Madonna I can understand...
John Mellancamp-- why?

How about...

The Cars?
The Beastie Boys?

I suppose any museum that deals with anything - even sanitary plumbing history - would be guilty of praising the past, old men, and worn paths.

Personally, I'd put the Ventures over Mellencamp, and about half the bands we praise on this site.

Every year, I disagree with about half the inductees. But, hell, if you get your music out to 40 million CD buyers over thirty years, or something, I guess you've earned the right.

Are there more cutting edge museums devoted to great music that didn't sell? Should there be?

I'll probably never go to the Rock Museum - unless I'm wandering the streets of Cleveland - but it's a tricky question to decide whether it's valid.

What worthwhile groups have been inducted? What's the precise criteria for induction? Is it critical success or sales volume?

Of course the whole thing is a mix of legitimate and meaningless criteria, and a mixed bag of legitimate and crappy artists. That's going to happen at any kind of musical tribute/history venture you undertake.

Two things I'll say in favor of it. The induction of someone like Leonard Cohen provides the opportunity to let lots of Americans know about his music, which has never caught on here like it did in Canada--a fact which I find baffling, given the talent I think he has. So that seems to me like a positive thing. The Hall also contains tributes to/inclusions of many of those unsung black musicians who helped create the genre before it became rock and roll, and that also seems to me a good thing. If a Van Halen fan goes wandering in there and learns something about the history of music, that seems like a good thing.

Second, I am from Cleveland--lived there until I went to college, and still have family there, so I go back at least once a year. For reasons I can't explain, I have still not been to the museum. It hasn't been a conscious decision--I just haven't gotten around to it. But my friends and family who have been all say it's a really excellent museum--much better than they had expected. That could just be hometown pride--not sure.

If I ever run into Matt while he's wandering the streets of downtown Cleveland, he and I will pop in there and we'll write up a review for you.

Yes, as a follow-up to this, I talked on the phone last night to my brother-in-law, a musician who lived in Cleveland for a few years. He had two points to make about the museum.

1) Despite its merits, he thought there was too much of the stuff Matt is satirizing above--i.e., too much of what he referred to as "stuff like Mick Jagger's pants from some famous concert."
2) The educational director for the museum for a while was Roger Zanes, brother of Dan Zanes, both of whom were in the Del Fuegos. Dan Zanes has gone on to have an incredibly successful career as a children's musician by putting out CDs which contain both his original songs and really cool folk/blues/traditional songs done for children, in collaboration with all kinds of great artists--Lou Reed, Bob Weir, and many more. If you have kids or nieces or nephews, these CDs are great gifts, and a great antidote to children's musicians like Raffi. I find myself listening to them even without the kids. More here:

http://www.danzanes.com