We are entering a new age of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame where bands that defined our teenage-angst-ridden years by sticking it to the man are now being celebrated by the man. This year finds a slew of punk and rock and roll stalwarts joining in the festivities with a barrage of live performances nostalgic of the era of the 90s before you almost got frosted tips because a pretty girl told you that you’d look cool.
Brooklyn Vegan reported that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced that Beck, Dave Grohl, Tom Morello, Joe Walsh, John Legend and Jimmy Vaughn will be performing at the induction ceremony on April 18. HBO will air the ceremony on May 30. Additionally, inductees Green Day and Ringo Starr are set to perform.
Rolling Stone reported that Billie Joe Armstrong is eager to include a solid setlist for their performance: “We’ll get there,” he told Rolling Stone. “It’s hard because there’s the Lookout years that are important to us. It would be nice to play something from those years that’s meaningful.”
Green Day is a prime example of what kind of new frontier we are entering with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and what is on the horizon. A band that found inspiration in the Berkeley punk scene and then turned around pioneered a new era jettisoning the commercialization and ultimately the mainstream success of punk music. It’s only appropriate that a band like Fall Out Boy, that owes the foundation of their success to Green Day, present them into the Hall of Fame bringing the pop punk spectrum full circle.
While extending further back in time to a different age of punk, there’s nobody else (alive) who would be better fit to present Lou Reed into the Hall of Fame than Patti Smith. What seems to be long overdue, Lou Reed’s individual induction comes at a time when nostalgia has elicited retrospective of the CBGB grit of the New York punk scene of the late 70s. Say what you will about their individual motives and whether or not there was a sense of entitlement bordering pretentiousness, these two were essentially the king and queen of that scene and it’s only natural that Smith be the one to commend Reed’s legacy.
Additionally, Paul McCartney will present Ringo Starr, Stevie Wonder will present Bill Withers, Steve Cropper will present the 5 Royales and John Mayer will present Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts are also going to be inducted, however it has not been announced who will present them.
Leave a Comment