Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction

Even TiVo couldn't make this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction bearable.

After a moving tribute to Atlantic Records (and Rock Hall) co-founder Ahmet Ertegun, who died last year, the ceremony turned into the antithesis of what rock is supposed to be: It was staid, predictable and boring. Just like Van Halen's last album.

In fact, aside from Patti Smith's induction, the best moment came during a clip from the 2004 show when Prince took ownership of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" with one of the greatest guitar solos ever played while George Harrison's son, Dhani, looked on with delighted astonishment.

Keith Richards had the right idea during his induction of the Ronettes when he wrapped up his introduction with the words, "to cut a long story short ..." Keef was apparently the only one who saw the value of economy. Ronnie Bennett sure didn't during a rambling acceptance speech that was no shorter for having been written down. To titters from the crowd, she also pointedly overlooked producer (and ex-husband) Phil Spector in her speech, which is perhaps understandable given the nasty stories of her marriage to him. Paul Shaffer picked up the slack there, reading a note from Spector after the Ronettes had finished performing.

Zach de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine inducted Patti Smith, and his introduction ought to put to rest any doubts about Smith's importance in the pantheon of rock 'n' roll. "She seemed far more interesting in creating transcendent poetic moments than fashionable hits, because she had already carved her legacy in something much deeper," he said. "The movement she helped define explained why people like me related more to the Bad Brains than we did to the Eagles. Why we championed the Clash and hated Ronald Reagan. And why we dropped our text books and picked up Sonia Sanchez, Allen Ginsberg and Langston Hughes. Expanding rock's boundaries, Patti Smith the poet revealed truth regardless of the political and social consequences. Patti once said, 'I stand in front of a microphone and I'm not afraid.' And she remains just that: fearless."

Now that is rock 'n' roll.

As expected, Smith was the picture of class in her acceptance speech, and she looked truly overcome by the moment. Funny that the most heartfelt speech comes from the woman who could have most easily spurned the honor in a punk-rock gesture the way the Sex Pistols did last year.

Then there was Van Halen, a band not represented at the Waldorf by anyone named Van Halen. Sure, Eddie had a good excuse: He entered rehab last week. But where was Alex? Or David Lee Roth? They left the acceptance to Sammy Hagar, who last toured with Van Halen in 2005, and Michael Anthony, who was kicked out of the band last September and replaced by Eddie's teenaged son. Seems like a great big middle finger to all the fans who have supported the various incarnations of Van Halen over the years.

Grandmaster Flash brought the first hint of hip-hop flavor to the Rock Hall, something the trailblazing MC acknowledged with humility.

"Thank you so much for doing this for us," Flash said. "There was a moment in time when I thought that maybe ... we weren't entitled to rock 'n' roll. We're hip-hop. But rock 'n' roll plays a huge, huge part -- please don't be mistaken about that -- in what we do."

R.E.M. has come a long way from its pioneering role in the American indie underground in the early '80s, but like a good Southern boy (a Georgia transplant from California), Mike Mills thanks his mom first.

All the speechifying has been stultifying, and amounts to not much more than a big waste of time. Rock 'n' roll is more than capable of existing on its own terms without qualification and accolades from people who, more than anything, helped subsume the artistry behind rock music in pursuit of profit by catering to the lowest common denominator.

The real celebration of rock 'n' roll starts later this week at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, where the spirit of rock is still very much alive.

Comments

[45vinyljunkie]

IT WAS STAID, PREDICTABLE AND BORING.

That line pretty much sums up rock music in general for the past 25 years.

Eric replies: Only if you've been listening to commercial radio in Connecticut ...