The Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame is a make-believe museum that’s in Cleveland because Cleveland threw a ton of money at it (and, sure, Alan Freed—but mostly the money). You can go there and look at Bowser from Sha Na Na’s jacket and have a grand old time, as long as you don’t think too much about it, because the whole thing is silly. But everyone is fighting about it!
Donald Trump’s future running mate Gene Simmons and Ice Cube are fighting over whether NWA is rock music or not. Now Steve Miller and The Black Keys are fighting over whether the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame is good or not.
Miller, who sang the song about how you can call him Maurice and is for people who think The Eagles are too risqué, was inducted into the hall by The Black Keys and did not enjoy the experience. Speaking to Rolling Stone, he whined that he couldn’t invite who he wanted to and that it was too bureaucratic and he’s just all about the art, man why doesn’t anybody get that? And he also said that the hall was sexist, which is probably true, though Steve Miller is not the one to say that. So The Black Keys responded to say that Steve Miller actually treated them like shit and The Steve Miller Band had 35 people in it and zero of them were women (actually a pretty good own). Here’s Dan Auerbach, who plays guitar and sings about railroads or whatever:
It’s always so easy for a fucking artist to rag on a big institution. It really is. And a lot of times you have to do that and it’s necessary. But me personally, the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame has only ever really brought me joy since I was a teenager! I used to go there with my dad [when] they would do workshops. They’re responsible for a lot of really positive things in my life.
In conclusion, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame is a good place to look at Bernie Taupin’s pants.