Music Monday: The Grammy Edition

I remember a time when the Grammy's were actually fun to watch and when they actually showed the awards being presented. It was a time when I did not spend three and half hours trying to figure out what the heck was going on. Sure, there have always been hiccups along the way (remember when Jethro Tull won Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrumental over Metallica at the 31st Grammy Awards? Who knew the flute was a heavy metal instrument!), but for this lover of music, last night was a terrible low point for the Recording Academy.

At one point in the evening, I posed the question "Have they actually given away any awards?". A friend responded with "I think four"......we were at least two and a half hours into the show. Don't get me wrong, sometimes the live performances are truly amazing and for artists the catalyst they need to get their music out to the masses, but it shouldn't just be about who can out do who on the stage or what new collaboration can be put together to make the show innovative. It should be about celebrating the amazing talent, dedication and hard work that musicians put into their craft. It should be about celebrating an industry that has helped start revolutions. It should be about the love of music.

There were  there were some definitely highlights to the show, but for me they were few and far between. Here is a quick recap of some of the highs and lows of last nights broadcast:

The Good Stuff

• Adele winning all six categories she was nominated in. That girl can sing! 21 was/is one of my absolute favorites albums from the last year. She has an immensely powerful voice and that album is packed full of emotion. 
• Bon Iver winning 2 Grammys! I shudder to think of how many times I have had the album self titled album Bon Iver on repeat. It's amazing collection of songs. Not to take away anything from the win, but I'm still not sure why Bon Iver was nominated for Best New Artist. I may be missing something, but I would have thought the release of For Emma, Forever Ago in 2008 would have excluded him from this category. 
• Dave Grohl's acceptance speech when the Foo Fighters won for Best Rock Performance for Walk
• The Civil Wars winning for Best Country Duo/Group Performance. 
• Sir Paul McCartney joined on stage by Joe Walsh. Musical heaven.
• Sir Paul, Bruce Springsteen, Dave Grohl and Joe Walsh closing out the show. 

The Not So Good Stuff

• It's really hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that Chris Brown won a Grammy and performed not once, but TWICE. Did everyone forget what happened in 2009? 
• Performances by Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry? Really?! REALLY!? If you can't perform your music without big, over the top theatrics to get people to pay attention, you're doing it wrong. 
• The lack of award presentations being televised. 
• I understand the impact Whitney Houston had on the music industry, but why the entire night (seemed) to be turned into a tribute to her is beyond me. There were a number of other notables who passed this year, whose influence goes deeper than I think many realize.