Oh, Manchester, So Much To Answer For

The nominees on the 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ballot have been announced, and of course, they're predictably disappointing. Chic off after one year? ABBA, too? George fucking Harrison as a solo artist?! Jackson Browne I understand - I don't care for him, but I'm not surprised. And the other two new nominees are natural first-balloters: John Mellencamp and Prince. Whether you like them or not, there's no way either of them a) don't deserve to be in, and b) won't get in on first ballot. My predix: besides Mellencamp and Prince, I think this is finally the year Patti Smith makes it in, along with the Sex Pistols. Maybe Harrison (likely because he's a dead Beatle, but I'm hedging). Browne waits at least a year. And then there's the pair of big-ass question marks, Gram Parsons (he basically invented a genre, country-rock or whatever you like to call it) and the Stooges (Iggy. Punk. 'nuff said). Feel free to share your thoughts below; we should hear who's in sometime in December.