Thanks to time delays and having friends on Facebook in the Eastern Time zone, I didn’t have to sit through the Grammys to find out the best and the worst of the broadcast. Which given the state of this years awards, is a good thing. I would have been shouting at the TV far too much.
I have never taken the Grammy awards seriously, since they rarely reflect the current state of music. The long list of artists who never won a Grammy but are considered highly relevant to the history of music is pretty damn long. Also, I don’t fall into the category of “who the hell are these people?” because that’s far too dismissive, a tendency that will age you faster than saying “who the hell are these people”.
I’m only really interested in the rock categories anyway and was a bit amused when Led Zeppelin was nominated for “Best Rock Album”. But really much less amused when they won. I love the might Zep and I was a huge fan in middle school and high school, a period of time that the band was actually together, making music and touring. But for all intents and purposes, they’ve ceased to be a band for over 30 years. To me, this sends out a dangerous message to younger rock and alternative artists. The industry as a whole seems fixated on constantly regurgitating old and ignoring the new or different. The message becomes “what ever you produce or create will never be as relevant as what was done in the past”. The cry from younger generations becomes “why isn’t my music as good as what you listened to?” and they fail before they even start trying.
I don’t think that what came before is really that much better than what may be waiting to be recognized. But if we persist in pushing the past as some sort of holy grail to be worshiped above all else, we will never find out what is out there to be discovered and enjoyed.
And yes Grammy and CBS, I’m really not that happy you cut off QOTSA and Nine Inch Nails at the end of the broadcast. Just saying…
skullwoman 