2/13/11 THINGS I REMEMBER FROM THE GRAMMY AWARDS & NEXT DAY @ TONIGHT SHOW:
MY GRAMMY AWARDS post-BLOG
(I couldn't LIVE BLOG it b/c I was INSIDE the STAPLES CENTER & OUR SPONSORING GROUP wouldn't allow us to BRING IN CELL PHONES; despite the FACT that NUMEROUS OTHERS INSIDE had their PHONES & CAMS. Nonetheless, I took a few notes the old-fashioned way & typed 'em up, w/ a little commentary. Tried to re-write it in chron order, but may not be exactly perfect. (Please don't respond w/ nit-picking comments.)
1) arrived at the parking structure, heard some Christian music that I liked not far away. Group of young adults listening. Was an hour early so I sat & prayed for a while & then went down to the first floor where I was promptly told by one of the sponsor leaders to bring my cell phone back to the car or they would "check" it for me. I knew from previous experience that it really is NOT a big deal to bring in a phone to these events, but did not want to be argumentative. Brought phone back to car. Could have kept it on me, but on the slim chance that it did cause a metal detector alarm I didn't want to be embarrassed. No biggie. Grabbed some paper theol. notes to read in line. Got back in line. Gal in front of me in bright yellow dress had cleavage sticking out in a drastic manner...all the gals were in high heels & fancy or skimpy dresses. After checking in we waited in line for an hour & finally walked to the staples center as a group. Met a gal from Sta Clarita in line. Nice enough. Friendly, talkative. Strangely, we talked about shows & music, but she had never heard of conan o'brien. & she surprised me when she said she didn't like justin bieber. She seemed closer to the age group that is infatuated w/ him. I guessed she was in her early 20's.
Crossing Figueroa there were a bunch of "evangelists" holding signs. One said "God hates fags." Another said "God hates gaga." & there were several others w/ apparently intended-to-be-startling statements. Looked like that group that pickets military funerals. A cop was videotaping them, prob trying to gather evidence to put a stop to their right to free speech. They yelled at us, "When was the last time you got so excited about God?" Another yelled, "A grammy is an idol" & another "Did u go to church this morning?" I said to Sta Clarita, "I am a Christian. I did go to church, but I don't agree with their style." She agreed. Somebody else said, "musicians & artists are the wrong ones to target." I agreed again.
Ironically, I heard a few performers inside mention God & church. Its not as if all musicians are anti-Christian. I even heard Bieber has some evangelical aspirations. Some of these picketers add fuel to the fire for anti-Christians, but on the other hand maybe a few are attracted to their blunt hit-em-over-the-head message. But prob not many.
Finally got inside the staples center. Metal detector didn't even ring for my belt as it does at all courthouses, so either it wasn't even turned on, or not very high. In the first hallway we waited another thirty mins. A large African-American by the name of Antwoine stood near me...he looked familiar..know I've seen him somewhere, but he didn't offer any clues, just said his name & shook my hand. Finally, we were escorted to a tunnel entrance & waited again, missing the first twenty mins of the show. I heard Yolanda Adams name..but wasn't settled in yet...did I hear Christina Aguilera too ? Also heard a voice say something about "Unfort I couldn't make it..maybe next year..." (was that aretha ?) Then they handed each of us a ticket (nice collectors item) & I found a seat,. No musical chairs. Good view of the stage, fairly close.
5) then came the next grammy for best rock album which went to the MUSE.(they did a radical "uprising" on stage" w/ bunch of sparks & simulated fighting, stage crashers).beating out beck, petty, & neil young (altho neil apparently won best rock song earlier in the pre-telecast ceremony) (somebody from muse is apparently married to kate hudson)
5a ) Janelle Monae ?
6) I remember hearing London calling ..was that a commercial break ?
6a) Then...Eva Longoria was introducing Justin Bieber & Usher. She showed a flashback clip to 2007 when Bieber was doing an audition for Usher. Then bieber strummed acoustic guitar & sang a few lines from "Baby, baby.." & then a song "Never say never?" With some simulated fighting & flames..& usher joined in..
7) then something re soul sister)
9) blake shelton introduced, of all people, miranda lambert (his fiance) for a country grammy (best female country vocal performance): miranda lambert ("house that built me"...nice song..she sang it on stage w/ photo album pics popping up here & there) beats out zac brown & bentley(?)
11) lenny kravitz intro to MUSE, "don't tread" (lots of little tv monitors) "will not control us" bashin in tv's sparks, clash
12) commercial break: prince purple rain
13) ryan seacrest intros..jewell "do u knw
15)selena & -- justin ,boyle,gaga,mayer,perry ( GAGA WINS VOCAL POP alb.("fame monster").she said "shit"..thanked "all", incl mom & dad, vincent troy, whitney houston, gaga & her egg-hatching arrival for "born this way" (btw I saw her the next day at NBC studio, see pic) ,& then added "whitney houston" as her inspiration for her new song "born this way" (which was a brilliant way to deflect criticism of this song sounding too much like madonna's
15a) showed a lettermen "top ten" clip..#1 re hairpiece for justin bieber (flashed bieber laughing) (not that funny)
17) 2 intro acts (mumford & sons & avett bros ?) prior to bob dylan who then sang "ain't gonna work on the farm (maggies farm?) no more.." [saw him play in palm desert back around '95]
18) lifetime achievement: julie andrews, dolly parton, ramones, george--?,
19) sb from glee & clay matthews (packers), trib to teddie pendergrass, lady antebellum (best country album) "if u don't know me.." ;church bells, "american honey", summertime nothing sweeter,..
20) miley + kings? Record of the year award lady, antebellum wins for, need u now ..she thanks God..
21) Jamie Foxx re C-Lo's "fu get that"..w/ gwyneth paltrow Spaceship set, colorful chicken costume (childish play on profanity, kid stuff)
23) neil patrick harris intro to katy perry (he made a crude joke abt having sex w/ katy “...This past Monday I had the pleasure of having sex with her — on TV no less. And I must say it left me exhausted, aroused, and more than a ittle confused.” (b/c he's gay, he was at peoples choice also...seems to be the favorite hollywood gay at the moment, altho when he made a comment about his husband being his "better half" at the peoples choice, there was definitely a moment of stunned silence. I know I felt a little queasy)..katy perry on swingset, shown w/ russel brand @ wedding
30) seth rogan, host of this segment said "I was just backstage getting high w/ miley cyrus" (kind of childish all this preoccupation w/ miley & her salvia incident)..then eminem, dr dre, rihanna..sang "I need a doctor.."
31) jewel & legend intro best new artist: bieber, mumford, & winner is esperanza spalding !
35) Neil Portenaw, grammy foundation, mentioned geffen, & they did a trib to those who died...were these all people who died this year ((I.e. 2010-11) ? I guess so: Gary raferty (died jan 4, 2011)? Ronnie james dio (died may 16, 2010), alex chilton (mar 17, 2010)
36) jaggar in green did tribute to solomon burke
37) kris kristofferson...his voice was very haggard, streisand burgundy dress, full orchestra
38) eminem wins best rap album over b.o.b, drake,jz,roots
40)puff daddy, rianna,drake, bonfire,
40b) showed aguilera "man's world"
41) jennifer lopez & mark antony (her 3rd husband?) startrd singing volare.Jlo cut him off ...intro to record of year,b.o.b, eminem,c-lo green,jz keys, & lady antebellum wins !
41a) commerc break, showed gaga w/ elton
41b) cLo walking around in audience
42) arcade fire, kids on bmx bikes, kind of cool.
50)Album of the year "suburbs" by arcade fire...was called last, & people were walking out as they played..kind of melo dramatic ..
(As an aside)
Re the NEXT DAY at the Tonight Show Ticket Line:
LONG ANSWER to the IDIOT who THOUGHT I WAS AN IDIOT In LINE @ JAY LENO when I SAID LADY GAGA "DIDN'T WIN..." & WAS ABOUT TO SAY "any of the BIG ONES"..but a "WISEGUY" EAVESDROPPING IN FRONT CHIRPED, "YES SHE DID..SHE WON 3.."
...In fact she won 2 in the pre-telecast ceremony (ie. BEFORE the show), for what, who knows...there's SO MANY categories (apparently over 100) ..& most of those are given out before the big show, with the bigger awards saved for the show, & the biggest near the end (I.e. "album of the year", "record of the year" , "song of the year", & "best new artist"), while she won a "special grammy" (ie genre-specific) DURING the show for "female pop vocal performance...", but NOT a "general" grammy.
"Best Pop Vocal Performance" is a good grammy, as they ALL are but I don't think of it (& I'm not alone, read below) as one of the BIGGIES , such as album, record & song of the year (by the way, read below if you are wondering what's the diff btw record & album?)
"... while the Canadian-American indie-rock band Arcade Fire unexpectedly beat out Eminem, Lady Gaga Lady Antebellum and Katy Perry to win the Album of the Year (the biggest of the biggies) prize for "The Suburbs"
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/feb/13/urprise-wins-and-losses-grammy-awards/
Almost EVERYBODY wins something in the grammy's but their not all the biggies. Even the Beatles won a grammy this year for "Best Historical Album" . The special genre-specific categories are nice, but are not the "biggies." For a list of more categories see
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31749_162-20031772-10391698.html
"Record of the Year is awarded for a single or for one track from an album. This award goes to the performing artist and the producer recording engineer, and/or mixer for that song. Album of the Year is awarded for a whole album, and the award is presented to the artist, producer, and recording engineer for that album. So, in this context, "record" means one song and "album" means the whole collection of songs on a CD or LP. But if "record" really means "song," what's the Song of the Year award for?
The Grammy's frequently asked questions page has the answer. Record of the Year is given to the artist who performs the song and the people who produce the track. Song of the Year is also awarded for a single or individual track, but the recipient of this award is the songwriter who dreamed up the song in the first place..."
http://ask.yahoo.com/20020313.html
I'm not the only one who thinks of a few grammys as the "major" (or general) ones, & the rest as "special" or "genre-specific" categories:
"...Simply put, the major Grammy nominations are all about the kids this year. No legends received nominations in the GENERAL CATEGORIES [emphasis added] so album, record and song will not be used as"lifetime achievement" awards to honor an overlooked musician. Still, many music vets did get their acknowledgment in several other categories...."
http://www.soundspike.com/news/article/1161-grammy_awards_news_legends_shut_out_of.html
"... Grammy Award categories ...the "General Field" are four awards which are not restricted by genre. Album of the Year is awarded to the performer and the production team of a full album. Record of the Year is awarded to the performer and the production team of a single song. Song of the Year is awarded to the writer(s)/composer(s) of a single song. Best New Artist is awarded to a performer who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording that establishes the public identity of that artist (which may not necessarily be their first proper release)..."
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammy_Award?wasRedirected=true
By the way, in line at the Tonight Show were a few "unique" individuals, including the guy who was eavesdropping re my gaga comment..& also a long-haired guy wearing a shirt w/ an upside down peace symbol ( He said he wasn't gay, but somebody asked him if that was a gay symbol, ha ha) who played bass & was infatuated w/ everything abt gaga. Then there was the guy w/ a white beard. Seemed like a decent fellow ...but later returned wearing a crazy red outfit..looked like long overall-style red flannel underwear...& a tie which apparently had a pic of a penis on it..which he kept calling his "dick tie" but the Tonight Shoe people told him to keep it covered. He was getting stranger by the minute. Then he asked if somebody would help put on magnetic earrings for him...yuck..I don't help men put on their earrings..get outta here..the other guy talking w/ us didn't feel to comfortable about it either obviously...anyways, we didn't get in to the show w/ standby tickets, but it didn't matter b/c I got a bunch of great pics of lady gaga outside ..(she came up to us by the street & signed autographs & took pics, see ).
Normally, the scene around the Tonight Show is pretty square, but this time a few oddballs showed up for some reason...people to remember in prayer. Everybody has potential value, purpose, gifts..& talents, no matter how shocking, disturbing, or eccentric they try to be. .I try to focus on whatever Imago Deo (Image of God) I can find in them...everybody has a little bit...
