H.O.F. Blues

Let’s pretend, for a minute, that the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame matters. It doesn’t, but just humor me here. Let’s say it was actually an organization of music aficionados looking to celebrate the legacies of the most influential, important and meaningful artists in the long, colorful history of rock music. Let’s say that, in recent years, they’d even started opening up the HOF to other, equally pioneering artists outside of the traditional boundaries of rock music (Madonna, Grandmaster Flash). How then could they completely ignore this man?

The Stooges getting snubbed again for the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame is so laughably ridiculous, I can’t even find a suitable metaphor. This has been quite the week for Halls Of Fame (congrats on baseball’s Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice getting into Cooperstown!) but, somehow, the Stooges are yet again arbitrarily ignored. I mean…The Stooges! Here’s a list of bands already in the HOF that couldn’t have existed without Iggy and his Ann Arbor delinquents:

Ramones
Talking Heads
AC/DC
The Clash
Elvis Costello
The Police
The Pretenders
Patti Smith
Metallica

And most obviously…the motherfucking Sex Pistols! Do people not understand the direct lineage linking the Stooges and everything even tangentially related to punk rock? I’ll spell this out for you: Punk. Would. Not. Have. Happened. Without. Iggy. At least the Sex Pistols had the integrity to refuse their HOF induction awards and fanfare, proving that there may still be a spark of anarchic humanity left in John Lydon’s soul after multiple for-the-cash reunion tours. Maybe…

I remember when the Stooges played Bumbershoot in Seattle in 2005. I had to actively try to coerce people into seeing this mythic band live. This is wrong. A chance to see the Stooges is a privilege. Nothing anyone says will ever change my mind on this matter. So there! Especially in the wake of Ron Asheton's tragic death earlier this month, this Hall Of Fame snubbing simply will not fly.

On the other hand…congratulations to Metallica, Run-DMC, Bobby Womack, Jeff Beck and the other Rock & Roll HOF inductees. I expect you all to play Stooges covers at the ceremony.