Kim Thayil Names 6 Bands He’d Like to See in the Rock Hall

Now that Soundgarden are going in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, guitarist Kim Thayil has started the campaigning for other deserving acts.

Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament famously turned up at their induction ceremony with a T-shirt full of deserving bands, but Thayil’s choice picks are somewhat scaled back from that amount.

Who Does Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil Think Should Be in the Rock Hall?

In a chat with Rolling Stone about their Rock Hall induction, Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil was asked if he’d given any thought of what bands he wanted to see go in. The interviewer then listed off their own list of groups, some of which Thayil agreed with.

“I did an interview last week ,and the first thing I said was Alice in Chains, and next thing I said was Iron Maiden,” revealed Thayil before adding. “The third thing I said was Sonic Youth. And yes, the next thing I said was The New York Dolls.”

Elaborating on his choice of The New York Dolls, Thayil added, “That’s because when the Stooges went in, I thought, “Why are the Stooges going in before the MC5?” And the MC5 were the big brothers of that scene. And even though they weren’t from Detroit, I always put the New York Dolls in with them because they recorded around the same time.”

He continued, “They’re all basically proto-metal/proto-punk bands. Both of them informed metal and punk. And the attitude and look of the New York Dolls attitude informed L.A. glam a decade and a half later, which is ironic, probably more ironic than the Brooklyn Dodgers moving to L.A.”

READ MORE: What Soundgarden Songs Should Be Played At Their Rock Hall Induction?

The guitarist then responded to two of the interviewer’s suggestions, adding, “The Pixies, I 100 percent agree. And Motörhead, I, what, 200 percent agree?”

Who Else Was Part of the Conversation?

While Thayil directly chose the six bands he’s like to see in the Rock Hall, he also had comments on another couple of bands brought up by the interviewer who haven’t made it i yet.

When asked about New Order / Joy Division not making the cut this year after appearing on the Rock Hall ballot for the first time, Thayil shared, “I’m a huge fan of Joy Division. And yeah, I’m disappointed, but exactly that, their year will come. The fact that they’re nominated is an acknowledgement of the impact and influence they had on so many of the bands that have been getting in there in recent years, and many bands that will get in the future. Joy Division is unique and distinct in their style and sound to be framed as a specific influence on many other artists and songwriters.”

Another band mentioned by the interview was King Crimson and the suggestion that they weren’t in the Rock Hall took Thayil by surprise. “Oh my God. King Crimson isn’t in,” asked the guitarist, before adding, “Robert Fripp? And then later, Adrian Belew? What?”

What Is Soundgarden’s Rock Hall Plan?

Thayli was reticent to lock down Soundgarden’s official plans for their Rock Hall induction ceremony, but when asked if he thought they’d perform, he responded, “I think so, if they want us to. It seems that that invitation is there. It’s up to the Hall to how they develop their program, but we would love to play there.”

Thayil says that Matt Cameron has been on tour with Pearl Jam which has limited their discussion so far as to what they might do. But he added that he would expect something similar to how Nirvana handled playing without the late Kurt Cobain a few years back, inviting several guest singers.

As for potential singers, he shared, “You could probably look at the people that Matt, Ben, and I have played with over the past handful of years, going back to the Chris Cornell Tribute Concert in 2019, there’s a few people we’ve performed with who on top of our head would be the first ones for the call.”

He later added, “A name might turn up on a text, ‘You should give this person a call,’ but we’ll figure it out. You can probably infer where we’re leaning, though.”

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2025 induction ceremony is currently scheduled to take place Nov. 8 at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles.