Grammy Awards

[Pilgrim]

Interesting how Kobe's death impacted the Grammy awards last night. I thought they handled it pretty well.

But now I'll stir the pot.....

There were some deserved awards, but I can't figure out why Billie Eilish came away with:

Best New Artist
Song of the Year
Album of the Year
Record of the Year (a possibly outdated title)

I confess I'm not a fan. The two or three cuts I've heard of hers don't really fit into an musical genre I can name, and they aren't things I'd listen to given the option.  I suspect there is some internal political reason that she was given so many awards, but I have no idea what it is.

[slinkp]

I think she's great!
Lack of identifiable genre is one of the things I like about her.

Four awards sounds a bit excessive on the face of it, for nearly anybody, but I wasn't paying attention and don't know what else was nominated for those.

[gweimer]

I like her minimal approach to a lot of stuff, but I don't get the Grammy buzz.   We saw a little piece on her on Sunday Morning, and her whole life seems a bit odd.  Very California.   I wonder how success will change the depression.  Success can sometimes do funny things to people wrought with angst.

[Dave W]

The grammys mean even less to me than the RRHOF.

I long for the good old days of Milli Vanilli.

[westen44]

The grammys mean even less to me than the RRHOF.

I long for the good old days of Milli Vanilli.

It may be even worse than you realize, though.  I watched a lot of it to see if a band I liked got a Grammy.  Finally, I just had to turn it off.  It was just outright painful to watch.  I did feel some sympathy for Alicia Keys who was trying as hard as she could to host it. 

[uwe]

The grammys mean even less to me than the RRHOF.

I long for the good old days of Milli Vanilli.

Original handmade German folk music!

It was so embarrassing when they won (hardly a German act ever has a chance at the Grammys und then they pick these creeps of all people - why never Kraftwerk or Scorpions?) and such a gratification when it all fell apart as the hoax it had always obviously been.

Frank Farian, the producer/mastermind behind the silly Millis, was notorious in Germany for manufacturing make-believe acts and had zero musical credibility for it. Only one of the four members of his other brainchild - Boney M. - could actually ever sing and was heard on the recordings.

Now maverick producers presenting "bands" to sell music they have fabricated in the studio with other musicians or themselves (Farian played und sang a lot of stuff himself) are nothing new and nothing especially German, but for the Grammys to pick a product off the Frank Farian counter of disposable acts was one of life's bitter ironies. When I heard about it for the first time back then, my immediate thought was "ouch, this will all fly apart", it was like the legendary fake "Führer Diaries", an accident waiting to happen.

[gearHed289]

I don't think anyone would expect men in their 40s and up to be fans of Ms. Eilish, or even know who she is. Certainly not her target audience.  She's not something I'd listen to, but I do respect her and hope she continues with her success. She is inspiring to a lot of youngsters. I don't watch awards shows of any kind, but I saw some pics and it was nice to see her smiling for a change. 

Tool won "Best Metal Performance" and Rival Sons were nominated in two categories, so there's that.

[westen44]

I don't think anyone would expect men in their 40s and up to be fans of Ms. Eilish, or even know who she is. Certainly not her target audience.  She's not something I'd listen to, but I do respect her and hope she continues with her success. She is inspiring to a lot of youngsters. I don't watch awards shows of any kind, but I saw some pics and it was nice to see her smiling for a change. 

Tool won "Best Metal Performance" and Rival Sons were nominated in two categories, so there's that.

I don't think Billie Eilish was the problem.  But some of those other performances were pretty boring.  This was made all that much more difficult by the fact that they had no choice but to be festive half the time and somber the other half because of Kobe Bryant's death. 

[Dave W]

I've never had a high opinion of any award shows, but Milli Vanilli made me realize just how meaningless the Grammys are. Not the fact that they were fakes -- that wasn't public knowledge at the time of the awards -- but that a meaningless, nothing piece of pure garbage that could have been written by a first grader could win the award. Obviously it's just another fixed, bought and paid for spectacle.

[Pilgrim]

I realize more than ever hat the Grammys are a beauty contest based on what their judges' agendas are.  There's no other explanation.

I did think Keyes did a first class job of hosting showing poise, good humor and professionalism throughout. Well done.

[uwe]

"meaningless, nothing piece of pure garbage that could have been written by a first grader"

Gleat Comlade Dave is vely light!!!