The Stooges buzz-sawed through a pair of Madonna songs at her induction last year, but maybe, hopefully, possibly, 2009 will be their turn to take the stage at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. The legendary Detroit punk band, which reunited in 2003, is among the nominees for the 2009 Hall of Fame, along with Metallica, Run-DMC, guitarist Jeff Beck, disco-funk band Chic and "Low Rider" rockers War. Other nominees include 1950s doo-wop group Little Anthony and the Imperials, early rock singer Wanda Jackson (often referred to as "The First Lady of Rock and Roll") and 1970s soul singer Bobby Womack.
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Two days after it was stolen, Canadian police have found the van that was loaded with Iggy and the Stooges' equipment. The bad news? The instruments and most of the equipment were gone. Canada's CBC News reported that Montreal police recovered the abandoned truck Tuesday afternoon several blocks from where it had been stolen.

The good news is that most of the equipment had serial numbers on it, so it will be difficult to re-sell. And while bassist Mike Watt is still upset that his 40-plus-year-old signature Gibson bass was among the items missing from the truck, he said his four string went out in a blaze of glory. "Her last gig was smoking," he said of the instrument. "Ig was going off and the Montreal people were pumped up."

Iggy Pop is one of the nicest dudes in rock, possessing a genuinely infectious good humor and tireless energy that’s almost inconceivable given the things he has done to his body.

That being said, it's doubly uncool that someone ripped off the rental truck loaded with Iggy and the Stooges' equipment on Monday following their gig in Montreal. According to the Detroit Free Press, the van was stolen from outside the group's hotel, the Embassy Suites in Montreal, and the instruments and equipment inside were worth "tens of thousands" of dollars, said road manager Eric Fischer.

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