I don’t believe the Dave Clark Five belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Oh, they had a few good tracks, but they mostly just filled the vacuum, followed in the footsteps of the Beatles.  Goddamn it, the U.S. was Brit-band happy, and we needed another act!

Not that that kept the mania from reaching my doorstep.  I bought the first two Dave Clark Five albums.  "Glad All Over" and "Bits and Pieces" were classics, but the rest of the first album, with the exception of the band’s take on "Do You Love Me", was disappointing.  I was expecting more Beatles, an act that had you loving every track, instead I felt the black and white cover of the album was a cost-saving measure, although I did want to emulate Mike Smith, he looked cool, didn’t he?  As for the second album, except for "Can’t You See That’s She Mine", it was dreck.  I stopped after that, I didn’t go to see their movie, they were just following the Beatle blueprint, there wasn’t much to believe in.

Not that I mind hearing the old hits on the radio now and again.  As stated earlier, they were good.  Good enough to anoint the band legendary status?  Interesting question.  But if they earn the votes, they should get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

"Rolling Stone" changed my life.  Not only did the magazine focus on my passion, music, it allowed the writers to go on at length, allowing you to bask in the subject.  "Rolling Stone" was our magazine.  Oh, it changed over time, but we still read it.  Until Jann Wenner blinked and changed the format.  Believing the false "Blender" circulation numbers, Mr. Wenner made all the articles shorter, and featured so many record reviews with so little depth of analysis that you could no longer read them.  Oh, we used to read the reviews of acts we had no interest in, to be edified, to be informed, but now there was nothing left to learn.  And music…music no longer drove the culture.

Which is maybe why Mr. Wenner moved on to gossip.  It seems gossip is the rock and roll of today.  Actually, I’d argue that technology is the rock and roll of today, but it comes with a dividing line.  Between those who know how their computer works and those still using AOL.  Gossip can be understood by anybody.  And Mr. Wenner has done very well in the sphere with "Us".

But rock and roll, rock and roll has languished.

You’d think that Mr. Wenner would see this as a crisis, try to change the culture, instead he just featured more bimbos on the cover of "Rolling Stone" in an effort to move magazines.

Still, Mr. Wenner sees himself as an arbiter of truth, as someone who stands up for what’s right.  All the way from the seventies, the sixties, to today.

Yes, "Rolling Stone" questioned authority, in depth, way back when.  With not only Hunter Thompson, but Timothy Crouse.  You had to stand up against corruption, you had to reveal what happened behind the scenes, you had to inform the populace of how their institutions were really run.

And "Rolling Stone" still does this.  Featuring not long ago an article by Robert Kennedy, Jr. delineating how the Republicans stole the 2004 Presidential election.

Who stole the 2007 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame election?  Was it this same Mr. Wenner?

Roger Friedman of Fox News seems to believe so.  He published an article

Rock Hall Voting Scandal: Rock Group Actually Won

delineating how the Dave Clark Five got more votes than Grandmaster Flash, but the latter was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and not the former.

Is this true?  I don’t know.  But you’d think if it isn’t, Mr. Wenner would hold a press conference, post an e-mail on his magazine’s site, make a fuss.  Hell, he stands up to injustices in every nook and cranny of society.  But when he is involved…  Silence.

Or maybe, as implied in the article, it’s an issue of rules and regulations.  That the Dave Clark Five wasn’t ahead when the polls closed.  Well, "Rolling Stone" has always said the rules can’t be rigid, that they must be bent to fit society.  Funny that Mr. Wenner would adopt the strategy of the Republicans regarding Florida in 2000, as opposed to having a desire to make every vote count.

And look at how that 2000 election turned out.  If Al Gore had been President would we be in a war in Iraq today?  Would 9/11 have even happened?  Would pollution regulations have been vacated?

You see one little slip, one major slip, does make a difference.  It has consequences.

I think we all believed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Because it represented what was most important to us, music.  Sure, we railed about who has and has not gotten in.  But we liked that acts were recognized, were given a stamp of approval, additional longevity.

But what if the process is tainted, what if it’s failed?  If we can’t believe in our institutions, what have we got?

I don’t need to believe in Jann Wenner.  But I don’t want him messing with my institutions.  Sure, he gets credit for helping establish the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but George Bush has a program that keeps alcoholics off the street.  Most people aren’t all bad.  But when they’re bad when it counts, that’s important.

We need an investigation.  Who will do this, I’m not sure.  It’s not like the heads of the major labels are trustworthy.  And a bunch of the music industry lawyers…well, there’s the same problem.  But someone’s got to check into this.  And if what Mr. Friedman says is true, Mr. Wenner must lose his job.  Must have nothing to do with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ever again.  Oh, he can visit the museum, but he can’t nominate, can’t vote, certainly can’t chair and must stay home and watch the ceremony on television.  Sure, Jann Wenner has done a lot for rock and roll, but Pete Rose did a lot for baseball.

So Jann…  Say it aint’ so.  Or do what you always urge the politicians to do.  Lay it on the line, tell us the truth.  We may not forgive you, but we’ll accept what you say.  Do it in the name of the Hall.  it’s bigger than you, it deserves its dignity.

And, if what Mr. Friedman says is true, the Dave Clark Five has to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame immediately.  No waiting till next year.  A half hour on VH1.  Where they visit the paralyzed Mike Smith, where Dave Clark reveals history of the formation of the band, explains why the albums are unavailable.  When someone is fucked over, you’ve got to bend over backward to right the wrong.

Assuming there is a wrong.

So Jann, what’s the truth?