Best Grammy Show in YEARS!

I haven't enjoyed a Grammy show as much as last night's (02.08.2009), in as long as I can remember. I'm a musician, and some years I even SKIP watching it because I know it's going to be so very, very bad. (read: the years when the Britney types were the rage).

Last night was such an amazing array of real TALENT! The first knock out punch came early, "Let's Stay Together" with Al Green, Justin Timberlake, Boyz II Men, and Keith Urban.How great was THAT! I've been blessed with having been in a band and performing onstage. And I've been there for that moment, when a group of people are playing a piece of music, where you can feel everyone slide into a groove, lining up in sync with each other, and the song takes over. You are no longer performing the song, the song performs itself and you are the instrument. Fantasia had that moment when she sang "Summertime" on Idol, and that amazing ensemble of musicians had that moment last night. I said to my husband "They need to release the recording of that performance as a single for radio play!" Well done! It was a joy to watch AND hear!

Now, I know this is going to pigeonhole me as out-of-touch and middle-aged, but I've never been a fan of rap or hip-hop. Don't get me wrong, I like edgy music with a message, but I'll take grunge for that. (I was never so musically satisfied as I was during the 90's.) However, amongst the newcomers such as Duffy and Adele, the hip-hop just seemed so......Tired. Done. Over. Hip-hop and rap have just devolved into a caricature. The best of that group, Queen Latifah, Diddy, Ice-T, have all attained more "grown-up" careers. What's left just seems like a big waste. I've never even heard of M.I.A. before last night, (I KNOW! I'm OLD!), but what in the HELL was she wearing?! She looked like an idiot. Period.

And what does everyone feel like the only way to gain street cred is to have an angry rapper chime in on their song? That's another supposedly shocking arrangement that's been done to death. Aerosmith and Run DMC cornered the "cool" in that market, and everyone since then is just copycatting. And besides, Justin Timberlake, YOU have plenty o' street cred all on your own! Robin Thicke, maybe not so much...

But in between the tired stuff, there were many shiny, bright spots of music genius. Jennifer Hudson, Adele, the afore-mentioned ensemble with Al Green, Coldplay...and then towards the end, the Grammy producers knocked me out AGAIN with B.B. King, Buddy Guy, John Mayer and Keith Urban again, doing Bo Diddly's tune! Any time I can see Keith Urban (who is my future ex-husband, by the way) is a treat, and two performances in one night, neatly bracketing each end of the show like a finely sculpted, hefty, smooth....hard.....(oh 'scuse me! kinda got lost there!) set of bookends - well, it just doesn't get any better. Frankly, their performance could have turned into a 30 minute blues jam, for my money!

All in all, last night's Grammy's delivered in a way it hasn't in years. Not too glitzy and over-produced, the producers for once just relaxed and let the music and performances speak for themselves. It seemed more like a great concert than some boring old awards show! Nice WORK!