Grammys
There was an interesting piece in the "New York Times" asking whether it was more important to win a Grammy or appear on the telecast. In other words, do you remember who won Album of the Year or do you remember Pink flying high in the sky?
For those expressing displeasure with the Grammy telecast, I remind you that we no longer live in a monoculture. It was a very brief period, two decades at most, when mainstream and alternative merged, when MTV dictated the hits and radio fell in line behind. But now, you get to choose what you want to listen to from a plethora of choices. So if you tune in a telecast like this you’re dumbfounded. Who are these people? Does anybody really care?
Beyonce prancing. Black Eyed Peas marching. Eminem and two guys you’ve never heard of ranting. Is this music? What kind of hole have we fallen down?
Relax. To say the Grammys are a reflection of music today is akin to saying what airs on NBC defines America. It doesn’t. People have more passion for niche channels like Discovery than those trying to appeal to everybody networks.
But there’s a limited channel universe. And the networks bought up the niche channels. What’s going on in the music business?
Chaos.
What’s ironic is that NARAS was the ultimate niche operation. What I mean by this was there was a category for every genre, it delved deep into music some were passionate about, but few cared about, which is exactly what’s happening today. But the TV show is the opposite of this. With fewer awards given and only the most mainstream acts featured. Now is the time for NARAS to flourish. But beholden to the old major label structure that is crumbling, NARAS is teetering too. Overspending while membership is declining. Isn’t this like trying to get people to buy albums on CD when you can cherry-pick the desirable singles on Napster?
But leading would require vision. And NARAS has none.
But who gives a shit about NARAS anyway.
I’ll say that I was impressed with the Michael Jackson tribute. No, not his kids, who certainly aren’t his biologically, and acquitted themselves quite well, but the performances… Everybody could sing! Could almost make you a Celine Dion fan. Especially after experiencing Taylor Swift.
How awful was she?
Dreadful.
"Fearless" deserved to win Album of the Year. I was glad it did. Scuttlebutt was it was DMB’s year, but to say "GrooGrux" is good is to be a tie-dyed hippie hanging out in the parking lot before a show that features great playing but mediocre material. "GrooGrux" sold to a small coterie, most people don’t care. But Taylor Swift is as mainstream as you can get. Triumphing in two formats. Speaking her truth to her audience. I love "Fearless". You can play it from start to finish, again and again, it’s honest. But last night’s performance…
Do you remember Billy Squier’s pink video? Which killed his career overnight? Take a peek:
What was a hard rocker doing prancing around in a pink tank top? What was a neophyte artist doing sharing a stage with a legend who made it before auto-tune, before studio tricks could make anybody a singer?
I don’t need to analyze the performance. (Hell, what I don’t get is how Taylor rearranged her own hit song.) But what I am interested in is the impact. Because now, everybody knows that Taylor Swift can’t sing. Is this what they’ll remember?
Now unlike Billy Squier’s pink video, there won’t be endless repetition on MTV. And one can question how much of the target audience saw this performance. But the cognoscenti did, and to what degree do they now want to distance themselves from Ms. Swift?
In other words, did Taylor Swift kill her career overnight?
I’ll argue she did. Oh, I’m not fully convinced of that, but let’s start from this position.
She’ll be even further hated in Nashville (and what kind of fucked up world do we live in where the CMAs are better than the Grammys?) I’d love to say whored out Top Forty radio stations will ignore her, but this is doubtful, still…
In one fell swoop, Taylor Swift consigned herself to the dustbin of teen phenoms. Who we expect to burn brightly and then fade away. From New Kids On The Block to Backstreet Boys to Miley Cyrus. A wall is created, stating you can’t come any further. Debbie Gibson can appear in shows on Broadway, but she can’t have a hit record, the powers-that-be won’t let it happen.
Taylor’s too young and dumb to understand the mistake she made. And those surrounding her are addicted to cash and are afraid to tell her no. But last night Taylor Swift SHOULD have auto-tuned. To save her career.
They say it’s easy to fake it in the twenty first century.
But one thing we know is the truth will always come out.
It’s hard to be a singer if you can’t sing.
Ultimately, we want our stars to be genuine. Without this credibility, your time atop the charts is brief.
Taylor Swift shortened her career last night. And since she says she calls all her own shots, she has to shoulder the blame. Yes, her dream came true, she made it, she’s a star, but the real test is longevity. Elton John can play with GaGa decades later. Will Taylor Swift be duetting with the stars of the 2030s? Doubtful.
