The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has sent out its ballots with Madonna, the Beastie Boys and John Mellencamp leading the way. Returning to the ballot are the previously overlooked  Leonard Cohen, Africa Bambatta, the Ventures, Donna Summer, Chic and Dave Clark 5.
The cutoff point for eligibility is now 1982, which doesn't seem all that long ago.

A dozen journos attended a 45-minute Q&A Monday with the Beastie Boys at the Capitol Tower (which frustratingly worked out to one question to a customer) and were told not to ask the three Beasties (Adam “Ad Rock” Horovitz, Adam “MCA” Yauch, and Michael “Mike D” Diamond) why “The Mix Up,” their just released album, is instrumental.
More importantly, we were told don’t ask if they feel they still have to “fight for their right to party” (they’re tired of answering that, the Capitol press rep said, adding that at the NYC session, someone asked if after playing Brooklyn’s McCarran Pool, the band now felt they could sleep).
None of those questions were put to the often bored looking trio (Mike D spent much of his time text messaging), but they were asked to respond to some truly inane questions, including the name of their favorite album (Elvis Costello’s “My Aim Is True,” Ad Rock deadpanned, demurring when told the questioner meant which is his favorite Beastie Boys album), if they would rather be turned into action figures or teddy bears (Ad Rock: “I’m not a plushie, if that’s what you’re asking”) and if they liked traveling (the answer to that was, unsurprisingly, yes).
On a more serious note, MCA expanded on the endorsement he gave “The Eleventh Hour,” the Leonardo DiCaprio toplined eco-doc from the stage Monday night. “It’s an important movie,” he said, adding that it “explains our current situation, including the structure of our government, better than I ever could.”
They also dispensed fashion advice (there’s no reason you can’t wear Wallabees with a suit), insisted that 40-something musicians can still be a legit hip hop act (“well, the kids do like the rappin’,” Ad Rock said, with Mike D adding that there’s “no reason innovation can’t come from someone with decades in the game”). Significantly, they suggested that a layered, sample-heavy album like 1989’s landmark “Paul’s Boutique” would be a daunting, expensive proposition, and could not be made today. (Steve Mirkin)