So instead of doing a full on recap and due to my brief discussion/debate I had with some co-workers instead of voicing my thoughts or problems with the Grammy's I thought I'd have my good buddy Bob do the talking for me. For those that don't know who Bob is you can read about him here. I found out about this guy through a co-worker who always heard me rant about basically some of the things Bob talks about. This dude however is a lot more knowledgeable for the simple fact that he's been around industry people and actually studies it. Where I speak based on the little things I see and hear and try to make sense of it through a gut feeling. Yeah I said it. But anyways this dude makes really good points and I very seldom disagree. You can subscribe to his letter but be prepared to get a lot of emails. In addition I've added my favorite performances after the jump and the recap of who won. Enjoy!
WINNERS:
Record of the Year: “Rolling in the Deep,” Adele
Song of the Year: “Rolling in the Deep,” Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth
New Artist: Bon Iver
Pop Solo Performance: “Someone Like You,” Adele
Pop Performance by a Duo or Group: “Body and Soul,” Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse
Pop Vocal Album: “21,” Adele
Alternative Album: “Bon Iver,” Bon Iver
Rock Song: “Walk,” Foo Fighters
Rock Album: “Wasting Light,” Foo Fighters
Rock Performance: “Walk,” Foo Fighters
Hard Rock/Metal Performance: “White Limo,” Foo Fighters
R&B Album: “F.A.M.E.,” Chris Brown
R&B Song: “Fool For You,” Cee Lo Green, Melanie Hallim & Jack Splash
R&B Performance: “Is This Love,” Corrine Bailey Rae
Traditional R&B Vocal Performance: “Fool For You,” Cee Lo Green & Melanie Fiona
Rap Album: “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” Kanye West
Rap Performance: “Otis,” Jay-Z and Kanye West
Rap Song: “All of the Lights,” Jeff Bhasker, Stacy Ferguson, Malik Jones, Warren Trotter & Kanye West
Rap/Sung Collaboration: “All of the Lights,” Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie
Dance Recording: “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites,” Skrillex
Dance/Electronica Album: “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites,” Skrillex
Musical Theater Album: “The Book of Mormon,” Robert Lopez, Trey Parker & Matt Stone
World Music Album: “Tassili,” Tinariwen
Latin Pop Rock, Rock or Urban Album: “Drama y Luz,” Mana
Tropical Latin Album: “Last Mambo,” Cachao
Banda or Norteno Album: “Los Tigres Del Norte and Friends,” Los Tigres Del Norte
Regional Mexican or Tejano Album: “Bicentenario,” Pepe Aguilar
Country Solo Performance: “Mean,” Taylor Swift
Country Album: “Own the Night,” Lady Antebellum
Country Performance by a Duo or Group: “Barton Hollow,” The Civil Wars
Country Song: “Mean,” Taylor Swift
Jazz Vocal Album: “The Mosaic Project,” Terri Lyne Carrington & various artists
Jazz Instrumental Album: “Forever,” Corea, Clark & White
Improvised Jazz Solo: “500 Miles High,” Chick Corea
Large Ensemble Jazz Album: “The Good Feeling,” Christian McBride Big Band
Blues Album: “Revelator,” Tedeschi Trucks Band
Folk Album: “Barton Hollow,” The Civil Wars
Pop Instrumental Album: “The Road From Memphis,” Booker T. Jones
Bluegrass Album: “Paper Airplane,” Alison Krauss & Union Station
Americana Album: “Ramble at the Ryman,” Levon Helm
Reggae Album: “Revelation Pt. 1: The Root of Life,” Stephen Marley
New Age Album: “What’s It All About,” Pat Metheny
Children’s Album: “All About Bullies... Big and Small,” various artists
Producer of the Year, Non-Classical: Paul Epworth
Remixed Recording, Non-Classical: “Cinema (Skrillex remix),” Sonny Moore
Gospel Song: “Hello Fear,” Kirk Franklin
Gospel/Contemporary Christian Performance: “Jesus,” L’Andria Johnson
Gospel Album: “Hello Fear,” Kirk Franklin
Choral Performance: “Light & Gold,” Eric Whitacre
Classical Contemporary Composition: “Elmer Gantry,” Robert Aldridge & Herschel Garfein
Producer of the Year, Classical: Judith Sherman
Orchestral Performance: “Brahms: Symphony No. 4,” Gustavo Dudamel
Opera Recording: “Adams: Doctor Atomic,” Alan Gilbert, conductor
Spoken Word Album: “If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won’t),” Betty White
Comedy Album: “Hilarious,” Louis C.K.
Compilation Soundtrack Album For Visual Media: “Boardwalk Empire,” various artists
Score Soundtrack Album For Visual Media: “The King’s Speech,” Alexandre Desplat
Song Written For Visual Media: “I See the Light,” Alan Menken & Glenn Slater
Historical Album: “Band on the Run (Paul McCartney Archive Collection - Deluxe Edition),” Paul McCartney
Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists: “Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me),” Jorge Calandrelli
HOP'S FAVORITE PERFORMANCES:
Jenifer Hudson: Whitney Houston Tribute
21221222396 by YardieGoals
Adele
Grammys: Adele’s First Post-Surgery Performance by Spi0n
Rihanna & Coldplay
21221225635 by YardieGoals
Bruno Mars
2122122555 by YardieGoals
Alicia Keys & Bonny Raitt: Etta James Tribute
2122122227 by YardieGoals
BOB'S THOUGHTS:
What kind of crazy fucked up world do we live in where the Golden Globes are simulcast, but the Grammys are on tape delay?
All the action was online last night. Twitter was aflare. If you think the Grammy ratings spiked because of the show, you probably believe CDs are ripe for a comeback. The bottom line is we all like to participate. And the more mass the event, the more we're drawn to it. Used to be you could miss the Grammys, but now you'd be unable to discuss Nicki Minaj's train-wreck if you did.
Yes, there are diehard fans tuning in to see their favorites, but most of us would rather sit in judgment of those doing their best to impress. You might think J. Lo and Tyler are the judges, but that's wrong. We are. Always have been, but now more than ever. The public is in control. Didn't we learn that with SOPA?
I could dis and dat the Grammys...then again, I already did! Read my Twitter feed here:
https://twitter.com/#!/Lefsetz
The show was too boring to watch in real time. But playing with my lovers and haters on Twitter was incredibly entertaining. We were all on the other side of the glass, having a private conversation that those on screen were not clued into, to their detriment.
I mean what kind of calamity was this, where seemingly half the acts lip-synched and it was a smorgasbord of genres. It was pure America, where everybody believes if they just work hard enough, they can become rich and famous and leave the rest of us behind.
Wrong.
So what did we learn?
1. Have a social media presence. Just like Twitter and Facebook drove up the Grammy ratings to 1984 levels, their second best ever, interacting where your fans are will enhance your career.
2. Ignore the haters. They come with the territory. If you're too afraid to be beaten up online, close your account, don't play, go to your psychiatrist and cry. Behind a cloak of anonymity, without knowing the people they're tearing down, the hoi polloi is vicious. If you take it personally, you've missed the point. See it as jealousy. The want what you've got, even if you don't think what you possess is so damn hot. They're angry where they're at and you're the scapegoat. Laugh about it.
3. Make it easy. If the Grammys had been simulcast throughout the U.S. the ratings would have been even higher. I felt left out during the east coast feed. My e-mail was aflutter, Tweetdeck was raging, and I couldn't play. Furthermore, the whole damn world's a spoiler alert. We live online. If you think people can avoid the results, you live in a vacuum.
4. Don't put money first. That's why CBS insisted on tape delay. Believing only during prime time could they charge premium prices for advertising. It's all about the franchise. Build it and they will come. Do you think advertisers complain that the Super Bowl is aired in the afternoon on the west coast and they want a discount? Of course not! They know everybody's tuned in.
5. There are a limited number of franchises. There's only one Grammys and one Oscars. Forget about competition, build it and buff it and they will come. The Grammys should add another event. Maybe a nomination special wherein what the public votes for gets a chance at winning a Grammy. Instead of being beholden to CBS, the Grammys should pull the ancient TV network into the future. Music leads online, don't expect a TV network worried about theft of its content to get it. The more viewers you've got, the more money you've got.
6. All publicity is not good publicity. That guy in Foster The People looked like a dork and sang even worse, I felt positively towards the act before, now I can see their talent is limited. As for Adam Levine... If you can't sing, stay off the stage.
7. Fight for your right to do it your way. The Civil Wars got a minute, but doing their own song acoustically paid more dividends than those garnered by anybody playing by the rules, agreeing to do a medley with an act they had little in common with, if anything at all.
8. Less is more. Who made a bigger impression last night, Adele or Nicki Minaj? Who sold more records? It's about music. It goes in the ears, not the eyes.
The old paradigm is gone. History. Public policy may still be driven by corporations, but entertainment is owned by the public. If you think you're above the audience, you're cruisin' for a bruisin'.
I had a great time watching the Grammys last night.
But it wasn't the show.
But the behind the scenes conversation. Not with some dressed up airhead interviewing celebs spouting vapidities, but with the vast unwashed online. Some hating, some loving, some with perceptive insight and all spreading the word, retweeting thoughts to the farthest reaches of the Internet, to the point where no one was unaware of what was happening at the Grammys.
And this is a good thing.
