Once Again They Got It Wrong!
“Various Artists- O Brother Where Art Thou?” “Two Against Nature- Steely Dan.” “Come Away With Me- Norah Jones.”
What do these three discs have in common? They have all been unjustifiably named the best “Album Of The Year” over the past three years at The Grammy Awards. The latter defeated Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising” just last night. Granted, I am a huge Springsteen fan, so I could see how you might think that I am biased towards The Boss.
Not true.
If Eminem or the Dixie Chicks, or even Nelly had won the award, I would have been fine. An argument could be made that all of those releases helped define the music world in 2002. But Norah Jones?!?!
Do you know anyone, and I include me in that list, do you know anyone who owns, loves or has even heard the disc? Yes, even I haven’t heard the whole CD and I don’t own a copy of the CD or even MP3’s of the songs, save for the title track.
Yet Ms. Jones, in the same fashion as Steely Dan and the “O Brother Where Art Thou?”, has now been recognized as THE Album Of The Year.
I am disgusted! If the Academy Of Recording Arts And Sciences, the people who give out The Grammy Awards, don’t soon completely revamp the way that they give out these Awards, I assure you that I will no longer care.
Can they afford to lose me, a serious music fan who always clears his schedule for Grammy night? Can they afford to see us longtime viewers and supporters walk away due to the idiotic way they dole out Awards? I’m sure they can.
But they can’t afford to lose you, the casual music fan who tunes in if there is nothing else on.
So I implore you to stand up and be counted. Make the Academy Of Recording Arts And Sciences accountible for their Awards. If they want us to recognize their selected item as “Album Of The Year”, shouldn’t they recognize an album that is refelctive of the year in question?
Can you, in any way, say that that album in 2002 was Norah Jones? And that isn’t a rhetorical question.
Personally, I say “Come on up to ‘The Rising’!”
PS- Even with my stance on the above issue, I will give the Grammy people major points for their tribute to the late, great Joe Strummer. Putting Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen, Dave Grohl and Little Steven together for a rousing rendition of “London Calling” was tremendous. It was a tribute worthy of the man who inspired it.
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