artists that make up the first Nuggets compilation. I know the definition goes deeper than that but usually, when someone mentions "garage bands" that's the sound I think of.

The Yardbirds make the cut in this list of Little Steven's favorite garage bands. I was somewhat surprised by some of this other choices though, especially the band he lists last.

From The R.E.M. Timeline page on Facebook: remtimeline.com

You can order it from Amazon.

I know of quite a few friends that are into this band but what little I heard didn't really do much for me. That is, until I heard this song (as well as at least one of their other ones) sung around the campfire back around New Year's.