Watching the Grammy(ies)?

[YCantAngieRead]

Joss Stone can sing the crap out of any of those blond girl singers out now.

And Melissa Etheridge is a little alarming when bald, but considering it probably wasn't her choice, it's a brave move.

[rhuntington3]

Nope. I'm here at work.

[tem]

is she doing chemo or something ?

It does look pretty great in HD, even if I now gott sit here and look at Billy Bob Thornton's chest hair. yuck:

[CharlieW]

I'm boycotting.

Once I saw that something as obvious as Brian Wilson's - Smile was left out of the Album of the Year category, I realized that Grammy will never get it right. Ever. Even when it's obvious. Even if he lost to Ray Charles, I'd understand --- but to not nominate a brilliant piece of pop history for Album of the Year, knowing the story behind the man and that piece of music --- it's ludicrous. Ludicrous.

[jami]

I saw pictures of Melissa arriving. Bravo to her!! I've been following that woman since practically her bar days here in Long Beach in the late 80's. I hope she kicks the crap out of her breast cancer!!! :up:

I'm a big Joss Stone, fan, too.

Alas, I'm on the west coast and it doesn't start for another 50 minutes here. I'm TiVoing, of course, so I can skip through most of it. I hear U2's performance was great - can't wait for that one. Otherwise, there's not too much I care about with the Grammys - it ceased to be relevant for me long ago.

[YCantAngieRead]

Kanye West had a pretty good performance, too. I'm mostly just watching it because there's nothing else on and I was doing some work and didn't want to sit down and actually watch something.

[jsmeeker]

Man, I missed the U2 performance.. Must have been on in the early part of the show. I didn't get home until 8:00 PM. (Not TiVo'ing it)

[John McKee]

Nope. I always get the impression that the voting process looks something like the draft picks for the NFL between all the big name record companies.

Sony: "OK, You can have best new artist, but we best R&B album"
Universal: "Deal."

[tem]

so why is that Goth girl giving the country female award ? She looks AWFUL in HD.

Nice to see Loretta Lynn win and walk up w/ Jack White.

[genearch]

Man, I missed the U2 performance.. Must have been on in the early part of the show. I didn't get home until 8:00 PM. (Not TiVo'ing it)

I just watched it :D

Yet another damned good performance :up:

[YCantAngieRead]

Who is Jack White? I was just wondering that.

[YCantAngieRead]

Speaking of not looking good...a buzz cut is not the most appealing on the unappealing Rob Thomas.

[tomo_kun]

Man, I missed the U2 performance.. Must have been on in the early part of the show. I didn't get home until 8:00 PM. (Not TiVo'ing it)
U2 Preformed?? Hmm. I missed the only decent part I guess. I didn't watch it.

I was not impressed with this years list of nominees, only three really stood out for me (Virtigo, Lets Get It Started [spike someone mix], Boulivard of broken dreams).

[Turtleboy]

Jack White of the White Stripes produced Loretta Lynn's Van Lear Rose, and it's excellent.

Why give Ray Charles all these nominations? Did he come out with anything new? He's dead.

[Sparty99]

Who is Jack White? I was just wondering that.
Singer of White Stripes (Detroit garage rock band). He produced Loretta Lynn's album.

[genearch]

Who is Jack White? I was just wondering that.

Isn't he that guy from The White stripes that dumped Renee Zellweger?

[YCantAngieRead]

Good to see Elvis Costello nominated for something.

[CharlieW]

OK, I just want to make sure that I got this right. According to CNN, the Best New Artist award was given to Maroon 5 for their 'Songs About Jane' record that was first released in 2002, but "didn't catch fire until last year". :rolleyes:

CNN also did a poll this evening asking if you would purchase a record based up it winning a Grammy. At last look, 91% of the people that voted said, "No." That tells you how messed up the Grammys are...I'm glad to see that people have more sense than to trust them to tell them what good music is out there.

By the way, Kanye West should have won Best New Artist out of the nominees...no question about it.

[LoadStar]

Well, the two categories that matter to me - Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album and Best Rock Gospel Album - were both robbed. Nothing against Third Day's Wire or SCC's All Things New - both were good albums in their own rights, and I've seen the tour for ATN twice now. They just weren't nearly the best in that category. Jars of Clay's Who We Are Instead and Skillet's Collide were far better albums, in my opinion.

I think it was just a case of Grammy voters picking the only name that they recognized, not actually picking an album that merited the award.

[Turtleboy]

The show is surprisingly quite good this year.

[Sparty99]

I'm boycotting.

Once I saw that something as obvious as Brian Wilson's - Smile was left out of the Album of the Year category, I realized that Grammy will never get it right. Ever. Even when it's obvious. Even if he lost to Ray Charles, I'd understand --- but to not nominate a brilliant piece of pop history for Album of the Year, knowing the story behind the man and that piece of music --- it's ludicrous. Ludicrous.
I'll admit that I know very little about decent music (other than Lisa Marie Presley should not be allowed on the Grammys), but I would think that the back story of Smile actually might have hurt Brian Wilson. When you've had almost 40 years to put together an album, you would expect it to be some sort of classic.

Personally, I was amazed when All That You Can't Leave Behind didn't win album of the year. I'll admit that I'm a U2 slappy, but I find it difficult to believe that an album that had TWO Records of the Year on it didn't win Album of the Year.

And as someone who was victimized by the ticketing problems that U2 just spoke of, I have to say it means a lot that they said something about it on the industry's biggest stage.

[transpizzle]

Green Day sounded superb!

[Sparty99]

Isn't he that guy from The White stripes that dumped Renee Zellweger?
Yeah, same guy. Also got arrested for beating up the lead singer of the Von Bondies after some critics said the Von Bondies were better than the White Stripes.

[YCantAngieRead]

By the way, Kanye West should have won Best New Artist out of the nominees...no question about it.
Yeah, he should have.

The music is really stellar that's being performed.

[tem]

ugh. Another ensemble butchering of a classic song. One listen to Brian Wilson shows you why he didn't deserve a grammy. The man simply canNOT sing anymore.

I"m sure John Lennon once said "you know, this would have sounded better with marracas"

:barf:

[Sparty99]

ugh. Another ensemble butchering of a classic song. One listen to Brian Wilson shows you why he didn't deserve a grammy. The man simply canNOT sing anymore.

I"m sure John Lennon once said "you know, this would have sounded better with marracas.

:barf:
Respectfully disagree. If anything I think it was a little too coreographed, although I think it got pulled off quite well.

[LoadStar]

ugh. Another ensemble butchering of a classic song. One listen to Brian Wilson shows you why he didn't deserve a grammy. The man simply canNOT sing anymore.

I"m sure John Lennon once said "you know, this would have sounded better with marracas.

:barf:

Agreed. That was horrific. The only person that I thought could sing in that group was Bono. I can't imagine who would want to buy that track. Buying that track is a true act of charity, if you ask me.

[hefe]

Forgot all about it. Just turned it on, I might have recorded it if I had realized it was going to be HD with 5.1 sound.

Just caught the very end of the multi-generational love fest.

[CatBurger00]

Keane wasn't nominated for anything?!

[CharlieW]

When you've had almost 40 years to put together an album, you would expect it to be some sort of classic.


It is. It's brilliant.

The reasons behind Smile not seeing the light of day for 37 years have much more to do with Wilson's personal demons and how that particular music put a wedge between himself and some of the people closest to him.

It was a great triumph that he was able to exorcise his demons and record this music -- in my humble opinion, it was the music story of the year. But once again, Grammy is clueless.

It's also a shame that they are going to fall all over themselves to honor Ray Charles because he happened to pass away last year. For crying out loud, nobody cared too much when the guy had to resort to Diet Pepsi commercials to remain in the limelight -- it just seems hypocritical to me to honor him for a record that he threw together with a bunch of modern day pop music personalities.

I love Ray Charles' music, but honoring him posthumously is just a bit schmaltzy for my taste.

[YCantAngieRead]

I thought it was okay. He's right about Brian Wilson, though. He really can't sing very well any more. He may still be good at other things, but this just isn't his thing any more.

[Sparty99]

Random thought. Am I the only one who was bothered by the fact that there is a song nominated for Record of the Year that was commissioned by the NBA?!?

Back story: the Black Eyed Peas released a song called "Let's Get Retarded" on Elephunk. The NBA had them rework the song for their playoff run under the name "Let's Get It Started." The Black Eyed Peas then released a full version of the song, which tonight is nominated for Record of the Year. Ridiculous.

[YCantAngieRead]

Keane wasn't nominated for anything?!
Not that I remember. They're one of my top favorite bands right now.

Of course, personally, I'd love to see the Los Lonely Boys win something just because they seem like a cool jam band. They won't, and that's okay, but I sure enjoy them.

[hefe]

Wow, am I out of touch. I've never even heard any of those songs nominated for best song.
Not sure that's a bad thing, though.

[jsmeeker]

Agreed. That was horrific. The only person that I thought could sing in that group was Bono. I can't imagine who would want to buy that track. Buying that track is a true act of charity, if you ask me.

It should be up shortly. I don't think I'll buy it. But I bet it cracks the Top Ten at iTunes Music Store.

[CharlieW]

Random thought. Am I the only one who was bothered by the fact that there is a song nominated for Record of the Year that was commissioned by the NBA?!?

Back story: the Black Eyed Peas released a song called "Let's Get Retarded" on Elephunk. The NBA had them rework the song for their playoff run under the name "Let's Get It Started." The Black Eyed Peas then released a full version of the song, which tonight is nominated for Record of the Year. Ridiculous.

Oh God - don't get me started on that horrific song.

Just what the world needed, another "Whoomp - There it is" for the stadium crowds...

At least ESPN can release the 'Jock Jams 19' CD now. :rolleyes:

[jsmeeker]

Wow, am I out of touch. I've never even heard any of those songs nominated for best song.
Not sure that's a bad thing, though.

I actually got to hear John Mayer perform the winning song live in San Francisco a few weeks ago. Nice to know he won a Grammy for it.

[YCantAngieRead]

I might be more interested if they'd have done a studio version.

[CatBurger00]

Not that I remember. They're one of my top favorite bands right now.

Of course, personally, I'd love to see the Los Lonely Boys win something just because they seem like a cool jam band. They won't, and that's okay, but I sure enjoy them.
Keane is my new favorite band too. I saw them live a couple weeks ago. :up:

I thought los lonely boys did win something? I may be misreading the grammys site...

[CharlieW]

I think Keane was nominated for something.

Their album is decent. Sort of 'Ben Folds Five lite'.

[CatBurger00]

http://grammys.com/awards/grammy/47winners.aspx

Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal
(For established duos or groups, with vocals. Singles or Tracks only.)

* Heaven
Los Lonely Boys
Track from: Los Lonely Boys
[Or Music/Epic Records]

Edit: Quick-edit is back :D

[Sparty99]

It is. It's brilliant.

The reasons behind Smile not seeing the light of day for 37 years have much more to do with Wilson's personal demons and how that particular music put a wedge between himself and some of the people closest to him.

It was a great triumph that he was able to exorcise his demons and record this music -- in my humble opinion, it was the music story of the year. But once again, Grammy is clueless.

It's also a shame that they are going to fall all over themselves to honor Ray Charles because he happened to pass away last year. For crying out loud, nobody cared too much when the guy had to resort to Diet Pepsi commercials to remain in the limelight -- it just seems hypocritical to me to honor him for a record that he threw together with a bunch of modern day pop music personalities.

I love Ray Charles' music, but honoring him posthumously is just a bit schmaltzy for my taste.
Generally agree, but it's not like it's all that unusual. When has Grammy ever gotten it right? Steely Dan over Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP? (Again, you guys feel free to call out my Detroit bias, but that was a classic disc). Personally, if they were going to celebrate Ray Charles, I would've preferred to see them nominate the Ray soundtrack, although it's probably a little hard to have what is essentially a Greatest Hits album win Album of the Year.

As for the posthumous awards, it's a shame, but it's not like it's the first time it's happened (just look at Johnny Cash with the CMA's).

If it were up to me, I'd probably give Album of the Year to either Usher or Alicia Keys, but I'll admit that I haven't listened to Kanye West yet (just bought it today) and Green Day is good but it's just not something I'm hearing yet. I'll have to give it a few more tries.

[CharlieW]

Although I'm not a big fan of Eminem -- I'll definitely agree that his record was much more influential and important than the Steely Dan record --- and should have been awarded as such. :)

[transpizzle]

Agreed. That was horrific. The only person that I thought could sing in that group was Bono. I can't imagine who would want to buy that track. Buying that track is a true act of charity, if you ask me.

Scott Weiland can sing.
Norah Jones can sing.
Alicia Keys can sing.
Stevie Wonder can sing.
You're gonna tell me those people can't sing?

Brian Wilson sounded downright dreadul though.
Steven Tyler sounded just fine. They all sounded good, with the excelption of Brian Wilson

I thought they pulled it off quite well. I may buy it

[ThePhantomsGirl]

Who is Jack White? I was just wondering that.

I think he's Rene Zellwinger's (sp?) boyfriend. Other than that I think he's in music.....

Holly

[Sparty99]

OK, couple of non-musical thoughts...Norah Jones is hot but someone needs to get her a bra...and I hope I find someone who's as hot as Sheryl Crow is at her age.

[genearch]

Wow... I'm surprised that U2 won, that album was just released in Nov.

I really feel bad for Edge... the reason for the song dedication was because his 7yr old daughter Sian has leukemia :(

Trivia: Sian is his daughter with Morleigh, the belly dancer from the ZooTV tour.

[Sparty99]

Wow.. surprised that U2 won, that album was just released in Nov.

I really feel bad for Edge... the reason for the song dedication was because his 7yr old daughter Sian has leukemia :(
Single was released before the Grammy deadline. Album won't be eligible until next year. Gotta love the quirks of the Grammy deadlines.

I didn't know about the Edge's daughter. My guess is that's why they're having all the problems with touring.

[LoadStar]

Scott Weiland can sing.
Norah Jones can sing.
Alicia Keys can sing.
Stevie Wonder can sing.
You're gonna tell me those people can't sing?

Brian Wilson sounded downright dreadul though.
Steven Tyler sounded just fine. They all sounded good, with the excelption of Brian Wilson

I thought they pulled it off quite well. I may buy it

Ok, I guess some more of those people can sing, but not that song, and not together. To me, that whole mess was like a cat getting skinned alive.

[jami]

Single was released before the Grammy deadline. Album won't be eligible until next year. Gotta love the quirks of the Grammy deadlines.

I didn't know about the Edge's daughter. My guess is that's why they're having all the problems with touring.

I haven't started watching yet, but this (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=762&e=1&u=/ap/20050214/ap_en_mu/grammys_u2) says it was a tribute to Bono's father.

[dswallow]

Not watching. It's just another excuse for CBS to knock Cold Case around.

[Sparty99]

Aarrgghh! Make me puke. Why does this thing start as a plea for tsunami relief and end with this SOB saying, "Don't steal from the multimillionaires who don't need the money!"

[CharlieW]

I didn't know about the Edge's daughter. My guess is that's why they're having all the problems with touring.

I've heard that ticket sales for the tour have been very disappointing.

The album is OK, but it sort of feels like it's treading the same ground as All You Can Leave Behind, which I really enjoyed.

[CatBurger00]

To me, that whole mess was like a cat getting skinned alive.
Retrodog, did you have anything to do with this? :D

[jsmeeker]

Aarrgghh! Make me puke. Why does this thing start as a plea for tsunami relief and end with this SOB saying, "Don't steal from the multimillionaires who don't need the money!"

It was also the second plea/"look at us, we are so great at giving money" in like 30 minutes. Then to go on and on about how much they hate downloading music and how the Supreme Court is going to help them out.

[Sparty99]

I've heard that ticket sales for the tour have been very disappointing.

The album is OK, but it sort of feels like it's treading the same ground as All You Can Leave Behind, which I really enjoyed.
Yeah, the new album was a bit of a disappointment, especially considering the fact that Vertigo was a very misleading first single to the album. Of course, the Grammys love them, so you can already put them down as one of the Album of the Year nominees for next year.

I would've really liked to see Jay-Z's Black Album get a nomination for Album of the Year. It really was an impressive "finale".

[genearch]

I haven't started watching yet, but this (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=762&e=1&u=/ap/20050214/ap_en_mu/grammys_u2) says it was a tribute to Bono's father.

I can tell you're not watching ;)

Edge dedicated tonight's grammy win to his daughter..

[jami]

I can tell you're not watching ;)

Edge dedicated tonight's grammy win to his daughter..

Well, I'm on the west coast and since it started only 20 minutes ago, I'm trying to build up a buffer on TiVo. :p

[Sparty99]

It was also the second plea/"look at us, we are so great at giving money" in like 30 minutes. Then to go on and on about how much they hate downloading music and how the Supreme Court is going to help them out.
Yeah, and it's such a load of crap now. I'm sure that downloading music is still a problem, but it doesn't compare to the height of Napster's days, when I actually understood them coming out and saying, "Uh, could you guys please stop doing this?" Now it's a mixture between them piling on and shilling for iTunes.

I always loved it a few years back when Jon Stewart was hosting and he came out and said something to the effect of, "I love you guys...I've gotten a ton of your music from Napster...I probably owe you guys some money."

[CharlieW]

I've got to stop to give Grammy props for two things:

Alternative Music Album: "A Ghost Is Born," Wilco.

Fantastic record...not as good as Yankee Hotel Foxtrot but a terrific record by America's greatest active band.

Rock Instrumental Performance: "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow," Brian Wilson.

They threw him a bone. I expected this when I saw the list of nominees a couple of months ago. It's a good instrumental --- but it's really a slap in the face, because (contrary to what Brian might have sounded like tonight), the vocals are the highlight of the record.

[edhara]

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=221530&highlight=grammy

http://men.style.com/gq/talkback/openletter

Open Letter

Dear Grammy,

Pump up the volume! Turn that beat back! Hip-hop hooray! America's most watched, most exhilarating, most splendiferous music-awards show airs live from Los Angeles on February 13!

Yawn.

Okay, sorry. We don't mean to be disrespectful. We know the Grammys mean a lot—to Kenny Rogers and Céline Dion. Or to that cute little piano moppet Norah Jones, who's still unpacking the 34,000 Grammys she won a couple of years ago. (Yeah, Norah rocks!)

See, that's your problem, Grammy. You're about as edgy as a Saturn full of Creed fans. Judging Amy is cooler than you. It's even worse when you try to act cool—it's like watching our mom and dad try to dance to Chingy's "Holidae In."

We have to admit you've gotten better lately. This year you gave Kanye West ten nominations. But something tells us that if Santana had put out a record this year, Kanye would be sitting at home on February 13, ordering Kanye some Domino's. And what's up with the Sting fetish? Sting could fart in a Ziploc and you guys would give it five nominations.

Face it, Grammy: You've got a lame track record. You gave a heavy-metal Grammy to Jethro Tull over Metallica. You nominated Fountains of Wayne for Best New Artist—after they'd been performing for eight years. Milli Vanilli. And here's just a brief list of the nobodies who've never received one of your chintzy trophies: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Neil Young, Guns N' Roses, and that raunchy little indie band from England, Led Zeppelin.

But every year it's the same thing: We say we're not going to watch, but we end up watching anyway. So in the hope of a semi-interesting show, we have a couple suggestions.

1. EASY ON THE DEAD-GUY LOVE. There's nothing you like more than an artist who's six feet under. Johnny Cash, Warren Zevon—the deader, the better. This year Ray Charles is up for seven awards. Guess what, Grammy: Ray doesn't care. He's dead. Same with Brian Wilson. Oh, wait: Someone here says Brian is alive. But still.

2. STOP THE "IF YOU PLAY IT, YOU WIN!" POLICY. It's practically a Grammy rule: If you play your song, two seconds later you'll win a Grammy. Come on. Even Paris Hilton doesn't return the favor that fast, guys.

3. COURT MORE DISASTERS. The best Grammy moments are always the ones you guys have nothing to do with. Like when that guy with soy bomb painted on his chest interrupted Bob Dylan's performance. Like when Ol' Dirty Bastard—may he rest in peace—stormed the stage and interrupted Shawn Colvin's acceptance speech to bitch about losing to Puff Daddy. Invite these people back and encourage their misbehavior. You'll like ODB. He's dead.

4. GIVE DYLAN A GRAMMY EVERY YEAR. Worth it just to hear the insanely random magnetic-poetry-style speech. If we recall correctly, a couple of years ago he thanked Woody Guthrie, Allen Ginsberg, his handheld vacuum cleaner, and the letter Q. Priceless.

5. PLEASE, FINALLY EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SONG OF THE YEAR AND RECORD OF THE YEAR. But remember, no matter what you say, it still seems retarded.

Thanks for reading, Grammy. Have fun in Los Angeles.

As always, make sure Chuck Mangione gets a nice seat. And remind Ashlee Simpson's drummer to press the right song.

Sincerely,

GQ

P.S. If Sting farted into a Ziploc, would it get Song of the Year or Record of the Year?

[Martyp]

You just have to love the digital sound ......5.1 .. just like you are in the crowd

[CharlieW]

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=221530&highlight=grammy


I agree with Dansee's post in that thread ---- that letter could have been much longer. But they were heading in the right direction and hit many of the major points.

[genearch]

FWIW: U2 actually won three Grammy's tonight :up:

- Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal
- Best Rock Song (songwriters award)
- Best Short Form Music Video

[edhara]

I agree with Dansee's post in that thread ---- that letter could have been much longer. But they were heading in the right direction and hit many of the major points.
Your comments about Ray Charles and Brian Wilson reminded me of it. :)

[jami]

I can tell you're not watching ;)

Edge dedicated tonight's grammy win to his daughter..

Ah - I was talking about the song they performed - which Bono dedicated to his father. (Just caught up to that point)

[hefe]

What the hell ws that speech about the tragedy and how the recording industry is "doing what they do best"...? What, suing 12 year-olds and dead people for (allegedly) making them less obscenely rich? That whole thing made me want to lose my dinner. Since when is "offering hope" a part of their mission statement?

[Dafaso]

Ray Charles is a legend but was his album really better than Kanye West's or Usher's? What a disappointment to an otherwise terrific show.

[Lori]

Speaking of not looking good...a buzz cut is not the most appealing on the unappealing Rob Thomas.

Eh. I like him better a little shaggier, but he's hot-tacular to me in any state of coiffeur. :)

[edhara]

What the hell ws that speech about the tragedy and how the recording industry is "doing what they do best"...? What, suing 12 year-olds and dead people for (allegedly) making them less obscenely rich? That whole thing made me want to lose my dinner. Since when is "offering hope" a part of their mission statement?
They're offering hope to themselves, since they're so starving and poor... not to mention they treat their musicians SO well. :rolleyes:

[YCantAngieRead]

I wonder if these head honchos of music know how much their constant whining about music profits turns the average listener off, burning the one person who shouldn't be burned-the musician.

[Turtleboy]

iTunes is selling some of the winner's albums for $2 off. I just bought Brian Wilson's Smile for $7.99

[cheerdude]

Green Day sounded superb!

Not a big fan of their music... but I've liked most of the singles that have come out... especially American Idiot; that song simply rocks.

I've now seen them perform this twice live... and each time it was great.

[mtnagel]

After looking through the list of winners, I think it's funny that they have a Best Polka Album category.

I definitely think Green Day should have won more. That album is brillant.

[cheesesteak]

I kept tuning in while watching other shows. 90% of what I caught was commercials. My tv did have the good sense to not show commercials when Alicia Keys was performing. That girl is just absolutely gorgeous. And she can sing a little bit, too.

[KalaPela]

I couldn't believe Maroon 5 won Best New Artist. That just boggles my mind. There's no way Maroon 5 is better than Joss Stone and Kanye West. I smell a conspriracy.

[dswallow]

I couldn't believe Maroon 5 won Best New Artist. That just boggles my mind. There's no way Maroon 5 is better than Joss Stone and Kanye West. I smell a conspriracy.
Damn. I'd have expected to have at least heard of one of those artists before.

[xuxa]

I've heard that ticket sales for the tour have been very disappointing.

The album is OK, but it sort of feels like it's treading the same ground as All You Can Leave Behind, which I really enjoyed.

Quite the opposite, all of the shows sold out in a matter of minutes, easily the highest demand tour in the industry. You may have misheard as the ticket buying process for fan club members was disappointing because scalpers were able to infiltrate bought up a large amount of tickets before the fans even got a chance. That was what Larry Mullen was apologizing for during their acceptance speech.

[mtnagel]

Damn. I'd have expected to have at least heard of one of those artists before.Listen to the radio? You couldn't have missed them.

[dswallow]

Listen to the radio? You couldn't have missed them.
Nope; at least not to anything that'd play anything current. I'd still have expected to have heard of them if they really were worthy of being considered for best new artist. I do read a lot from newspapers and magazines.

And you'd expect they'd have been featured on some WB or Fox series by now. :)

[Supfreak26]

Listen to the radio? You couldn't have missed them.


I try to avoid radio as much as possible. Unless it's talk radio.

Judging from what I saw of the Grammy's, I'm not missing much.

Ray Charles shouldn't have won crap. He's dead. What does he care?

Grammys lost all credibility with me when Jethro Tull beat out Metallica.

Note to the idiot begging for more money for the "starving artists"... Lower the freakin' cost of a CD!!! You know you are overcharging. That's why people don't want to pay for them. Personally I don't buy a CD unless it's on sale for around $10. To pay anything more is ridiculous.

/rant

[xuxa]

Nope; at least not to anything that'd play anything current. I'd still have expected to have heard of them if they really were worthy of being considered for best new artist. I do read a lot from newspapers and magazines.

And you'd expect they'd have been featured on some WB or Fox series by now. :)


They all have been played on those shows like Smallville, The O.C. etc. but maybe I am missing your sarcasm.

[dswallow]

They all have been played on those shows like Smallville, The O.C. etc. but maybe I am missing your sarcasm.
No sarcasm; but if they were on shows like The O.C., I certainly didn't stand up and take note.

Perhaps the category should be renamed "Best new artist of a dismal bunch".

[cpalma]

Is anyone interested in talking about anything that was good? :D

I loved Queen Latifah's performance, but I have her latest CD and was suprised at how well she sounded (without any digital enhancement of a studio). She's come a long way from her RAP roots.

Back to what was bad. The Tsunami (or as I like to call it--We are the World 2005) song. All of the performers looked uncomfortable. Almost as if there was no rehearsal (or very little) and it showed. Do you expect to get a bunch of talented singers on stage and just wing it?? Then ask the masses to pay for it?? Bad judgement, IMO.

[TomK]

Alicia Keys can sing that song anytime she wants. Maybe she has sung it better but I loved that song last night.

[cheesesteak]

Don't know why people get so bent out of shape about Grammy winners. The Grammys have always been conservative and middle of the road.

[Sparty99]

Don't know why people get so bent out of shape about Grammy winners. The Grammys have always been conservative and middle of the road.
And that's fine, but it doesn't mean that their conservative views are rewarding the best music of the year, which is exactly what they contend.

[hefe]

No awards show rewards the best music, or movies, or TV or anything. That is not possible since art is subjective.
All that happens is that the organization running that particular event votes for a consensus winner from its membership. Whether that is the Recording Academy, Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Science, Hollywood Foreign Press, "polls" of the people, whatever. You'll never have a true best without objective measures, which of course, is not possible. If you watch awards shows to see what is best, you are watching for the wrong reason.

[cheesesteak]

Nobody cutting edge, nobody truly innovative will win a Grammy - at least the awards they bother showing on tv. The awards you have to look for on page 42 of today's newspaper - that's where you find the innovators.

[super dave]

Note to the idiot begging for more money for the "starving artists"... Lower the freakin' cost of a CD!!! You know you are overcharging. That's why people don't want to pay for them. Personally I don't buy a CD unless it's on sale for around $10. To pay anything more is ridiculous.
I rarely buy any CDs anymore because of the prices and the fact that there aren't enough good songs on them anymore. I take the savings and have Sirius instead. The "radio" is always on now. I will buy CDs from my favorite bands, but that list isn't as long as it used to be.

The group song for relief was awful IMO. Sure the artists (except Brian Wilson) can sing, but not as a group, their voices didn't mesh at all on that song. And they had Velvet Revolver as the backing band, why? They stayed out there, I was waiting to here a song from them.

U2 is one of my favs, so I was happy with another strong performance. But Green Day was awesome! Tons of energy and great balls of fire! The opener sucked, 5 different types of music crammed into a yellfest. Los Lonely Boys the exception to that rant, they did good.

I am glad I TiVoed it and waited until today to watch. You would need to give that show an hours head start to pad it enough to FF through the commercials. And why was Amy Lee there at all? Goth in Country?

[Dafaso]

No sarcasm; but if they were on shows like The O.C., I certainly didn't stand up and take note.

Perhaps the category should be renamed "Best new artist of a dismal bunch".
How would you know they're 'dismal' if you've never heard them? This year's best new artist group was probably the most competitive ever, IMO. Usually there's one or two stand-outs in this catagory, but this year a case could've been made for any of the 5 nominees to win. I have Maroon 5's album and it's excellent.

[jsmeeker]

I missed U2's performane. What did they play? Was it "Vertigo"?

[super dave]

I missed U2's performane. What did they play? Was it "Vertigo"?
www.u2.com

'Vertigo' won U2 three Grammy Awards last night, and the band played a moving version of 'Sometimes...'.

'Vertigo' took the Grammy for 'Best Rock Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal', 'Best Rock Song' and 'Best Short Form Music Video'.

Introducing "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own,', Bono dedicated it to his father, who died in 2001, someone who sang opera into the night in a beautiful tenor voice.

'I'd like to think when he passed away he gave that to me,' he said. 'I wish I'd got to know him better.'

Receiving the award of 'Best Rock Performance By a Duo or Group' Larry took the opportunity to reiterate an apology to fans who had been unable to get tickets for the upcoming 'Vertigo' Tour.

[YCantAngieRead]

No sarcasm; but if they were on shows like The O.C., I certainly didn't stand up and take note.

Perhaps the category should be renamed "Best new artist of a dismal bunch".
You'll notice Joss Stone someday. She's not completely out there like Maroon 5 has been. She's got a different, more mature style. She's a classic like, well, Janice Joplin who'll be around for a while. The duet she did with Melissa Etheridge was amazing.

[thelastvoice]

5. PLEASE, FINALLY EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SONG OF THE YEAR AND RECORD OF THE YEAR. But remember, no matter what you say, it still seems retarded.

I believe Song Of The Year goes to the songwriter(s) and Record Of The Year goes to the performer(s) of a song. The two awards don't necessarily have to be for the same song, though. It's similar to how the Academy Awards have separate categories for best screenplay and best picture.

Rob

[LoadStar]

I believe Song Of The Year goes to the songwriter(s) and Record Of The Year goes to the performer(s) of a song. The two awards don't necessarily have to be for the same song, though. It's similar to how the Academy Awards have separate categories for best screenplay and best picture.

Rob

Pretty much. The way I describe it, think of it this way:

The Star Spangled Banner - good.
The Star Spangled Banner, as performed by Roseanne - bad.

The song is a work that deserves recognition on it's own, seperate from a particular performance of that song. That's what the difference is between Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

(I think for a year or two, they actually subtitled the Song of the Year as "A Songwriter's Award" or something like that.)

[jami]

You'll notice Joss Stone someday. She's not completely out there like Maroon 5 has been. She's got a different, more mature style. She's a classic like, well, Janice Joplin who'll be around for a while. The duet she did with Melissa Etheridge was amazing.

Joss is an amazing talent - especially for her age. I can't wait to see her mature even more into the artist she will become.

I just watched the Janis tribute again and although Joss has the raw talent, she seemed almost rushed doing "Cry". The pace was too fast and you couldn't get the needed emotion out of it.

Melissa, however, has Janis' music nailed down. I love that woman!! I found at least 6 or 7 versions of "Piece of My Heart" on my iPod this AM driving to work that I have from various live recordings. Second only to Janis, Melissa was made to sing that song. :up:

[jami]

As I'm watching the rest of the show (couldn't stay awake last night), shouldn't the Grammies be called the "Popular Music" awards (popular being a euphamism, of course)? They used to showcase ALL types of music - jazz, classical, gospel, etc - now, it's just the same ol' crap that's played over and over.

[jsmeeker]

Pretty much. The way I describe it, think of it this way:

The Star Spangled Banner - good.
The Star Spangled Banner, as performed by Roseanne - bad.

)

Yeah, and also, "Star Spangled Banner", performed by Whitney Houston, could win Francis Scott Key a "Song of the Year" Grammy

[jsmeeker]

As I'm watching the rest of the show (couldn't stay awake last night), shouldn't the Grammies be called the "Popular Music" awards (popular being a euphamism, of course)? They used to showcase ALL types of music - jazz, classical, gospel, etc - now, it's just the same ol' crap that's played over and over.

They give awards for that.. You just don't see it on TV.

When were they showing those awards on TV? I can't really ever recall seeing it.

[jami]

Not so much the awards, but in the performances. They always had one from every major category.

[murgatroyd]

Not that anyone else will care, but I can vouch for the fact that this Grammy winner is an awesome performance:

Classical Contemporary Composition: Adams: On the Transmigration of Souls, John Adams (Lorin Maazel; Brooklyn Youth Chorus and New York Choral Artists; New York Philharmonic).

This is Adams' 9/11 memorial work -- it's an amazing soundscape.

And for those of you who don't know the winner of the Best Polka Album, Let's Kiss: 25th Anniversary Album -- well, Brave Combo is one of the best bands ever -- of any kind. I didn't get the new CD on the release date because I was catching up on the backlist, but I'm sending off an order to the guys now. Check out the sound bites on their website, www.brave.com/bo.

Jan

[dswallow]

Viewers Click Off the Little Golden Gramophone

By Lisa de Moraes
Tuesday, February 15, 2005; Page C07

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24838-2005Feb14.html

CBS's 4 1/2-hour tribute to the dead, aka the 47th Annual Grammy Awards, got knocked off by ABC's "Desperate Housewives" Sunday night.

The Grammycast clocked its smallest numbers in a decade among viewers of all ages, as well as in the coveted 18-to-49 demographic group that CBS used to say was not its focus but which the network now admits targeting -- now that it's actually attracting them.

Grammy's total audience of 18.8 million is a 28 percent plunge from last year's 26.3 million and the franchise's smallest audience since 1995, when the ceremony ran on a Wednesday night.

Of course, ratings for last year's Grammycast got goosed by the whole see-Justin-bare-Janet's-right-breast Super Bowl halftime thing just a couple of weeks earlier.

Both Justin Timberlake -- who had ripped off part of Janet Jackson's costume during the halftime show, thereby condemning millions of American children to lives of crime and debauchery -- and Jackson were scheduled to participate in last year's Grammy broadcast. But at the eleventh hour CBS stuck by Timberlake and dumped Jackson because, little girls, it's a man's world and the sooner you learn that the better off you'll be.

Anyway, last year's Grammy show enjoyed a four-year high as viewers tuned in to see what music superstars would have to say about the controversy and the banishment of Janet. (Surprisingly little, it turned out, because rockers may be "dangerous," but they're not stupid.)

Speaking of "Dangerous," too bad CBS didn't line up Janet's brother Michael to perform at this year's Grammy Awards, in the 9 p.m. hour. That's when the Grammython got whacked by an original episode of "Desperate Housewives," which logged more than 22 million viewers to the Grammys' 19 million in that hour. Michael Jackson is a staple of the February ratings derby; ABC knows this from experience and scheduled another of those incendiary Martin Bashir documentaries on the pop star this month.

The Grammycast didn't just lack controversy. (Heck, they couldn't even get a rise out of top nominee Kanye West, who threw a hissy fit at the American Music Awards in November and who had arrived at Sunday's ceremony with a whopping 10 nominations but went home with only three trophies.) Also hurting the show's numbers was its domination by Ray Charles, who mopped up posthumously with eight wins, including album of the year and record of the year. While it's nice that the recording academy gave Charles some long overdue love, for a broadcast that's all about sucking up as many young viewers as possible, the result is toxic.

The downer theme continued throughout the night. Joss Stone and Melissa Etheridge paid tribute to the late Janis Joplin, Bono paid tribute to his dead dad, and a southern-rock tribute included surviving members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, which lost key members in a fiery '70s plane crash, and the Allman Brothers Band.

But perhaps the biggest downer was the much-ballyhooed duet between real-life couple -- although maybe not after Sunday night -- J. Lo and Marc Anthony. They sang what must have been a very sad song; at least they seemed very unhappy, though we did not understand the words because it was sung in Spanish. Grammy.com says the song was "Escapemonos," which means "let's escape" -- presumably a reference to the Comfort Inn room they appeared to be trapped in throughout the number.

The Grammys is the second trophy show in a few weeks to feel the might of ABC's "Desperate Housewives."

Last month, the forty-something babes of Wisteria Lane stripped NBC's broadcast of the Golden Globes Awards of a whopping 10 million viewers compared with its 2004 performance.

ABC's Academy Awards broadcast later this month may suffer a similar fate, not because it faces "Desperate Housewives" (even in its dumbest days -- that would be the late '90s and early this century -- ABC wouldn't be stupid enough to counter-program itself with "Desperate Housewives") but because this year's list of nominees is pretty ho-hum and distinctly lacking in big box office receipts.

This may explain why film academy members are down on their knees with thanks that the host of this year's broadcast is Chris Rock, who has been working overtime shooting off his mouth in ways designed to bring more viewers, particularly younger ones, to the telecast.

Most recently, he told Entertainment Weekly that he never watches the Oscars because "it's a fashion show. . . . What straight black man sits there and watches the Oscars? Show me one. . . . Nothing against people who aren't straight, but what straight guy that you know cares? Who gives a [expletive]? They're clothes. I'm wearing Sean John, by the way -- help out the black designer, fine. Like Armani needs me to wear a [expletive] tux to help them out."

[The Spud]

Joss is an amazing talent - especially for her age. I can't wait to see her mature even more into the artist she will become.

I just watched the Janis tribute again and although Joss has the raw talent, she seemed almost rushed doing "Cry". The pace was too fast and you couldn't get the needed emotion out of it.

Melissa, however, has Janis' music nailed down. I love that woman!! I found at least 6 or 7 versions of "Piece of My Heart" on my iPod this AM driving to work that I have from various live recordings. Second only to Janis, Melissa was made to sing that song. :up:

I thought this was the best segment. I had never heard of Joss before, but I was impressed with her performance. I thought her voice was too "clean" to be Janis-esque, but a stellar performance nonetheless.

I agree about Melissa's performance. When I rewatched the segment, I closed my eyes and it was almost as if Janis was reaching out from the grave.

[Sparty99]

As I'm watching the rest of the show (couldn't stay awake last night), shouldn't the Grammies be called the "Popular Music" awards (popular being a euphamism, of course)? They used to showcase ALL types of music - jazz, classical, gospel, etc - now, it's just the same ol' crap that's played over and over.
Sometime after Tony Bennett won for his Unplugged album, some industry group went to the Grammys and said that they were less than happy that their popular music was not being nominated for the big awards. Since that time, there has been a noticeable trend towards the popular music getting the nominations.

[spiro improved]

Joss Stone can sing the crap out of any of those blond girl singers out now.

And Melissa Etheridge is a little alarming when bald, but considering it probably wasn't her choice, it's a brave move.

Maria Carey is not a very nice person from what I have heard. I do not like her songwriting. She often sounds stupid in interviews. She usually wears clothes ridiculously inappropriate for her very healthy but plumper than it used to be body.

She ended the gospel song with a stretch five notes above the basic range required, and then 3 notes above that to the flatted third, and finally 4 notes above that. It was not a gimmick. It was unbelievably powerful, precise, exactly where she wanted to go with it, and it was tasteful. Her voice is an instrument which can do things none of the other gals (or guys) can do. They grudgingly respect that. I don't know who buys her recordings, though.

[Turtleboy]

Maria Carey is not a very nice person from what I have heard. I do not like her songwriting. She often sounds stupid in interviews. She usually wears clothes ridiculously inappropriate for her very healthy but plumper than it used to be body.

She ended the gospel song with a stretch five notes above the basic range required, and then 3 notes above that to the flatted third, and finally 4 notes above that. It was not a gimmick. It was unbelievably powerful, precise, exactly where she wanted to go with it, and it was tasteful. Her voice is an instrument which can do things none of the other gals (or guys) can do. They grudgingly respect that. I don't know who buys her recordings, though.

You're commenting on last year's Grammys.

[YCantAngieRead]

Wow. Weird bump.