To mark Sunday night's 50th Annual Grammy Awards - and perhaps to stimulate enough nostalgia to get older folks through all the modern flotsam that would follow - the ceremony began with a clip of Frank Sinatra from the very first Grammys back in 1958. In introducing the world to the then-new award show, Sinatra spoke proudly about how it was designed not to recognize record sales or popularity, but rather to honor merit in the recording arts.
Shortly after, his virtual video self was joined by Alicia Keys on the piano as the unlikely pair launched into his Learnin' the Blues,"" with five decades of musical change standing in the way of the duo and striking an agreeable coherence.
Admittedly, it's silly to be discussing the well-understood agenda of the Grammys, already the laughing stock of all award shows, but I still can't help but wonder what the 1950s Sinatra would think of the music his image was used to condone this year.
Maybe he would sit with a bemused, culturally removed expression on his face, like Ringo Starr watching Carrie Underwood and wishing he had just opted out of the night like Paul. Or maybe Sinatra would have lamented the fact that the Grammys have largely turned into a celebration of hit-makers, has-beens and pointless nods to dusty old legends, falling way short of painting a full picture of those making the best material right now, as was originally intended.
Nowadays the Grammys are most fun to watch because of the grand, pop culture spectacle, as long as viewers can suspend their disbelief for the greater good of humor and amusement.
It becomes difficult to do this, however, when the spectacle pats itself on the back for being something that it's clearly not, as Recording Academy President Neil Portnow did quite extraordinarily by calling the Grammys ""the preeminent organization for the entire creative community.""
Certainly there were cool moments in the night's program, like Amy Winehouse's impassioned performance via satellite, and the visually stunning Kanye West/Daft Punk pairing. It was also pretty sweet that Winehouse took home the most awards, and that Herbie Hancock's Joni Mitchell tribute was the first jazz album in 43 years to win Album of the Year.
But elsewhere, this year more than ever, performances at the Grammys stripped away any lingering artistic individuality, mish-mashing practically everyone into stilted duets, awkward song medleys and shots at novelty rather than substance. Nowhere was this more evident than in Kid Rock's absurd duet with older Jazz vocalist Keely Smith. You could tell the writer's strike was hitting hard, as the show's producers attempted to keep people entertained by talking about how good the Beatles were.
Which brings me to another point: Where has the rock 'n' roll gone? When the show was well into its second hour, I realized that no musicians or bands had yet played, but rather it had just been vocal performers, one after another, wielding dance moves in lieu of instruments. Sure, there were armies of background musicians - those million-piece orchestras turning everything into a toothpaste of manufactured class - but they were hardly at the forefront of attention. As if in a physical manifestation of rock music being the odd one out, the only bona fide rock band to perform the entire night, the Foo Fighters, played on a stage outside of the Staples Center to a separate audience.
There was a lot of talk during the Grammys about how much promise lies ahead in the next 50 years of music. I hope that promise eventually leads the popular consciousness back full circle to the ideals Sinatra espoused before that era's ""next 50 years"" led to the juncture we stand at today.
Has pop music gotten 'under your skin' yet? Want to 'start spreading the news' and leave pop music today? Or do you think the 'best is yet to come' for the industry? Whatever your opinion of contemporary music or Sinatra puns, e-mail them to Ben at bpeterson1@wisc.edu.
