Many moons ago, back when there was hope, I would watch The Grammys and write live commentary, most of which was of course bitter and if I do say so myself, hilarious.
Like this bit from my 2014 post:
LL COOL J:
"NOW! FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER...ANYWHERE...KENDRICK LAMAR AND THE MAGIC DRAGONS!"
My jaw dropped so hard, my neighbor below banged back. Cool James
delivered the intro with the type of enthusiasm one usually reserves for
walks on the moon or crying holy icons in remote Greek villages."
Or this first line from 2011:
"First things first. What the hell happened to Lee Ann Rimes? Is it me, or is she starting to resemble Norman Fell?"
When I gave up, I actually received emails asking to bring back the Grammy Wrap. But I did not. I would not watch this show for all the pickle plates in Katz's Delicatessen.
It was all so much easier in the 70s. Just give everything to Stevie Wonder and Fleetwood Mac. Now, Beyonce is breaking records with a staggering 32 Grammys. Is that even mathematically possible?
I spent the early part of the evening recording a podcast. I was a guest on Showbiz Sandbox, the excellent pod cast hosted by J. Sperling Reich and my long time friend and Burning Wood supporter Michael Giltz. We discussed the Best Records of 2022, the surprising shut down of Backstreets, why bands break up, and the current crop of Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame nominees. It was a fun filled 30 minutes and once it is released, I hope you all give it a listen.
Until then, I leave you with my favorite line from my 2011 Grammy post:
"I'm afraid if I watch Mick Jagger, he'll figure out a way to bill me."
15 comments:
The Grammys used to be watchable for the live performances; I never cared about the awards. they used to have Jazz, Classical, Country, and Rock artists along with the current pop artists. I stopped watching about 5 years ago when it was one horrible pop or rap performance after another.
http://powerpop.blogspot.com/2023/02/all-they-do-in-this-town-is-give-awards.html
My thoughts on the same subject.
59 years ago, Bob Dylan wrote and sang the line "And don't criticize what you can't understand." I only watched about 15 minutes of the program last night and heard Madonna introduce Sam Smith (and someone else). I watched the performance. I clearly did not understand how that was considered musically interesting. I turned off the TV and read a book.
I miss performances where 5 guys step onto the stage, plug in and begin to rock the house.
The history of hip hop at 50 medley was pretty cool. Madonna was a joke. For the most part, the Grammys have been nothing but a commercial for the last three-plus decades.
paulinca
Very early on, I realized that the Grammy's, and music I loved didn't intersect, except the time Paul McCartney accepted one on behalf of The Beatles, for "Let It Be", followed by a video made for "Maybe I'm Amazed".
I'm sure I've heard Beyoncé's music, in a public place, but didn't realize it.
I guess I should be curious, but then again, all those Grammys suggest otherwise.
fyi, Grammy for Best Music Film went to "Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story."
Seen it?
Thanks Ken D. I didn't realize that.
Yes, saw it and wrote about it.
https://burnwoodtonite.blogspot.com/2022/07/jazz-fest-new-orleans-story-but-not-my.html
New year, same story: meh. If I hadn't scrolled through the list of nominees and winners, I never would have known that Abba released a new album. Now that I know... meh.
Edgar Winter!
after (re)reading your review of "Jazz Fest," I wonder if most voters saw the movie...
still, it beat nominees starring Adele, Justin Bieber, and Billie Eilish
I'm always the outlier here on BW: I love watching the Grammys and this year was maybe not as fun as some other years, but I enjoyed it from start to finish (best to watch the next day when you can zip through commercials.)
The Grammys can roll out Stevie Wonder for every broadcast and he'll still crush it. Brandi was solid. The Hip-Hop-at-50 thing was a lot of fun. "As It Was" is a great pop song and while I thought his album was hit-and-miss for me, I can see why the Grammy voters went for it.. And "Songbird" killed me during the memorium.
I would rather "Wet Leg" have won best new artist, but it's probably better that they didn't. I would have done without the whole "let's have fans tell us why they liked " bit, though, and would rather have had 2-3 more performances.
IMO, the Grammys did the right thing by removing the Opera and Classical from the broadcast years ago. It always slowed down the show.
I'll be back next year!
Sal, if you could pass along whenever the Best of 2022 podcast is available, I would appreciate it.
Randy
Wet Leg won Alternative Music Album (or something), which is cooler than Best New Artist, in a way. (Avoids the curse that award bestowed, now banished for good by some solid winners.)
And Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder won Best Traditional Blues Album.
Though sadly Elvis Costello lost best Rock Album to Ozzy Osbourne.
I watched the show so you didn't have. I thought Brandi Carlile killed again and the Harry Styles attempt to mimic his music video was very poorly thought out and a big disappointment
The tribute to rap/hip hop was not exception musically (despite Questlove overseeing it) but it was pretty awesome in the parade of stars and rather poignant to see who was still alive and looking their age (life's a bitch). No Beastie Boys sadly, but on the bright side Will Smith chose not to participate. Still, a kid could do worse than listen to the best album by each act.
I remember your running commentaries Sal! Very funny because you meant every word and werent just trying to score laughs.
Randy, here's a link to the podcast. You can find Showbiz Sandbox on most podcast providers, as well.
http://www.showbizsandbox.com/2023/02/08/showbiz-sandbox-606-beyonce-makes-grammy-history-as-harry-styles-wins-album-of-the-year/
Oh and if you want to get right to the Sal chat section -- and of course, you would! -- it begins at the 41 minute mark.
Brandi Carlile was amazing, Stevie Wonder - WOW! Sheryl Crow said there were problems with the piano during her performance, but I couldn't tell. Maybe your ears could, Sal!
I'm afraid to say this, but I enjoyed Sam Smith and Kim Petra's performance of "Unholy". I don't know if it was so bad it was good, or if I'm some kind of closet devil worshipper and nobody told me.
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