As I had to work tonight, I decided to crack a few beers and watch The 49th Annual Grammy Awards at about 2 am. It’s a nice time waster before the Oscars, but the Grammys have always had trouble getting the viewership that the other award shows obtain, and it’s mostly because...well, the Grammys are fucking boring. They rarely award anything but the obvious choices, there’s nary a major surprise victory, and there are so many awards (Best Native American Album?????) that nearly 75% of them aren’t even televised. They have a ticker going throughout most of the show displaying who won what that passes so fast, it’s impossible to pay attention to what’s going on in the show and who’s winning what. It was Mary J. Blige and The Dixie Chicks dominating the night, which was fairly justified. Timberlake was shut out, which is more than I can say for Timbaland, who has yet to even get a nomination.
It’s not surprising, really. The Grammy academy rarely awards innovation or progression, which is all Tim has been doing for the past...oh, decade or so. He’s certainly the greatest hip-hop producer of all time, proven not only by his hitmaking ability, but his staying power and relevance in a constantly changing industry. Look for his nomination to finally come for the 50th show next year after Tim dominates the charts this year.
Although Gnarles Barkley managed to grab two awards (I have no idea which as they were in the ADD ticker), they managed to lose "Record of the Year." It was neat to see my dad’s friend from high school, Jim Scott, accept two awards with the Dixie Chicks (whom he engineered). Mostly, the Grammy are all about the performances, and this year was deceptively the one that was a must watch.
The Police are reunited. And it feels so good.
Their brief performance of "Roxanne" was solid enough, but I expected at least a six minute performance. A medley maybe? Anyway, they didn’t seem to be terribly comfortable with each other quite yet, which is to be expected. It certainly wasn’t all it was hyped up to be. Here's hoping they get into the studio and make an album quick before they realize what they've done.
Fortunately, there was a number of other showstoppers throughout the evening. Timberlake performed twice, the second of which was with a viewer nominated "unsigned singer." Both performances were naturally quite good. Gnarles Barkley went even further over the top than I was prepared for with an odd, robust performance of "Crazy" that was complete with a full symphony and choir of women dressed in some type of spacesuits. I’ve been a fan of Cee-Lo’s for well over a decade, and it’s so nice to see his golden voice getting some much deserved and long delayed attention, even if it’s for a totally overplayed tune. "Smiley Faces" should have been a bigger smash.
The trio of Corinne Bailey Rae, John Legend, and John Mayer helping with each other’s respective tunes was absolutely awesome. Entertainment Weekly thought it put them to sleep, but I was totally enthralled. Hell, I don’t even like Legend, but I even liked him when sandwiched together with John and Corinne. Beautiful. Corinne is simply wonderful in that jazzy/folky/bluesy style.
I also quite enjoyed Christina Aguilera’s tribute to James Brown, which was complete with an after shot of Jamie Foxx looking surprised by how good she was. Apparently, somebody should have told him she has a brilliant voice compared to his acceptable one. She's probably a better actor, too.
It was Mary J. Blige’s amazing performance that was the highlight of the night, surprisingly. Emotional, heartfelt, and an immediate portrait of a woman finally figuring out who she is and being happy about it. As much as I absolutely hated her cover of U2's "One" that graced the album, she’s really become a long lasting talent that’s drastically improving with age and each recording effort.
I can see why people don’t watch the Grammys, and I have a personal vendetta against them for costing me my job at Blockbuster. I more blame Direct TV for having it set up in store, yet telling you not to watch it. Fuckbuster. Erect TV. Shitty companies. But, if you like live music, it’s worth a Youtube visit to hunt some of these down. Did you watch the Grammys? Did ANYBODY?
You missed Imogen Heap’s...uh..."outfit."
And Hilary Duff’s new "sexy" hair.
And Nelly Furtado's frumpy dress.
Alright, that’s all I got. Look forward to some mini reviews coming down the pipe, and a piece about TV, followed by another gigantic multi-part list that I've been working on for a while.
-M
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-M