All that glitters is not Grammy-worthy

This blog has focused pretty heavily on TV shows the last few weeks, so I thought I would change it up and talk about music. In the last couple of weeks I have seen various commercials promoting the Grammy Awards show. These commercials kept touting great acts such as the Jonas Bothers (check out my rant against them here), Lil Wayne (who I add to my “no talent ass clown" list), and Carrie Underwood (whose country genre I could do without). So, needless to say, I had not planned on tuning in to see a bunch of artists that I wish would be censored. But a strange thing happened, the Grammys were on while my wife and I caught up on “House” and “Burn Notice” on my laptop. So, I was able to pick and choose what I could take in. And I will say, there were some awesome performances and some embarrassing combinations. So here goes:

Kid Rock was entertaining as usual. I like the song “Amen” and so was happy to see its inclusion in his medley.

Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus sang a song written by the former called "Fifteen". I am not a fan of either and don’t see what all the hubbub is about. But, it was a decent song.

Then, the embarrassment of the night – the Jonas Brothers teamed up with the legend - Stevie Wonder – to do their crappy song "Burnin' Up". One day, someone will explain to me why these guys deserve to perform at the Grammys with Stevie. Until then, I will have to resign myself to continue despising them.

A highlight for me was Dave Grohl playing drums for Paul McCartney as he performed "I Saw Her Standing There". I was hoping they would do a medley and Dave would come out from behind the drums and play some guitar, but it was not to be.

Radiohead performed "15 Step" with USC Trojan Marching Band. If you didn’t see it, you have to check it out below. Classic Radiohead brilliance.



Two groups combined the old and the new to made for great performances. There was a Four Tops medley with stand ins Jamie Foxx and Ne-Yo. In addition, John Mayer, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, and Keith Urban gave tribute to "Bo Diddley". I believe that song could have gone on for 10 minutes and I would have been in heaven. Unfortunately, the production had to make way for Lil’ Wayne & Robin Thicke’s tribute to New Orleans. While that is all well and good, how Lil’ Wayne wins Best Rap Album, Rap Song, and Solo Performance stretches my compression of the human species to the limit and demeans the value of winning a Grammy. Because too many bad sentences can begin with, “If Lil’ Wayne can win a Grammy…”

So all in all, I was entertained by many of the acts and was glad that they included not just the commercial successes in both the award winners and in the performances.

Thanksgiving Wretching

Thanksgiving Break was good for me. Got to see some of the folks from my previous church and got to see Carrie’s Brother’s family for a while. Got a 7-Eleven Slurpee – Vanilla Cream flavored. Turkey was tasty – but no mashed potatoes. Also, I finished up a paper that was due on “The Development of Israelite Religion.” I know, enthralling stuff. Let me know if you want me to email you a copy.

The most startling experience of the week came during the Dallas-Seattle football game – a halftime performance by the Jonas Brothers. Now I have seen the Jonas Brothers everywhere. Girls seem to be going crazy for these guys. There is a bunch of swag out there. But I have never heard a song or seen a video by this familial trio. I have just seen public appearances that consisted of silly jabbering with the anchor person while teenage girls screamed in the background.

So imagine my delight when I found out that JB (apparently short for Jonas Brothers) were performing at half time. I know I am a cynical chap, but I was shocked and appalled. These guys sucked live. I mean beyond being terrible. It was like I was transported back to the 90s and was listening to Hanson – except without the talent. Even one of their songs (“Burning Love”) was only a note or two off from being the hook to “Umm Bop.” I am not exaggerating for effect – it was that close. Don’t believe me? I have the two songs below for your comparison.

Well, I can scratch them off my list of CDs that I want for Christmas. Which brings me to my rant. I know I complained about movies the other week. But music sucks too. It seems that anyone can get signed and promoted in such a way as to convince everyone that s/he has talent, when in fact it is all from the hand of the producer. Pandora has been nice in finding new and decent music, but good luck finding quality music in the mainstream.

So, if anyone has some recommendations for some good, new music, I am all ears. I particularly like rap and hip-hop that is similar to old school stuff, rock (both classic and of the grunge era).


"Burning Love" by Jonas Brothers



"Umm Bop" by Hanson (They would not let me embed, so just click on the link)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd0C_Us31kk

Get Silly

If you don’t know me well, you might not know that I like rap, especially hip-hop. The artistry of the genre can be quite good. Throw in a song that is actually about something of consequence, and I am thoroughly entertained. I think especially of Eminem, 2-Pac, the Fugees, Kanye West, etc. They all have a flow that combines with great beats and hooks to produce some fine music (at least in my estimation).

However, if you have listened to a rap radio station or watched MTV in the last few years, the quality has gone down drastically. The charts are full of talentless wonders who repeat the same wretched catch phrase over and over again, usually explicitly describing sexual acts or using euphemisms. In addition, their songs are full of annoying sounds and chincy loops that resemble noises I hear in my children’s toys. In other words, they suck. They say nothing. They have no value. They just contribute to the stereotypes about rap.

But it seems that these songs are being produced to fill an actual desire on the part of the paying public. That fact is more disturbing. I hear teenage girls singing along, word for word, with these misogynistic lyrics set to awful beats. I hear cars driving up and down the street, booming with lame sounds and noises blaring from their systems. Can our society, especially our youth be so stupid? So banal?

Don’t believe me? See if you can actually sit through the entire video below, and then explain to me what value lies within this song to make it popular. It’s called, “Get Silly”. For me, the whole industry has gotten silly long ago.

Ripping the Past

As I work towards packing my things for the big move to Kentucky, I have tried to consolidate my technology. One such effort was getting rid of my hundreds of CDs that I kept in 2 huge books and wherever else I had room. In my high school and college days, I bought WAY too many CDs. And to be honest, way too many crappy CDs. At the time I couldn’t pass them up. They were only $10 or at the most $13. I figured they were a good investment. I was wrong.

Regardless, I kept the CDs all these years and never tried to sell them because I figured no one would want them. And besides, you never know when Ska music would come back into vogue. Well, time has taught me that these CDs have not stood the test of time and these groups will never be heard from again. Regardless, I began the process of ripping my CDs so that I could store them in some corner in the basement. However, I decided not to rip all of the hundreds of CDs for 2 reasons. First, I don’t even really like all the CDs I have any more. Secondly, I would be embarrassed if someone opened up my iTunes and saw what was in my library. So, I chose about 100 of the CDs and went to work. It was kind of fun listening to some of these songs from my formative years.

Two CD’s in particular brought back fond memories. The soundtrack from the movie “The Crow” is great. It has always been one of my favorite movies not just for the content but because of the bizarre circumstances surrounding the death of the lead Brandon Lee while on set of the movie. The songs that went with movie are great, especially if you like rock, metal, and 90’s alternative music. Here is a run down of some of the real “Monsters of Rock”:
The Cure, Machines of Loving Grace, Stone Temple Pilots, Nine Inch Nails, Rage Against the Machine, Rollins Band, Helmet, Pantera. Seriously, can you get any better than that?

The other CD was by “Love Spit Love.” You can read the background of the group on wikipedia. Basically some of the guys from the Psychedelic Furs started the group. It was a decent CD, but mostly I used to listen to it while studying for Bible Bowl. Not sure why, it just was in the player and seemed to soothe my mind.

Plenty more could be said about my old CDs from the likes of The Smashing Pumpkins, Afghan Whigs, Poor Old Lu, Plankeye, Cracker, INXS, and others. The point is, I have 1000 songs on shuffle and am loving every second.