Nominations for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame were announced today:

Last year the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame welcomed American punk rockers, this year it's poised to induct the Brits.

The Clash and Elvis Costello and the Attractions make their debuts on the 2003 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ballot along with second-time nominees the Sex Pistols. Last year, the New York bands the Ramones and Talking Heads were elected to the Cleveland hall.

The other first-time nominee is the Police, which joins on the ballot hard rockers AC/DC and Black Sabbath, Abba, Chic, Kraftwerk, the Dells, MC5, the Righteous Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Steve Winwood. Although Patti Smith has already been inducted, the Patti Smith Group of Smith, Lenny Kaye, Ivan Kral and J.D. Daugherty is on the ballot.

Bands become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first recording and even though the Clash's first work appeared months before the Heads' debut, they did not appear on the ballot last year. Same holds true for first-time nominee Costello, whose "My Aim Is True" was released in '77. The Police's first album was released in November 1978.

For a discussion of who we think should be in the Rock Hall, see here, here and here.

For my webcast of the 2002 Rock Hall Inductions Ceremony go here.