How about that five person deep crowd of “punk fans” brought in just for Avril’s performance? When they showed shots from the stage to the audience, you could see the rest of the crowd behind them utterly still. Fake fans is bad mojo.
Yeah, I cringed for Robin Williams, too.
I also cringed when Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit took a moment to opine that, “I think we are all in agreeance that this war should go away as quickly as possible.”
I suppose if we’re in agreeance with anything, it’s that.
And I cringed when Erykah Badu flubbed her lines so badly that she had to tell the teleprompter dude to rewind the teleprompter twice. Hooked on phonics worked for me, Erykah.
On the plus side, I was just glad that I recognized a few artists this year.
Erykah Badu - I’ll say Bad-Do, go back to the Headress (That Fro’s Gotta Go), and Wardrobe, it looked a whole lot better than what you were wearing last night.
Also, how bout that Big Freaking Peace Symbol around Sheryl Crowe’s neck. Just sing your song, after Shut Your Pie Hole, and get off the stage.
Well… two things to be glad about with this year’s Grammys, then:
1 - I didn’t watch them. It sounds like that was the best way to go.
2 - Norah Jones was the big winner.
Aces all 'round, says I. 
Emeinem with The Roots, and the Traveling Guitarzans playing 'London Calling" were probably the highlights of the show.
Great thread Sam!
You know, it’s a funny thing for me down here in Australia. I’ve been watching the Grammy’s for a long time now - certainly since Billy Joel won “Record of the Year” with “I Love you just the way you are…” - when was that? 1979 I believe?
But I’ll be honest, I’ve not watched a Grammy Awards show for years. They truly have no interest for me nowadays - and I’ll never see the telecast unless I stumble upon it by accident while channel surfing.
And why is this?
Well… the problem for the Grammys, from an outsiders point of view, is that it is so astonishingly American-centric.
And what’s wrong that, I hear my lovely American friends ask? After all, the Oscars are the same kinda deal?
In answer, I reply with this - nothing wrong at all with the Grammy’s being American-centric - if you were truly getting to hear the best music being made each year around the entire world - but sadly, you’re not. The nature of Clear Channel COmmunications, and all of the intricate payola kickback arrangements nowadays means that by far the great majority of “shit hot music” made outside of the US each year no longer has a snow balls chance of breaking in anymore.
As a result, by and large, the Grammy Awards now reflect an entirely warped and manipulated marketing demographic - and it’s a rather insipid celebration of same therein.
Most of us Dopers outside of the US could list a veritible litany of great music over the last 5 years which never saw the light of day in the US - and the movie scene is quite different to this. Overseas made films - even if they were financed with US money - get an awful lot of exposure and kudos within the US nowadays - but the same certainly can’t be said for overseas music sadly.
It’s a real shame.
I agree that the tribute to “The Clash” was the highlight of the show.
But did anyone notice that they stopped showing dead artists after they made it to Strummer, so they could start the tribute? I wonder if any poor dead artists who had the bad taste to have last names starting with T,U,V,W,X,Y, or Z got shafted.
‘Orbifold’: The reason it was an ‘illegal’ protest was because the day before the Grammy producers read the riot act and said that they would not allow any anti-war protests.
But you know what was hilarious? Sheryl Crow’s guitar strap said, “No War” on it. But her hair covered the “No” part, so she sang her entire song with “War”, or “O War” displayed.
Oh well, at the Oscars they sang, “O, Death”. So I guess now we’ve got the bookend.
I am pretty much in agreeance with all the sentiments expressed inthis thread.
I’m glad I skipped the mess for the 24th year in a row. As I said in another thread, I came to the conclusions the Grammies were a big, stinking pile of shit the year A Taste of Honey beat out Elvis Costello for an award.
I HAVE BEEN VINDICATED!!!
That’s what I thought you meant. It just struck me as an odd word choice, given the context. I mean, it’s not like they could arrest her or anything.
Eh. Whatever.
How about the fact that they mentioned that Johnny Mathais, Glenn Miller, and (I think) one or two other people (I stopped watching about halfway through) won Special Grammys, AND THEN DOING NOTHING ABOUT THEM!!!
If you’re going to do that, then don’t mention the Special Awards at all.
I once read someone’s column who laughed at the way they all call themselves “artists”, yet sit there hoping against hope to win an award much like a dog sits near the dinner table waiting for someone to throw him a scrap of food.
Boo Boo Foo, OTOH, Coldplay did perform at the Grammys.
The Roots were at the Grammies? Oh, that shakes my faith in them. Still, I wish I’d heard them with Eminem.
LC
Ohhhhhhh, he was singing. Now I get it;)
Ehh… I don’t watch any music awards shows, mainly becauses of a relatively minor complaint:
They telegraph the winners.
Before a particular award is given out, they have a performance by an artist who’s been nominated for the award… and then somehow, by a miracle, utterly shocking… that artist wins the award! :eek:
The only fun in it is the artists coming to the podium and pretending to be surprised.
Honestly, now, wouldn’t it make more sense for them to accept the award, and THEN perform? Same net effect, with the added bonus of actually returning an element of suspense to the award presentation.
Thoughts:
- Simon and Garfunkle sounded like they haven’t sung ‘Sound of Silence’ together in 20 years. Although the look on Simon’s face when he and Art had to cut a long note off because they were horribly out of tune (as opposed to the ‘slightly out of tune’ they were for the rest of the song) was priceless.
- Justin Timberlack, Human Beat Box. Enough said.
- Somebody should really tell Avril that if she wants to be a ‘punk rocker’, then her band has to have name. Otherwise it looks like a group of studio musicians hired to make her look good.
- The Clash tribute was amazing. I’ve never seen Bruce look that, that, however he looked. Angry? Intense?
-lv
I loved the Clash tribute, but, as always, Bruce looked as if he was straining mightily to release an overlarge turd.
(not to say that I don’t like Springsteen, but…)
We are all in agreeance that the Grammys suck. Commercial music sucks.
It was worth it to see Dustin Hoffman toasted.
A grammy to Elvis Costello is the equivalent of the company that makes Paint By Numbers giving the “Lifetime Achievment Award” to Michelangelo.
Its why I have yet to watch one. Hell the last time they actually gave one worthwhile was to the “B-Sharps”