Tom Morello fills in for Rage and Bernie Taupin calls out Jann Wenner at the 2023 Rock Hall show
Taupin took a shot at Wenner's comments about not finding women or Black artists "articulate"
Last night, Disney+ streamed the annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame awards show, during which Willie Nelson, Missy Elliott, Kate Bush, Sheryl Crow, George Michael, The Spinners, and Rage Against The Machine were inducted into the prestigious Cleveland-based institution. Variety has positive things to say about the show, but there’s a chance the whole thing might’ve been overshadowed by Rolling Stone and Rock Hall co-founder Jann Wenner, who said some stupid shit about women and Black artists back in September that got him booted from the Rock Hall’s board of directors.
While promoting his new book The Masters (a collection of mostly old interviews he had conducted over his career), Wenner was asked why the book didn’t include any interviews with women or Black artists. His explanation was that none of them were “articulate” enough, and then he went on to dig a deeper and deeper hole that he later had to apologize for. Nobody at the Rock Hall show seemed willing to acknowledge Wenner, at least until Elton John came out to induct his longtime friend and lyricist Bernie Taupin several hours in, when Taupin had this to say: “I’m honored to be in the class of 2023 alongside a group of such profoundly ‘articulate’ women and outstanding ‘articulate’ Black artists,” an obvious dig at Wenner.
Elsewhere at the event (during which Big Boi called himself “the White House Press Secretary for Kate Bush, Dave Matthews talked about getting high with Willie Nelson, and Jimmy Page made a surprise appearance), Tom Morello appeared to accept Rage Against The Machine’s induction on the rest of the band’s behalf (the other members had “differing perspectives” on the honor). During his speech, he talked about how “the whole fucking aim” of music is to “change the world” and called on fans to make that happen: “If you’ve got a boss, join a union. If you’re a student, start an underground paper. If you’re an anarchist, look for a brick. If you’re a soldier or a cop, follow your conscience, not your orders.”
As noted by Pitchfork (which has a transcript of his whole speech), Morello held up a card that said “ceasefire” in the press room after his acceptance speech.