I know this blog should have been written on Monday. It's not that I am lazy, I was sidelined by a vicious virus. So please just humor me today by reading my thoughts on Sunday night's Grammy awards.
Let's start with the performances. I certainly respect U2. They are trying to save the world and that is commendable. But as far as their music goes, I have been over it since about 1984. U2 have put out what people consider to be amazing music for almost 30 years, but with the exception of New Year's Day and One, I don't get it. They opened the show with their new single, Get Your Boots On. It certainly didn't blow me away. The night started to heat up with the performance that made me feel very old. M.I.A. with her nominated song, Paper Planes. She was accompanied by Kanye, Jay Z, T.I., and every young girl's favorite Lil Wayne. I love Paper Planes. I think it was one of the best songs of 2008 and I am very surprised that the Grammy Academy even recognized it, but this performance was just awful. I will admit that I am a novice when it comes to knowing what is good in rap music. I like tight beats and slick lyrics as much as the next gal but I only know rap on that very superficial surface. I remember when I was watching Taylor Dane perform on tv with my grandma, circa 1989, and she kept complaining that she couldn't understand what she was saying. That's the moment I realized that my grandma was sadly, old. Yet, I am only 27 and that is just how I felt watching this mish mash of rappers. Paper Planes and M.I.A. would have stood just fine as is, we don't always have to bring it up a notch. Let me just give real quick props to M.I.A. for performing on her due date, albeit in the worst outfit I have seen since Paula Abdul's 1991 VMA performance. Nevertheless, that's incredible. Anyway, The Jo Bros and Stevie Wonder were really fun. The brothers are adorable and they play their own instruments so I can dig it. Miley Cyrus and Talyor Swift, it was just about how I had expected it to be. Not bad, not great. Just two girls who enjoy singing, singing in front of a really big audience. Speaking of girls, how fun was Katy Perry? Vocally she didn't blow me away, but I loved her performance. Coldplay is always a crowd pleaser and the Grammy's darlings. The Paul McCartney/Dave Grohl performance was great. Playing one of the Beatle's classic songs, I Saw Her Standing There. We all know that Paul McCartney is a legend, he's an absolute icon, but so is Dave Grohl. I think he is the motherflippin cat's pajamas. I am in awe of him and I think everyone else should be too. Number one, he's funny. Number two, he was in Nirvana and then founded the Foo Fighters. Number three, he played the drums on Tenacious D's record and was Satan in their subsequent music video, Tribute. So yes, Dave Grohl was playing with a legend, but so was Paul McCartney. Radiohead, phenomenal. Now there is an example of turning it up a notch that certainly worked. I always knew that I should have stayed in the school band. There are certainly others that I am leaving out but I would just like to quickly mention Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. They were brilliant, really amazing.
Onto the awards themselves. Why was Coldplay nominated in any Rock category? How were they allowed to rob not only Kings of Leon out of the best Rock album, but also The Raconteurs? How can they be nominated in the best Rock album category, but win for best Pop performance by a duo or group? They even commented on it when they won the Grammy for Rock album. Coldplay knows that they aren't rock, I wish the Grammy's knew it too. This is not to say that I am not a Coldplay fan, I am. But Grammys, get your musical designations right! Thank goodness Coldplay was nominated for Viva La Vida in the Pop category because that allowed KOL to win for Sex On Fire in performance by Rock dou or group. I was happy to see Radiohead win for In Rainbows. They were definitely deserving. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were clearly the night's big winners. They walked away with 5 awards, including album of the year for Raising Sand.
Truth is, I've always found the Grammys to be a stagnant awards show. It's the same contemporary, predictable artists nominated and winning. This year I was a bit surprised by some of the nominations and that's why I watched from beginning to end. And, maybe because KOL were nominated too:) The Grammys just never reward any of the music that I find incredible so there is never a reason for me to tune in. When artists like The Black Keys, Band of Horses or Minus the Bear start receiving Grammy recognition then I will start to faithfully watch.
If the only good things that come out of this Grammy awards season for me are KOL finally
winning and finding a great new album then I guess it was a success. Raising Sand was on my radar a while ago, but I guess it got lost in the shuffle with all the tremendous amount of music that is released. I'm excited to give it a whirl. I mean, 5 Grammys can't be wrong. Or can they?