I watched it, because VH1 Classic is reliable like Ex-Lax (and if you’re old enough to care about most of the bands in the museum, you know your laxatives). This year a whole generation shuddered as hip-hop goes under glass for the first time. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were pure class and really seemed to appreciate it. But just wait til Flavor Flav has to take time off his reality show for Public Enemy’s big moment.
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Michael Stipe of R.E.M. seemed to appreciate it too; his speech was long-winded enough. Clearly he was the Designated Talker; guitarist Peter Buck just stood behind him and drank. (Guitarist Keith Richards, on the other hand, stole the whole evening just by being himself and looking like…well, like Captain Jack Sparrow’s father.)
I like to think that the joint R.E.M./Patti Smith performance of “I Wanna Be Your Dog” was their little protest about Iggy still not making the cut, because otherwise there was no excuse for it. It was like, pre-stolen-election-Al-Gore wooden; granted, I don’t expect Michael Stipe to demonstrate much sexual chemistry with women, but yeesh.
