rant-a-riffic

i think it says a lot that as much as i care about music, i couldn't give a shit about the grammy awards. i mean, i watched the fucking SAG awards, but i didn't watch the grammys. ok, so i was in class during the grammy awards so it's not like i had a choice, but i probably wouldn't have watched them anyhow. some of the performances interest me (thanks internet!) but the awards are pretty lame. take for example the following list of nominees:

• The Arcade Fire
• Beck
• Death Cab For Cutie
• Franz Ferdinand
• The White Stripes

What field do you think these bands were nominated in? If you could name the type of music they make, what would it be? Well, apparently it's not rock, because this is the list of nominees for best "alternative" album of the year (an award which is not televised), all of which by the way, were WAY better than most of the nominees for best rock album (which is televised). For the record, Franz' "Do you want to" was nominated for "best rock performance by a duo or group with vocal", but the white stripes aren't making rock music? who the hell comes up with this shit?

Also, the sheer number of awards is insane. In the "rock" field for instance, there are no fewer than 7 awards: solo w/ vocal, duo or group with vocal, hard rock, metal, instrumental, best rock song (this is for the song itself: the other awards are ostensibly for the "performance"), and best rock album. All in all there are 108 awards.

Let's repeat that in case you missed it: the recording academy gives out no fewer ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHT grammys every year. Total number they show on tv: eleven.

In a field where we celebrate rising above categorization, the academy's response is to be as specfic as possible. i'd love to meet the guy who had to decide that feel good inc. was a "pop collaboration with vocals" while "daft punk is playing at my house" is a "dance recording."

most inane categories: "pop instrumental" album and performance. if it's an instrumental, then it's not a pop song. even if it was written by burt bacharach.

conclusion: the grammy awards are irrelevant. not that i'd turn one down or anything.