Having sworn off easy targets, I’ll just keep it to some drive.by observations…the relevance of the Grammies is currently under debate, as Neil Portnow has made some heroic efforts to broaden the nominated categories, but somehow, the house always wins…
There is perhaps, the makings of a seperate screed on Jay.Z & Lil' Wayne's moves towards rock stardom, now that they've 'conquered' their field, & not to get all Gallagher about it, but i'll stick w/Rakim, and I don't have the brain power to cope with it at this point. As for Coldplay...sigh. Should i trust any band that actively campaigns for the highest office in the land?
The beauty of the show is always the personal moments, (Paul Simon’s ’76 acceptance speech thanking Stevie Wonder for not making a record that year being the runaway classic), and the performances (Outkast joined by the USC marching band is something you just don’t anticipate seeing on live TV anymore, and copied by Radiohead this year…if it’s hip, I believe they call it an homage)
The Grammy police have kept a tight grip on this clip; it disappears every time I see it posted, but I did manage to catch it once before it got pulled, thanks to the good folks @ KEXP, and it really works…
My favorite quote was from Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson from the Roots, pulled from his Twitter adventures as a guest, and I quote ‘They won’t allow me to Twit from rehearsals, but let me say that Radiohead is about to murder…”. Indeed.
It seemed like the performances/set pieces weigh outweighed the awards, and ratings were way up…coincidence?
Blink-182…I love the audience non.reaction at the ‘big reunion announcement’. Ouch! But do you think that will stop them...
Best compilation soundtrack to Juno! No matter what you thought of the movie, That was a soundtrack...
And please note the triumph of They Might Be Giants in the Childrens category w/’Here Come the 1…2…3’s’. Yes, it’s the sequel to ‘Here Come the A…B…C’s’. Consider this a tip to all my peers who should be getting that hard earned sleep instead of reading this...
Props to Al Green for rolling in as a sub w/no notice, and, well, being Al Green.
Adele bested Duffy in the battle of the UK, (a.k.a. Best New Artist) Not bad…anyone who knocks down the Jonas Bros has something going on, although one of the best pure songs I heard all year was the title track of Duffy’s ‘Rockferry’, an amazing retro blast of Dusty Springfield love…
On to the important stuff: Over the years, for some reason, one of the first categories I dig after the majors is…(drumroll please) Best Polka! Yes, once again Jimmy Sturr, (the Eagles of polka music...) outlasted Walter Ostenak, (picking up the Susan Lucci role from Ed Blazonczyk. Which is to say aesthetically that it’s the pitched battle between the Pennsylvania ‘oompah’ sound, and the more hard driving ‘Chicago’ sound.
Jak Szie Masz to my old friend Gene Martin, Mr. Polka!
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I really hope you are kidding about the polka thing. My brain can't handle being exploded this early in the year.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I totally forget about the grammys in general, didn't even realize they were on. I saw some bit on the Colbert Report with TVoTR and he was joking with them about not winning though.
The clip you mentioned - is it the Radiohead one? Link wasn't working for me.
The Grammys to me are like the Oscars - it's all an "in game" (in the sense of people actively campaigning amongst their peers for a win, BS like that) and largely irrelevant to what's actually going on and what people (other than the people who like what they're told to) give a shit about.
I wonder if any albums I own have won a grammy? Probability seems low. On the other hand, albums I own that deserve to win accolades - probability very high.
I will probably be buying the TMBG stuff in the near future, one cannot raise well-rounded citizens on "Not for Kids Only" alone. I was eyeing both albums the other day, thinking "I guess I should probably get some music that won't require explaining crossdressing and blowjobs."
ReplyDeleteI'm assuming it's music that one can listen to repeatedly without resorting to violence?
...and the main point i forgot in all that madness was hooray for Robert Plant & Allison Krauss for Record of the Year. Obviously i was pulling for Radiohead, but if it had to be something else...
ReplyDeleteI was really impressed with the stones displayed by Mr Plant in walking away from a mountain of money (Zep reunion tour), to stick with and tour this project, which was, shall we say, a bit more low profile. It's nice to see him be tangibly rewarded.
(mop up) OFM: Grammies & Oscars i keep track of just for the crazy surprises...usually good for one a year, & usually Oscars are hipper than Grammies, ironically. Radiohead link was indeed neutered by Das Grammy people. And finally, how could i jest about the Polka?! I did a quick google search to check the whereabouts of my old pal Gene Martin, whom i used to engineer a polka show for on Sunday mornings, and turned up w/his obituary...Wah!
So the last paragraph turned into a tip of the hat to him...R.I.P. Aside from being a righteous guy, he was one of those links in my theory that there is something cool in every genre, one just has to dig...
GG: No matter what you buy in kid's muzik, prepare for heavy rotation...and i can't imagine obsession running in your particular line;))
Also, my hot tip would be Kimya Dawson's new kids album: 'AlphaButt'. You know her as half of the Moldy Peaches...(aka: the potty mouth girl on the Juno soundtrack). As the happy date arrives, i'll do more homework and cought up a specific column on cool kids music. there is some out there...