Welcome! This is an unapologetic, agenda-free zone. Just commentaries on current events that’ll move you to think, laugh, rage, and even cry.
It only took five tries, public shaming by Jay-Z, and a strategically timed tour announcement to upstage the Grammys. But Beyoncé has finally done it. After years of snubs — losing to Adele, Taylor Swift, and even Beck — the Recording Academy has finally given its biggest award to the woman who, by all logic,… Read more.
Much like winning an Oscar, winning a Grammy is more the result of crass political campaigning (or music-industry cronyism) than any assessment of artistic achievement. Only this explains the outrageous “snubs” that litter Grammy history, notably in 1984, when The Police’s “Every Breath You Take” bested Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” and “Billie Jean”; 1985, when… Read more.
As so often happens these days, I took a lot of flak for my original commentary. I see no point in rehashing what caused so much offense, especially because the title to that commentary speaks volumes: “The Grammys: Not Only Irrelevant but Rigged!” January 26, 2020. (Yeah, priorities.) Well, here’s to vindication: Viewership for the… Read more.
I’ve been pooh-poohing the Grammys for years for being about as relevant to the music industry as Vinyls and CDs. Here, for example, is what I wrote five years ago in “The Grammys: a Friggin’ Snoozefest!” February 15, 2015: ____________________ Most performers apparently think the key to success is looking and behaving in a way off stage… Read more.
In recent years, the Grammys have continuously proved to be a rapidly fading institution — one that’s struggling to not only connect with audiences, but also with the very artists it recognizes. … That three of the most powerful artists in music are refusing to play and possibly not even attend the show is a… Read more.
I suspect it will surprise no one who read “The Grammys: Adele Sang and Won; Beyoncé Performed and … Reigned?” February 13, 2017, that I took a lot of flak. You were probably among those who thought I was crazy in love with Adele because I heaped so much praise on her for shutting Beyoncé out.… Read more.
I don’t care too much for his acting (as seen on NCIS: Los Angeles), but LL Cool J is so good hosting the Grammys that he’s fast becoming as identified with this awards show as Ellen DeGeneres is becoming with the Oscars. Tonight was his third-consecutive gig (for The 56th Grammy Awards), and he did… Read more.
A Whitney Houston sex tape is the last thing the public needs. Frankly, this smacks of peddling necrophilia. After all, Houston was little more than a walking corpse when her cad of a lover recorded the tapes in question. Now she’s dead, and unable to defend her honor. Whitney Houston sex tapes Ray J was… Read more.
[I]nstead of [Whitney] having to watch wistfully as the music industry heralds the rise of the likes of Adele and honors the longevity of the likes of Bruce Springsteen, this show will now feature the industry’s biggest stars falling all over themselves to sing not just her praises but her songs too (and far better than… Read more.
