Fucking Grammy's

A couple of thoughts on music and the Grammy’s.

If today's music was better, would they need such elaborate dance routines to make people connect with a song?

Gorillaz and Madonna shared an odd medley to open the Grammy's and puppets, cartoons and 50 dancers were required to get the crowd cheering. The song was unidentifiable. It struck me that Madonna wrote a song in order to allow for a pre-existing dance routine. It seems obvious that her writers plan her music around moves, instead of vice versa. Would it make a difference? Probably not, but maybe if the song was written regardless of whether it was danceable, we might get a few more Sgt. Peppers and a few less Britney’s and Madonna's.

To expand on the Gorillaz, since when was gay club, ecstasy driven Euro bullshit considered actual music. Like do people ever sit back and enjoy the Gorillaz? Let's relax honey. Put MArvin GAye away and grab that new one fromt he Gorillaz. This band and all the bullshit like it is an excuse to dance. It isn't music. Gorillaz are what is on in the club you are at, it doesn't make people want to dance, it just gives them an excuse.

Is it too much to suggest that if today's music was better, we wouldn't need the Grammy's?

The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin are just a few of the bands/artists who at the peak of their power lost Grammy awards to songs and artists nobody has heard from since (Christopher Cross for instance). This isn't even the "Best new artist" argument. That story tells itself.

The Grammy's are just a ploy to sell albums for flagging records (American Records).

Use the Beatles as an example (or insert another credible artist name here). Why would the Beatles need a Grammy to help their record sell? A Grammy does nothing for the Beatles. This "award" was so insignificant until the red carpet phenomenon that the mega artists never went to the awards because they didn't need to. The Grammy's were for second place (Second place at the Special Olympics). They were a 50’s style publicity tour with a trophy (Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and Fats Domino on the same bill at the Appollo with a grammiphone and a cash bar). If you ever wondered why these guys all preformed together in the 50's and 60's it wasn't to give back to the fans, it was to sell singles.

Nominated or winning records double their sales the day after this event. It is like a K-Tel package. You see it on TV and want it. Your introduced to all the new music in one place and no other advertisement can do that.

To be a bit more modern, in an infamous, but totally forgettable event, Eminem lost to Steely Dan for album of the year. No doubt Steely Dan benefited greatly from their award, but it would have meant very little to Eminem. So the award goes to Steely Dan. Look at U2, they have won 8 Grammy's in they're history and five of them were for the current album. No doubt the other three were for the last album. Were their last two albums better than Joshua Tree or Achtung Baby? No, they aren't even in the same league. Those two albums were important, so why do they win their Grammy's for their third rate stuff?

Even better than that, does U2 show up and perform if they don't know in advance that they won? Should we be surprised that they attended both events where they won trophies, but were no shows every year before?

How about Paul McCartney (the good Beatle), well he goes to the Grammy's every year now. Are they more credible today, than in the 60's when he couldn’t get a sniff? No, but he is trying to sell some records to maintain the image. Same holds true for Stevie Wonder. Both of these mega artists are a fading memory, something pleasant, but certainly not relevant, so they go to these shows to get back into the spotlight. It never really works, but that is what they do. In doing this, they give these award shows credibility. “The award must be important, after all Springsteen, McCartney, Wonder and Bowie were there”. Sure all of the legends were at the 2006 Grammy's but none of them have won as many Grammy's as someone like Mariah Carey. Does that make any sense? Only if they are trying to sell records.

Fuck the Grammy's