Patti Smith in the Rock Hall

Van Halen are okay, if you like guitar histrionics without lyrical substance and R.E.M. do deserve a nod for their early work (but, good God, would they please retire already before they get worse), however no other inductee this year can hold a motherfucking candle to Patti Smith. From the AP (emphasis and de-censorship mine):

Shy and fighting back tears as she accepted induction, Smith recalled friends and family who didn't live to see the day. Shortly before he died, Smith's husband Fred "Sonic" Smith asked her when she did make the hall of fame to "please accept it like a lady and not to say any curse words."

The bohemian poet straddled the hippie and punk eras, with her album "Horses" setting a standard for literate rock. She performed her biggest hit, "Because the Night," co-written with Bruce Springsteen, and the Rolling Stones' classic "Gimme Shelter."

Smith's mother also didn't live to see her daughter make the hall of fame, but passed on some instructions.

"I'm not going to make it," she recalled her mother saying. "When you do, sing your mother's favorite song, the one I like to vacuum to."

Saying "this is for you, mom," Smith performed her 1977 song "Rock N Roll Nigger."

If anyone has video of Smith's performance, please post it. As for now, I stand in awe.