Mercuriosity Shop visitor John stopped by and hooked up my television to watch the Grammys. Here are my insightful impressions that I’m sure you will enjoy.
How does Jackson molester Justin Timberlake beat out Beatle George Harrison and Warren Zevon? I understand that the Grammys need to acknowledge and nurture young talent to be relevant to people who buy music, but who are they being relevant to—thirteen year old girls? They don’t buy records anymore, they just download them.
For the anniversary of the Beatles first appearance on American TV (on the Ed Sullivan show) I’m glad they let the old guys like Vince Gil, Sting, and Dave Matthews sing a tune for us. I hear they play their own instruments. Is that for real?
Kudos to OutKast—with the best acceptance speech by anyone anywhere.
And also to Christina Aguilera for having her nipples digitally airbrushed out before the broadcast started.
During the presentation of the President’s Award, Yoko Ono revealed that before the arrival of the Beatles, she only experienced music at bar mitzvahs. Who knew?
It’s nice to know that even though Fountains of Wayne didn’t win, Stacy’s mom has still got it goin’ on.
Who is Artie Shaw? He was the photo of Buddy Holly with a clarinet. He won a Lifetime Achievement Award! This is Artie Shaw (scroll down and listen). Another winner of a Lifetime Achievement Award was Sonny Rollins.
And who is George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelic? All your questions could be answered here.
And were Jason Alexander and Snoop Dogg wearing each other’s outfits? Alexander looked like a leprechaun, and Snoop was dressed like one.
I know B. was rooting for Coldplay. Record Of The Year! (They’ve grown on me.)
Foo Fighters pairing with jazz pianist Chick Corea (scroll down again) was sheer genius! And quite beautiful, too (The music, not Corea). Although Arturo Sandoval’s Cuban trumpet playing was completely lost under Justin’s Wham!-like synthesizer performance.
When did Michael McDonald morph into Colonel Sanders?
Who is Warren Zevon again, you ask? Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal! And a great father, we were told.
Nice plea/threat from the music industry. Message: Don’t swap our music or we won’t be able to afford our extravagant cocaine parties and custom nipple shields.
The OutKast dancers dressed like stereotypical Indians was hilarious. And Jack Black channeling Jay Robinson on the video monitors was marvelously weird. One can only wonder if next year a rock band of Native Indigenous Peoples will be jumping around dressed like a boatload of Little Black Sambos.
Stank you very much. You’re smellcome.
Posted by Ned at février 08, 2004 08:03 PMHow in the world can you say that Outkast dancers dressed like Indians was hilarious? That was truly a disgusting display of racism. I bet you wouldn't want to see a bunch of Indians painted black with afro wigs singing "Chain Gang". You know some black group would get together with the Rev. Jesse Jackson and shout loud enough for Johnny Cocraine to hear. So what in the hell gives you the idea that it was "hilarious"? Have you lost your mind or are you a racist too?
Posted by: Raul Rios on février 10, 2004 06:47 PMYes, yes, Mr. Rios. My point exactly. I certainly apologize if I have offended anyone. I had actually wondered if anyone would mention the choice of OutKast's costuming in the press. If it was mentioned, I haven't seen it (and if it wasn't mentioned by now, it probably won't be).
I tend to waffle on things of a "politically correct" nature. Obviously the spectre of P.C. has done much to keep some groups of people informed of how other groups of people would like to be treated. I believe that most slips of P.C. ettiquette tend to come from innocent ignorance rather than malicious petulance--although not all people. Even people one may think belong to one's group may surprise one by not believing in the same ideals. I think of Whoopi Goldberg dressing Ted Danson in blackface to speak to (who was it specifically? I don't recall) a group of African Americans. To Miss Goldberg, the concept was a social commentary--a bit of performance satire. To the group, it was offensive and unwelcome.
I have a question, as I am innocently ignorant of such customs. How far off were the "Indian" costumes as compared to authentic Native Indigenous regalia? If someone were to put on a show wearing sequined firefighter uniforms, should firefighters be offended? Or is the offense not because of the clothing, but because of a disrespect for ceremonial (religious) customs? If OutKast were dressed as cardinals, and Andre 3000 descended in not a teepee, but a bulletproof Popemobile, would the performance be more offensive, or less so?
I also wonder how offensive the dance number actually was. If the "Indians" were shown dancing around casinos swilling firewater, I could see it as very offensive. I suppose it might also be viewed by Whoopi as brilliant social commentary. If the same act were directed by Graham Greene (Dances with Wolves actor), it could have been viewed as a condemnation of the conquering European society and its indifference to the continent's original inhabitants. But of course, it's nothing of the sort, just performers dressed like somebody else. I suppose it may depend on which lens one chooses to look through.
And "hilarious" was probably too strong a word to describe my reaction. I will admit to being amused, however--mostly by the thought of Native Americans singing pop songs dressed in afros as a counterpoint to Sunday's Grammys. I think the point would be well made. It would certainly get a discussion going.
Please keep me notified if I am misinformed on any of my previous points. There's always room for growth--at the Mercuriosity Shop!
Posted by: ned mercury on février 10, 2004 08:44 PMWell, here is the story. It finally made it on MSNBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4250399/
Posted by: ned mercury on février 12, 2004 05:31 PM
