Monday is the 19th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction ceremonies. This year's class is interesting and worthy if not quite first-tier material. I wrote about the event and the artists being inducted for MSNBC.com:

The Grammys honor what's happening now in music, but the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame takes the long view and celebrates the significance and influence of artists over the course of their careers: a Grammy is exciting, but induction into the rock hall is the profound achievement of a lifetime.

There will be both excitement and profundity in the air on Monday, March 15, when the 19th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony is held at the fabled Waldorf Astoria in New York City. This year's inductees are Jackson Browne, the Dells, the late George Harrison, Prince, Bob Seger, Traffic and ZZ Top. Jann Wenner, co-founder and publisher of Rolling Stone magazine, will receive a non-performer lifetime achievement award.

Reflecting and amplifying the star power of the inductees will be Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews, Tom Petty, OutKast and Alicia Keys among the presenters and inductors. VH1 will tape the event, which will include live performances, for broadcast March 21.

The Inductees
The year's inductees are a varied and worthy group, although arguably none but Prince belongs in rock's core pantheon....

Banner Year for the Rock Hall
As satisfying as is the gathering and induction of another noteworthy class into the hall, 2004 also looks to be the best year in some time for the organization and its physical home, the stunning Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum on Cleveland's lakefront. Although some feel a grand commemorative edifice is in direct violation of rock 'n' roll's living spirit - that any "Rock Hall" would be a mausoleum, a place where dead things go to pretend that the race with time hasn't been lost - the place sure feels alive with rock 'n' roll spirit to me.
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