So the untimely death of Whitney Houston provided an unusual sobriety to last night’s Grammy Awards. I was at work, and only got to see the end, but thanks to the magic of the internet, I have seen all the most important parts, and have enough information to provide a few insights, in no particular order.
First off, the thing that Adele and Bruno Mars showed, both in the telecast, and with their careers thus far, is that a good song, well sung, will always trump any auto-tuned, catchy, flashy, electronic dance track you throw out there, and it also makes for a better performance! Also, a related observation, Sir Paul McCartney singing “Carry That Weight” with a bunch of poorly prepared celebrity jammers sounded horrible, and amateurish and it was still more entertaining than Nicki Minaj!
Another observation is that the Latin Grammys, R&B and Jazz, etc. that were not part of the telecast kind of smells just a tad racist, but more than that, it forced them to let Katy Perry and Taylor Swift perform, when I think we’d all have preferred Terri Lynne Carrington and her Mosaic Project!
And another: I hate to keep harping on this, but Bruno Mars kicks major ass! He may never be James Brown, but he undrstands what made people like James great, and I think more performers need to follow that example. James didn’t need pyrotechnics, and a scad of dancers doing Bob Fosse choreography. Just his band, and some simple steps, and his “James” thing, and that’s what Bruno Mars reminded us of last night!
Another observation: I hope Chris Brown has learned from his mistake. I hope he never beats another girlfriend up ever. I hope he can break the cycle of abuse/ abuser. Having said that, WTF Grammys?? You really think that was the best R&B album of the year?? Seriously???
Taylor Swift is starting to impress me. She is getting better all the time, but I have to admit, she is one artist who I am actually hoping will stop writing her own stuff. She’s gonna look pretty damn silly in about 10 years, if she is still writing about teen love and High school!
Last one, before I go, Jennifer Hudson just plain knocked it out of the park in her tribute to Whitney Houston!
Ok….that’s it! Funkee out!
