February 12th, 2007
Did anyone watch the Grammys?
I did. For the very first time, I made the 3 1/2 hour commitment to witness the music industry’s so called biggest night. Watching this year’s Grammy Awards’ Ceremony made me realize that mainstream music really doesn’t speak to me and the folks behind the Grammy’s just don’t get it. It might just be me, but it seemed to me that a majority of the nominees and performers represented some of the most watered-downed acts I have ever seen. The fact that Gnarls Barkley only won best alternative album and not best Record or best Album of the year is really unbelievable. Gnarls Barkley reinvented the wheel with their album that could not be categorized and “Crazy” was a cultural phenomenon. I guess there is more of a story with the Dixie Chicks dominating the Grammys, but Gnarls Barkley (no matter how tired you are of “Crazy”) released one of the most exciting albums in recent memory.
I actually fell asleep 3 or 4 times on my couch during the Grammys. I thought that the Rascal Flatts and Carey Underwood performance of Eagles’ tunes was one of the least rocking things I have ever seen. Maybe next year they can get Michael Bolton and Enya to pay tribute to Journey.
The few highlights for me included Christina Aguilera’s James Brown cover of “It’s A Man’s World”, Chris Brown’s performance with a full dance troop, and the Gnarls Barkley performance was pretty cool. I also am glad to see that the following won Grammys: Rick Rubin (best producer), Wolfmother (best hard rock performance), Gnarls Barkley (best alternative album/best urban performance), Slayer (Best Metal performance), and Chamillionaire “Ridin” (best rap performance by a duo).
The many lowlights include the Eagles’ Tribute mentioned above, the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s performance, the trumped up voting process for one winner to sing with Justin Timberlake(I was pulling for Africa to win), the fact that “Ridin Dirty” didn’t win best rap song, and the fact that the Dixie Chicks and Red Hot Chili Peppers won nearly every award. I must be the only person that thinks the Red Hot Chili Peppers are one of the least exciting bands on the planet. And I am completely sick of Flea being the Zany guy in the band that everyone thinks is so crazy.
Next year the Grammy’s turn 50. Here’s to hoping they do something to make the awards’ show more exciting.
And one last thing, what is the difference between Best Record and Best Song as they both seem to be awards for songs?
Written by Virgil Dickerson
Subscribe
View more articles about
On February 12th, 2007 at 12:15 pm
Corey V. said:
I actually didn’t mind this new Red Hot Chili Peppers album…
…when it was called Californication…
…and when it was re-released as By the Way.
On February 12th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
Jimmy said:
Yes, the Rascal Flatts and Carey Underwood covers were the most boring performances the world has ever witnessed.
My favorite part was Stevie Wonder giving a nice acceptance speech remembering his mother and then Tony Bennett using his acceptance speech to thank Target, the greatest sponsor ever.
On February 12th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
Virgil said:
Yeah, the Target shout out was unreal. Target is already sponsoring the entire event, they don’t need that kind of shout out.
On February 12th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
Jordan Pastepunk said:
Here’s my problem with the Grammy’s as a representation of the music industry:
The entire show is created and run by people in the baby boomer generation, if not older. There is no scope of coverage below that range (even with the hip and metal categories - it’s similarly limited). It’s not just a matter of losing touch with the consumer - it’s total ignorance of the music consumer outside of the already established elite. I read in the Lefetz letter how part of the ‘prize bags’ included two leather CD cases. The only people I know who still use a leather CD travel case are people more than twice my age. I don’t expect the Grammy’s cover much of the music I listen to, you have to wonder, when all of the current music greats, who win year after year, die off, what the hell happens to this award show?
On February 13th, 2007 at 6:16 pm
Seabron said:
The difference between best song and best record is the song is for the writers of the performed song. Since 75% of the artists up for awards don’t write their own music, the best song category is for the actual songwriters, whereas best record is for the performer of the song.
On February 13th, 2007 at 10:07 pm
Nick Cox said:
This is unbelievable.
I can’t believe no one has even MENTIONED the Police reunion performance with their totally riveting version of “Roxanne,” complete with a few bars of “Driven To Tears” thrown in for good measure.
There were some cool moments, all that I found already mentioned by Virgil, but Good Lord. Doesn’t anyone care about the Police?