Friday, February 8, 2008

The Big Snub from the big show

Saw this interesting run through of the biggest names in music that never had the 'honor' of receiving one of the coveted prizes. List is basically a 'Who's Who' in Rock history, defends the notion that the Grammys couldn't be more out of touch with the real music scene/industry as a whole. I mean it's likely that Animal Collective or Menomena may be overlooked this year!!! WTF???

Ones that blew me away with neglect: BOB MARLEY!, The Beach Boys, Hendrix, CCR, Bowie...some like James Brown, The Stones and Dylan recieved far too long after they had earned them.

Take a look...Stars the Grammys Forgot.
Warning, some ass clown put 2-Pac, 50 and Ms. Romo's Distraction on this list, rest is worthy.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Grammys are bound to disappoint people who appreciate innovation and experimentation. Recently, the voters seem more interested in honoring the late-career (and often inferior) work of legends. So the best record of our generation ("Ok Computer") loses out to Bob Dylan's competent and safe "Time Out of Mind".

Other establishment-type awards also make the safe picks. Remember that "Pulp Fiction" lost for Best Picture to the baby-boomer self-congratulatory wankfest "Forrest Gump". The Pulitzer Prize Board actually chose not to give a fiction award in 1974 rather than give it to Pynchon's post-modern "Gravity's Rainbow", which was the unanimous nominee of the fiction jury.

William Gass's quip ("The Pulitzer Prize takes dead aim at mediocrity and almost never misses") can probably be applied to these other awards as well. They are a good occasion for eye-rolling and feeling superior to the proletariat; nothing more. It will be funny if Luke's girlfriend Leslie Feist wins Best New Artist, though.

(Edit: Jeez, I just realized how long this comment was. Sorry about that. I've been trying to shake a cold all week and I think that the three bottles of grape Dimetapp that I've consumed have begun to have a deleterious effect on my thought processes.)

Brandon Pue and Janet Overman said...

Nice work Jejune, dead on analysis. The Grammys, as many artist and critics have noted are nothing more than a panel of rich, white, over the hill, sophisticants who don't search out music, rather review only what the big labels can afford to push their way and have them listen to. It's become about promotion and self love in the name of making more money.

To top off my disgust of most shows like this I must say I was thinking to myself during the Kanye w/ Daft Punk that 'man this is pretty awesome'...then Kanye spoke and I thought 'man this guy sucks and represents all that is wrong with mainstream music' It was all ME ME ME, f-you Kanye, there have been countless acts before you and will be countless to come, you are not god's gift to the world, get over yourself.

Highlights of the show: Vince Gill accepting a Grammy from Ringo and then asking Kanye if He'd ever received a Grammy from a Beatle! (awesome!) Of course the best of the night came with the recognition of some real music when Herbie Hancock won album of the year. It is bittersweet that it's for an album covering songs, but nevertheless thank you for not giving another award to that sploppy mess Winehouse...sad to see her win so much knowing you'll never hear much more than tabloids about her when so many are truely deserving.

Keep it coming Jejune.