A Great 2007 Grammy Show
Pop music is a pleasure I refuse to feel guilty about, and this year's Grammy show proved to me why there's a lot to love about popular American music. First off, I think musicians are a lot more adept at carrying off an award show without a lot of awkwardness, unlike movie actors (which is why I can only watch the Oscars while doing something else in another room). Imagine the pressure of performing under these circumstances, let alone really nailing it!
Second, there are live acoustic performances and unusual pairings that just come off great, such as this one with Corinne Bailey Rae, John Legend and John Mayer. I missed Beyonce, but caught her on YouTube--wow! There is a nice descending chromatic riff that she sings at the end of the song that shows off her vocal chops.
Shakira bellydance!!! I predict a huge bellydance craze as a result. She really can dance, unlike a woman we recently saw on Mexican TV with a lot of "pechonalidad," as Emilio put it, who wore the golden garb but couldn't swivel the hips with precision.
And the dancing! I was not aware of Chris Brown, but this is probably one of the best demonstrations of stepping during primetime ever seen. He has his own gravity! Justin Timberlake did a pretty good job too. And the montage that honored deceased musicians (including songwriter Soraya, at age 37 from breast cancer) finished with a powerful superimposition of a video of James Brown dancing and a tap dancer on stage duplicating and riffing on his moves. Oh, Christina Aguilera and Mary J. Blige also tore it up, although both were borderline oversinging. But even that is an education in how to command a performance, even when not everything comes out perfectly. That said, I didn't see any technical glitches, unlike past years.
I thought it was kind of funny that The Red Hot Chili Peppers exhorted young kids to go out and form rock bands. Ah, yet another American music crying out for preservation--Lincoln Center 2050, Winton Marsalis IV leads the rock and roll education and outreach program. I'm sorry, I guess it's the devil's advocate in me--but why don't people understand that music constantly evolves?
Labels: music industry
