When the show is over, I am mostly depressed by the over-produced blandness of it all.
It鈥檚 wrong, I know, but I just can鈥檛 seem to quit the Grammy Awards show.
Year after year I tune in, thinking that this time the folks in charge (it鈥檚 officially run by the ) will give us a show that truly, deeply, imaginatively honors all components of the music industry and the music profession. And year after year, when it鈥檚 over, I am mostly depressed by the synthetic, predictable, tunnel-visioned, over-produced blandness of it all.
Still, winning a Grammy still means something out there, particularly to young artists. So here鈥檚 my quick look back on Monday鈥檚 show, offered in the poignant hope that one fine day, the academy moguls might consider raising their game.
First, a Few Brickbats
On a night when, like, half the show was devoted to performers paying lengthy onstage tributes to recently departed music figures of varying stature (more on that in a moment) Natalie Cole -- by any fair measure the most significant departee of them all -- was 鈥渉onored鈥� with a brief silent video segment at the conclusion of the 鈥淚n Memoriam鈥� scroll.
This is Natalie Cole, a woman who won nine Grammys, enjoyed a dazzling four-decade career, and lays claim to one of the most successful and influential albums of the late 20th century. The Academy鈥檚 feeble stab at memorializing her was, sadly, all too forgettable.
But honoring its elders has always been, and continues to be, a problem for the Academy, at least on the show.
You might well have missed it, but among the artists given a lifetime achievement award this year was Linda Ronstadt, another of the recording industry鈥檚 pioneering women, to say the least. and will be 70 years old in a few months.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but wouldn鈥檛 this have been the right moment for the Academy to locate a couple of minutes within its three-and-a-half-hour show to bring this ailing, beloved superstar onto the stage for some kind of celebration? For that matter, all of the lifetime inductees were given similar short shrift. As they are every year.
It鈥檚 almost quaintly futile to mention the fact that jazz and classical music -- our two putative pillars -- once again went virtually unnoticed and unremarked upon. (There are jazz and classical categories, of course, but those awards are given out in 鈥渃eremonies held earlier,鈥� many safe hours and miles away from the televised portion.
If you're going to take a few minutes to complain about royalties, have that case be made by the artists themselves.
There was, to be honest, a near-jazz demi-moment. This consisted of a playing a piece of his own composition on the piano. This 60-second segment, of course, got a standing ovation, because musical kids always get standing ovations.
As Joey played, the camera panned the audience to jazz legend (and himself brand-new Lifetime Achievement winner) who has coached the boy and who could be seen smiling and nodding. A better idea: let Hancock play the piano and pan to a shot of the kid smiling and nodding.
I don鈥檛 really know anything about Neil Portnow, the 67-year-old president of NARAS, except to say that his official bio is underwhelming. Maybe he鈥檚 a skilled executive. But in any case, if you鈥檙e going to take a few minutes in the show to complain about the measly royalties that streaming services pay the artists 鈥� a legitimate issue for sure -- for heaven鈥檚 sake, have that case be made by the artists themselves, rather than some sanctimonious, tuxedoed administrator.
A Few Bouquets
Among the several tribute segments, Stevie Wonder and the vocal ensemble Pentatonix pulled off (obviously on very short notice) a nice a cappella treatment of 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the Way of the World,鈥� in honor of Earth, Wind and Fire founder Maurice White, who passed a couple of weeks ago.
And Lady Gaga's extended, production-heavy worked pretty well, all things considered. Some people seemed to be of the opinion that Lady G was the wrong choice for a Bowie segment, but really, her ability to project multiple musical personalities feels as if it owes something to Bowie anyway, and she pulled the thing off stylishly.
The ridiculously talented did some shameless but entertaining showing off as he rapped his acceptance speech for 鈥淗amilton,鈥� which was the (surprise!) winner for best musical theater album.
Finally, rapper Kendrick Lamar's fierce, relentless turn doing 鈥淏lacker the Berry鈥� and 鈥淎lright鈥� certainly confirmed his stature as a major, original voice. It was the evening鈥檚 truest and most significant moment by a long shot.
In fact, his appearance single-handedly made the show worth watching. And its defiantly 鈥� and black rage -- reportedly caused some discomfort within the academy. That has to be considered a good sign.
Reach Steve Metcalf at spmetcalf55@gmail.com.
