Live Grammy Discussion Thread

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Am I the only one who didn't think Brian looked that nervous? To me, it looked like he was concentrating on playing the piano, and I think we're all missing the fact his playing was more audible than his vocals, which were audible in everything except the verse.


I'm really excited about the album, and would eat kitten brains if it meant I could see a live show.

[dmcguire70]

The highlight of the night for me was Dave Grohls acceptance speech in which he he talked about music coming from the heart and the mind without being tainted or touched up by computers.

It was less about "evil computers" and more about playing from your heart.

I think Dave's main point was to highlight
(amongst other things) pitch correction and that its OK too not sing every-note pitch perfect.
It was a dig at contemporary recording techniques, so actually it was ALL about the Evil computers.

[Alan Smith]

Am I the only one who didn't think Brian looked that nervous? To me, it looked like he was concentrating on playing the piano, and I think we're all missing the fact his playing was more audible than his vocals, which were audible in everything except the verse.


I'm really excited about the album, and would eat kitten brains if it meant I could see a live show.

I'm with you, he looked cool, and smiled a time or two, like he was enjoying it.

Yeah, it's really exciting - not sure if I'd go the kitten brains - but I will keep a spoon in my pocket in case I change my mind

[Zach95]

Anyone notice the Beach Boys page has gained roughly three thousand more "likes" on facebook? Yeah! 

[hypehat]

I think if I'd actually stayed up and watched Nicky Minaj I would have had some kind of a seizure. What the hell was that?!

[The Shift]

Am I the only one who didn't think Brian looked that nervous?

You're right, I think he looked nervous also.  All the band members also looked like they'd had an hour in make-up applying fake tan too.  Made them look weird to me.

Brian had every right to be nervous – for all the band members this would have been one of the biggest nights of their lives and one of the most important gigs with regard to their career.

This is the kick-start for the Beach Boys revival. The Smile set bought them credibility but this will bring them widespread public attention.  I'd've shat myself if I'd've been on that stage last night (well, this morning here) with the enormity of what lay on their shoulders.  Thank God they had (most of) Brian's band behind them.

Mike looked utter professional in that Love-sleezy way of his, but if I had to read his mind I'd say he was in awe of what they'd pulled off.

Bruce looked utterly professional, with a professional eye on what was happening -  perhaps the only one of the five not so in awe of the moment.  Good for him -  he could help hold the whole thing together.

The whole performance was an over the top cacophony, too many lights, too many musicians, too many surfboards, too many celebrities there just to be seen, too many vocal safety nets… typical LA schmuck, utterly tasteless…

And yes perfect.

Please sir, can I have some more?

[Aegir]

The whole performance was an over the top cacophony, too many lights, too many musicians, too many surfboards, too many celebrities there just to be seen, too many vocal safety nets… typical LA schmuck, utterly tasteless…

And yes perfect.

Please sir, can I have some more?

I completely agree with this sentiment.

[seltaeb1012002]

Love how they opened up with Mike's line. He sounded strong compared to other recent performances. Great seeing them all up there.

Only disappointment: no shorts for Bruce! 

[Fro]

Paul Plays drums too.  Dave Grohl would hand him his ASS though if they jammed together, I'm just saying, somewhere, in L.A. right now, Bruce Springsteen is ashamed of himself. 

Yeah, Grohl would destroy Paul on drums but Paul would destroy him on piano/guitar/bass/vocals.

[harrisonjon]

We have to remember that this was just the appetizer and that the main course is the tour. Reserve judgment on Brian's role in the mix until then. I thought the other four members all deserved great credit for putting on a show and for putting the band back in the spotlight for the first time since Kokomo, irrespective of who was in the mix and where.

AGD is on the money with his observation that 99.98% of the audience would not have seen or heard the doubling of the vocals or the fact that the Wondermints et al carry most of the instrumentation. Frankly, who cares? You have one of the seminal recordings in music history, GV, being performed to a high standard by an ensemble that includes (to varying degrees of participation) the surviving original artists (plus David Marks, who performed it with the band in 1997-99).

[CosmicDancer]

After watching the BB's performance a few more times this morning, I still have some mixed feelings about it.  Yes, it was absolutely beautiful to see them all onstage together doing their thing.  I think the performance as a whole was pretty good.  There was nothing terrible or embarrassing about it.  I can see both sides of the whole "Brian's mic was/wasn't buried" thing.  Yes, he was audible, but barely so.  Foskett was definitely dominating that verse section.  I understand why and agree with AGD that the repercussions of Brian nervous and not doing a good job would have been a disaster.  I totally understand why they did it, even if I was a tad bit disappointed  by it.  That being said, I'm not sure it was a good thing for the casual or non-fan to witness.  I've already had 2 people at work today say that it looked like they were lip-synching their performance.  Of course, we all know that isn't true and understand what was going on, but for anyone not in the know, it didn't look so great to see Brian's mouth moving with an obviously different voice coming from somewhere else.  Towards the end of the verse Brian and Jeff weren't in perfect synch and with Jeff overpowering Brian in the mix but the camera focused solely on Brian, it didn't look great.  Again, I enjoyed the performance and understand the situation and why they chose to bury Brian's lead vocal.  I just hope the general public gets it.

I didn't care for Foster the People or Maroon 5's performances.  The Maroon 5 singer butchered Surfer Girl.  Looked like he was having monitor issues.  He was flat for a lot of the performance.  Foster the People was a bit better, but I don't care for the singers tone at all.  They really should have let the BB's do the entire set alone.  For God's sake, it's their 50th anniversary!  They shouldn't have to share the spotlight with anyone!

Highlights from the rest of the show:  I guess I'm in the minority on this board, but I love Springsteen and thought his performance was great.  His new song isn't my favorite of his by any means, but it's good and he and the E Street band did a great job opening. 

While I'm not a fan, I thought the Bruno Mars performance was pretty good.  The guy has a good voice and was entertaining to watch even though I don't care for his tunes. 

I enjoyed Paul's Valentine song.  Sure it was low key, but I think it was a pretty good tune and he performed it well. 

Foo Fighters performed well, but I'm starting to get tired of them.  I enjoyed their first few albums, but I think they are beginning to sound a bit tired in their songwriting.  They still perform well, but the songs on their last few albums haven't been that great. 

Chris Brown can dance well, but that's it.  His music is terrible.  I shouldn't be shocked, but I can't believe he won a Grammy.  Katy Perry is also awful.

I hate Taylor Swift's little, "Oh my God!  I can't believe they really love me!" act after every standing ovation she gets.  It's old.  You know that you are one of the biggest stars on the face of the planet right now, stop acting surprised by it.  Her music is neither here nor there for me.  I don't like it, but it isn't as cringe worthy as the two performers listed above.

Modern Country music is bad.  I already knew that, but the point was driven home when Glen Campbell came out and blew every other Country performer from the evening out of the water.  An old man battling Alzheimer's disease destroyed the other country performers.  He was in terrific voice and performed well.  Awesome.

Adele was terrific.  My wife loves her and owns her albums.  I don't love every cut on her records, but I respect her a great deal.  Her voice is out of this world and it's good to see her win due to her voice and not have to be trashy.  Her performance was great.  Rollin' in the Deep is a great tune.

I turned it off after Glen.  I had seen all I wanted to see.

[Steve Mayo]

on amazon a few of the group's lps are having a nice sales increase after last night's appearance.

[Runaways]

anyone else think this bruno mars song is similar in production/structure/sentiment to "i do"?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qz2J0ZivptI

[JohnMill]

As far as Springsteen, I'm from the Philly area so naturally we're surrounded by his music, it's still considered "local". Our CBS affiliate ran a story on Bruce's history after the Grammys.

I like some of his tunes, some of his live shows I've seen/heard have been thrilling, but I have also never bought into all the hype or the praise. He's been put up on a pedestal even more in the past 10 years or so, and I haven't heard too much of the new Bruce (past 10 years) to justify all that hype, praise, and critical fawning. The best tunes at his live shows have been the old warhorses that sounded great in the 70's.

You basically summed it up perfectly.  Anyone trying to discredit Bruce's merit as a songwriter is fighting an uphill battle.  One of the greatest songwriters of his or any generation.  "Thunder Road" alone I think might be one of the top ten songs ever written.  It's pure poetry.  But he hasn't done anything truly on the level of his early output since the early eighties.  "Nebraska" was his last truly great album and everything since then has been relying on those "old warhorses" that you mentioned.  As far as his live performances go, check out some of his shows from either of his acoustic tours.  You might find some pleasant surprises there.

[Paul J B]

I've just read all sixteen pages, and maybe I shouldn't be surprised, but I am decidedly disheartened that in all this text, maybe three people have commented on the main event tonight - good or bad, glad or sad, this was The Beach Boys ,reunited in real time, all five on the same stage at the same time and looking happy to be doing exactly that. Yes, Brian was saftey-netted, but I heard him, even on youtube. This is the beginning of the C50 process: I'm expecting major press in the upcoming days concerning the album, archive releases and tour.

Well I was disheartened that this circus of a show turned out to be what I feared.  This is the supposed big kickoff that has been shrouded in speculation and secrecy for months and we get a snippet of Good Vibrations with about 600 extra people onstage? Brian peeking out from behind the piano? The Surfer Girl cover sucked, WIBN was OK, but where were the Beach Boys? The Grammys have always been a horrible spectacle and I realized a few minutes into it why I have not watched one in probably 20 years. I did not need this craptacular show to get excited about seeing whats left of my all time favorite band one more time before the clock runs out.

[pixletwin]

After thinking about it and listening again, Maroon 5 still stunk (well, the singer did anyhoo), I liked the FtP one (though he seemed nervous and a bit intimidated), and while I was disappointed that Brian was mixed out, they still sounded great and looked good.

I thought it was interesting how the artists that offered little in the way of substance had the most spectacle (Minaj, Katy Perry, Chris Brown - I am looking at you). Adele sounded great.

But the highlight for me was the "The End" jam at the end. It was exciting. Dave Grohl and Paul had a really interesting chemistry and it was weird seeing them play together. Surreal even.

[anazgnos]

but he's not a guitarist by trade, he's a bassist

Just stop with this line, it's ridiculous.  There is no sense in which Paul McCartney is "not a guitarist".  He's always been a guitarist.  He has a level of skill on guitar that any novice should grovel to attain.  The fact that he has an equal level of skill on drums, keys, and vocals, or the fact that you've seen him more often with a bass in his hand in public appearances doesn't make him "not a guitarist".  He ended up on bass in the Beatles as a matter of convenience, and he's happy to oblige the public's desire for his Beatles image in an ongoing way, but he has never not been a guitarist.

[pixletwin]

but he's not a guitarist by trade, he's a bassist

Just stop with this line, it's ridiculous.  There is no sense in which Paul McCartney is "not a guitarist".  He's always been a guitarist.  He has a level of skill on guitar that any novice should grovel to attain.  The fact that he has an equal level of skill on drums, keys, and vocals, or the fact that you've seen him more often with a bass in his hand in public appearances doesn't make him "not a guitarist".  He ended up on bass in the Beatles as a matter of convenience, and he's happy to oblige the public's desire for his Beatles image in an ongoing way, but he has never not been a guitarist.

Agreed. Even then, it's not as if he never recorded any live guitar licks on Beatles records. The man is just a fabulous and well rounded musician.

[donald]

but he's not a guitarist by trade, he's a bassist

Just stop with this line, it's ridiculous.  There is no sense in which Paul McCartney is "not a guitarist".  He's always been a guitarist.  He has a level of skill on guitar that any novice should grovel to attain.  The fact that he has an equal level of skill on drums, keys, and vocals, or the fact that you've seen him more often with a bass in his hand in public appearances doesn't make him "not a guitarist".  He ended up on bass in the Beatles as a matter of convenience, and he's happy to oblige the public's desire for his Beatles image in an ongoing way, but he has never not been a guitarist.

If you play bass, you are a guitar player.  And, you know the scales.  More than some rock "guitarists".

Agreed. Even then, it's not as if he never recorded any live guitar licks on Beatles records. The man is just a fabulous and well rounded musician.

[NHC]

Love looked like the pervert grandfather from down the block.

Come on.  What's the point?  This kind if thing is so tiresome.

[Chocolate Shake Man]

Why are you guys giving Ron a hard time about this. His point is simple: Paul is a great guitar player. He's always been a great guitar player. You can hear evidence of his great guitar playing on all those songs. And what's funny about all that is that ultimately he is known for being the bass player while John and George were known for being the guitar player. Put it this way, if you were to draw a picture of The Beatles with them each playing an instrument, would it be more likely that you draw Paul playing a guitar than either a bass or a piano? If you were to see a mock Beatles band live, would you find it unquestionable if the Paul character played guitar through the whole show, not playing a bass or a piano once?

[LetHimRun]

Ugh. f*cking terrible performance.

Oh, it wasn't that bad.  Strange, but then, what isn't?  Not going to win any new fans, but Dave certainly looked cool up there.

I heard Brian OK, but it could have been a better mix.  Grammy engineers probably not used to whoo-whoo machines.  Cannot get used to hearing WIBN in the key of D.

Foster the People did a more acceptable job, but like said above they sang it three keys low, and the lead singer has no power or strength to his voice.  Al Jardine would have murdered this song, he sings it very well and in my opinion was the best person on stage to sing it.  I liked Foster the People's vibe and the way they handled the song, but it was a bit out of their league.

I'm pretty sure Wouldn't It Be Nice it out of the league of 99% of all groups ever.

FTP's lead singer does have power and strength to his voice, he just didn't use it and along with being subdued with the lead, was nervous on top of it (vibrato didn't help on a song that doesn't need it) because of it being the biggest stage they have ever been on. Really, FTP has only been touring big stages like this for about a year and to top it off, they are playing a song off an album of a group and person the lead singer idolizes. The nerves had to be unbelievable.

[Menace Wilson]

It's completely disrespectful. I don't care if he's up there singing about how much he hates black people or fire fighters or something, the guy WROTE the f*cking song. Let HIM sing it, in Carl's absence. The guy can still sing just fine. Having Jeff sing it is a huge insult not only to Brian, but to the fans.

So you'd take a huge gamble on Brian blowing it completely at a high profile event in front of millions on live TV, performing really badly and shredding both his confidence and the buzz for the upcoming tour ? Sir, you are a fool.

What confidence? 

[Ron]

After thinking about it and listening again, Maroon 5 still stunk (well, the singer did anyhoo), I liked the FtP one (though he seemed nervous and a bit intimidated), and while I was disappointed that Brian was mixed out, they still sounded great and looked good.

I thought it was interesting how the artists that offered little in the way of substance had the most spectacle (Minaj, Katy Perry, Chris Brown - I am looking at you). Adele sounded great.

But the highlight for me was the "The End" jam at the end. It was exciting. Dave Grohl and Paul had a really interesting chemistry and it was weird seeing them play together. Surreal even.

Man, find a clip on youtube of Paul and Dave playing at the grammys about 3 years ago.  They played "I saw her standing there" with Dave on drums, and then played "Helter Skelter".  They're fucking AWESOME together. 

[pixletwin]

After thinking about it and listening again, Maroon 5 still stunk (well, the singer did anyhoo), I liked the FtP one (though he seemed nervous and a bit intimidated), and while I was disappointed that Brian was mixed out, they still sounded great and looked good.

I thought it was interesting how the artists that offered little in the way of substance had the most spectacle (Minaj, Katy Perry, Chris Brown - I am looking at you). Adele sounded great.

But the highlight for me was the "The End" jam at the end. It was exciting. Dave Grohl and Paul had a really interesting chemistry and it was weird seeing them play together. Surreal even.

Man, find a clip on youtube of Paul and Dave playing at the grammys about 3 years ago.  They played "I saw her standing there" with Dave on drums, and then played "Helter Skelter".  They're f*cking AWESOME together. 

I will check that out. Thanks for the heads up. This was the first Grammy broadcast I have watched in about 19 years so I was unaware of their history. I thought this was the first time. lol