Wednesday, February 17, 2016

My personal recap of Grammys 2016

​I like to live tweet awards shows.  It helped me find my little blog sis, Kati Rose(we realized yesterday was our one year anniversary as big/little sis because our bond formed over last year's Grammys).  I couldn't live tweet the Grammys this year (silly timezone differences).  But, I did take a look (from my work computer) at live tweets during the show.
 
Last night, I watched a delayed recording.  This is my personal opinion, my own recap, and my own thoughts about the Grammys 2016.  According to me...without reading other recaps (besides the live tweets yesterday)...I emailed these thoughts to Kati, then I thought "what the hell, I'll post it on the blog too."
 
 
Taylor Swift opens - I really don't want to hate on Taylor.  I'm happy for the success of someone who works hard, writes her own music, gets criticized and ridiculed (by some) and revered by others.  But.  She's NOT that great of a singer.  She's a performer.  A songwriter.  She's beautiful and stylish.  Not that great of a singer.  But I saw a lot of people compliment her singing.  Maybe, it's just me.  AND.  I don't like body shaming anyone.  But, I want to feed Taylor 10 cheeseburgers and 3 deep dish pizzas.
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LLCool J comes out on stage to host the show, and all I could do was stare in awe at his diamond encrusted "LL" brooch.  Does this man age?

Now, I may get some things out of order from here.  I'm going off the cuff by memory.

There were tributes...and this is what I thought about those -
 
Lionel Richie was honoured with a Music Cares recognition.  It began with John Legend on the piano singing "Easy".  I kinda wish it would have stayed with John Legend.  A quality that he has and shares with Lionel is he makes it feel effortless.  More joined him to sing more of Lionel's songs.  Demi Lovato can sing.  She looked stunning.  But, I felt she was putting in a lot of effort to prove that she can sing.  Luke Bryan - well, I know he has a lot of country fans.  I appreciate that they were trying to mix up the genres to show that Lionel influenced many.  And, they had to work Meghan Trainor in because she won a grammy later.  Tyrese singing "Brick House" seemed to be the song the audience had the most fun dancing and singing along.  But, like I said, I kinda wish it would have just been a shorter medley with just John Legend performing...and then Lionel joining him.  Dave Grohl and his red solo cup dancing to "All Night Long" was indeed awesome.

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The much talked about tribute to David BowieHere's where I wish they'd brought in the cross genres/cross generation of performers.  Giving it all to Lady Gaga...well, I didn't agree with that choice.  Her performances of "Fashion" and "Fame" were outstanding, and I liked the choice to look androgynous.  But, overall, I felt it was too much Gaga again trying too hard to prove she is an uber talent.  My opinion...Bowie's brilliance is that he crossed so-many-boundaries.  Gaga does too.  But, I wanted more.  I wanted performances from more artists that he influenced.  Nile Rodgers was a nice touch.
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BB King - brilliant.  So much musicianship on stage at once, and I think it didn't connect with the audience as well as it connected with me.  I want Bonnie Raitt's jacket.
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Glenn Frey - perfect for the man honored.  Get the current Eagles together, sing a song that is quintessential Glenn Frey Eagles, "Take It Easy".  Sing in perfect harmonies with perfect sound quality.  Only mishap was Jackson Browne and some lyrics, but I'll let that slide.  It's not his song. 
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Lemmy of Motorhead - Yes.  I'm biased.  I like rock music.  That is my music of choice.  Joe Perry is one of my all-time favourite guitarists.  Duff McKagan is one of my all-time favourite bassists.  Johnny Depp continues to surprise people with his talents and coolness.  I like Matt Sorum (the drummer).  Here's where rock fans may not agree with me, but Alice Cooper isn't my choice for this somewhat supergroup.  I don't know what their intentions are.  If they are just guys who enjoy getting together and jamming - fine.  But, if they want more mass appeal, they need a more appealing vocalist.  Alice Cooper is great at what he does - his shock rock extravaganza.  But, his vocals weren't great at this.  I think they only scanned the face of one audience member (Bruno Mars), and he was pretty blank-faced.
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More performances...

Kendrick Lamar was the one that had my tweeter feed going wild from someone calling it crap to others calling it brilliant.  So, you know, I've got two cents.  Actually, I've got more.  I've got ten cents.  Maybe even a quarter about this topic.
I feel like I need to admit that I am completely totally without-a-doubt out-of-touch with the rap world of today.  I am aware of artists that are having success.  But, I don't know their songs.  I don't know their stories.  I admit ignorance.  I wasn't always this way.  Rap has never been my top genre of choice.  But, when I was in junior high, high school, college, I owned a lot of the more popular rap albums (because that was a time we bought full albums/cassettes/cds; not just singles).  I owned and saw in concert Run DMC, LL Cool J, and Beastie Boys.  I owned NWA, Dr Dre, and Snoop Dogg.  I owned Houdini and Kool Moe Dee.  I owned and saw the more pop, than rap works of MC Hammer and DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince.  I even saw Public Enemy in concert.  They were looked at as highly protagonistic at the time.  So, I did own and see my share of rap music.
 
As I got older, my rap fandom fell away.  Call it age.  Tastes change.  My way of listening to music changed.  I just don't listen to current rap anymore.  So, that leads to Kendrick Lamar.  I am aware that he is popular and successful, but until this Grammy performance, I'd never heard a song of his in its entirety (although I think his performance consisted of a couple of his songs). 
First...did anyone else notice that he rapped with a feature artist coming in to sing a catchy pop chorus?  He didn't have any other rapper friends join him.  He rapped solid, straight, and I can't even imagine the vocal chords and stomach muscles that it takes to do that but these guys (and gals) don't get credit for that.  Next...the blend of a saxophone jazz player with spoken word with African tribal sounds with r&b and modern hip-hop music is a pretty magnificent way of blending his influences with his own artistry.  That's right I said artistry.  It seems to me, he freshly blends the old and new.  He is provocative.  He forced a reaction.  He is seemingly eloquent and articulate (although I admit that I didn't understand many of the lyrics, I imagine many of his fans do).  I applaud his performance.  Will I go out and buy his music?  No.  It's not my kind of music anymore.  But the high school girl in me who liked a little rap now and then would've probably bought it.
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Now...James Bay and Tori Kelly...pretty much everyone watching the Grammys on my twitter feed agreed that this was an amazing performance.  And, it was.  Because this is the kind of music I listen to, I will buy some Tori Kelly (I already own some James Bay.)  A beautiful blend of voices, guitars, and good-looking people (c'mon, I'm not going to lie.  It doesn't hurt.)  Performance of the night.
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AdeleWhat happened with her production team?  The sound was terrible.  The lighting was terrible.  You know Adele was dropping some f-bombs after she got off the stage. 
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Bieber.  I didn't need his acoustic solo performance of "Love Yourself".  I like that song, but I'd rather it done like it was recorded.   A fun pop song.  If I'm going to talk about Bieber, I can't help myself, I have to talk about him on the red carpet with his little brother.  Stop the adorableness!
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I liked the inclusion of Hamilton and televising the Broadway Musical Award.  Maybe because I like Broadway musicals.
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Those Little Big Town folks sure can harmonize and "Girl Crush" has some clever lyrics.  Plus, I like how that one female member embraces her curls.
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I'm staring at the computer trying to remember any other performance...I guess that means they weren't memorable enough for this recap.  No disrespect.
 
I questioned why the Song of the Year and the Record of the Year weren't asked to perform.  (Ed Sheeran "Thinking Out Loud" & Mark Ronson with Bruno Mars "Uptown Funk")  I mean, those are two BIG awards of the night/year, yet they are chosen to perform?
I was happy with the wins for Song of the Year (Thinking out Loud) and Record of the Year (Uptown Funk). 
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I applaud Taylor for using her win/platform to give a "classy" fuck you to Kanye douchebag West.  If you don't know the back story to this, get it somewhere else, because I'm not posting that douchebag's lyrics here.  Taylor said in her acceptance speech for album of the year: 
"I want to say to all the young women out there, there will be people along the way who will try to undercut your success," she said. "Or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame.  But if you just focus on the work … you will look around and you will know that it was you and the people who love you that put you there. That will be the greatest moment."
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I know, I know...we expect Beyoncé to look beautiful when she has her 30 seconds of screen time, but she did look incredibly beautiful.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3448882/Beyonce-angelic-lacy-white-number-makes-surprise-appearance-Grammys-present-biggest-award.html
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This sums up my feelings about the finale:


 
So......what did I miss?

 

20 comments:

  1. Great recap! I felt sorry for Adele! I also thought Taylor's speech was great. She got her point across but stayed classy!

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  2. Yes I think Kendrick Lamar is totally amazing! O and it is not getting mentioned anywhere so I have to say it is really cool the Swedish band Ghost won in their category against Slipknot and Lamb of God!

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  3. Detailed recap! I didn't even watch the show, but now I feel as if I did! LOL!

    I heard/read something about Jackson Browne's lyrical mishap on Take it Easy. Interesting thing is, it is his song, or at least partially. He initially started working on the song and got stuck at some point. Glenn Frey was his neighbor at the time and he ended up finishing the song and the Eagles recorded it. Jackson shares the songwriting credit with Glenn. Have you ever watched the History of the Eagles? Very insightful and entertaining.

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  4. I appreciate this recap because I never watch award shows, but am still interested in the details! I'm going to go Youtube some of these performances now :D

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  5. I had a big long recapped typed in response to this... but my stupid computer crashed.
    Here's the short version:
    T. Swift wasn't that impressive on Monday, but her live shows kick ass. (From someone who wasn't a fan but was super impressed.)
    I think that Demi and Tori Kelly are amazing.
    Dave Grohl is adorable.
    I'm not a fan of Gaga, Hollywood Vampires, or live-Bieber.
    And Beyonce is overrated. I don't think she's as important as the world (and possibly she) thinks she is.

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  6. I never watch the Grammy's only the after coverage. So the only comments I have are loved Taylor's speech and hated Beyonce's dress, some news reported called it a wedding dress. I'm pretty sure it wasn't a wedding dress, who dressed like that for their wedding?

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  7. I'm planning on doing my recap tomorrow. But my overall comment on the Grammys this year was this--it was shit. The performances, for the most part, were incredibly lackluster, although the tribute to Glenn Frey made me teary even with Jackson Brown screwing up some of the lyrics and Hamilton was amazing, LL always does a good job, and the awards are essentially meaningless (case in point? Alabama Shakes winning best rock record. If what they performed is indicative of their whole album, that shit ain't rock).

    I did love Taylor's fuck you to Kanye. He totally deserves it.

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  8. Great recap. I'm not that crazy about Taylor Swift but I do think she is talented but I agree, she isn't the best singer. I also think she is a bit of a mean girl and not very nice. I thought Hamilton was amazing and now I really want to go to NYC to see the show. Poor Adele, the sound was horrible. I felt so bad for her.

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  9. I agree about Lady Gaga - love her but it would have been nice to share the love - but I do think only she could pull it off truthfully.
    You KNOW Adele was f-bombing it.
    YIPEE for Broadway making the show!!!!
    David Grohl - that makes me so happy to see him jamming to Lionel.
    I'm with you - no body shaming - but Taylor is SOOOO tiny. Give her some food people!

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  10. I didn't watch the Grammys & I really should start watching them again (I used to all the time when I was younger).

    I agree with you 110% on Taylor Swift - she cannot sing, she just cannot. Is she a great songwriter - yes. Does she work hard - yes. Can she sing live - no.

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  11. I had no idea they were doing a Lionel tribute, and I just happened to wear my Lionel t-shirt on Monday. A fun coincidence! I'm with you, just John Legend singing Lionel and Lionel joining him would've been preferable. I loved Taylor's speech.

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  12. this is great! i didn't watch it so i basically feel like i did.
    i love taylor swift, no shame. i have never seen her live, but i have seen videos and um... something happens between CD and stage. i don't know. i'm not criticising her because i really do think she can sing, and i love her music, and the fuck you she gave kanye, and just her general upbeat-ness, but i'm assuming it's hard to jump around and dance and sing constantly.. at least, that's what i tell myself even though thousands of other people rock it. and yeah, i agree. she is so skinny. if i let myself, i get way too obsessed with it and want to look like her. instead, i grab that cheeseburger and pizza lol.

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  13. I didn't watch the Grammys, but after reading this, I feel like I did! I love Thinking Out Loud, so I was so happy that it won Song of the Year.

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  14. I'm not the biggest fan of watching award shows because I pretty much just like to watch the highlights the day after. I loved the way Taylor kept it classy when she accepted her award and gave Kanye the nicest eff you that he didn't deserve. I actually saw her in Houston on her 1988 tour and I'm with you 100% that she's not the best singer out there, but man her lyrics and performances are out of this world!

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  15. LMAO @ Dave Grohl... I love him!
    Beyonce... eek... I'm not all about that dress, sorry!

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  16. Well now I feel like I watched it and didn't miss a thing!!! I loved Taylor's orange and pink outfit and her classy fuck Kanye speech! My dad loved Alice Cooper and when I saw him on the list of performances during the super bowl I had to text him to tell him! Biebs brother is too adorable!!!

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  17. So much to comment on!
    I missed T. Swift, but that outfit does not suit her. LOVED Tori Kelly/James Bay/ Bonnie Raitt/Chris Stapleton/Gary Clark Jr. performances. Apparently the mic fell into the piano during Adele's performance and she spent the whole next day crying, poor thing. I agree that John Legend should have just done the entire tribute as well. But does the person receiving the tribute usualy join int it? I found that odd. Dave Grohl can do no wrong- he seemed so utterly happy which made me smile. Best acceptance speech goes to T. Swift (oooh, burn!) and that Hamilton guy's rap. I thought I was the only one who caught Browne's mishap, but overall a great tribute as well. I don't know what Kendrick Lamar was rapping about (obviously not paying close enough attention), but loved how he mixed all of his influences. Excellent recap!

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  18. Amazing recap! I watched the whole thing...up until Pitbull, because I'm sorry, I was done and I don't care. Also loved those performances—James and Tori were beautiful together. And I'm not much of a rap fan in general anymore, though there are a few artists and songs that stay on my rotation. Kendrick Lamar is one of them. He is a straight-up artist. The inclusion of funk and jazz and old-school influences on his latest album is pure genius. I love any performance of his. Not sure if you saw his Grammy performance with Imagine Dragons a few years back, but if you didn't, check it out!

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  19. I just commented on Jana's blog about the Grammys as well. Here's the thing ... I did watch the second half of the show, but only because it happened to be on when I turned on the TV and I wanted to see Adele's performance. When I was younger, I watched awards shows religiously. (Unless I just completely wasn't into the stuff, like the Country Music Awards. I'm not even sure what they're actually called, but I know they have an awards show just for that. I've never liked country music, so I've never watched it.)

    Anyway, I realized as I was watching that I feel so out of touch with popular music these days. I love some newer artists and, of course, the bands/musicians I've loved for years who are still putting out great albums. But watching this made me feel like I just have no fucking clue what is going on in the music world these days.

    I'm going to admit that I don't "get" Kendrick Lamar. The performance was very cool, and I do appreciate that he's attempting to blend different genres together to create a unique sound. But the actual music? Not for me.

    I felt bad for Adele because it was clear there were some major technical issues. As I said on Jana's blog, I felt like she actually sounded a little "pitchy" and couldn't believe I wasn't in love with her performance. However, I do think part of that could have been due to the technical issues (like maybe she couldn't hear herself?). She is undoubtedly talented and beautiful and amazing and I refuse to believe that performance was anything other than a fluke.

    James Bay and Tori Kelly were awesome! I'd never heard him before, and I'd only heard one of her songs when she performed on Jimmy Kimmel (and I loved it!). I'll definitely be checking out more of their work.

    I love the Dave Grohl GIF! :-)

    And finally, my weird and random thoughts on a few people:

    Taylor Swift seems like she's probably a very nice, very cool person. That being said, I've never heard any of her songs from start to finish. I've heard parts of "Bad Blood," and I fucking hate it. I'm sorry, but it's awful (and even worse when it gets stuck in my head). Can she write a catchy song? Obviously. But it's not my kind of catchy.

    I don't really know who Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars are. Like ... No idea. I've obviously heard the names, and I saw them on the show, but could I name any of their songs or sing even a single line? Nope.

    I didn't know who Justin Bieber was for a VERY long time. I still remember going to a mall with my best friend and seeing these "Bieber Fever" shirts in the window of Justice (I think?) and saying, "What the hell is Bieber (sounding like bye-ber) Fever?" He was like, "Ummm, Justin Bieber. You know? The singer?" And I just gave him a blank look and said, "No, I have no idea who the fuck that is." Haha. I still couldn't name one of his songs. That being said, I'll admit that he CAN sing. (At least judging from his Grammy performance.)

    See? I'm very out of touch with popular music these days.

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  20. I didn't watch the Grammy's but my fb feed was going crazy. I went to high school with Chris Stapleton so everyone I knew was talking about it.

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