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"Do you want to watch the Grammys?" my wife asked, several times over the weekend, leading up to the broadcast Sunday night.
Honestly? I'm not sure I've ever watched the Grammys. They were always kinda vanilla, mainstream, pop treacle. Making news only for how woefully wrong and out-of-step the winners were. Year after year.
But why not? They're music, right? I like music.
We tuned in late, just in time to hear Billie Eilish singing "What Was I Made For?" the Grammy-winning — eventually — theme song from the "Barbie" movie.
A melancholy tune that — Eilish said — took her and her brother a full 30 minutes to compose. I enjoyed it. I like Eilish — nice voice, arresting lyrics, weird in a good way.
X told me we'd missed the show-stopping duet between Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs, the country singer who revived her 1988 hit "Fast Car" and sent it to the top of the charts — making Chapman to be the first Black woman to write a No. 1 country song, which is sad bordering on shocking. We caught the lovely performance on social media. I admired Combs for respecting the song and not changing the lyrics — like John Prine singing, "I am an old woman" in "Angel from Montgomery." The respect he had for Chapman was obvious, and it was encouraging to see these two people from different generations, races, areas of the country and orientations, making beautiful music together onstage.
What I remember most about that album, when it came out, is it was one of the first CD's you bought to go with your new CD player — that, or Paul Simon's "Graceland." The pride of Cleveland, Chapman's career never developed much beyond the initial fully-formed talent she arrived on the scene with. But that was enough. To expect more seems ungrateful; though I do wonder what she's been up to for the past 36 years.
I was glad to be passingly familiar with some of the artists — Lizzo, Olivia Rodrigo. I'd played the song she sang on the show, "Vampire" for my wife, pointing out the lyrics I admired — "You sold me for parts." She didn't much care for it. What intrigued me in the Grammy performance is there was a bit of business where she smeared some blood on her face — this was before the walls started bleeding. But only a bit. At first I thought she'd actually cut herself — it was just a little blood — then realized it was part of the performance. But the blood didn't quite work, and on such a vast stage, there's something refreshing in a bit of show business that goes awry.
I was excited to see Joni Mitchell perform. Ahead of time. When the moment came, though, I was unsure. She's 80, and picked the perfect song from her genius catalogue to sing. — "Both Sides Now." Her voice retains traces of its magnificence, and she pulled it off, there in her throne. But it was hard not to feel sorrow, to see her, after so many health crises and the ravages of time, in that chair, tapping her cane. "Steadily life takes away from you, bit by bit, step by step, the quality of fresh involvement," Tennessee Williams once wrote.
Otherwise, there was plenty of Taylor Swift, standing up, clapping. She won twice. I was a bit taken aback when she first went up and accepted her award, noting this was her 13th Grammy and plugging her new album, announcing she was going to go and social media the cover. All business.
Jay-Z came up with a young woman. "I hope that's his daughter," I said. It was.
Toward the end, Billy Joel performed the first new song pried out of him after 17 years of recycling his old hits. It fell completely flat, for me, but then I never liked him much in his prime — "Piano Man," "Captain Jack," "Allentown" and quickly downhill from there. He always seemed like a downmarket version of Bruce Springsteen. "Did I wait too long?" he sang. Yes, Billy, you did. But in his defense, it's a bitch to get old. You lose your spark and have to coast on reputation.
Thank goodness my mood was saved, by Taylor Swift of course, at the very end, accepting her record breaking fourth Album of the Year Grammy for "Midnights," passing Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder, who all had three.
Otherwise, there was plenty of Taylor Swift, standing up, clapping. She won twice. I was a bit taken aback when she first went up and accepted her award, noting this was her 13th Grammy and plugging her new album, announcing she was going to go and social media the cover. All business.
Jay-Z came up with a young woman. "I hope that's his daughter," I said. It was.
Toward the end, Billy Joel performed the first new song pried out of him after 17 years of recycling his old hits. It fell completely flat, for me, but then I never liked him much in his prime — "Piano Man," "Captain Jack," "Allentown" and quickly downhill from there. He always seemed like a downmarket version of Bruce Springsteen. "Did I wait too long?" he sang. Yes, Billy, you did. But in his defense, it's a bitch to get old. You lose your spark and have to coast on reputation.
Thank goodness my mood was saved, by Taylor Swift of course, at the very end, accepting her record breaking fourth Album of the Year Grammy for "Midnights," passing Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder, who all had three.
"I would love to tell you that this is the best moment of my life, but I feel this happy when I finish a song," she said. In other words: This is nice, but what I really like is doing the work that leads to this. "For me the award is the work," she said. "All I wanna do is keep being able to do this. I love it so much, it makes me so happy."
And the truth is, work is enough. Awards are nice — would be nice, I imagine. But even without the awards, the work is still enough, if you love it.
Yup. It’s a cliche. But if you love what you do, it ain’t work. And that’s enough. It’s plenty.
ReplyDeleteMy wife and I watched the show Monday night after recording it..zip through the commercials. I also like Billy Eilish, the loyalty and teamwork with her brother and her love of her parents. She has a great voice, both vocally and socially. The tribute session was nice too, they really included people from across the board from the music industry. The Joni Mitchell appearance made me a bit misty. I'm 71 and remember when she was in her prime. And you're right, a bit of old Joni came through. That's such a great song, one of her many. I hope she's not in pain. And Taylor Swift. I have a few great neices who really love her, and my six year old granddaughter does too. She seems brilliant and nice and has one heck of a voice. Good for her. A note to her; don't listen to the people who get on you about watching your boyfriend play football. Enjoy it. I always liked when my girlfriend and then wife of 41 years came to watch me play softball. I'll bet Travis does too!
ReplyDeleteI dunno about work without positive or even some negative or encouragement of some kind, would you really keep doing it? I’m an artist and love to paint. But if I didn’t sell any of my art, or get compliments from time to time, I would end up with a huge collection of paintings that would go to the thrift store someday. That future wouldn’t want to make me keep working. Swift doesn’t know that feeling.
ReplyDeleteCan't say I like any song of Billy Joel's. Go Taylor! She makes the right wingers mad.
ReplyDeleteAllentown, Keepin' the Faith, Only the Good Die Young, We Didn't Start The Fire...and more. Classics by Billy Joel, and they all evoke strong memories of lost youth and better days. But I can pretty much take him or leave him alone. I would never pay to go to a stadium and see him. Too old for that crap now.
DeleteTaylor Swift has been around a long time, and until recently, I've pretty much managed to ignore her. Zero interest in her, or her songs, or their messages. But she's not sleazy or skanky or a vapid airhead, and that's a plus. Seems to be a pleasant lady, and not witchy. The way she pisses off the right is the biggest positive of all.
Never watch award shows. Too much smug self-congratulation and excessive back-patting. The entertainment industry leaves me cold. May not even watch the game this year. Our demographic (Early Boomers) is now ignored by the advertisers, and has been for years. Don't care to see the repetitive shots of Tay-Tay every few minutes.
Most if all, I'm simply tired of seeing the same damn handful of teams year after year after year. Cleveland was eliminated early. We have friends and relatives in Detroit...and we were bummed when the Lions choked. Hope the 49ers get clocked. The Bay Area already has everything else going for it...so do they really deserve another NFL title? Like hell...
I'm sure she'll be pleased to learn that she's not counted among the "sleazy, skanky, vapid, witchy airheads" you're apparently familiar with.
DeleteFor the Browns, things at least seem to be headed in the right direction and "it was an honor just to be nominated!" ; )
Maybe other teams should try and get better. Cleveland and Texas and the Lions were 3 teams that hadn't made the playoffs in a while. The 49ers haven't been in the Superbowl in 4 or 5 years. The Chiefs came close to not even making the playoffs this year. It helps when you have a great quarterback. The Bears could have drafted him. Of course with their coaching staff they would have screwed him up. It would be interesting to see if Fields would do better with a good team
DeleteBefore this year, the Lions last won a playoff game in 1992. Cleveland has been in the playoffs just three times since 2002. Sick of seeing the Chiefs, who've now made the playoffs for nine years in a row.
DeleteThe 49ers have been to the playoffs seven times since 2011. Four years since their last Super Bowl is the blink of an eye, especially for teams like Detroit and Cleveland, which have never even been to a Super Bowl.
The anonymous comment at 7:08 above was me..forgot to mark my name...I wanted to add about Joni Mitchell's appearance...Brandi Carlile (a great musician and fantastic singer on her own) has become a great to help Ms. Mitchell. The comments that she made where she acknowledged how Ms. Mitchell paved the way in music in ways that resonate today were spot on. A good job by all.
ReplyDeleteAs far as singers not changing the gender of a song when they cover it, I always loved Joan Baez on “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”. Doesn’t hurt to have a voice like hers, either.
ReplyDelete"He Touched Me" by Barbra Streisand was originally written as "She Touched Me" & her then husband Elliot Gould got the writer of it to change it for her.
DeleteDylan's "North Country Blues" is a woman's tale that, to me, is more powerful in his voice than the more beautiful tones of Baez, and the gender bending is not a problem.
DeleteWe almost never watch the Grammys and didn't this year.
ReplyDeleteI'll just say that, while I understand that Billy Joel is not respected in the way that a number of other pop composers are, he had a lot of very enjoyable songs, IMHO. There are Hells below being a "downmarket version of Bruce Springsteen," even if that description were valid.
First, our genial host, then Private had to pile on. Disappointing! ; )
I have to agree. I saw him in college and then again in 2018 (at Wrigley Field). He put on a great show both times and has a pretty impressive catalog.
DeleteIt's always refreshing to get your slant on things. I'm glad that you enjoyed it. Did your wife as well?
ReplyDeleteShe seemed to.
DeleteWant to know what u thought of Miley Cyrus?
ReplyDeleteIt would have been surprising for John Prine to change the lyrics to his own song! I love both his and Bonnie Raitt’s versions.
ReplyDelete