Sunday, February 10, 2008

Live Blogging the 2008 Grammys

Okay, I got in the house a little later than I expected, but I recorded the first 10 minutes, so I will get back to them at the end of the night

7:19 First off, great to see Morris Day & The Time onstage again. Along with Rihanna nonetheless! Singing "Umbrella" over "Jungle Love" and then seguing into "Don't Stop The Music". If there is a better moment tonight, this will already be better than last year's ceremonies.

Also, for those wondering whether Amy Winehouse would take home one of the big 4 categories, I think her win for Best Pop Vocal Album at least secures Best New Artist and/or Record Of The Year.

7:25 I love The Beatles and all, but didn't we just have a Beatles tribute on the Grammys a few years ago? Hopefully they do a better job this time around. Oddly enough, Pharrell Williams on drums was the only thing that made sense.

7:29 Okay, they've somehow made the tribute from a few years back look like a stroke of genius. This whole Cirque du Soleil thing just doesn't translate well at an awards ceremony, even though I'm sure it would be amazing live. The best thing about this I guess is that there are probably some kids out there who were listening to "A Day In The Life" and had their mind blown.


7:35 Amy Winehouse wins for Best New Artist. No shocker there. It's looking more and more likely that Record of the Year is hers. If she also grabs Song of the Year, it's highly likely she'll upset Kanye for Album of the Year.

7:51 Kanye & Daft Punk! Now that's a collaboration! It's more refreshing than most of the collaborations that the Grammys have had in past years. Also great they got a good deal of screen time too. Almost makes up for Chemical Brothers taking Best Electronic/Dance album over Justice and LCD Soundsystem. Can't wait to see the Soundscan numbers for Discovery this week. While that was fun, Kanye's orchestral take on "Hey Mama" rivals that moment as the highlight of the performance. It was tastefully done and removing all the drum programming and bass enhanced the sentimentality of the song without going overboard. This is probably the performance that everyone will be talking about tomorrow.

7:56 Kinda lame that The Beatles won a Grammy in 2008, but it's actually well deserved this time around. Love is a pretty amazing Beatles experience, even if you've heard all their songs a million times over.

8:08 Despite teasing us with the bass line for "Deja Vu" and never fully going into it, Beyonce's little intro for Tina Turner is not half-bad at all. The jazz vamp was pretty extraordinary and I would love to hear a full version of that.

As it turns out, that would be a higher point than Tina Turner's actual performance. Don't get me wrong, she's still solid, but "What's Love Got To Do With It?" is one of my most despised songs ever. She has a ton of other great songs in her catalogue, but I suppose that's the one most people are familar with. Pretty boring performance of "Proud Mary" also. They could have at least done something new with it.

8:15 I guess the only good thing about Amy Winehouse not being there to accept Song of the Year is that we avoided having to look at two of the most awkward blonde dye jobs in recent memory. Nelly Furtado is pretty much the last person in the world who needs a blonde 'do.

8:22 Foo Fighters are playing with the My Grammy moment winner. Time for a potty break.

8:39 I really love the fact that Kanye is accepting his Grammy with a flashing jacket, but his speech is pretty incoherent, even by his standards.

8:54 I'm not that much of a gospel fan, but the segment with the Madison Bumblebees was the highlight for me. Would have loved to see a performance with just only them.

8:57 Ah, Carole King, how I love thee. Not only did you and Gerry Goffin write some bitchin' tunes, you also created one of my favorite albums, Tapestry. It's comforting to know that your face doesn't look retarded.

8:59 I wonder how many people are going, "So that's the girl who sings in the iPod commercial!"

9:01 Kid Rock singing whatever song this is pretty reprehensible. And I love Kid Rock. At least I think I used to. I will defend Cocky and Devil Without A Cause till my death, but he doesn't have any business trying to harmonize with someone with an actual good voice.

9:12 Alicia Keys' earrings are probably the biggest I've seen in about 20 years. I think we've seen her plenty for one awards show. Also add to the fact that As I Am will be eligible for next year's Grammys, so there's no need to overdo it.

9:27 Just to let you know, this blog supports any performance of "Rhapsody In Blue" for a national audience. Gotta do it for the kids.

9:34 Rihanna just beat out Kanye West for an award! The ramifications for this are huge. It means she might actually have a shot at Record of the Year. Out of all the nominees, "Umbrella" is the hugest, and for her to beat "Good Life", which already won a Grammy for Best Rap Song", shows that she's got some serious mojo behind her. At this point, the two frontrunners for Record of the Year are now "Rehab" and "Umbrella". We got ourselves a stew going.

9:41 Cuba Gooding Jr. is introducing Amy Winehouse. That can't be a good sign.

9:44 I can't help but laugh at Amy Winehouse singing "Rehab" knowing that she was there a few weeks ago. Delicious irony.

9:46 Amy's performance was a lot better than expected, considering that it's close to 4:00 in the morning in London. I'm surprised to see her so spirited though. Most of the live performances I've seen of her online have been kinda nonchalant on her part, but she actually looked alive. And sounded alive as well too.

9:51 Amy takes home Record of the Year as expected. Her acceptance speech was one of the most authentic I've seen in a while. The look on her face when it was announced that she was the winner reminds you that as much press as she's gotten, she's still very young. Also, I think that having her perform in such an intimate setting might have been the better. I can't really see her translating that well to such a spacious place like the Staples Center. The performance wouldn't have been half as good.

So what this means is that Amy has taken Best New Artist, Song of the Year and Record of the Year. It would be an upset at this point if she didn't win Album of the Year. I think she need to grab at least two of the big 4 to have a shot, but she's taken three out of three so far. The odds are in her favor.

10:03 Pimp C gets a shout in the memoriam montage. Chuuch.

10:05 Remember when Josh Groban first appeared on Ally McBeal as the sweet shy kid with an amazing voice? I much preferred him like that. And besides, I'd rather hear Andrea Bocelli by himself, if at all.

10:13 John Fogerty is in the same building as Tina Turner and they DON'T have them onstage together to do "Proud Mary"? Maybe it's been done before and I'm just not aware of it, but it seems like a no-brainer. Also, the guy's voice has barely changed since the CCR heydays.

10:16 I'm all for educating the kids with Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Fogerty, but at this point, I'm ready for Album of the Year and the inevitable Kanye tantrum.

10:25 This Grammy medley with will.i.am is one of the weirdest things I've seen in sometime. People will dissect that performance 10 years from now for its shittiness.

10:29 Ummmm... I'm in shock right now. Please allow me a few moments to gather my thoughts.

10:30 Still trying to make sense of this, but it's oh so hard...

10:32 Herbie Hancock winning Album of the Year is without a doubt one of the biggest upsets in Grammy history and the biggest one since Steely Dan beat out Eminem in 2001. What's crazy is that there was hardly any talk of this album leading up to the announcement of the nominees and even after. Kanye and Amy were the two frontrunners from the beginning and I don't think anyone would have guessed a winner besides one of those two. Just when I thought the Grammys were starting to catch up, a decision like this sets them back. No disrespect to Herbie Hancock. The man has made some great albums in the past. Head Hunters is classic stuff, but that was the past! Awarding Album of the Year to Hancock in 2008 does not speak to the pulse of the musical climate. Out of touch doesn't even begin to fully describe this decision. Good night folks.

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