Josh's Grammy Notes

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are the Police and we are back!"

'Nuff said.  Now watch for Genesis to make a comeback.  It's just around the corner.

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The Dixie Chicks won huge for Taking The Long Way and Not Ready To Make Nice, as well as the song of the same title.  That fuels the fire for the belief of many that radio banned singles from the album.  I initially believed the explanation that there wasn't enough demand for airplay, but the more and more I see and hear about it, the more and more I lean toward the ban theory.

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This is just plain funny!  Ludacris thanked Oprah and O'Reilly!  On the same token, he asked, "So y'all telling me, all I had to do was cut my hair to win a best rap album? Is that what y'all telling me?"

Congrats, Chris, it's about time!

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Mary J. Blige won big, including R&B Album of the Year and Best Female R&B Vocal.  No surprise there.  This year has marked a stellar comeback for her.  She still has the best female voice in R&B, and her music hasn't lost it's value over the years.

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So just how long did John Mayer practice saying "She is very beautiful and you are the last to know" in Japanese?

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Glad to hear Randy Jackson defend Idol.  Honestly, if you think about it, some of the people on that show need to hear some mean things because they've been (incorrectly) coddled by friends and family all the way there.  In the short time they audition, if the judges see fit to breaking the news to them and they're defiant about it, let the judges get a little mean.  You can only let un-talent get so far.  They'll thank the judges later on in life after they've discovered their true calling.

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Poor Mark Lee.  I'm a big fan of Third Day, and it's unfortunate he missed out on accepting their award for Pop-Contemporary Gospel Album for Wherever You Are .  Congrats to Third Day, though!  They are truly one of the best, most legendary Christian rock bands of all time (and they've been doing it since day 1... just listen through "The Bus Album"), and they deserve every award they get.

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Wow... add two people to the list of those who get it: John Mayer and John Legend.  From the AP:

"It's a funky time for the record industry," said double-winner John Legend. "But the music industry is bigger than the record industry. ... Records aren't the only way to make money. It was the way (companies) made money, now they've got to figure that out."

Fellow double-winner John Mayer said talk of digital rights doesn't belong in rock.

"The answer lies in the simplicity of saying Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, rock 'n' roll, Fender Stratocaster, loud music, volume, feedback. Now let's go to the next word: digital rights management," Mayer said before Sunday night's show. "There's one thing in there that's not like the others."

Smart People: 300-some-thousand, RIAA: zero.

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Other CHR and notable highlights:

Christina Aguilera's "Ain't No Other Man" won Female Pop Vocal Performance.

John Mayer's "Waiting On The World To Change" won Male Pop Vocal Performance.

The Black Eyed Peas "My Humps" won Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal (I would've given it to "Don't Lie").

Another song about California from some rock group won Rock Song and Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal.

Gnarls Barkley's St. Elsewhere won Alternative Music Album (though "Crazy" could've won in just about any single-track category you put it in, including country if it'd been performed by country artist... and, actually, if you listen to A Prairie Home Companion, you'd already know someone did).

"Sexy Back" won Dance Recording.  Anyone surprised?

Madonna's Confessions On a Dance Floor won Electronic/Dance Album.  Considering most EDM artists released singles and not full albums last year (and Madonna was about the only one who did release a full album), that's not a big surprise, though the album does deserve it.  It's a good disc.

T.I. won Rap Solo Performance for "What You Know."  I love the song, but I preferred "Why You Wanna."

Chamillionaire and Krayzie Bone won Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "Ridin'."  Huge track, huge win.

Rap/Sung Collaboration went to Justin Timberlake and T.I. for "My Love," which deserves every award it gets... and that goes for all of FutureSex/LoveSounds.

Ludacris and Pharrell won Rap Song for "Money Maker."   I'm not sure I would've given it the award.  It was a good song, but it wasn't one of the best I've ever heard (which is what I'd reserve Grammy votes for were I ever given the opportunity to vote).  Still, though, it's all about what came out last year, and other than the previously mentioned "Why You Wanna" ( T.I.), I can't think of any other song that came out last year that deserves a win in the category.

Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" won Urban/Alternative Performance.  Again, anyone surprised?

R&B Song went to Mary J. Blige for "Be Without You," the song she performed at the show.  It's was the key to her comeback.

Beyoncé's B'Day won Contemporary R&B Album.  I would've given it to The Breakthrough (Mary J. Blige).

The soundtrack from "Walk The Line" won Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.  Awesome.

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All around, it wasn't the best year ever for the Grammy's, but it was far, far from being the worst.  Congratulations to all the winners!

Oh, dear sweet Lord, no!

Here's K-Fed's Nationwide ad for the Super Bowl.

I'm not objecting to the ad... I love it.  What I am upset about is the fact that I just found myself sitting at my computer actually thinking, "that track sounds kinda hot."  I think if it were any other vocalist over the beat, that song would have a pretty good run on the charts.  I can hear maybe Chingy or J-Kwon's voice... or perhaps Diddy (if he was actually rapping these days).

On the other side of that coin, however, "Popozao" wouldn't have been any good no matter who was spittin' it.