I have a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame hangover. I wish I could recall all the little innuendoes of the evening, there were so many! For me, or anyone around my age, it was like a walk through when I was probably your age. I worked with Peter Gabriel when I was at Atlantic Records and he went solo from Genesis. I was the music director at a Top 40 radio station where I had met and added songs by Hall & Oates & Kiss (“Beth” had just been released) and I was in college when I bought the albums of Cat Stevens. Linda Ronstadt, I was mistaken for her backstage at one of her concerts back in the day. And I feel a closeness to her as I have had to cope with Parkinson’s disease in my own family. I know she will be so deeply moved and proud of the way she was inducted in absentia. And for a self-admitted Springsteen fan back in the 70’s, seeing Bruuuuuuuuuce induct his own E Street Band ensemble, from the early to present day, was awesome. RIP: Clarence “The Big Kahuna” Clemons! (But the LONG LINE of acceptance speeches allowed for some food and bathroom breaks, let me tell ya!) Some of my peers who’ve been around for as long as I have and have attended the earlier versions of the induction ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria in NYC don’t like the fact the show has turned into a polished TV extravaganza. But then we wouldn’t see it on HBO. And the removal of the late night, end of show jam session, was also missed by some. But it has to be made into a commercial, media event. And frankly, the fact that I could buy a ticket to watch it as a fan that I am in the first place, rather than being excluded because I wasn’t invited to sit at someone’s table or afford a $1500 ticket, is a wonderful thing. But for me, the highlight was Nirvana. REM’s Michael Stipe did a brilliant tribute. There wasn’t a person in the place who wasn’t thinking of how Kurt Cobain would react to this honor or what the band would be like if he was still here. And I thought it was so cool Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic invited women to be a part of this. (Did Courtney Love have a say, I wonder? BTW: Kurt‘s mom and sisters were there.) Joan Jett was first up to perform”Smells Like Teen Spirit.” She was amazing. Then Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth did a rather frantic version of “Aneurysm” and a singer/guitarist named Annie Clark of called St. Vincent (she was a member of Polyphonic Spree, anyone recall them?) joined for “Lithium.” And the icing on the estrogen-infused Nirvana set list was Lorde, who ended the evening with an emotionally evocative rendition of “All Apologies.” It was wonderful. (Joan, Kim and Annie performed on guitars, as well!) Meanwhile, the little things that I watched from the audience were cool. Watching Dave Grohl stroking his wife’s arm while Stipe was inducting them, watching Tom Morello rocking out in the audience to all the performers were just a few. When we arrived, Peter Asher was inducting Beatles‘ producer George Martin and former Rolling Stones’ manager/producer Andrew Loog Oldham. (Oh, I was such a Peter & Gordon fan as a teen, not to mention The Beatles and every record Andrew had a hand in!) All in all, I give the night an amazing 11, because all good amps go to 11, right? Wait for the HBO edited version on May 31st. Meanwhile, here’s a hint: which son of one of the inductees will be the new drummer for Slipknot? Here is a video compilation of some of the highlights from my friends at Artisan News service….Celebrating birthdays: Today: Nigel Pulsford, former Bush guitarist, 51. Saturday: Everclear’s Art Alexakis is 52, 311’s Nic Hexum is 44, Claire Danes of Homeland is 35, David Letterman is 67. Sunday, Aaron Lewis of Staind is 42 and E Streeter Max Weinberg is 63.