This column is not about my advancing age, or anyone else’s advancing age.

Being from the Ironic Generation, I am amused that the headline is a line from Aerosmith’s “Dream On,” which was released 40 years ago. Suffice to say that the lines on Steven Tyler’s face are getting clearer by the day.

Age, of course, means you’ve survived long enough to be around for a while. And in rock music, age means you’ve survived long enough, maybe, to be named to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame comes up because of this year’s nominees …

… The Cars, Chic, Chicago, Cheap Trick, Deep Purple, Janet Jackson, The J.B.s, Chaka Khan, Los Lobos, Steve Miller, Nine Inch Nails, N.W.A, The Smiths, The Spinners and Yes.

This year’s field has something for all Presteblog fans. Before I get to Chicago’s inclusion: Deep Purple arguably could be included for just one song …

… which is one of the few rock songs about writing a song.

The Cars were all over the radio in the 1980s.

The Wisconsin ties are represented by Cheap Trick (Rockford natives who, rumor has it, once played a Madison high school prom, and at any rate were hugely popular in southern Wisconsin before they hit the national scene) …

… and Milwaukee native Steve Miller, who got his inspiration from Les Paul.

The Smiths were ’80s alternative rock about a decade before alt-rock became a category of its own. Nine Inch Nails dates to the 1990s. Yes practically defines progressive rock.

The J.B.s, Chic, Janet Jackson, Chaka Khan, Los Lobos, N.W.A and the Spinners’ inclusion on the ballot depends, I suppose, on your definition of “rock and roll” as well as popularity longevity. The J.B.s were James Brown’s backup band. Chic had radio airplay for a few years, as did Los Lobos. Does disco and rap count as “rock”?

That gets to the problem with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, captured in this Facebook meme:

Many Chicago fans seem to believe that Chicago is not in the hall o’ fame because of an animus against the group by HOF founder Jann Wenner, publisher of Rolling Stone magazine. Others assume it’s because of Chicago’s sappy ballads, forgetting the sappy ballads of others already in the HOF.

When you consider the number of records Chicago has sold in the rock genre (second only to the Beach Boys among American acts) and its unique niche in the rock world, there is really no good reason for Chicago to not be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. To that end, Chicago has a large lead in the online fan voting.