Nirvana With Lorde, “All Apologies”

Usually, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony is a perfectly good time to smugly bandy about your youthful contrarian ahistorical anti-rock-dinosaurs worldview. Usually. But this year, Nirvana got in, and things got a little more animated than usual. Because someone needed to step in for Kurt? And one of those someones was Lorde? I mean, seriously: What in the the hell happened at the Barclays Center last night?

[Note: Given the fan-produced nature of these videos, we can’t guarantee they won’t be pulled soon. Enjoy them while you can!]

Nirvana With St. Vincent, “Lithium”

Also playing God Kurt for the night: Ms. Annie Clark. Experienced by now in the realm of palling around with legends, St. Vincent ably took on, and ably smashed up, “Lithium.” By the way: big, big shout-out here to the woman filming this on her iPhone, and helpfully narrating: “Annie Clark! [Confused pause.] … from the Vincents?”

Nirvana With Kim Gordon, “Aneurysm”

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#Nirvana with Kim Gordon at #rockhall2014.

A post shared by Stereogum (@stereogum) on Apr 10, 2014 at 9:11pm PDT

I know what you’re thinking: “Kim looks so natural up there, mic-spinning and headbanging her heart out — it’s a damn shame we get only 15 seconds’ worth!” Hey! Hey! At least it wasn’t a Vine.

Nirvana With St. Vincent, “Heart-Shaped Box”

Oh, right: So, after the ceremony, Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, and Pat Smear took the reunion act to a Greenpoint bar called Saint Vitus (capacity: 350) and kept going. I’d like to amend my previous statement: What in the the hell happened in Brooklyn last night?

Nirvana With Joan Jett, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttYVoCRjYxg

Hey. Joan Jett. Doing “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” No big deal.

Kiss, induction speech

And now, to quickly and effectively bring you down off your FOMO high: Here’s a guy filming mostly the back of a chair, as Kiss get inducted (they didn’t perform). Look, I know we’ve been spoiled over the years, as technique and technology have vastly improved the quality of our quasi-legal amateur home videos, but you’re just going to have to temper your expectations a bit. I think at some point he gets a bit of the aisle, though, and that’s pretty exciting?

Hall & Oates, “You Make My Dreams Come True”

The timeless spotless-pop duo have taken their knocks over the years, but as a new generation arises to unironically enjoy their immaculate melodies, they now get their day in the sun. Shout-out to Hall. Shout-out to Oates. Shout-out to ampersands. And bonus! Here’s their induction speech by Questlove:

Peter Gabriel, “Digging in the Dirt”

By the way: If you were in the greater Cleveland area last night, you could have paid $20 to watch a live feed of the proceedings at the actual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. As you may recall, they used to actually do the ceremony in Cleveland, until, presumably, some brave rock soul stood up and said, “I’m … I’m not going to Cleveland.” Now the city has to settle for being “the only place to watch the induction ceremony live.” Cruel fate. Can’t Ohio get anything?

Cat Stevens, “Father and Son”

In another 25 years, Yusuf Islam will be eligible for induction as well.

Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Nicks, Carrie Underwood, Emmylou Harris, and Sheryl Crow, “You’re No Good” (Linda Ronstadt tribute)

What a powerful lineup! So many incredible performers, all on the stage at the same ti— you’re just watching the Nirvana videos again, aren’t you?