The books have been opened up, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has a set of new inductees.
Back in April, the Cleveland Public Hall hosted the 2015 induction ceremony, with Lou Reed, Green Day, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, the “5” Royales, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Ringo Starr, Bill Withers, and Stevie Ray Vaughn all being added to the roll call. The HBO broadcast of the ceremony was finally aired on Saturday and while much of it was filled with overlong speeches, gratuitous backslapping, and indulgent all-star jams, there were some truly compelling interludes, too.
Here are five of the best moments from the show.
1. Miley Cyrus inducts Joan Jett
If there’s one thing Miley knows how to do, it’s how to get attention. So when she strode on to the stage to induct Joan Jett, there was no messing around.
“I wanna start off this induction with the first time I wanted to have sex with Joan Jett,” said the starlet. Who needs to twerk when you have tales that begin with a line like that?
2. Bill Withers cracks wise
It’s a huge tragedy that the R&B legend hasn’t performed live for close to 25 years but even though he didn’t gift the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with his songs, he did deliver a clutch of hysterical cracks that were worthy of the stand-up circuit.
“This has got to be the largest AA meeting in the western hemisphere,” he joked while looking at the soused music industry masses.
“I’m honored to be this year’s youngest living solo performer inductee…please don’t hate me because I’m precocious,” was another gem. Music’s loss is comedy’s gain.
3. Green Day blast out the hits
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame performances normally involve numerous guests and collaborations, but the Californian punks didn’t need any of that pomp.
They simply got up on stage, blasted through “American Idiot,” “When I Come Around,” and “Basket Case” with little fuss, and floored the place without anything close to a noodling guitar solo.
4. Patti Smith recalls the day Lou Reed died
Clearly still choked at the loss of her inspiration and ally Lou Reed, Smith kept it together just long enough to remember how Gotham greeted the death of one of its most famous musical icons back in 2013.
“The boy who made me coffee was crying…the whole city was mourning,” she said, holding back the tears. “[Lou] was not only my friend, he was the friend of New York City.”
She was completely right. The effortless cool of fellow New Yorkers Karen O and Nick Zinner strutting through a version of “Vicious” was also a sight that would have made Reed proud.
5. Ringo Starr explains the secret to the Beatles’ longevity
Turns out that the key to surviving life in a band is disarmingly simple.
“If you fart, own up,” he said during his acceptance speech. “Because if you don’t own up, everyone’s blaming everyone else…that’s how we get on so well.”
An important lesson for irresponsibly gassy musicians the world over.