Grammy thoughts. Spoilers within if you've TiVo'd the show..

[T_Bone0806]

Sir Paul rocked. Dave Grohl looked like he was having a ball.

Why did Kanye West have to rap during Coldplay?

Taylor Swift is a TERRIBLE live performer. I have now seen her on at least a half dozen tv programs in a live setting and she has NEVER sang on key. Obviously Protools work miracles in the recording studio.

Hearing Jamie Foxx sing Four Tops songs made me miss the magnificent Levi Stubbs even more. NeYo did a decent job, though.

Neil Diamond cannot sing anymore. He just kinda growls his way through a song.

I coulda listened to about 20 more minutes of that summit on "Bo Diddley".

"Raising Sand" is a great album, but I am not sure "Please Read the Letter" is really Record of the Year.

I still do not get Radiohead.

I do get "Chasing Pavement" and "Viva La Vida". Excellent tunes.

[plasticene]

I've got a Grammy winner in the house. LA Opera's The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny won not only Best Opera Recording, but also Best Classical Album! Woohoo! (To be clear, he doesn't actually get a Grammy, but he is one of the performers on the winning recording.)

[mellytu74]

I've got a Grammy winner in the house. LA Opera's The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny won not only Best Opera Recording, but also Best Classical Album! Woohoo! (To be clear, he doesn't actually get a Grammy, but he is one of the performers on the winning recording.)

I saw that and thought of you!!

[mellytu74]

Sir Paul rocked. Dave Grohl looked like he was having a ball.

Why did Kanye West have to rap during Coldplay?

Taylor Swift is a TERRIBLE live performer. I have now seen her on at least a half dozen tv programs in a live setting and she has NEVER sang on key. Obviously Protools work miracles in the recording studio.

Hearing Jamie Foxx sing Four Tops songs made me miss the magnificent Levi Stubbs even more. NeYo did a decent job, though.

Neil Diamond cannot sing anymore. He just kinda growls his way through a song.

I coulda listened to about 20 more minutes of that summit on "Bo Diddley".

"Raising Sand" is a great album, but I am not sure "Please Read the Letter" is really Record of the Year.

I still do not get Radiohead.

I do get "Chasing Pavement" and "Viva La Vida". Excellent tunes.

I think I mentioned before that I got to see the Four Tops twice in person.

The first was 1987, when there were part of the All-Star Gala the night before the baseball all-star game in Oakland. They were the first act to perform in the refurbished Art Deco Fox Theater.

Then, about 12 years ago, a bunch of us saw them as part of an oldies show on Penn's Landing. There were only three Tops at that point; it was right after Lawrence Payton had died but before Theo Peoples took his place. They still sounded fine.

[Estonut]

Why did Kanye West have to rap during Coldplay?

Not that it matters much, but if you are talking about Coldplay's first song, with just CM at the piano, I believe the (c)rapper was Jay-Z.

[peacock2121]

I enjoyed the interview on 60 Minutes of the Coldplay guy.

He intrigued me.

I was clicking through and saw Gweneth doing something on the Grammys and I wondered if they changed their minds about keeping their professional lives separate. I didn't care enough about the question to stay on the station.

[Tocqueville3]

Sir Paul rocked. Dave Grohl looked like he was having a ball.

Taylor Swift is a TERRIBLE live performer. I have now seen her on at least a half dozen tv programs in a live setting and she has NEVER sang on key. Obviously Protools work miracles in the recording studio.

I still do not get Radiohead.

Dave Grohl is awesome. He oozes coolness. Sir Paul really did rock.

Taylor Swift is absolutely terrible. She cannot sing worth squat. Not live. Not recorded. Her voice is never on key. Ever. I have yet to see what all the fuss is over her. She looks good but that's about it. She's like Tim McGraw. That guy can't sing worth a darn but apparently peeps think he looks good enough that he dosen't have to sing good enough.

I don't get Radiohead either. My brother loves them.

[Sir_Galahad]

I am award-show'ed out. The only one I watch now is the Oscars. Plus, I don't particularly care for today's music, so I tune out.

[etaoin22]

Slept through it.

Hope the best parts will show up on utube.

I regret to say I liked it when it was as absolutely silly as the Oscars: I remember or at least I think I remember Andy Williams in an immaculate tux singing "I'm comin' home, I've done my time..."

Kudos for Mahagonny.

I am sure all headed off to the next Whiskey Bar....

[slam]

Why did Kanye West have to rap during Coldplay?

Not that it matters much, but if you are talking about Coldplay's first song, with just CM at the piano, I believe the (c)rapper was Jay-Z.

Yes, it was Jay-Z and it was done that way because that's how the song was originally recorded.

[ghostjmf]

I think Taylor Swift is terrific. I wish they had not let Hannah Montana loose on her song; Miley Cyrus gave a textbook example of how not to sing it (i.e. lots of country-belter oomph without paying attention to the lyrics).

The lead singer on "Stay", on the other hand, was a country belter I'm glad to have been introduced to on her own song, "Stay". However, they should not have let her loose on singing harmony on Adele's song; either they pitched it lower so the "Stay" singer could do the harmonies, or Adele was having an off day, or something; it completely lacked the pop airiness the recorded version has, despite its downer lyrics.

And while I'm at it, "I Kissed A Girl" singer also ditched pop rockiness & spirit for a mechanical Madonna-ish performance, complete with dancing company. I admit I haven't seen the real video for this song, but whatever it is, it has to follow the bounciness of the recorded version; the stage perfomance substituted a mechanical beat for the bouncy one on the record.

And while I'm still at it, "I Saw Her Standing There" did not need the beat gimmicks, especially on intro where I couldn't even figure out which song it was supposed to be before the singing started; where is Ringo when you really need him. However, the extra guitar licks worked, & while its a pity aging Sir Paul needs help with the "whoo"s, its good he had it.

Neil Diamond: Never a "real" singer, but always competent & convincing on his material. This time around, he not only lowered the pitch (I think), he William Shatnered it. Narrated the song. And not well.


"Raising Sand" is a great album, but its great because of all the beautifully harmonized covers, not because of the originals on there. Of which "record of the year" was one. I guess they wanted to honor Plant's writing. Or something.

Its funny; a radio announcer this morning (yup, NPR) referred to "the demur Allison Kraus" not getting a word in 'til the last award. In fact, Allison, on one of her previous zillion Grammy wins (since she produces as well as plays & sings, though she didn't produce this one, & has gotten a lot of production Grammies, she's the top female Grammy winner; she was before last night) is the source of one of my favorite quotes about an obscene awards show "tradition": "Is that the 'Goodbye Music'?" she asked as they cut short one of her thank-you speeches.

Never fear, Allison can talk. I guess she just figured this was Plant's night.

[ghostjmf]

Oh yeah, the real "how can that guy singing stay on pitch with that rap going on through his singing" for me was on the Li'l Wayne Katrina song. Since it was Li'l Wayne's song, he gets to call the shots (I also like the whole presentation, though seeing the hurricane as a character itself up on screen was pretty creepy, as intended; a rap song actually about something (besides hormones or beating on someone); what the!).

And the guy probably stays on pitch via earplugs that block out the stuff going on around him.

[NellyLunatic1980]

I liked Lil Wayne's earlier work. By earlier, I mean back when he had fewer than 15 tattoos. "Tha Carter III" sucked. I don't think there was a single song on that album that I liked. "Got Money" was mediocre at best, but everything else on that album was crap. Plus, Weezy is high on lean throughout the album, so half the time, I can't understand a damn word he's rapping. How it got nominated for Album of the Year, I will never understand. But then again, these were the same dunderheads who nominated "The Marshall Mathers LP" for Album of the Year back in 2001, so I shouldn't really be surprised.

"Lollipop" is perhaps one of the dirtiest rap songs ever written. Its opening line is "He's so sweet, I wanna lick the wrapper/rapper", which should give you an idea of the premise of that song. And that won Best Rap Song. Wow. Just... wow.

Can't wait to see what (c)rap the Grammys will nominate next year!

[T_Bone0806]

Why did Kanye West have to rap during Coldplay?

Not that it matters much, but if you are talking about Coldplay's first song, with just CM at the piano, I believe the (c)rapper was Jay-Z.

My bad. As anyone who's seen my results on rap songs in "Lyrically Speaking" can verify, I am pretty ignorant in that particular genre. I woulda thought I'd have recognize Jay-Z, though, having seen countless pictures of him with Beyonce on his arm. But, as it has been confirmed, it was Jay-Z, not West.

I don't feel so bad, though..in this morning's NY Daily News, I notice that their music columnist identified him as Kanye West as well. So I can share the embarrassment.

[TheConfessor]

Why did Kanye West have to rap during Coldplay?

Not that it matters much, but if you are talking about Coldplay's first song, with just CM at the piano, I believe the (c)rapper was Jay-Z.

My bad. As anyone who's seen my results on rap songs in "Lyrically Speaking" can verify, I am pretty ignorant in that particular genre. I woulda thought I'd have recognize Jay-Z, though, having seen countless pictures of him with Beyonce on his arm. But, as it has been confirmed, it was Jay-Z, not West.

I don't feel so bad, though..in this morning's NY Daily News, I notice that their music columnist identified him as Kanye West as well. So I can share the embarrassment.

Well, at least you didn't call him Chris Brown.

[SportsFan68]

"Raising Sand" is a great album, but I am not sure "Please Read the Letter" is really Record of the Year.

I agree. I love the duo, and the album, and everything, and I wouldn't have picked it.