The 50th Grammy Awards were last night. And as most awards shows go, this one went the opposite direction of trite, vain, soapbox-y, and painfully long (well, maybe not that last one). Maybe they work from a distinct advantage against the Oscars and Emmys and every other show – music is infectious, celebratory, and transmittable in a multitude of settings, and so lends itself to great spectacle. You don’t see live performances of “Movie of the Year” nominees or stage versions of sitcoms; they wouldn’t work (perhaps The Tonys are the only thing that comes close – but no one watches those). The Grammys were a sincere showcase of all the ingenuity and creativity of a year past. And while someone giving a “State of the Music” address in America may be tempted to bathe in cynicism, rightfully basing their perspective off of such sources as the iTunes “Top Albums” and “Top Songs.” But the tour-de-force that was the 50th Grammy’s has to be a sign of hope and vitality in what is the American musical landscape.
What truly set this out as a night worth noting were the live performances. I’m generally skeptical of any awards show having actual live performances, rather than lip syncing, but last night, save one instance (Beyonce), I was genuinely convinced of the authenticity of every performance. Other than a few average performances (and artists who don’t deserve the size of the stage, did bad remixes/versions of their songs, or are well past prime [in order, Rihanna, Carrie Underwood, Tina Turner]), I was consistently blown away again and again. The diversity of great music should also be noted. And while some of you might disagree on what I call “great music,” go to YouTube and watch the performances – the conveying of emotion and conviction, that is just a big a part of what makes a song as the lyrics or the notes. Those performances include:
Kanya West – His acceptance speech aside (awkward refusal to leave when the music came up), his performance was fierce and convincing. You may not like rap or his not liking G.W., but he is damned good at what he does. We should all be so lucky to have the talent and dedication to excellence he has.
Fiest – A wonderful acoustic version of “1234” (a great song for an iPod commercial – oh, wait). She gently strummed an electric guitar whilst a smoky septet of brass and woodwinds punctuated the mood. Simple, elegant, and beautiful.
Alicia Keys – She too, like Kanye, conveys the conviction of her music. The texture to her voice coupled with her mad ivory-based skills make for a wonder-woman of R&B. And then she brought out the ugliest, but great, guitar player in John Mayer. The Grammy’s have a great way of making odd pairings work (think Elton John and Eminem a few years back).
Cirque de Soleil - What was setup as a two-part tribute to the Beatles, the live performance of the Cirque de Soleil show “All You Need is Love” was wonderful as usual. And while they themselves don’t sing, it’s all tracks, there movement tells a story better, without words, than a fair amount of books and song lyrics. I still crave to see a live performance of theirs.
Across the Universe – I keep hearing rave reviews for this movie, so I’ll see it. The performance of “Let It Be” could have been campy and overdone (it usually is), but great move, Grams, playing clips of the movie, war, and peace (not to be confused with “the movie, War and Peace”), behind them.
Fergie w/ John Legend – I discovered tonight that, yes, in fact, the Fergilicious one has a set of pipes that can hold their own. Which makes me wonder, why does she have to strut her stuff as she does? Why does she have to be a sex symbol? The answer, I’m sure most would give, understanding our culture, is that sex sells. At the risk of sounding like a conservative prude, she’s worth so much more than she is portraying. She sang an amazing version of one of her songs (I think) over the musical stylings of John Legend (an amazing performer in his own right).
Rhapsody in Blue w/ Herbie and Lang – I’m still not sure where this comes from, but I will never pass the opportunity to hear a live version of this song. And that it was done with dueling piano solos performed by Herbie Hancock and Chinese prodigy, Lang Lang. Again, what (musical) diversity they’ve displayed tonight.
They also honored a number of Lifetime Achievement winners: Burt Bacharach, Cab Calloway, Doris Day, Itzhak Perlman, Max Roach, and Earl Scruggs. All giants of our musical history.
The funniest moment of the night came when receiving an award and looking to deflate the overly-confident Kanye West (who, when accepting one award, complained that his album should undoubtedly receive best of the year honors), Vince Gill received his Grammy from George Harrison and then stated: “Wow. Getting an award from a Beatle. Hey, Kanye…Have you received an award from a Beatle yet?”
So, again, music is amazing. I’m reminded of the 2003 Grammy’s, where Coldplay performed their song, “Politick,” with a full Orchestra. That was a very fundamental part of my musical awakening.
And I’m very glad I stayed up (way too) late to watch the spectacle again this year.
