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The Grammys will be telecast live tonight. And I completely forgot about the entire awards show until it popped up on Twitter.
I hardly think what I’m saying should be news to anyone, but an awards show for a self-congratulating industry that’s had a tragic relationship with consumers for the past decade shouldn’t be considered relevant. In the ever-fracturing pop music spectrum, it’s quite hard to pinpoint any musician or artist that can be said to represent what the current collaborative culture stands for.
So somehow, we’re told to settle for painfully-constructed categories with five artists crammed into them?
Obviously, it’s all one’s own choice to pay attention to such trivial matters or give them any weight. Except that, somehow, the Grammys have managed to attain some weight and clout. Perhaps it comes down to some form of longevity. I’m not sure.
But I hope this is the year that people who pay attention to these kinds of awards programs are scratching their heads. What gives with the nominations for albums/artists/songs that were previously up for nomination/have been around for a bit too long to be considered for an awards ceremony in 2010? I’m looking at you Kings of Leon (practically every award), MGMT (best new artist? What, circa 2008?), Silversun Pickups (best new artist?! Circa 2003?) and Metallica (another song off a 2008 album.)
Let’s hope LMFAO walks away with the award for best electronic/dance album. That’ll toss a few kinks into the rickety old system.
Leor,
I also forgot that the Grammys were on last night. But, much to my surprise, there were a few really good performances. Awards shows, in general, make for pretty boring viewing, and though the Grammys have been searching for a formula that captures viewers for a while now, they did finally put together a show that people are talking about the day after.
Performances were really good. The rest? Meh, filler. And horribly produced filler at that.
I missed Kanye West.
I don’t know… I didn’t watch this year’s show (though I checked the NY Times’ Arts Blog because that was some of the funniest writing I read all week), but last year’s performances really blew people out of the water. Radiohead with a marching band, every rapper of the hour on “Swagger Like Us”… Haven’t heard anything on par with that from this year’s show!
Did you see Pink?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOzzygbKsiw
Eh. I’ll take a very-pregnant M.I.A. spitting out rhymes alongside Jay-Z, T.I., Kanye and Lil’ Wayne over Pink’s performance any day.
I rest my case:
http://newsroom.mtv.com/2010/02/01/grammy-performance-poll/
You mean MTV, the company that has a strong link to CBS (which broadcasts the Grammys) and only seems to broadcast those acts that were won/nominated, only had good things to say about the Grammys?!
Color me anything but shocked.
Oh, it was painful. Utterly devoid of taste, fashion, art. A celebration of product over people. Waiting for jeff beck, my friend jeff, to be wasted for three minutes in a tribute to les paul, with a … oh, forget it, it was brutal. No T-Bone. On the + plus side, no U2, thank God. Music is too varied and diverse. Radiohead is God and I’m 52. Where to now, St. Peter?
From fawn to yawn: How social media is killing the awards show - andreaitis - de.tech.ting - True/Slant
[…] Aside from the winners and the wanna-be-winners, does anyone one else care anymore? After nodding off during the Golden Globes and then the Grammys, I’m thinking not so much. To be fair, most of the Grammy performances were worth watching. It was the awards part that felt like filler. T/S’er Leor Galil noticed as well in Another ‘Grammys are irrelevant’ post. […]