The Grammys

I'm pretty sure I don't like the Grammys. Maybe I do, but I don't think so. My general thoughts about them are that they mostly celebrate artists like Beyonce, Amy Winehouse, Justin Timberlake, Rihanna, and Maroon 5, while ignoring artists and bands actually out there creating, writing and performing their own innovative and new music. They throw awards to established greats like Springteen or Dylan periodically, but they seem to spend much more time on the best pop sensations of the last year.

I suppose my problem is this; Typically, they only seem to reward numbers, or at least the general consensus among the american consumer. Sell the most records/stay the most popular for a year, get the Grammy. I understand the attempt at logic here but I think they're giving they general consuming public more weight than they (we) deserve.

Maynard Keenan, of Tool, had this to say; "(the Grammys) cater to a low intellect and they feed the masses. They don't honor the arts or the artist for what he created. It's the music business celebrating itself. That's basically what it's all about."

The Academy Awards on the other hand, don’t seem to run into this problem. So what if The Dark Knight, Iron Man, and Indiana Jones 4 brought in the most money this year? While I enjoyed the Dark Knight as much as anyone, no one really expected any of these top 3 box office films to be nominated for best picture. Or what about 2007 Best Picture winner No Country For Old Men? It was beat in the box office by 35 other movies, including Norbit, Ghost Rider, Rush Hour 3, and Alvin and the Chipmunks. The average rating of these films on IMDB is 5.2, with No Country in the top 100 with an 8.3.

Can the Grammys do anything about this? Do they even want to change their image and try to portray the idea that they actually award the “best,” and not the best selling, music of the year? I’m curious because I feel that their lineup of performing artists this year is rather progressive. Coldplay, M.I.A, Lil Wayne, Paul McCartney, Jay-Z, and even rumored Radiohead (accompanied by the USC marching band!) makeup the list. Yes, Rihanna and Katy Perry are also performing, but I think the Grammys are moving in the right direction. Maybe in a few years we’ll even see some genuine indie artists playing, or who knows, maybe even accepting an award.

Thoughts?