My Big, Gigantic Drum Kit

Check out the band genealogy involved in this year’s Hall of Fame’s high profile non-attendees/altered lineups. Forget the obvious Rolling Stones/Small Faces/Humble Pie/etc. connections inherent in the Faces induction or the Velvet Revolver/Slash’s Snakepit/Fartz/Fastbacks connections in the G’n’R induction; you also have to observe the Simply Red and Pistols connections for the Faces, and the various affiliations of the gazillion musicians who have served in the ever-evolving G’n’R army (including Psychedelic Furs, I just discovered).

Now, here’s something to consider: one of the sticking points with Axl was that the Hall wanted to induct the ‘classic’ G’n’R lineup and not the current one, which includes Tommy Stinson on bass. A semi-legit decision on the part of the Hall, I suppose, but it was the only legit shot of a Replacement getting even close to deserved recognition (let’s just overlook the question of the Hall’s relevance/importance for the sake of argument).

Look.  The Pistols never wanted in.  Simply Red has even less of a shot than the ‘Mats of getting in.  The fun and obvious move here would be for Matlock and Hucknall to step aside and for the remaining Faces to invite Stinson and Faces mega-fan (and Ian McLagan collaborator) Paul Westerberg to sit in for a Faces/Replacements mega-reunion jam.