Posted on 02/14/2011 3:10:31 AM PST by greatdefender
Much like the music world itself, the Grammy Awards is a colorful train wreck of a television show.
Inexplicable results and mesmerizing performances mixed with the mundane added up to a generally unsatisfying evening for CBS Sunday. Unless, of course, you're Lady Antebellum.
The Grammys are barely an awards show anymore. As the music business has splintered and sputtered in recent years, the Grammys have become a performance show, advertising musicians who need the attention. Show producers don't even bother with a host anymore. For the first hour of Sunday's show, only one trophy was given out — for a live version of a Train song done better in the studio.
In theory, it's a great idea. If you're unfamiliar with an artist's work, it's much better to watch him or her in action than to listen to speeches thanking managers, producers and hairstylists. Or, in Train's case, Howard Stern.
In practice, the show's success or failure is tied to whether the artists can bring the goods.
Whether they took trophies home with them or not, the night's winners included Janelle Monae, Eminem, Cee Lo and Rihanna. Among the losers were Christina Aguilera, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and Rihanna.
Yes, you read that last part right. Rihanna was spellbinding for her part in Eminem's ominous "Love the Way You Lie." When she returned later to perform "What's My Name" with Drake, she curiously dropped her hand-held microphone to her waist a few times while the vocals continued on.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Not much to watch on there unless it’s football season, and now that that’s over...
My opinion of the performers I saw:
Bob Dylan: Dat voice!
Rihanna: Dat dress!
Lady Antebellum: Eh, not really into country.
Eminem: He seemed kind of rushed, plus he looks better in his trademark white T-shirts
Dr. Dre: If you’re into rap (there probably aren’t too many on FR that are), he was good.
Arcade Fire is in a pretty good spot as being roughly the most popular kind of indie rock that’s around these days. I can’t really describe exactly, but, not too different from many of the top indie band of the year of the last few years, modest mouse, death cab, grizzly bear, fleet foxes.
Muse has been compared to Radiohead, but in the US, there really isn’t a “scene” of bands that sound like Muse. Radio Rock is very narrow minded. Muse has plenty of songs that could be played on Active Rock stations over and over but the radio guys don’t want to piss off their core audience of 15 year old boys who want the “right” rock and only the “right” rock. And those 15 year old boys who don’t have ipods are pretty strict about what they’ll listen to. And it isn’t very good at all.
Muse isn’t an Active Rock band, or an Indie Band, or a pop/punk/emo/hardcore band that the “scene” kids would like.
So, basically, to get radio play, they needed alternative stations, and with this one, they got great support from alternative stations, and some of those songs got so big they went off to other formats.
Muse has been supermassive for 8+ years in UK and Europe, and this last one is really the one to break Muse in the US.
Time is running out is from 2003ish btw.
I much prefer Muse to Arcade Fire, but an award like this going to “Arcade Fire” is really going to “indie”, but a Muse award is going to Muse. So, in terms of a bigger story, Arcade Fire might have some impact.
Mick has been an avid health freak for the last 40 years.
Thanks for trying to educate an old fart like myself!
You mentioned a lot of things Muse isn’t and I considered asking you what it is, but that doesn’t really matter anyway, labels just tend to box you in.
In a way, I guess I’m something of a failure as a music listener in the sense that most of the time I’ve been out of phase with the rest of the world as they move in and out of fads. Many of the rock gods of my formative years like Led Zeppelin, Yes, Pink Floyd, and all the hair bands just never did much for me. I never saw the “new wave” of the late 70s as anything new, but more of a return to what was really great in the 60s, but I just didn’t know it at the time, because I was into jazz then. I found myself seeking out obscure garage records from the 60s, basically from what was the indie scene of the day. At the time, though, no one realized that’s what it was.
Now I listen more to classical than anything else.
One of my favorite songs of all time is “I Alone” by Live. The emotional reaction I get hearing that song is exactly what I felt when I listened to “Time is Running Out”.
Can’t explain why, but it really did get my attention. Thanks for posting that link!
Alternative Rock for back of a better word. But you could possibly say the biggest band in the world under the age of ??? There isn’t anyone, worldwide, younger and bigger. Older and Bigger, yes, but not younger and bigger.
Worlds biggest young rock band, that’s ok.
Alternative Rock and sometimes people come up with
Epic Rock to describe Muse.
And Live, sure, from York, PA. Side project - drummer for Muse, bassist from Live, whatya think, good stuff right, even though they aren’t the most famous guys in those bands.
“Judas” wasn’t at Newport. It was at the Manchester, England show on May 17, 1966.
I see. Hey, it worked wonders for Jack Lalanne. Only too bad he didn’t make it to 100.
Fun fact: Aging is only 30% genetic. The rest is all environmental.
Lady Antebellum is a wonderful group...they can actually sing without instruments or backup....I hope they come this way....I didn’t know who they were when they toured with McGraw, but I wouldn’t go to another McGraw concert if they paid me to go....so I didn’t get to see them....they didn’t come to my area on their single tour...maybe next time...
Reba and Patty Loveless...among others.....I still hope Tracy Lawrence can get back in the mainstream....what a smooth voice....
and music IS my mood.....I don't need drugs or alcohol to be high....I just turn the sound up and I'm as high as a kite....
I do enjoy Lady Antibellum, they are wonderful. Happy and surprised that they won the most Grammys. Hope they do another tour soon. :)
The video from Mick’s performance Sunday night:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAPqp0o1j5A&feature=player_embedded
I bought my oldest (almost 13) the latest Lady Antebellum yesterday for a Valentine’s/being a good helper while Dad is 800+ miles away working in Ohio gift. LOL She was so excited. I’ve been listening to it some this morning, and I like it.
‘I Alone’ is a rocking song! I used to have that album somewhere but don’t know what happened to it :(
That's kind of the point. Indie is for the post-radio age. Radio is no longer the only path to musical success, and one day probably won't even be a path to success. I suspect it might take a bit longer, but radio stations will go the way of newspapers which have been dying for a decade or more.
Still sounds good after all these years...’Lightning Crashes’ always evokes a pretty emotional response from me too.
What you will most likely see, is that the music stuff will be ALL online, as I have now with iTunes, their radio side to it with the music downloads, music wise.
Radio will most likely go to an all news, talk, or sports routes. I have friends who do radio talk on the local level.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.