By now, you’ve probably heard about Steve Miller’s rant against the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. If you haven’t, here are the details in a nutshell. Steve was inducted into the Hall for his body of work including hits like “Fly Like An Eagle,” “The Joker,” “Take the Money and Run” – and a ton more.

At the induction ceremony last Friday night, Steve was introduced by the Black Keys, represented by lead singer Dan Auerbach and drummer Pat Carney. After playing a medley of his hits, Steve started his descent into full “grumpy cat” mode. During his acceptance speech, he called the event a “lazy night” attended by “a bunch of fat cats.” He then let the Hall have it backstage, noting that his band mates had to pay their way into the ceremony – and tickets were running as much as $10,000 a head. Over the attempts of a publicist to shut Steve up, he complained that the artists were treated poorly and added, “The whole process is unpleasant.”

He then went on an obscenity packed rant about the entire music industry during an interview with Rolling Stone on Monday. He said he only showed up for his fans and called the event an “amateur production.” He saved the best for last though:

This whole industry f—ing sucks and this little get-together you guys have here is like a private boys’ club and it’s a bunch of jackasses and jerks and f—ing gangsters and crooks who’ve f—ing stolen everything from a f—ing artist. Telling the artist to come out here and tap dance.

[From Rolling Stone]

Gee, I hope he doesn’t kiss his mother with that mouth. Well, yesterday the Black Keys entered the fray, talking to Rolling Stone about their own unpleasant dealings with Mr. Miller. Dan Auerbach told the magazine he was “disappointed” about his experience, which started with Steve having no idea who the Black Keys were and saying upon meeting them, “I can’t wait to get out of here.” Auerbach had lots more to say about the evening:

Looking back on the experience: It was just a real eye-opener for us. Because as we get older, I hope that when I’m in my twilight years, I can look back and be grateful to the people who have appreciated me and to be able to give back. Because music is about sharing and passing on inspiration and that was his opportunity to do that; not just lashing out in a way that was just completely unfocused.

He regrets participating in the ceremony: It’s unfortunate. Of course there are problems in the music industry. Of course. But we were there, unpaid, on our own free will, to come celebrate his achievements and spread the joy of rock & roll. To inspire kids to pick up guitars. To play music. And it felt like we were doing the opposite.

On his experience with the Hall: It’s always so easy for a f–king 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 & 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. So when they asked us to do this, as much as I wanted to do it for Steve Miller, I wanted to do it for the Rock Hall. Because it has been a form of inspiration for me.

[From Rolling Stone]

As a passionate music fan, I think the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a complete joke, mainly because my idol since childhood, Peter Frampton, isn’t in it – but look at all of the other bands who still aren’t in it either. I think Steve should have saved his comments for another time and served as an inspiration to the musicians coming up after him, like the Black Keys. It did stink that Steve’s band mates had to pony up the cash to attend the ceremony, but would it have hurt him to cover their admission himself? I think he’s got that kind of cash. Could this negative press mean an end to these induction ceremonies?

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