The sad state of music
This says it all, doesn’t it? Taylor Hicks is taking Pittsburgh by storm this summer as Teen Angel in Grease. Wasn’t Syesha Mercado just in town with Dreamgirls? I guess that means that the latest American Idol just kicked off to see who will be in Pittsburgh in 2012 for their role in The Music Man or Bye, Bye, Birdie or some such nonsense. What a sad musical state we are in.
Don’t believe me? This Sunday is that annual freak fest, The GRAMMYs. When I say “freak fest”, I’m not necessarily commenting on the current music scene. (I’ll do that later.) The GRAMMYs have always been a freak fest.
There was J Lo’s revealing green dress. There was Andy Williams on a video feed with Stevie Wonder asking, “Stevie, can you see us, now?” There was a youngish Michael Jackson complaining backstage about not having a childhood or Christmas or anything.
There was the shirtless man who ran up to a performing Bob Dylan with the words “Soy Bomb” on his chest. There was Elton John sharing the stage with perceived homophobe Eminem. At the end, they embraced and Eminem flipped off the audience. That’s all great. When it comes to music, we want our performers a little dangerous and unpredictable. Those were great pop-culture moments surrounded by some great music.
I hope there will be great music at the GRAMMYs on Sunday, but with most of the awards going to Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, or The Black Eyed Peas, I’m not so sure. Seriously, will any of these people be performing at the 2020 Super Bowl halftime show? Will they be entering the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame?
About the only thing I’ll be rooting for is in the category of Best Rock Album. The nominees are Green Day, U2, Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood, Dave Matthews Band, and AC/DC. Yes, AC/DC! These legends of rock and roll have never won a GRAMMY and if there are any music gods still ruling the musical heavens, Malcolm and Angus Young will be walking away with a trophy Sunday night.
Otherwise, I will probably be spending the majority of the evening trying to figure out the difference between Best Album, Best Song, and Best Record. (Really? These are the categories? No Best Cassette?) I’ll probably fire up a little Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, or Yes. After all, you’ll never see any of them swinging through Pittsburgh in The Sound of Music or Camelot. Then I’ll yell at the kids in the neighborhood to GET THE HELL OFF OF MY LAWN!
Dare we hope for "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap"?
Posted on January 29, 2010, in Uncategorized and tagged AC/DC, Pittsburgh, Taylor Hicks, The GRAMMYs. Bookmark the permalink. 5 Comments.
Preach Brother Bagger!
AC/DC = Best Rock & Roll Party-Band ever. They never change… No heavy lyrics, no moodiness, no freakin’ synthesizers, no social causes… Just no frills power chords… real people playing real instruments. And Angus Young is a freak of nature. How his brain is not a giant pile of slush by now is beyond me. Then again, maybe it is… ever hear him speak?
I’ve seen them in concert 5 times… each time better than the last. Just wish I’d seen them on their last tour. They were in DC but I didn’t want to deal with going down there.
I’d love for them to win a Grammy, but I don’t think they have a chance in (Highway to) Hell. It’ll go to U2 or Dave Matthews or some bloody do-gooder. Or Clapton and Winwood will get the Woodstock-era Geezer vote. At least Jethro Tull isn’t nominated.
I remember when I used to look forward to the Grammys. I’ll never forget when I was a mere lad, watching Stevie Wonder play on the Grammys. It was my first taste of The Funk and it went down smooth. The entire audience was dancing… I think The Pips were doing their routine, right in their seats.
Nowadays, I look over the Grammy lists and I’m like, “Hate’em, hate’em, don’t know’em, hate’em, don’t know’em, hey are they still alive?”
Don’t feel too bad, CB; those rock-and-roll idols of your misspent youth are just like the rest of us–OLD! Brian Johnson, when not rocking onstage with AC/DC helps sick kids here in town (http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20081223/ARTICLE/812230343) and Joe Perry picks up trash off the beach (http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20090712/ARTICLE/907121050).
And you can bet your ass that both of these guys yell at the neighborhood kids to GET THE HELL OFF MY LAWN, too. It is, after all, our state motto.
Well, actually, here in Sarasota, they probably have their lawyers do the actual yelling….
Yeah, maybe that’s why I like watching old rockers. It’s the only time anymore that I actually feel young.
Agreed.
Speaking of the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame…..I wish some of these bands would refuse to go in as long as KISS and Rush are outside looking in. I get it, KISS is not musically a great band, but they put on one of the best shows ever. How many bands were inspired by them when they were 8-14. Countless. Stone Temple Pilots once did a complete concert in KISS makeup. While their total sales aren’t outstanding considering how many they put out – they had a string of GOLD records that was crazy. They didn’t have 3-4 big sellers and then go in the tank. They stayed kind of level and continued to get half a million people to buy their records. I bet the Stones havent done that in a long time. Not comparing them to Stones, but if you put a gun to my head and made me pick a concert either tonight or in their prime…..I’m going to see KISS. Rush is in my top 3 bands of all-time. Musically, I don’t know how many bands pound for pound can trade chops with them…..
Not only did they put on a great show and sell a lot of records, but imagine how many fledgling garage bands they spawned. I know I was in one back in the day.