It's So Easy

Hola. Checking in from Ringwood, NJ, where we're spending the weekend and a couple of additional days while the girls are on April vacation. The podcast will return on Tuesday, but I know I've been neglecting the blog a bit lately. I actually have had plenty of ideas for posts, it's just a matter of making the time.

Anyhoo, last night was the annual Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, where Guns N' Roses, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Boys, Small Faces/Faces, Donovan and Laura Nyro were inducted. I'm firmly of the opinion that the entire concept of a rock hall of fame is faulty, especially when the thing is run by that douchenozzle Jann Wenner. So when Axl Rose issued a lengthy statement about why he wouldn't be participating in the induction, it was somewhat disappointing because it would have been cool to see the original GNR lineup back together for at least one night but also understandable.

Axl had at one point been considering it, but was apparently pissed off by comments made by former GNR drummer Steven Adler and by responses from Rock Hall officials about something. Let's face it, the guy's pretty nuts at this point. But the whole Hall of Fame conceit is kinda lame, as are annual awards like the Grammies. Who's to say which band is deserving of inclusion over another? Rumor has it that the whole thing's heavily payola-based, anyway. And the fact that bands like Rush, KISS, Deep Purple, et al have been snubbed and probably won't ever get in is annoying, but I bet most of those acts don't give a rat's ass.

The one good thing about the ceremonies have been some of the memorable band performances and reunions over the years (Talking Heads, Patti Smith are recent examples); last night, the non-Axl members of GNR performed with Myles Kennedy of Slash's band on vocals. Didn't see it (I think the edited broadcast airs on VH1 at a later date) but obviously it doesn't hold as much appeal as a full-on GNR reunion.

Then there are the debates that rage on about the inclusion of hip hop, R&B and folk acts in a so-called Rock Hall of Fame. I enjoy many of those artists, but perhaps the name should be changed to Music Hall of Fame. Ultimately, though, I try not to waste too much brainpower thinking about it because it's just an arbitrary construct.