Gracias to my PA pal DH for the tunes. I'm in heaven. It's like I walked into Sam Goody with a thousand bucks and everything I was ever remotely curious about is on sale.
So did you guys catch the Grammy Awards last weekend? My roommate DVR'd it- I could watch Mark, Tom, & Travis nervously announce their reunion a thousand times- but there were a few performances I found surprising. I'm not sure what possessed MIA to get up there and perform in a bikini on her due date (or her doctors to allow her to), but she sure did let it all hang out. Interesting.
Sir Paul McCartney's performance with the Foo Fighters was quite disappointing. In fact, I might actually say it was terrible! I couldn't even watch the whole thing. I know, I know- he's getting on in years, he probably hasn't been super wonderful to his body, and he's been knocked in the spotlight quite a bit in recent years for his travesty of a love life. I understand that we all have bad days. But man, I was embarrassed for him! Poor guy's voice was wavering all over hell! But to be on stage with the Foo Fighters- who have been making such incredibly great music since the mid 90s- must have been incredible. Conversely, to share a stage with Sir Paul would certainly be a most breathtaking experience.
You know I'm kind of a nerd for country, too, right? I have to tell you that while I do not do not dislike Taylor Swift or Miley Cyrus, and we all know that a public appearance pairing was inevitable, I'm not so sure I really enjoyed their performance. I don't even know if it's fair to classify either vocalist as "country" anymore- which we all knew would happen. Swift is super talented, for sure, but she has not-so-subtly merged from country to pop very quickly. Her vocals are sweet and meaningful, and still a little innocent, which apparently is very "in" these days (have you heard of the Jonas Brothers?). Cyrus, while impishly cute and certainly growing up with a fight in the public eye, seems to lack heart in most of her performances. She should stick to the emotional, gravelly, gruff vocals to make her mark in the industry; I don't feel that bubblegum teenybopper pop really suits her.
Well, those are my Grammy gripes. As for the greats: Jay-Z with Chris Martin from Coldplay- very classy, very well done. And ho lee cow did you catch Robert Plant & Alison Kraus? The two of them, those vocals together... I have goosebumps just thinking about it. Someone at CMT absolutely knew what they were doing when they paired those two. What's most interesting about Kraus & Plant is, if you listen very closely, she doesn't exactly attempt to harmonize his vocals- instead, she gently shadows his melody, wrapping that warm, sweet voice around his. Listen to "Please Read the Letter" or "Gone Gone Gone" for an excellent example. I would love to see them paired for another album- classic rock king with "bluegrass queen," as she was dubbed- I can hear it now, "The Battle of Evermore" or "The Rain Song-" again, goosebumps...!
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