I taped it. I doubt I’ll watch it.
I was looking forward to catching Billy Joel and Joni Mitchell, but I fear even they won’t save this year’s Grammy’s for me. Not that I think the modern-era’s see-and-be-scene circus-disguised-as-an-award-show reeks of real legitimacy anymore (it surely reeks, but of a different offal). The nails in Grammy coffin for me have been surfacing for many a year, when I recall nuggets like:
My beloved Jethro Tull winning the one any only “Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrumental” award in 1989.
Frank Farian’s studio created Milli Vanilli winning “Best New Artist” in 1990, an award revoked later by NARAS when it was ‘learned’ (like nobody at the Grammy’s knew this already?) that the gorgeous Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus had not sung their songs.
“Best New Artist” given to Shelby Lynne, although she was six albums in at the time; Bon Iver winning the same, although he had released his debut five years before his Grammy affirmation; Robert Goulet, earning the same reward back at the beginning of the 60s when he had an established music career already, hardly a new artist.
Man, I could go on and on. But sneaking peeks at clips today across the net, I am as much amused by how much skin Miley Cyrus feels she still has to still show (sorry I prefer my ladies slightly curvier) as I am incensed over Jay-Z’s speech when accepting his Dr. Dre Global Impact Award. I guess he figured it was his moment to expound on the injustices he feels leveled at this wife and black artists overall. But his rambling (he claims he tells the truth when he’s nervous, but whose truth is that?) reminded me of Kanye West storming the 2009 VMAs stage when Taylor Swift was accepting her award for “Best Video by a Female Artist.” The-most-important-artist-on-the-planet-according-to-himself, took that instance to remind us all (as if we cared) that “…Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!”
Beyoncé, what’s with all the no love, love?
Not that anyone cares, but I disagree with GQ, when they wrote here A Surprise Jay-Z Speech Was the Best Moment of the Grammys | GQ.
Nah man, it was just bad form.
You’ll get no argument from me that The Grammy’s has missed the beat (pun intended) in so many instances during its history (see my few samples above). But I don’t care to hear Jay-Z’s opinion on how he feels his wife has been dissed, as much as I don’t want political speeches made when somebody gets up to accept this or that award. I don’t trust anyone with a hyphen in their first name anyway, but Jay-Z, you just proved what I always thought about the Grammy’s and award shows in general…too many self-important celebrities thinking that I want to hear what they feel is the ‘truth,’ being foisted upon me in any other medium beyond the art they create.
