I have been a voting member of NARAS for 10+ years and I totally agree with this statement, as far as in reference to popular music. Not one band or artist that I've voted for nomination has EVER been nominated, nor have I ever voted for the winner in ANY of the popular music categories (the ones you see on TV) in the past decade. It is an absolute travesty, and has NOTHING to do about actual musicianship or artistry. It is a total farce.
The only reason I keep my membership is because of the benefits I get when purchasing music and because of all of the other categories that you don't see on TV, where people who actually are talented win. They have a great educational directive as well in which I donate a lot of time because I've seen it have a positive effect on kids.
I'll watch the reunited Police perform and then the TV is on another channel. I couldn't stomach the drivel that is going to spew from Joan Baez or these cows on any night.
I`ve never been a member of NARAS but for years I could always tell something was seriously wrong with that awards show.
I think it goes back all the way to 1980 when Christopher Cross won Best new artist. I was about 19 at the time, and I just couldn`t believe this freggin` Eunuch won, the guy that me and my friends had been ranking on all year was now being praised as the second coming of Christ. And what happened? Not suprisingly he completely disappeared. Why? Because he sucked. Meanwhile we`d go to CBGB`s and be absolutely blown off the floor from some unknown band, but you never heard about any of them.
You know what it is, it`s all about money. Money rules, it always has. Once money comes into the equation, the idiots run amok. They focus more on the cash than the art, and therefore you get the clones and the "commercially acceptable".
They did that back in the `90`s with the whole Grunge thing, 20 gazillion Nirvana clones, they did it back in the `60` with the Beatle clones, and back in the `50`s with the Elvis clones.
This is why I absolutely love the internet, because it completely lays to waste the middle man. It`s literally a direct person to person connection in an instant, and simply by word of mouth a band today can get somewhere without having to suck up to some schmuck looking for the next eunuch sounding Justin Timberlake.
Hopefully the more advanced it gets the more it will lay to waste these incredibly bogus promotions made by organizations like the Grammys and the ten gazillion other back patting awards they give each other for absolute sheet musicians.