Rock on!

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has always been, well, a bit of a contradiction.

Rock music is all about being young and wild. It’s raw and racy … often in a destructive way.

Hall of Fame, on the other hand, sounds so … formal and official. In other words, very unrock.

And in Cleveland? Yeah, I know; that’s where disc jockey Alan Freed — aka Moondog — first used the phrase “rock and roll” in the early ’50s. He also organized the first specifically described rock and roll concert, on March 21, 1952 at the Cleveland Arena.

Still, it’s surprising that Cleveland beat out L.A. or New York for this honor.

At any rate, the Rock Hall held a couple more inductions this week. The rule, by the way, is that you have to wait 25 years from your first national exposure to qualify for the hall. (Hang in there, Britney.)

The inductees were R.E.M. and Van Halen, both well-deserved giants from the ’80s.

R.E.M.’s members showed up — including drummer Bill Berry, who suffered an aneurysm on state two years before.

Van Halen’s turnout was … a bit less complete. In fact — in the spirit of rock and roll, disorganized and disrespectful — only the group’s second lead singer, Sammy Hagar, a former bass player, Michael Anthony, made it to the ceremony.

Guitarist Eddie Van Halen, the soul and namesake of the group, couldn’t be there because he’d just gone into rehab. And original singer David Lee Roth stayed away because he was cheesed off about which song he’d be allowed to perform.

Now that’s rock and roll!

… Will be on spring break until next week; no column on Sunday in the paper. Be good.