I watched the Grammies last night. I was ill before watching them, and they did not do too much to improve my spirits or my health.
Really, I found the content to be very disappointing. The Norah Jones album was one of only a few that I bought this year. It is a pleasant album, to be sure, and would have been a reasonably worthy "best new artist" award winner in an average year. That it garnered best record, though, is really a sad, sad commentary on the state of pop music these days (especially since I do not feel any violent objections to its having won the award). Here, I think I sense I am disagreeing with my friend Bob Muller again, who has said he feels that Joni's contemporaries are producing fine new work. Is it really that fine, that it could not surpass the Norah Jones album ? I did buy the JT CD (and I like his recent DVD, which has a number of the songs from the new reconrd on it). But I do not think it is that good - sorry Victor. In fact, I would proffer that of Joni's albums, virtually all of them are better records than this year's big winner. Anyway, I will back my judgment to my death bed on LOTC, Blue, FTR, C&S, Hejira, DJRD, Night Ride Home and TI. And how many "Records of the Year" did Joni actually garner ? 0 ? Let us remember, this is not the listening public voting. I have to sympathize with Joni a bit in this regard. I mean, really. When she's right, she's right. Norah Jones is a pleasant performer, but (as she was described on the show) is basically a novice. For example, in terms of talent, she is not even on the same planet as Diana Krall (whose live Paris album was a much more interesting listen, to my ears). Of course, that was not original material, so that is not really a fair comparison. Still.... Gosh, if I keep posting like this, I'll have to start signing all my posts Bob Sourtorius :-) (Hoping my meds kick in ...)
