Sixty Year Old Dude Rocks for Madonna

I had high hopes last year when the Iggy and the Stooges unleashed a new full length release (The Weirdness), over thirty years after their last recording. Alas, it was not “my idea of fun” and mostly reeked of opportunism and juvenile poetic meter. It ranked as one of my biggest musical disappointments of 2007. The news this morning then that Iggy & The Stooges will perform for Madonna at this year’s induction ceremony at first seemed more than a little dubious. But I am willing to forgive Iggy and Co.’s sole musical indiscretion; they will always rank as one of rock’s most influential outfits. For the uninitiated, the choice of the Stooges may seem a little incongruous, but isn’t as strange as it seems: both the band and Madonna are Detroit natives, and Iggy Pop opened for Madonna at the Dublin date for her Reinvention Tour in 2004.

Other performers scheduled at the induction ceremony, which takes place next Monday, March 10th, at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel: Damien Rice (for Leonard Cohen); James Cotton (for Little Walter); Patti LaBelle (for Gamble & Huff); plus John Mellencamp and the Ventures, both of whom are being inducted.

Now… Want to read something really interesting and quite hilarious? The Stooges multi-page concert rider as posted on the Smoking Gun website.

Madonna, Leonard Cohen Inducted Into Rock Hall of Fame

The results are in and another crop of music legends will soon join the membership of the venerable Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

This time Madonna, Leonard Cohen, John Mellencamp, Dave Clark Five, and the Ventures make up the 2008 class. According to the Associated Press, Little Walter will also be honored for his work as a sideman, and Gamble & Huff will be honored for their production work.

Many of these artists and others will no doubt be in attendance at the March 10, 2008 induction ceremony at New York City's Waldorf Hotel.

The dubious hall of fame distinction was arrived at by an "international voting body of more than 500 rock experts". I guess that that explains why Beastie Boys, Donna Summer, Chic, and Afrika Bambaataa didn’t make the cut this year? (Insert sighing sound here) Maybe I’ll start my Replacements petition tonight.