Watching the Grammys with people who hate music
Mar 16, 2021 18:14:22 GMT
Post by My Avatar Is A Hot Babe on Mar 16, 2021 18:14:22 GMT
Grammys 2021 - anyone even watching?
Turned off after a minute.
Nope.
The closest thing to a positive surprise I’ve seen so far was that, assuming he was actually singing live, Harry Styles has a better voice than I had noticed before.
Anyway, I hopped out to Spotify to see what else this DaBaby fella has that I might not have heard. Spotify listed his latest single as a track called "Throat Baby" and it's every bit of filth you can imagine and then some.
Throat Baby.
Giving a guy front and center to sing...uh..perform rather...about injustices while his current single is full of very graphic explicit descriptions of oral sex. This is where we are now folks.
Go Liverpool!
Just waitin on Ringo here. My cute 80 year drummer needs love.
And what the hell did Beyonce do to herself? She looks thicker than Megan Thee.
It's like saying that Russel Crowe and Benjamin McKenzie look alike.
I watched the Up/WAP performance and it seemed pretty unmusical to me, for lack of a better word.
Coincidentally, I saw that this week marks the 50th anniversary of the FIRST LIVE Grammy's on TV, in 1971. IT being the 1970 releases under consideration, the already about to Break up/or just broken up Simon and Garfunkel won top honors for their sublime swan song, Bridge Over Troubled Water, and the Grammy for best New Artist went to The Carpenters....
Yes, music was just MUCH better then, just the truth, nothing but the unvarnished truth, PC Police and Revisionist Rock Historians be damned; and ALL due respect to Fiona Apple.
It's been funny reading through all the disapproval & consternation interrupted only by the shaft of sunlight provided to SHF forumites by Taylor Swift. I'd have been exactly the same: Misses Swift & Eilish would have been the only people that I recognised. I did listen to “WAP” today just to know what people are talking about and: if that's close to the top of the pile for contemporary music you can keep it.
Be careful old guys, your intolerance, misogyny and casual racism is showing.
They would be disgusted if anyone spoke about their wives or daughters they way they speak about female performers on here.
But, hey, that's coming from the old white guy who grew up on the O'Jays, War, Temptations, Curtis Mayfield, Kool and the Gang, Stylistics, Commodores, Jackson 5, Earth Wind and Fire, etc....... So does this make me just a casual or full blown racist?
I would submit that the show has always been about "pandering and preening and self-conscience smugness". Your mileage on certain pandering may vary.
Granted, in the late 60s/early 70s, there was 20s and 30s nostalgia, as evidenced by movies such as Bonnie & Clyde and the 1974 Great Gatsby, and 50s nostalgia, as evidenced by Happy Days and Sha Na Na, but popular music was still largely focused on the now to a far, far greater degree than it is today.
I’d rather listen to Bruno bring back the 70s than listen to WAP, but neither is exactly optimal.
Yelling “OK Boomer” at anyone who speaks this truth doesn’t change that reality.
In rock, who is the Elvis Presley, John Lennon, Pete Townshend, Brian Wilson, Ray Davies, etc. of today? Who remotely approaches that status?
I like Taylor Swift, and bought her Grammy-winning album, but, while there are always creative people at any given moment, in the grand scheme of things, there are cultural peaks and valleys, and right now we are living in a valley for popular music. Bruno Mars is really, really good at referencing past styles; had he been born 40 years earlier, or perhaps 40 years later, however, he might have been a pioneer of a new style.
Body Count gets nominated for and wins in Metal category.
I would go into it with the same cynicism as many of you, not expecting to like the artists, comment on now little of the artists I know, and how the ones performing certainly don't deserve to be there. But I think I would have come out of a three-and-a-half-hour tunnel (plus the YouTube prequel), with a lot more respect for what they knew they needed to accomplish, and mostly did.
When you think about the casual music fans, whose intense listening often comes through that twenty-minute drive to work with their favorite radio format/satellite-format/personal choice media to and from their jobs: that was taken off their plate.
Whatever at-work listening choices they had on-shift: that was taken off their plate.
Whatever peer commentary they were usually exposed to during commute or a workshift (deejay chatting, or banter with workmates): that was taken off their plate.
The casual music listener, who was removed from workaday entertainment he/she is used to being exposed to, was faced with the challenge of being left to their own music - or not - with no opinion-supporting peer interaction.
And this also goes for students, many of them still with personal media, but, without that day-to-day, in-your-face, peer interaction and casual conversation that's easier than messaging.
Obviously this isn't a universal situation, but for a significant percentile of both the workforce and school culture, this was a thing.
People living through a pandemic with their own lives, still rely on their music to get them through this, and more-passionate music lovers don't let that slow their music consumption down, maybe making time for even more of it.
The music industry, with less people to relate to the star-making machinery every year, with radio already being replaced in so many people's lives with personal media alternatives, was already recalculating, before half the world "took a year off".
To add to that, the economy for the 99% is far down, discretionary income and budget imperatives having become tougher than usual choices in a bad year for families.
And, new reputations aren't being made through touring artists, bar bands or festivals. Album releases have slowed, artists have either had to take down-time, or change their work strategies. And still...wait for a chance to get back to audiences.
And, ya know who else hasn't be working at top efficiency and quality for over a year now? The television industry. While even more services are online, offering even more product than ever to an even more-hungry population...stuck at home.
So, this is all new challenge for both the music and the television industry, prior to even determining how to present a nation's musical preferences to them, in their best light, fully-aware that less people than ever, will agree with their choices.
From one point of view, it is sort of fundamentally unfair that Paul Simon could write “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” Paul McCartney could write “Yesterday,” and that you, I, and Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day cannot do the same.
But that’s reality, fair or not. And, unless we want to adopt the participation trophy school of criticism, pointing out that “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” and “Cardigan” do not measure up to “Bridge Over Troubled Water” is a fair comparison and judgment to make.
While any change provokes some opposition, pointing out that some people didn’t like Charlie Parker in his lifetime doesn’t magically validate Cardi B, who, within the tradition of her genre, is not doing anything remotely comparable to elevate it or add to it in the same way that Bird was in his day.
All other awards presentation innovations past that, were all attached to that. Even the simple "attaboy" awards one might hand out at the office (which, don't forget, usually leads to at least a photo op that can get into the company newsletter, which gets seen back at the head office...just like movie magazines and newsreels, no awards presentation is complete without exploiting it in self-promotion).
Compare to 70's radio where I could listen for days.
I think a lot of it is each genre has specialized, so for example if you liked say Young MC rap you probably won't be able to listen to today's rap.
Regardless, most of what I like isn't even nominated today, so it really doesn't matter to me any more than my opinions matter to anyone else.
Having said that, Eddie Van Halen deserved more of a tribute than simply a ten-second shot of his guitar.
bigtail said:
nope...pure garbage...Jack said:
Tried it.Turned off after a minute.
Trader Joe said:
"Grammys 2021 - anyone even watching?"Nope.
Spencer R said:
The song Billie sang tonight struck me as the newer incarnation of a Cyndi Lauper or Phil Collins 80s ballad. Beneath the green hair, not sure what exactly was fresh or new about that. At least “Bad Guy” had sort of a fresh sound and production.The closest thing to a positive surprise I’ve seen so far was that, assuming he was actually singing live, Harry Styles has a better voice than I had noticed before.
Spencer R said:
Dua Lipa’s legs should win their own special Grammy. As far as generic 80s dance pop + looking sexy goes, she does that as well as anyone in a while.dbacon said:
The show has been on for an hour...and one award has been given out. I thought this was an award show.Chemguy said:
Those last three acts were pure rubbish. So it’s a great Grammy night so far!George Co-Stanza said:
I had never heard of Dua Lipa, but she caught my eye (ha!), so I checked out one of her songs on YT. Pass. Sounds like what bothers me about too much modern pop - vocals that sound like they are run through a million effects to where I am not even sure a human is singing.wayneklein said:
I stopped watching the Grammys over 20 years ago.wino14 said:
Nope...I miss the 70s and 80s when it was really an awards show. And even tho I don't listen to any of it I miss the other categorys that they never mention anymore. Plus...and please dont beat me up for my opinion...the so called music mostly sucks.Deja Doh said:
Yawn. I gave up watching more than a decade ago. I may tune in if there is an act I want to see. But that's it.FLF said:
I accidently caught DaBaby's performance and found it to be as cringe-inducing as I expected it to be. The older white gals on backup were uh...weird. I'll just leave it there.Anyway, I hopped out to Spotify to see what else this DaBaby fella has that I might not have heard. Spotify listed his latest single as a track called "Throat Baby" and it's every bit of filth you can imagine and then some.
Throat Baby.
Giving a guy front and center to sing...uh..perform rather...about injustices while his current single is full of very graphic explicit descriptions of oral sex. This is where we are now folks.
deadbirdie said:
Nice to see Gerry Marsden represented with a performance.Go Liverpool!
Praveen said:
Dua Lipa's performance was T&A pleasing without seeming way too crassy. Nice legs.Daniel Plainview said:
Someone should throw DaBaby out with DaBathWater.Grant said:
I have joined the side that wants nothing to do with the Grammys, and this has been years in the making, not just because of The Weekend.Big Jimbo said:
I have not watched it since Jethro Tull won for best heavy metal/hard rock.vitorbastos123 said:
My gosh this Cadi B and such are so... dumb and bad, is beyone my comprehension.Just waitin on Ringo here. My cute 80 year drummer needs love.
Chemguy said:
Cardi’s parents must be so proud...lastdamdown said:
For Grammy songs where the chorus could not be sung without FCC fines, "WAP" does not hold a candle to "**** You".Spencer R said:
I would say it’s possible to recognize worthy contemporary music while acknowledging that, as “music,” Cardi B is beyond awful. Surely we can do better than that.Praveen said:
At least not too much of the latino autotune crap that has been on a lot of pop radio these days on this show.And what the hell did Beyonce do to herself? She looks thicker than Megan Thee.
vitorbastos123 said:
I love music of this century and last decade. But can't stand Cardi B, Nicki Minaj and all the other ones.lastdamdown said:
Aren't they actually the same person? Asking for a friend.vitorbastos123 said:
Weirdly, no. They sure look exactly alike to me as well.Spencer R said:
And, in Post Malone, popular music hits its all time rock bottom.challenge said:
Whoever this guy with the tattoos is terribleSpencer R said:
“Why isn’t anyone combining Nickelback and Creed-lite power ballads with watered-down hip hop beats?” - Post Malone experiencing the flash of inspiration that launched his career.George Co-Stanza said:
In all seriousness, does she write any of her music? I took a quick glance online and it looks like most of her songs have a zillion writers and I don't see her listed much at all on any of them.Spencer R said:
Who is Doja Cats and why is she on the Grammys? I have officially reached completely out of the loop status.kdd21 said:
The lack of EVH tribute stunk big timeSpencer R said:
If this were an awards show for looking cute while dancing and sort of halfway pretending to lip sync to a backing track, Dua Lipa and BTS should win all of the trophies.Spencer R said:
Is Ringo doing OK healthwise?scoutbb said:
I watched for about 2 minutes.lonelysea said:
SH.TV: Come for the shared love of music, stay for the ever increasing racism, misogyny, and intolerance?Bugghair said:
I've read all of the replies. You're playing a card that isn't in this deck, but that didn't stop you from throwing it on the table and walking away.lonelysea said:
I don’t owe it to you or any of the others here who continually grace us with such bigoted boomer gems as “Aren’t they actually the same person?” and “They sure look exactly alike to me as well.”. That’s some vintage racist crap, but keep your head buried in the 20th century if it makes you feel better.doppelganger said:
How is that racist? They look pretty similar to me?!It's like saying that Russel Crowe and Benjamin McKenzie look alike.
I watched the Up/WAP performance and it seemed pretty unmusical to me, for lack of a better word.
Michael said:
and my answer to the question is... WHY? and NO...WHMusical said:
Amen Brother. The Music Just Ain't the same and Awards Show at this Juncture seems semi-Nero-Erotica.... I'll Pass, To A Void, Such Simple Sins, and ask not to Pass Out, of bore-dumb and -cyburr-angst.Coincidentally, I saw that this week marks the 50th anniversary of the FIRST LIVE Grammy's on TV, in 1971. IT being the 1970 releases under consideration, the already about to Break up/or just broken up Simon and Garfunkel won top honors for their sublime swan song, Bridge Over Troubled Water, and the Grammy for best New Artist went to The Carpenters....
Yes, music was just MUCH better then, just the truth, nothing but the unvarnished truth, PC Police and Revisionist Rock Historians be damned; and ALL due respect to Fiona Apple.
doppelganger said:
Yeah, that's the other thing. I feel like I'm basically consuming porn now. Which is fine, but not what I'm personally looking for when I want to listen to music.geetar_await said:
watched the Styles opener, then turned it on later to see someone in a cat-like outfit prowling the floor, then changed the channel.Sordel said:
I'm not sure it aired in the UK; I will probably watch the highlights if they come here.It's been funny reading through all the disapproval & consternation interrupted only by the shaft of sunlight provided to SHF forumites by Taylor Swift. I'd have been exactly the same: Misses Swift & Eilish would have been the only people that I recognised. I did listen to “WAP” today just to know what people are talking about and: if that's close to the top of the pile for contemporary music you can keep it.
autumn daze said:
This forum at times. Sigh.Be careful old guys, your intolerance, misogyny and casual racism is showing.
Buggyhair said:
You find offense where it isn't there, yet you have no qualms being offensive by calling people you don't know "racist" and "boomer". That much self-righteousness isn't a good look, keyboard warrior.wino14 said:
Be careful younger people...your intolerance, self hate, and casual throwing around the word racist so it doesnt even mean anything anymore is showing. Im not sure why people can't just let people have their own opinions anymore without getting all political or pc like I just did out of despairjimod99 said:
Theres a difference between having an opinion and being a dickhead, and there are a few dickheads on this forum and they should be called out at every opportunity.They would be disgusted if anyone spoke about their wives or daughters they way they speak about female performers on here.
krisjay said:
Can say with certainty, not watching. Just doesn't interest me.Todd W. said:
Yes, because it is only "old" and hey, just for fun, throw in white guys, who hold these traits............:doh: I'm thinking people who take the time to make these posts about others might exhibit the qualities they so despise?But, hey, that's coming from the old white guy who grew up on the O'Jays, War, Temptations, Curtis Mayfield, Kool and the Gang, Stylistics, Commodores, Jackson 5, Earth Wind and Fire, etc....... So does this make me just a casual or full blown racist?
Jackson said:
Hated the Grammys back in the day, hate them now. Of all the crappy music and movie awards "RRHF included" given out they are the absolute worst, and most meaningless to me, always have been.Another Steve said:
Sorry, I'm a dinosaur. I couldn't name one song by anyone nominated. I wouldn't recognize but about ten names. It was watching "Barnwood Builders" for me.ronm said:
I moved on from the awards shows back in the mid 90s.Just not something I care to watch anymore.Chrome_Head said:
I watched the very end and then the start of the recast right after. Focusing on the music: I don't know a few of the acts, and I thought most of the performances I saw were fairly ridiculous (Da'Baby, Harry Stiles, etc). I find Billie Ellish to be a bit of a bore, frankly, but she's a pretty girl with blue eyes and an odd fashion style, so I guess she's the darling of right now. I enjoyed the performance by Black Pumas, who I didn't know.I would submit that the show has always been about "pandering and preening and self-conscience smugness". Your mileage on certain pandering may vary.
Catcher10 said:
Wow, you watched a long time.......I lasted about 13 seconds.HonestDenver said:
Not this year. I gave it a shot the last couple years and just can't do it anymore. I'm not THAT old but it's just amazing how quickly it shifts. I don't get pop music these days. The music has little lasting appeal to me. Even Billie Eilish.. Cool, catchy, great for a listen or 3 and then I'm done with it. No lasting value. I know old people said that about bands in the 60's too...Spencer R said:
What made the 70s interesting was people doing the then-new things, wearing the then-new fashions, and playing the then-new styles of music that Bruno Mars is now copying down to the smallest detail. He’s a great talent, and, as far as emulating the Spinners goes, he’s great at it, but for how much longer are we going to cannibalize the 70s (Bruno Mars) and the 80s (Dua Lipa?).Granted, in the late 60s/early 70s, there was 20s and 30s nostalgia, as evidenced by movies such as Bonnie & Clyde and the 1974 Great Gatsby, and 50s nostalgia, as evidenced by Happy Days and Sha Na Na, but popular music was still largely focused on the now to a far, far greater degree than it is today.
I’d rather listen to Bruno bring back the 70s than listen to WAP, but neither is exactly optimal.
Spencer R said:
I don’t think you have to blindly fear the new or deny the possibility of anything new and interesting ever happening in order to recognize that, in the grand scheme of things, Western popular music today is overall in a bad way compared to the creative explosions of jazz/swing/bop in the 20s/30s/40s or of pop/rock in the 50s/60s/70s.Yelling “OK Boomer” at anyone who speaks this truth doesn’t change that reality.
mercuryvenus said:
I would argue that there's plenty of crap music put out in every decade you cited. There was crap and there was great music, just like today. I don't really see a huge difference, to be honest.Spencer R said:
In America, who is the Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Eric Dolphy, etc. of today? Who remotely approaches that status?In rock, who is the Elvis Presley, John Lennon, Pete Townshend, Brian Wilson, Ray Davies, etc. of today? Who remotely approaches that status?
I like Taylor Swift, and bought her Grammy-winning album, but, while there are always creative people at any given moment, in the grand scheme of things, there are cultural peaks and valleys, and right now we are living in a valley for popular music. Bruno Mars is really, really good at referencing past styles; had he been born 40 years earlier, or perhaps 40 years later, however, he might have been a pioneer of a new style.
shokhead said:
Did not watch, no idea who was on, who won what and don't feel like I missed anything.PacificOceanBlue said:
Probably haven’t tuned-in in 20 years.Madness said:
The absolute stupidity of the people who run the Grammys is why I don't ever watch it:Body Count gets nominated for and wins in Metal category.
Dillydipper said:
I just read eleven pages of Hoffman member commentary on a yearly awards show that usually gets the same comments about the same reactions. And I understand that. But this also made me wish, I had taken a little more interest in what The Grammys had to go through this year, to make an entertaining, , encompassing and relevant entry this of all years...when we , and they, really needed it.I would go into it with the same cynicism as many of you, not expecting to like the artists, comment on now little of the artists I know, and how the ones performing certainly don't deserve to be there. But I think I would have come out of a three-and-a-half-hour tunnel (plus the YouTube prequel), with a lot more respect for what they knew they needed to accomplish, and mostly did.
When you think about the casual music fans, whose intense listening often comes through that twenty-minute drive to work with their favorite radio format/satellite-format/personal choice media to and from their jobs: that was taken off their plate.
Whatever at-work listening choices they had on-shift: that was taken off their plate.
Whatever peer commentary they were usually exposed to during commute or a workshift (deejay chatting, or banter with workmates): that was taken off their plate.
The casual music listener, who was removed from workaday entertainment he/she is used to being exposed to, was faced with the challenge of being left to their own music - or not - with no opinion-supporting peer interaction.
And this also goes for students, many of them still with personal media, but, without that day-to-day, in-your-face, peer interaction and casual conversation that's easier than messaging.
Obviously this isn't a universal situation, but for a significant percentile of both the workforce and school culture, this was a thing.
People living through a pandemic with their own lives, still rely on their music to get them through this, and more-passionate music lovers don't let that slow their music consumption down, maybe making time for even more of it.
The music industry, with less people to relate to the star-making machinery every year, with radio already being replaced in so many people's lives with personal media alternatives, was already recalculating, before half the world "took a year off".
To add to that, the economy for the 99% is far down, discretionary income and budget imperatives having become tougher than usual choices in a bad year for families.
And, new reputations aren't being made through touring artists, bar bands or festivals. Album releases have slowed, artists have either had to take down-time, or change their work strategies. And still...wait for a chance to get back to audiences.
And, ya know who else hasn't be working at top efficiency and quality for over a year now? The television industry. While even more services are online, offering even more product than ever to an even more-hungry population...stuck at home.
So, this is all new challenge for both the music and the television industry, prior to even determining how to present a nation's musical preferences to them, in their best light, fully-aware that less people than ever, will agree with their choices.
Spencer R said:
I agree. Taylor Swift could write “The Dangling Conversation,” and, on her most recent albums, she has written some songs on that level, I would argue. But she’s incapable of writing “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” as are most professional songwriters.From one point of view, it is sort of fundamentally unfair that Paul Simon could write “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” Paul McCartney could write “Yesterday,” and that you, I, and Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day cannot do the same.
But that’s reality, fair or not. And, unless we want to adopt the participation trophy school of criticism, pointing out that “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” and “Cardigan” do not measure up to “Bridge Over Troubled Water” is a fair comparison and judgment to make.
Spencer R said:
That’s akin to arguing that, had this board existed in 1966, everyone would have been declaring that “Strawberry Fields Forever” sucked and could we please get back to Merseybeat? And pretty clearly, some portion of the Beatles audience did in fact feel that way. Most, however, recognized that they were witnessing something special happen in real time.While any change provokes some opposition, pointing out that some people didn’t like Charlie Parker in his lifetime doesn’t magically validate Cardi B, who, within the tradition of her genre, is not doing anything remotely comparable to elevate it or add to it in the same way that Bird was in his day.
Dillydipper said:
It's not so much a "human" thing; we taught ourselves to expect this. Remember, the Oscars were a confluence of two major events in post-Depression life: the invention of mass-medium that made movie stars we could see - and wanted to see more of - and a growing problem with scandals involving life in Hollywood. A ceremony saluting the best the growing moviemaking industry had to offer, solved two problems at once, as far as public image was concerned.All other awards presentation innovations past that, were all attached to that. Even the simple "attaboy" awards one might hand out at the office (which, don't forget, usually leads to at least a photo op that can get into the company newsletter, which gets seen back at the head office...just like movie magazines and newsreels, no awards presentation is complete without exploiting it in self-promotion).
Spencer R said:
Some certainly were. That George W. Bush has remarked that “I liked the Beatles until they got weird,” however, does not mean that that was the consensus opinion, or the correct opinion. Further, rebutting the observation that Cardi B is not very good at what she does, with “well, back in the day ignoramuses dissed ‘Strawberry Fields,’ too,” does not mean “WAP” is equivalent to “Strawberry Fields.” Or even that it is equivalent to “Gin and Juice,” “Work It,” or “Stan.” Hip-hop can do better, and has done better, than what we saw last night.John54 said:
Nope, didn't watch. Never have. I've always been too busy listening to hundreds of great songs that never came close to being nominated for a Grammy to worry about a group of mostly lousy songs that were.William Kucharski said:
Personally I couldn't stand to listen to any of it except for Miranda Lambert doing Bluebird, which pretty much syncs with how long I can listen to a contemporary hits radio station today (not at all.)Compare to 70's radio where I could listen for days.
I think a lot of it is each genre has specialized, so for example if you liked say Young MC rap you probably won't be able to listen to today's rap.
Regardless, most of what I like isn't even nominated today, so it really doesn't matter to me any more than my opinions matter to anyone else.
MikeManaic61 said:
Does this forum even like music at this point? Lol.spherical said:
I happen to live and breathe music. "WAP"...very classy, isn't it? I see and hear an impoverishment of thinking and language in today's culture. the self-entitled robots hungry for their selfies and self-importance, disguised as "art" and music. HA. Yeah, I'll stick with Captain Beefheart and Sun Ra and Duke Ellington, thank you.Jeff57 said:
No...not into satanic pedophilia.cwd said:
To answer the OP question: No.tinnox said:
NOSpencer R said:
I wish they had given more of a tribute to McCoy Tyner, maybe even had someone play one of his tunes. But jazz is even more meaningless to the masses, and the rest of the world doesn’t always share our personal tastes and interests.Having said that, Eddie Van Halen deserved more of a tribute than simply a ten-second shot of his guitar.