A Diamond in a Mountain of Rock

Finally got around to watching the 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony. LAME. Peter Gabriel was too busy to be there for the Genesis induction, and then they didn't even perform. Phish played a couple of their songs.
Only two members of ABBA bothered to show, Frida and Bjorn. The dude played piano while Faith Hill sang "The Winner Takes it All". Nice version, but...
The Hollies were all there, and they sang, but it sounded AWFUL.
Iggy Pop was interesting. He ripped off his shirt and looked like a rocker. The rest of the Stooges looked like accountants...pudgy, bald and in suits. At least they played, w/ Iggy pleading people to come on stage and dance to "I Wanna Be Your Dog". Only a few (Eddie Vedder, a couple members of Green Day, and one or two others) actually did. He kept yelling, "c'mon, rich people can have fun!"...all evidence to the contrary.
The best part was when they inducted a bunch of songwriters and had different artists sing their songs. It was actually quite entertaining. The segment featured, among others, Ronnie Spector, Eric Burden and Chris Isaak.
This brings me to an amazing artist who I am ashamed to admit that, until recently, I knew nothing about.
A few months ago a songwriter named Ellie Greenwich died. Little Steven made a big deal about it on my beloved Underground Garage show. I hadn't previously heard of her. She was inducted last night and after hearing her resume my only question was "HOW THE HELL DID IT TAKE THIS LONG". This is just a sampling of the songbook she wrote and or co-wrote with her husband Jeff Barry:
Baby I Love You. Da Do Ron Ron. Christmas Baby Please Come Home. Leader of the Pack. Doo Wah Diddy. I Can Hear Music (which I assumed Brian Wilson wrote). Chapel of Love. And Then He Kissed Me. (My Baby Does)The Hanky Panky and two of the greatest pop songs ever...the Ronettes Be My Baby and Ike and Tina's River Deep Mountain High.
She also discovered Neil Diamond. Produced many of his early hits AND sang back up on them. PLUS she was a one woman girl group called the Raindrops (she used overdubbing to sing all the parts).
If there is any justice, somewhere Nickleback, T-Pain and all the other no talent hacks that sell millions of records, should be experiencing the stabbing pain of shame right about now.

Academy Must be Missing an Angel

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has officially been added to my shit list. While I applaud the voters for choosing "The Hurt Locker" over "Avatar", even though I've seen neither, I have a real bone to pick with their "In Memoriam" segment.
Michael Jackson gets the nod, but Farrah Fawcett is left to be forgotten? And the best that Academy organizers can say is that, "Ms. Fawcett's acting contributions were made mainly to television" and "every year it is a very difficult job to decide who is mentioned in the tribute."
Alright, I'll concede those points. Clearly it's her role as "Charlie's Angels" Jill Monroe that we'll all remember her for (especially if you were a boy approaching pre-pubescence at the time). And I'm sure that it's very hard to sift through all the behind the scenes dudes who mix sound, grip keys and gaff (whatever the hell that is)...but c'mon, don't try to hand me some bullshit that M.J. was any more associated with motion pictures. He was a legendary pop singer and he played the Scarecrow in "The Wiz"...not exactly a Nicholsonesque resume.
Farrah entertained audiences from "Logan's Run" to "The Cannonball Run", not to mention starring opposite the night's Best Actor winner Jeff Bridges in 1978's "Somebody Killed Her Husband". She also had a leading role in "Saturn 3" which starred not one but TWO past and future Best Actor nominees...the legendary Kirk Douglas and Harvey Keitel.
Don't worry Farrah, the Academy may have deemed you not worthy, but as any red blooded American male who lived through the '70s can attest, you always held a place of honor on our walls and in our pants...I mean hearts.