Then, at least once a month, there are "events', where many of the cachers come together and share stories about their adventures, trade "pathtags" (coins that commemorate caches, events, or other cachers), and perhaps recommend other places to go, and many of them don't see fellow cachers otherwise.
The Grammy's are the same way, in a sense.
Music nowadays is so fragmented, unlike the golden era of top 40 radio, where everyone listened to the same songs. Pop and hip-hop are the most popular genres these days, but alternative rock, country, R&B, jazz, and other forms still abound. The problem is that a fan of, say, alternative won't ever get to hear other forms of music that are going on right now.
So, perhaps, that's the draw of the Grammy awards each year. Unlike other award shows in other entertainment categories, it's more about the performances rather than who gets that gramophone statuette. I mean, for example, during the Oscars, you don't see actors reenacting scenes from recent movies, between awards, do you? And yes, the Grammys may be a turn-off for some people, who would complain that their genre of music isn't represented as much as other forms.
As you know, alternative rock is my forte. Which, of course, I would also have to sit through pop, hip-hop, country and other genres to hear my kind of music (in this case, Alabama Shakes). Classic rockers usually have sparse representation as well, and perhaps fans of rock maybe just had just a few reasons to watch (and sadly, all were tributes to artists we've recently lost).
So, what actually happened at the 58th Grammy awards this year? Rather than recap moment by moment, instead I'll give you my take on the high points and disappointments of Monday night, and then recap the winners in the pertinent categories. First, the positive moments.
Taylor Swift: Like her or hate here (and perhaps there are more reasons now for the former). She led off the show performing her latest single, "Out of the Woods", from her 1989 album. Swift, although I have reservations about her pop stuff, really has matured and become a performer, something that perhaps is lost with pop stars these days.
Kendrick Lamar: We were prepared (per host LL Cool J, who once again did a fantastic job hosting) for an innovative, and perhaps controversial performance as he ran through a mash-up of some of the songs from his latest album. Lamar set a hip-hop record with 11 nominations, winning five of them. As for his performance, he did a knockout job, putting his heart and soul into the lyrics. While people did talk about his performance, and though it was set in prison props, there wasn't any controversy of say, Beyoncé's Superbowl show. He was really into his rap; you could actually see him spitting out his words, literally. Lamar, along with Wiz Khalifa, in my opinion, are two of the best in the hip-hop genre today.
Justin Bieber, The Weeknd: These two artists have a lot in common. They're both Canadian, both tore up the charts in the last six months or so, with three songs in the top 10 at various times. They are both artists that I had dismissed previously, but for different reasons. But both of them impressed, in separate performances.
The Weeknd, at least for me, rose to prominence in a duet with Ariana Grande on her big hit "Love Me Harder" (and to be honest, I thought that was a band, until I realized it's an R&B singer). I never really felt the need to listen to his music, but after his performance of two songs, including his hit "Can't Feel My Face", I am ready to reconsider. He is a consummate R&B singer and his singing, note for note had a lot of heartfelt feeling in it, something that you don't see nowadays.
As for Bieber, it's no secret that I haven't been a fan of his, for various reasons. But he impressed as well. He shocked the hell out of me, when he led off with an acoustic performance of his latest hit, the current Billboard #1 song, "Love Yourself", complete with guitar playing. While he will never be mentioned with Eric Clapton or Jimi Hendrix in the same breath, it, at least shows some of his artistry, as sparse as it was. He then joined others on stage for "Where Are You Now". While I am still not a fan of his genre, he, in a way is starting to impress me. He is a lot more mature, and seems more comfortable than he did in the past. And he has come a long way from just a few years ago when he wasn't even invited to the Grammys. This time, he actually won an award in a dance music category.
Lionel Richie Tribute: While many of the artists honored that night were done so, posthumously, the former Commodores front man is very much still alive. Perhaps it was because of the name similarity of Adele's "Hello", which was the same name as one of his biggest hits, that put him back in the public eye, but the multi-artist tribute to him was outstanding, with a cross genre grouping of Luke Bryan, Meghan Trainor, John Legend and Demi Lovato. Lovato perhaps was the biggest surprise in that segment, taking charge and simply belting out a song with soul. I recently had gotten into Demi, with her "Cool for the Summer", and perhaps I should keep noticing any future endeavors.
Alabama Shakes: You won't find their performance even listed in many Grammy recaps, but to alt-rock fans, it was pretty much their only time in the sun that evening. Brittany Howard and crew performed their #1 SNS "hit", "Don't Wanna Fight", and while it wasn't "earth shattering" (like their "Saturday Night Live" appearance a year ago), it was an excellent reproduction of that song. I kind of wished they'd do "Gimme All Your Love", but they did ace their performance. Oh, and they did pretty good at the awards, too. More on that later.
Performances of those that passed: Overall, the tributes to fallen music heroes went off well. Maurice White, the leader of R&B/funk band Earth, Wind & Fire, was remembered fondly via performances, with Stevie Wonder and Pentatonix reprising "That's the Way of the World". And although Dude (from "The Big Lebowski") may hate the Eagles, you had to be moved by the surviving members' performance of "Take It Easy" with that song's co-writer and long time cohort Jackson Browne, in their tribute to Glenn Frey. Don Henley, playing drums, looked noticeably sad during the performance.
During the recent spate of artist passings, I had neglected to mention Lemmy Kilmister, of the classic metal band Motorhead. He was remembered, too, but even more bizarre was the band that paid tribute to him: The Hollywood Vampires. I'm not sure if this was a makeshift band or not, but it consisted of Alice Cooper, Aerosmith's Joe Perry, and get this, actor Johnny Depp, who I had no idea he was a musician. While perhaps Depp just played along, the tribute came off very well. Alice looked like he did in the 1970's, ever the showman, in his trademark eye mascara and cane. Finally, bluesman B.B. King got a proper sendoff, with performances from folk-rocker Bonnie Raitt, country star Chris Stapleton, and blues-rocker Gary Clark, Jr. Again, an example of stars from different musical fields coming together.
No, I didn't forget David Bowie's tribute, but unfortunately, that mention is coming up.
And yes, the not-so-great moments:
David Bowie tribute: Listen, I love Lady Gaga. In fact, just last week, I sang her praises as she did a great version of our National Anthem at last week's Superbowl halftime show. She did a fantastic job at last year's Oscars with her "Sound of Music" medley, as well as duetting with legendary crooner Tony Bennett.
But perhaps, rock is not for Gaga. I know she was a huge David Bowie fan, as well as the artists from the glam area, including Queen and others. She tried her best as she ran through a medley of Bowie's many highlights, but it came up short. Gaga, dressed up as Bowie in his Ziggy Stardust era (as well as cool graphics echoing Bowie's "Aladdin Sane" album cover), tried to deliver, but pretty much went through the motions. She did her best, but it was a noble failure.
Adele: Was it four years ago that Adele did a stunning performance of "Someone Like You" on that year's Grammy telecast? Of course, she is back in a big way, with record-breaking sales of her 25 album. But, just a few seconds into her performance of "All I Need" from that set, the sound went out, allegedly the piano mics falling onto the piano strings. The glitch lasted just a few seconds, but the rest of her performance was uncharacteristically offline, in spite of her full intentions. She did take it to heart, though, kidding about what happened. Incidentally, she was on Ellen DeGeneres on Thursday of this week; singing aside, she is a bubbly individual, and doesn't take herself too seriously. This is a person you just want to like.
Natalie Cole Tribute: What? You didn't catch that? Actually, neither did I; neither did no one. That's because there wasn't one. Although there was an extended "In Memoriam" tribute that wound up that segment, with the video of her and her dad, Nat "King" Cole with the tech-enhanced classic "Unforgettable", the powers that me pretty much forget any other tributes during the show. She should have at least, gotten mention as B.B. King, Maurice White, Lemmy, Frey and Bowie did.
Closing Number: While reaction to the last performance was mixed, my opinion of the last song, performed by Pitbull, Robin Thicke, Travis Barker and actress Sofia Vergara, fell short.
NOW FOR THE AWARDS: Last week, I analyzed the pertinent awards (the major categories, as well as the salient genre awards such as rock, pop and alternative) as to who I thought would win, and who I wanted to win. Although I got some of them right, many I also got wrong, although those winners I did mention of being "in the running". So, let's start right at the top.
RECORD OF THE YEAR: I was right on the money with this one. Let's face it, "Uptown Funk" was the most played, most referred to, and most loved song that came out last year. It was Billboard's #1 song of 2015, and thus it deserved the nod.
SONG OF THE YEAR: This is a songwriters award, and I didn't review this last week, but the song that I wanted to win Record of the Year--Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud", did get this award in which Sheeran was a co-writer.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR: I was totally off with this one. I wanted Alabama Shakes to get this for "Sound & Color" (no worries, they did great in other categories), as Grammy is nice to alternative artists, and thought Kendrick Lamar would get this (again, he got 5 wins, although none in the major categories), it was the big sales winner, Taylor Swift's "1989" which won. But to be honest, I didn't mind. That's because Swift, who was upstaged at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards when Kanye West took the mic away from her acceptance speech, fought back. Seems that West's new album has a song with lyrics suggesting that it was the obnoxious Kanye that was responsible for Swift's stardom, stemming from the prior incident. However, the songstress found back in her acceptance speech, stating that you are responsible for your own success as a result of your own empowerment, and not to let anyone else lay claim to your success, which was interpreted as a slap at Kanye. Given how Mr. West behaved badly in many cases lately, I applaud Taylor Swift on that stance. I still don't think, however she should have won, but am happy for that speech.
BEST NEW ARTIST: A big of controversy here. Of course, I rooted for indie artist Courtney Barnett, but the award went to a crying Meghan Trainor. Many thought Trainor didn't deserve the nod, but to me, it's not a bad thing. Trainor, of course is a pure pop artist, which alone doesn't give you any respect. But when you think about it, it's a good choice. Meghan's pop hits go beyond the usual sparse trappings: "All About That Bass", a top 5 SNS hit, may on the surface, be mindless pop, but it also paid homage to early 1960's doo-wop music as well. That was true of the follow-up, "Lips Are Moving". And perhaps adding to her versatility was the most recent single from her album, "Like I'm Gonna Lose You", a ballad featuring R&B singer John Legend.
Now, for the other categories that contain SNS artists:
POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE: As predicted, Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud" won, to go along with its Song of the Year nod. By the way, the song, my #1 of 2015, moves back up from #67 to #63 in week 46. And to think I almost never got the song into the top 50 after its first two months.
DUO/GROUP PERFORMANCE: Well, I was hoping "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth would get the nod. But in the end, it was all "Uptown Funk", which again makes a bit more sense.
POP VOCAL ALBUM: Yeah, I wished Florence + the Machine would get something, but they aren't pop, so I figured it would be between the two Taylors---James and Swift. It was indeed the latter. Taylor Swift did pretty well for herself this year. Take that, Kanye.
ROCK PERFORMANCE: Alabama Shakes, baby!!!! How could it not? Brittany and company did very well for themselves, with four wins, although I predicted that Elle King would win for "Ex's and Oh's". It's the only category in which all five nominees landed on my weekly SNS 100 chart. But, echoing my blog from a few weeks back regarding "what is current rock?", many felt Foo Fighters should have gotten the nod, as that is "real rock". First of all, I love the Foos; Dave Grohl and company put out a strong album last year (two songs from it made my SNS top 20), and yes, they rock in the traditional sense. Some, believe it or not, never heard of the Shakes, and others just don't think they're rock. As I blogged a few weeks back when the "Now That's What I Call Rock" set was released, rock is a very broad genre of music. It has changed and evolved over the years. And Howard's powerful voice has reminding people about Janis Joplin. And you mean to tell me Janis wasn't rock?
ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUM: This one was no contest, Alabama Shakes once again. The others were good, but couldn't compare. To be honest, Florence + the Machine's How Big...should have been nominated here; it would have been the only album with a chance to topple Brittany and gang.
AS FAR AS THE other categories where prominent SNS artists were nominated, Leon Bridges' Coming Home lost out to D'Angelo and the Vanguard's Black Messiah; however Chris Stapleton cleaned up some of the country categories. "Traveller" got best country performance, while the album of the same name won best country album beating out Sam Hunt and others.
BRIEFLY: Again, because of the length of the blog talking about the Grammy's, no time to review any new music, but it's good to see some first and second-timers on the list, including the Top Debut, Kaleo, whose "Way Down We Go" leads the new entries at #80. That's already higher than last year's "All The Pretty Girls" which only got to #94. The band hails from Iceland, which is also the home of Grammy-nominated Bjork. Coldplay, in spite of being "upstaged" at the Super Bowl, still leads my pack as "Adventure of a Lifetime" logs a third week at #1. It makes a big jump on the Hot 100 into the top 20 and stay at the top of the alternative chart. Elle King, Adele and Foals are in hot pursuit, though. And Fitz & the Tantrums simply won't go away. "Last Raindrop" re-bullets at #50, and "6 AM" does the same from #96 to #84, now in its 68th chart week. You just can't destroy a good song...or memory.
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100
February 14,
2016
| This Week | Last Week | ARTIST-Title | Weeks on List |
| 1 | 1 | NUMBER ONE:
"Adventure of A
Lifetime"
Album: A Head Full of Dreams
|
11 |
| 2 | 2 | Elle King - Under the Influence | 6 |
| 3 | 4 | Adele - When We Were Young | 6 |
| 4 | 8 | Foals - Give It All | 4 |
| 5 | 3 | Iration - 867 | 12 |
| 6 | 9 | Cage the Elephant - Mess Around | 15 |
| 7 | 5 | Mutemath - Monument | 12 |
| 8 | 6 | Smash Palace - Haddontown | 15 |
| 9 | 7 | The Dreamers - Wolves (You Got Me) | 14 |
| 10 | 15 | City and Colour - Lover Come Back | 10 |
| 11 | 27 | TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:
"Delilah"
Album: How BIg, How Blue, How Beautiful
|
3 |
| 12 | 10 | Florence + the Machine - Queen of Peace | 16 |
| 13 | 17 | Lake Street Dive - Call Off Your Dog | 8 |
| 14 | 12 | Phoebe Ryan - Ignition/Do You | 12 |
| 15 | 21 | Martin Courtney - Northern Highway | 14 |
| 16 | 35 | DNCE - Cake By the Ocean | 5 |
| 17 | 11 | Leila Hegazy - Maybe If We Try | 13 |
| 18 | 23 | Chris Stapleton - Traveller | 12 |
| 19 | 24 | Silversun Pickups - Nightlight | 25 |
| 20 | 18 | St. Paul & the Broken Bones - Broken Bones & Pocket Change | 20 |
|
|
Songs
with the greatest increase in favorite points over the prior week.
● Songs
with 25 or more plays on my iPod.
▲ Songs with 50 or more
plays on my iPod.
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