Monday, February 9, 2009

The Grammys: Some Observations

Just a few random observations from last night's 51st Grammy Awards:

---U2 opened the show with the new single, "Get Your Boots On." I don't care much for the song. It's OK but it's sort of unoriginal. Sections remind me of Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues." It's kind of a rip-off. That said, U2's performance was a good way to get the long show rolling.

---Bono should lose the eyeliner. It doesn't work on middle-aged men.

---Whitney Houston had trouble speaking. She was taking it very slow. That didn't help. She struggled to get out "industry icon" when referring to Clive Davis. She really slurred "industry." Plus, she seems to have had some work done on her eyes.

---Jennifer Hudson's acceptance speech was very touching, acknowledging the murders of her mother, brother, and nephew, saying, "I'd like to thank my family in heaven and those who are with me today." I don't think her win was the result of a sympathy vote. A little while after accepting her award, she gave a powerful and moving performance. Her talent is the real deal and she has remarkable poise considering all that she's been through recently.

---Coldplay. The jackets were incredibly dorky. Big mistake.

---After a very brief mention that Rat Pack member Dean Martin received a lifetime achievement award, Queen Latifah introduced Jay-Z, Kanye West, T.I. and Lil Wayne as the "Rap Pack," performing "Swagga Like Us." The performance was broadcast in black and white. They wore tuxes, but that was where the similarity ended with the Rat Pack. I can't be sure, but I don't think Martin and Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. did a lot of crotch-grabbing in their act.

---Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were BIG winners for their collaboration, Raising Sand. The recognition was deserved, picking up 5 Grammys. Decades have passed since Plant was the front man for Led Zeppelin. Of course, he's aged and it shows, as it should. That's much better than being a cosmetic surgery freak. Still, I couldn't get over the fact that I was looking at the same guy who did "Whole Lotta Love."

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Coldplay stinks. The Grammy's were a joke except for the old folks that performed and received awards.

U2's new single rocks. But the video is a total wreck.

Maybe Bono has decided to undergo a makeover, or maybe he's been hanging around Michael Stipe lately.

Bono's investment company recently invested $425,000,000 in Palm so I suppose he needs to sell some records. And, I would suppose, that tickets for the upcoming tour will be big bucks.

Anonymous said...

I thought the guys in Coldplay were adorable in their dorky jackets, and I chuckled when one of them apologized to Sir Paul for ripping off Sgt Pepper.

Mary said...

I hope the profits of Bono's company are used for purchasing mosquito nets and AIDS drugs.

While I did think it was funny when the Coldplay guys joked about their Sgt. Pepper jackets, I still think they should ditch them.

Anonymous said...

Check out all of the awards that weren't presented last night. There are many great recordings and artists here. I guess CBS thought it more important to subject us all to the terrible music by non-artists rather than run a real awards show. They really missed the boat.