Wednesday's Earful: Scott Metzger & Heroin; Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame 2010

By: David Schultz

Visions of sugarplums dancing in your head are probably more in line with the impending Christmas holiday then pondering about heroin being your blood and that blood being in your head while thanking God that you're good as dead. The Velvet Underground though were never about being appropriate in polite company or going with the flow. While the musical heads of the late 60s propounded a world view of peace and love, the VU confronted the seedy underbelly of life and offered unflinching firsthand accounts, creating the alternative rock genre in their wake.

Former RANA and Particle guitarist Scott Metzger, who of late has made appearances at Leroy Justice gigs to trade licks with Brendan Cavanaugh, has put together Heroin, a Velvet Underground tribute band for a one night only gig this Saturday night at New York City's Sullivan Hall. Metzger's band will include Fat Mama’s Kevin Kendrick in the John Cale/Doug Yule role, American Babies’ Jonathan Goldberger filling Sterling Morrison's shoes and RANA's Ryan Thornton doing his best Maureen Tucker imitation. The night will also include art installations from Jess Pfohl and a DJ set by Eric Slick.

THE ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME will welcome Genesis, The Stooges, The Hollies, Jimmy Cliff and ABBA in 2010. Each of them -- even the Swedish pop stars -- have an argument to be made in their defense: the Stooges being "what took so damn long." However, if this is where we're at with inductions, perhaps this induction braintrust should revisit Lou Reed, Jethro Tull and Rush before they do something stupid like ponder Britney Spears' relevance or Chicago's import.