Saturday, April 4, 2009

Kings of Rock

Tonight's the Rock Hall induction ceremony at Public Hall. It'll be simulcast in the Rock Hall itself: $5 admission, doors 7 pm, show 8 pm.

I'm most excited about Run-DMC getting in. Raising Hell was the second album (cassette, actually) I ever bought.

Because of my unusual last name, I have a complicated relationship with the song "It's Tricky" -- but when I ran (unsuccessfully) for high school junior class president, I used the sleeve of the 45 RPM single on my campaign poster.



A couple of months ago I got into a debate about Run-DMC's induction -- with a guy who didn't think rappers should get into the Rock Hall because they're not rock!

That guy needs to see this: Run-DMC's eerily prescient 1985 video for "King of Rock" -- created the year before the Rock Hall picked its first inductees and chose to locate in Cleveland. Believe it or not, Run-DMC walks into a "Museum of Rock and Roll" and a security guard tells them they don't belong. They bust in and prove him wrong. Today's the perfect day to watch it.