Madonna is an actress after all...

 

She never made the transition in the mold of multi-media star Barbra Streisand, another talented, driven self starter and inspiration to those who defy the odds, BUT she did make "Desperately Seeking Susan" and "Evita" as well as "The Next Best Thing" and "Swept Away."

 

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame (a very staid affair -- there's no way you can pretend this event is wild and crazy), Madonna gave a long speech discussing everything from Madonna Wanna-Be's to dropping ecstasy. She thanked some people, including her critics:

 

"Even the naysayers who said that I was talentless, that I was chubby, that I couldn't sing that I was a one hit wonder, they helped me too. They helped me because they made me question myself repeatedly and they pushed me to be better and I am grateful for their resistance."

 

Watch the speech here.

 

And read more about the inductees, including John Mellencamp, The Ventures (yes!), Philly soul producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, the Dave Clark Five and the great Leonard Cohen (who, among many other distinctions memorably contributed songs to Robert Altman's masterpiece "McCabe and Mrs. Miller").

 

Anyway, the whole thing always looks and feels like an ill-fitting suit. I do love that Iggy and the Stooges performed "Burning Up" and "Ray of Light" while everyone just blankly stared at him. After all these year, and while simply being low key, amidst all the suits and clinking cocktail glasses, Iggy manages to make people uncomfortable.

 

Leonard Cohen summed it up almost perfectly: "This is a very unlikely occasion for me. It is not a distinction that I coveted or even dared dream about."

 

Thank you Mr. Cohen and indeed. While penning their next "Highway to Hell" or singing about "the darkest depths of mortor" what rocker dreams of making a speech to recording industry executives, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan? I wish Bad Company was still together so they could write a song about it.  

 

--posted by Kim