It’s that wonderful time of year when those in the entertainment industry pat each other (and themselves) on the back with lavish awards ceremonies and parties. Yes, it’s time for the award shows, and the 2009 Grammy Awards are next up. The ceremony airs on CBS this Sunday at 8 p.m.
As you’ve probably picked up on my sarcasm, let me explain. The Grammys (and the Oscars and the rest of them) have never done anything for me. Namely, watching celebrities and entertainment business insiders (and yes, some very talented artists, too) congratulate themselves with expensive shows and goody bags and statuettes and the lot, isn’t really a good way to honor artists for their work, in my opinion. And especially given the state of the economy right now, these shows seem all the more useless.
But the Grammys are big news in the music world, and I’m forced to admit that they do get it right on occasion. The “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?” soundtrack, which won Album of the Year and four other awards in 2002, immediately comes to mind as a prime example of the best truly being recognized as the best by the Grammys.
So here’s my obligatory Grammy Award blog. The most obvious thing to do would be to offer my picks for the winners. (For those who care, I’m going with Robert Plant and Alison Krauss’s "Please Read the Letter" and "Raising Sand" for Record and Album of the Year, respectively.)
But the really exciting part of all this is the performers who share the stage. This year’s ceremony will feature performances from Coldplay, Paul McCartney with Dave Grohl of The Foo Fighters, the aforementioned Plant and Krauss, Katy Perry, The Jonas Brothers, Kanye West and Radiohead, to name just a few. U2 is even playing, and they’re not up for a single award.
Those are some huge names, all in one place in one night. I’m definitely excited to see McCartney and Grohl, two of my favorites from completely different eras, perform something — anything — together.
I’m also looking forward to Coldplay, but for a completely different reason. Last year, guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani accused the band of plagiarizing his instrumental "If I Could Fly," using the main melody as the chorus for "Viva La Vida." The two tracks are remarkably similar (listen to a comparison on YouTube here).
Satriani has apparently decided to pursue the matter in court, and his lawyer is planning to serve the lawsuit to the band immediately after their Grammy performance. Drama is always great at these awards shows, isn’t it? Read an article about the suit here.
There is one other prediction I’d like to make, in the Best New Artist category. The Jonas Brothers probably have this one in the bag already, but I’m going to have to go with Lady Antebellum.
These three young musicians have been taking the country world by storm with their male-female vocal harmonies and tight instrumental arrangements. The group’s members also composed the majority of their self-titled debut themselves. You can check out a story the Gazette ran last August on the trio here.
By Brian McElhiney
