What a train wreck the Grammies were

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Nate Reuss gets a lot of love but I thought he was freaking terrible last night

[Awesoman]

I wish Paul would have ditched his drummer or at least let Ringo be the more prominent of the two.

Pretty sure Ringo's inclusion on Paul's performance was a last-minute thing.  Only a few days prior Ringo said in interviews they weren't going to perform together for this. 

[the captain]

I thought the performances were typical of a Grammys show, which is to say a little to like, a lot to ignore, and plenty to mock.

Kacey Musgraves was really good. That's an album (or at least a few singles) I've been strongly behind all year, and she performed admirably if not brilliantly.

The Daft Punk performance was a lot of fun, and despite its flaws here and there brought out the spirit of the whole musical genre, which is a party.

After that? Ehhh ... y'know. The organization overall is absurd, consistently nominating and awarding safe or boring choices, being what it is, which is the establishment. So by the time it takes a stand, the stand has long since sat down. Boring. Taylor Swift was typically competent, Beyonce was mind-numbingly beautiful, Pink was spinning around up in the air, McCartney (I thought) sounded surprisingly vibrant, Ringo sounded like he was on an all-star state fair circuit--and I mean that in the best way possible, in that he was just fucking around and having fun with a band of talented guys doing a boring old hit song--and a billion blah blah blahs more. It's the Grammys. Whatever.

[seltaeb1012002]

Nate Reuss gets a lot of love but I thought he was freaking terrible last night

Yeah, he was a bit all over the place. Especially standing next to P!nk, who even with all her acrobatics managed to sound amazing. Gained a lotta respect for her last night. She's a great artist.

[Mr. Wilson]

I never watch award shows ever.. Unless the BB are on.. They are all the same..   And I don't feel bad or that I missed anything important.. I did see a link from facebook today of the CHICAGO set.. Boy that dude Robin sure is full of himself.. Is he related to Alan Thicke..??  He can sing but he UPSTAGED Chicago.. I bet the director of the Grammies put that together and never realized how CHICAGO would look.. Sound great and look STUPID...

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Yeah, he's Alan Thicke's son. Not a newcomer either.

[Jay]

I was majorly disappointed in myself at forgetting to watch the Grammy's, but it looks like I didn't miss much. Chicago and the Paul and Ringo "reunion"* were the only things I was really interested in. Although I'm kind of bummed that I missed a very drunk(by all media accounts) Ozzy make a mess of things. 

*Speaking of Paul and Ringo, somebody on tv said that the two supposedly did a "Reunion concert" that will air on tv. Has anybody here heard anything?

[Rocky Raccoon]

Paul and Ringo are going to perform together again at the Beatles tribute concert on CBS February 9th.

[Jay]

At this point in history, holding annual Vaudeville awards would feel more relevant than the Grammys....

I'd actually love to see something like that.  A program where people would recreate the old Vaudeville acts of the 1800's to the early 1900's, using any surviving "scripts" or written documents describing the "acts" of the old Vaudeville musical performers and magicians that are now sadly all but lost and forgotten to history. Many of the early innovators of "modern" comedy started out in Vaudeville, such as The Marx Brothers, Charlie Chaplin, Stan Laurel( of Laurel & Hardy), W.C. Fields, Al Shean, ect.

[donald]

The  grammy special on the Beatles  is coming.  That would seem to be the main reason for calling in all existing beatles and their widows and children for the grammy awards.  Win/Win promotion for everyone.

[JK]

The Grammies? A circus. Best left well alone.

[SenorPotatoHead]

I guess I am old and out of it  because I have no idea who Robin Thicke is (one of Alan's kids??).    The Grammy's, like the R&RHOF and all that type of thing is (IMO) nothing but B.S. and I don't bother with it.   It's nice to hear that Chicago, Carol King, Stevie Wonder and some others performed well (though guess Chicago was hampered by this Robin Thicke person), but really - Madonna?  Metallica?  Blah - couldn't stand those performers when they were the "it" thing and don't care for them now either.  One cannot expect much from these types of award programs.  There'd be as much, maybe more, validity in having "Harry The Homeless Crack Head" choosing the winners/inductees. 
It's nice that they had a sweet little bit about "no matter whether you're straight, gay, or whatever - you too can have love and get married" - yes, wonderful indeed, but perhaps they ought to have had a star studded gathering of folks perform Dennis' song Pacific Ocean Blue and dedicate the program to the, as we speak, dying eco system of the Pacific Ocean (thank you Fukushima) and waking people up to the reality that losing the balance of the largest, deepest ocean on our planet is, perhaps, way more important than most anything else, including a Paul and Ringo reunion. 

[Rocky Raccoon]

It's nice that they had a sweet little bit about "no matter whether you're straight, gay, or whatever - you too can have love and get married" - yes, wonderful indeed, but perhaps they ought to have had a star studded gathering of folks perform Dennis' song Pacific Ocean Blue and dedicate the program to the, as we speak, dying eco system of the Pacific Ocean (thank you Fukushima) and waking people up to the reality that losing the balance of the largest, deepest ocean on our planet is, perhaps, way more important than most anything else, including a Paul and Ringo reunion. 

Um, okay, but what does that got to do with the Grammys?

[feelsflow]

Oh, I still tune in john k.  I just don't know who most of the artists are.  I had heard of maybe 50%.  Auto-tune is a real problem with me.  And some of the performances just could not have been live.  Can Pink really do that while spinning around in the air like she's part of a new Cirque du Soleil Production?  Maybe after she "landed," but by then some really bad singer was being pushed out to join in.  I went back and watched some of the performances to give them a second chance to impress.  Still didn't like the Outlaws set or the country band with the flashing lights draped on their suits and boots.  I love country music.  That's not what I'd call that, it was just too simple and not enough feeling.  Those lyrics sucked, I didn't think it was "cute" the way she was using the whore illusion.  Some of you feel differently - but that's my take on "Follow Your Arrow."  Didn't Emmylou's last record come out in time to get a nod?  Or Dwight Yoakam?  That's country, real country.  Now it's all Pop/Country - even at the Country Awards Shows.  And I can handle that if it is left in the right hands.  Maybe give Linda Ronstadt a shout-out, she's having a sh*t year.

.

I'm not that big on most "new" music, but the ones I do like get nowhere on shows like this.  My favorite album last year was Iron and Wine's Ghost on Ghost...I don't think he was even invited to the show, much less to pick up an award.  But, there IS still good music being made, let's hear what I did like - and some more on what I didn't.

.

The McCartney/Nirvana track deserved to win.  Carole King and "whoever that was" sounded Great, both of them.  Chicago and Thicke, not so much.  They should have simply been showcased for the Powerhouse they still are.  That's already been discussed.  They have taken the "duo" thing too far.  What started out as special on Live Aid and Live Eight has morphed into every old act needs a modern "support" to keep the interest of the young folks.  Sometimes it works.  Remember a few years back when Beyoncé did a duet with Prince?  It sizzled!  She didn't do that this year.  She has shown she can sing, but needs much stronger material and production.  Daft Punk (I had never heard of them), Pharell (is he the singer and producer?), with Stevie (the "old" in this performance) were Great.  No auto-tune anywhere.  I was Shocked when Paul Williams came up for the award.  What did he do?  Lyrics?  Did anyone see the Russian Police Choir doing "Get Lucky" at the Olympics (on the Today Show)?  Great!  

.

Nine Inch Nails were very impressive.  They got to finish their song, it was the "Jam" that was axed.  No biggie for me.  That was the best thing I had seen them do since the "we're The Mudmen" act at Woodstock '94.

.

And Thanks Sheriff for pointing out that Jimmy Webb wrote "Highwayman" - When does he get a Spotlight at one of these shows?  And awards.  He is doing Great, to this day - both on record and live.

.

So, some disappointments, but over-all good enough for me to tune in next year.

[JK]

I guess I am old and out of it  because I have no idea who Robin Thicke is (one of Alan's kids??).

I know Thicke from my tune identification escapades on YouTube. My main beef against him is his misogynistic lyrics (not that he's alone in this). Check out "Blurred Lines" (http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/robinthicke/blurredlines.html) and you'll see what I mean. Not nice. Thicke by name,...

[Ron]

Oh, I still tune in john k.  I just don't know who most of the artists are.  I had heard of maybe 50%.  Auto-tune is a real problem with me.  And some of the performances just could not have been live.  Can Pink really do that while spinning around in the air like she's part of a new Cirque du Soleil Production?  Maybe after she "landed," but by then some really bad singer was being pushed out to join in.  I went back and watched some of the performances to give them a second chance to impress.  Still didn't like the Outlaws set or the country band with the flashing lights draped on their suits and boots.  I love country music.  That's not what I'd call that, it was just too simple and not enough feeling.  Those lyrics sucked, I didn't think it was "cute" the way she was using the whore illusion.  Some of you feel differently - but that's my take on the "song."  

I can see where you'd feel that way.  The thing about Musgraves though is that I think she's got a lot of potential and will mature over time into a great songwriter.  As for the whore line, she does that in several of her songs (gets a little edgy), she's got a song about taking a cigarette break at work with the other waitresses, and another one about her dad cheating on her mom with the neighbor, etc.  She's never going to be lilly white but neither was Loretta Lynn, for instance.  I like her style, i'm excited to see what she does next. 

[the captain]

I think Kacey Musgraves had some very good songs on that album, including the one she performed at the Grammys. If "hor ... rible person" isn't your cup of tea, so be it. I think it's funny, clever, and well within the bounds of country music's sense of humor, if you ask me.

I also think it is clever when she sings something along the lines of "mama's hooked on Mary Kay, brother's hooked on mary jane, daddy's hooked on Mary, two doors down / Mary Mary quite contrary, we get bored, so we get married / and just like dust we'll settle in this town." Those are really, really good lyrics.

So honestly--and this is my pet peeve, feelsflow--I think you could at least show the respect of not putting the word "song" in quotation marks, which indicates irony, or in other words that you don't consider it a song at all. "Follow Your Arrow" is a song. A good song. A good song that you apparently don't like, but a song nonetheless.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Oh, I still tune in john k.  I just don't know who most of the artists are.  I had heard of maybe 50%.  Auto-tune is a real problem with me.  And some of the performances just could not have been live.  Can Pink really do that while spinning around in the air like she's part of a new Cirque du Soleil Production?  Maybe after she "landed," but by then some really bad singer was being pushed out to join in.  I went back and watched some of the performances to give them a second chance to impress.  Still didn't like the Outlaws set or the country band with the flashing lights draped on their suits and boots.  I love country music.  That's not what I'd call that, it was just too simple and not enough feeling.  Those lyrics sucked, I didn't think it was "cute" the way she was using the whore illusion.  Some of you feel differently - but that's my take on the "song."  Didn't Emmylou's last record come out in time to get a nod?  Or Dwight Yoakam?  That's country, real country.  Now it's all Pop/Country - even at the Country Awards Shows.  And I can handle that if it is left in the right hands.  Maybe give Linda Ronstadt a shout-out, she's having a sh*t year.

.

I'm not that big on most "new" music, but the ones I do like get nowhere on shows like this.  My favorite album last year was Iron and Wine's Ghost on Ghost...I don't think he was even invited to the show, much less to pick up an award.  But, there IS still good music being made, let's hear what I did like - and some more on what I didn't.

.

The McCartney/Nirvana track deserved to win.  Carole King and "whoever that was" sounded Great, both of them.  Chicago and Thicke, not so much.  They should have simply been showcased for the Powerhouse they still are.  That's already been discussed.  They have taken the "duo" thing too far.  What started out as special on Live Aid and Live Eight has morphed into every old act needs a modern "support" to keep the interest of the young folks.  Sometimes it works.  Remember a few years back when Beyoncé did a duet with Prince?  It sizzled!  She didn't do that this year.  She has shown she can sing, but needs much stronger material and production.  Daft Punk (I had never heard of them), Pharell (is he the singer and producer?), with Stevie (the "old" in this performance) were Great.  No auto-tune anywhere.  I was Shocked when Paul Williams came up for the award.  What did he do?  Lyrics?  Did anyone see the Russian Police Choir doing "Get Lucky" at the Olympics (on the Today Show)?  Great!  

.

Nine Inch Nails were very impressive.  They got to finish their song, it was the "Jam" that was axed.  No biggie for me.  That was the best thing I had seen them do since the "we're The Mudmen" act at Woodstock '94.

.

And Thanks Sheriff for pointing out that Jimmy Webb wrote "Highwayman" - When does he get a Spotlight at one of these shows?  And awards.  He is doing Great, to this day - both on record and live.

.

So, some disappointments, but over-all good enough for me to tune in next year.

Paul Williams collaborated with Daft Punk on the song 'Touch' off their latest album. They're an electro group that have been around since 1992...electronic but (with rare exceptions) not really dance music.

[feelsflow]

I think Kacey Musgraves had some very good songs on that album, including the one she performed at the Grammys. If "hor ... rible person" isn't your cup of tea, so be it. I think it's funny, clever, and well within the bounds of country music's sense of humor, if you ask me.

I also think it is clever when she sings something along the lines of "mama's hooked on Mary Kay, brother's hooked on mary jane, daddy's hooked on Mary, two doors down / Mary Mary quite contrary, we get bored, so we get married / and just like dust we'll settle in this town." Those are really, really good lyrics.

So honestly--and this is my pet peeve, feelsflow--I think you could at least show the respect of not putting the word "song" in quotation marks, which indicates irony, or in other words that you don't consider it a song at all. "Follow Your Arrow" is a song. A good song. A good song that you apparently don't like, but a song nonetheless.

Fixed that for you captain.  I put song in "" because I didn't even know the name of said "song," and should have gone back and placed the "title" in.

.

I believe there is a place for humor in lyrics.  Even country music.  I still get a chuckle when I listen to "Hippie Boy"  or "Harper Valley PTA."  But I wouldn't be handing them an award for being clever.  I don't feel Kacey's song was the best that Country Music had to offer last year.  That was my point.  Merle too.  Boxed in with playing what most remember as what?  One of his best songs?  "Okie...?"  As in, "Know most of you young folks don't remember who I am, here's one that was popular back in the day..."  If he had gone off-script and played "White Line Fever" I would have applauded.  And remembered That as one of his best.    

.

EDIT:  I checked the complete list of nominees and winners for the past few years.  Wasn't impressed.  The song you are quoting, "Merry Go 'Round," was the winner - Best Country Song.  I gave it a spin.  Better than "Follow Your Arrow," and fits in to what is called country music today.  Pop/Country to say.  But I have not heard the whole album, which won Best Country Album.  I was commenting on the song she played.

.

Emmylou and Rodney's new album, Old Yellow Moon, full of country tracks like "Bluebird Wine," and "Invitation To The Blues" you know, real country music, has been shifted to Americana.  It did win.  I didn't hear it mentioned on the show.  Labels.  If Taylor Swift put out "Back When We Were Beautiful" or "Hanging Up My Heart," would they then call that country music?  Maybe I don't understand either how they figure a cut-off point...Red and the single "Begin Again" both came out in October 2012.  Is it all based on how many likes one gets on YouTube?  Just kidding, I've seen this done before.  Emmylou's last solo, Hard Bargain, was nominated last year - also in Americana.  Yoakam's record, 3 Pears, didn't even get that, though I discovered it wasn't from last year.  3 Pears released 18 September 2012, Red released 22 October 2012...so the cut-off is somewhere in there.  It was only one of the most popular releases of his career (#1 on Americana Radio chart October 2012).  Should have got a nod, (needed more YouTube likes).  The Grammy folks didn't notice.  They don't nominate my play list.  Never really did.  

 

[the captain]

Thank you. (Sorry, inappropriate use of quotation marks truly drives me nuts, mostly because it is actually offensive even if not necessarily meant that way.)

Pop country may not be to your taste--it isn't usually to mine, that's for sure--but it's also nothing new for country. The '70s and early '80s had more than their share of it. I don't believe there's any such thing as authentic, anyway: something is only what it is. So if country incorporates pop, then that is what country is at that point. Getting too worked up about what counts and what doesn't can box you into a corner and drive you nuts. (Nothing it only itself, after all; it's all a combination of something else.)

Anyway, Grammys. Doesn't matter, don't care about the awards themselves, but it's amusing to watch sometimes. My best advice for everyone who finds the need to rant about not knowing or liking anything would be to turn off the tv. Chances are you've got all the music you like in your collection already and can reference it anytime.

[Ron]

I'm just happy they gave her an award, and an opportunity to appear on the show, as opposed to all the generally horrible country singers that they COULD have featured.  Jason Aldean sucks and thankfully he was miles away, or at least if he was there I didn't notice it.  Or that dude that has that song about stalking some chick "YOU GONE AND BROKE THE WRONG HEART BABBBBBYYY, AND DROVE ME REDNECK CRAZZZZYYYYY" what a sh*t song. 

So we've got to give credit where credit is due, of course the Grammy people aren't going to get it right, but they could have got it much worse.

[feelsflow]

In retrospect, something else came out of watching the Grammy's this year.  I am now aware of Pharrell Williams.  When I saw Despicable Me (2010) the title track stood out as a great song.  Then I enjoyed his number with Daft Punk, though I still did not know who they/he was that night.  The artists he is working with are not what I usually listen to.  Yesterday Radio Woodstock played "Happy"...Not recognizing who it was, reminded me of Marvin Gaye, I looked at the viewer in the dash, said Pharrell Williams.  For me, he is a great new soul singer on the scene.  I looked him up this morning and was surprised to see he's 40.  I'm sure many of you have known him for years due to his production work, but as I said I don't run out for the latest by folks he's been working with.   

.

But, now that I know who he is, will keep an eye out for the record he is making and will check out his first album. 

.

Bruno Mars was new to me too.  I thought his Grammy number was okay, but after seeing him at the Super Bowl...another new soul singer to listen out for. 

.

The appeal is probably that they are both retro-ish, but retro is cool with me.  So, another reason not to miss the Grammy's next year.

[RangeRoverA1]

Why not do "Does anybody really know what time it is?" and have Robin sing backup?  "I.... don't.... care.... about TIME!!!!  Oh Nooo...."

The problem you have is that Chicago, whilst a well-oiled unit that can certainly perform well on their own, is still rather archaic looking when sharing the stage with a half-naked Beyonce, a bunch of French robots, Katy Perry with a bunch of "Thriller" rejects, etc.  They had to have a "hipper" artist share the stage with them to keep the younger crowd excited.  Robin Thicke was up for a Grammy and was obviously going to get the attention.  As we all remember, the Grammys did the same thing to the Beach Boys a few years back.  That's just the way it works.  In any case I was just glad that Chicago was there at all and received a warm reception, especially when they dove into "Saturday In The Park".  

I know zero about "Chicago", didn't get to their catalog yet, but I checked the Grammys & had exactly the same impression. I even dare say Robin Thicke could've been a good fit for the band, going by his stellar performance. Something about the overall cool modern sound he added in. The guy is obviously talented.