UPDATE - 10/19@2:10PM: A recent episode of the CBC's comedy show 22 Minutes included a skit on Rush's recent Rock Hall nomination. They talk with "Geddy Lee" and a surprise guest shows up. You can watch it below or at this link:

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UPDATE - 10/10@9:54PM: Here's a photo of the full ballot from Rolling Stone contributer and music writer Rob Tannenbaum, although he's in the anti-hard rock crowd; no vote for either Deep Purple, Rush, Heart or Joan Jett.

UPDATE - 10/10@4:46PM: TheWrap.com's Steve Pond is one of those that will be voting on the Rock Hall inductees and posted this photo of his unmarked ballot to Twitter.

UPDATE - 10/10@4:10PM: Phill Marder of Goldmine Magazine includes Rush in his 5 picks for induction in this article (thanks RushFanForever).

UPDATE - 10/9@9:26AM: Here's a great post over at Salon.com on Rush's nomination.

Yes, Rush was actually nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last week. Now that we've all given ourselves a collective pinch to make sure it wasn't all a dream (or nightmare depending on your point of view), I thought I'd give a recap of the events of the past few days and update everyone on the news coverage related to the announcement. It all began last Wednesday evening when Portland, Oregon classic rock radio station 92.3 KGON posted what looked like an official announcement regarding the 15 Rock Hall nominees including Rush to their Facebook page. Although KGON seemed to have jumped the gun a bit, the announcement ultimately turned out to be accurate, as shortly after midnight the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame made the official announcement via the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website, Facebook, YouTube and the news wires. The announcement kicked off a flurry of activity online and in the music press - even more so than usual due to inclusion of our long-snubbed heroes. Another reason for the increased activity was that for the first time ever the Rock Hall offered the public a chance to participate in the process by creating an online fan poll that will count as one fan ballot towards the official vote on the ultimate list of inductees. As of this post, Rush still has a very comfortable lead in that poll with about 26% of the vote; Deep Purple is next with 17%. Voting ends on December 3rd when the fan ballot along with ballots from 600 or so rock historians, music industry insiders and past inductees will be counted up to determine the 5 or 6 inductees for inclusion in the 2013 class; the final announcement should be made shortly thereafter. The general consensus from the press coverage over the past few days is that Rush is a very good bet for induction. NPR's Chris Molanphy broke down the nominees and gave his take on who he thinks will be inducted, giving Rush a category all their own and proclaiming that the voters will induct Rush if they know what's good for them:

The difference between fans of other Hall-snubbed bands and Rush fans is that in the former category most think the Hall is basically a joke. Rush fans, by contrast, are seriously insulted that rock's ultimate power trio of Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart remain excluded, a decade and a half after they became eligible. ... Rush's brand of muscular, expansive progressive rock has long been unfashionable with rock critics and insiders, which explains why, until this year, they weren't even nominated. But you don't have to be a fan of the band (I'm not) to see it's high time they were inducted, already. However lugubrious Rush's music often is, it's more economical than that of the Grateful Dead and less self-pitying than that of Pink Floyd - longtime inductees, both. Still, Rush die-hards are likely steeling themselves to see their heroes snubbed again. In a way, Rush have the opposite problem as a disco act: they had to get past the prejudices of the nominating committee, not the voters. Having made it out of committee, I suspect the more populist voting body will wave Rush into the Hall, the "Spirit of the Radio" spurring them on.

LA Times music critic Randall Roberts - also not a fan of the band - posted a very well-written and respectful article on Thursday morning titled Rush vindicated: A Rock Hall of Fame berth for Canadian rock band. But he then put on his critic hat to ultimately argue that Rush doesn't deserve to be inducted, even going so far as to conspire with fellow critic Randy Lewis on this 11-minute video explaining Rush's unworthiness. They asked for feedback on the video and got it with a vengeance; as of right now the video has close to 300 comments with 300 dislikes and only 3 likes. Another article that caused quite an uproar along with nearly universal disagreement was Roger Friedman's tirade entitled Rock and Roll Hall of Shame: Nominees So Bad Press Release Issued After Midnight. Also giving their take on the nominees including some insightful commentary regarding Rush's inclusion were Future Rock Legends, Wired.com's Geekdad column, from Rock Hall Monitors and from Gonna Need a Bigger Boat. The CBC's The National posted this great video news story on Rush's nomination. It features Paul from The Canadian Music Scene giving the Rush fan perspective along with some photos from last year's April 15th protest at the Rock Hall, and mention of Toronto radio station 94.9 The Rock's petition to get Rush inducted.

Now we wait. Over the next 2 months the 600 or so voters will cast their ballots with the inductees being announced shortly after the December 3rd voting deadline. All past inductees are eligible to vote, so don't be shy in lobbying them via Twitter, Facebook and other mediums. Some recent inductees that are likely voters for Rush include Metallica, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Guns 'n' Roses, Alice Cooper, and Van Halen. Flea of the Chili Peppers posted the following tweet on Friday:

put public enemy, kraftwerk, and rush in the rock n roll hall of fame right away

So that's a good sign. Hopefully a good number of other past inductees feel the same way and will vote. What do you think are Rush's chances of actually being inducted in 2013? Take the poll and let us know. Also remember to vote for Rush, vote for Rush again, and vote for Rush here too.

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