Why did anyone take the Grammies seriously this time around, anyway?

Because it's nice when something you like gets mass-media recognition and adulation, even if it comes from a tainted source. And there was a handful of songs that I do like that got nominated. So I rooted for them to do well and cursed the ones that won instead. It was fun. Meaningless, yes, but fun.

The MM LP's nomination was sales + controversy, surely.

The Grammys = rubbish. The Brits also = rubbish but I'm more into them for obvious reasons.

And as readers of the pop league will notice when I get the fucker up, not everyone gave Eminem's choice of duet partner a pass. ;)

Talk about layers of meaning! Eminem's duet w/ Elton John launches into high gear with the last verse of "Stan" -- the one where E responds to S. In the performance, John cranked up the piano theatrics right there, and all of a sudden the layer of schmaltz which coats that verse is all the more apparent -- does he really care about Stan, or is the song now dripping with subtle commentary on how stupid it would be to actually care about a fan that much. Or should we instead then place the whole song on the level of one of Elton's overwrought tearjerker string-pullers, as something as self-consciously, blatantly, and commercially maniuplative as "Candle in The Wind"?

Just when I thought that Eminem couldn't convolute his mythology any further, he goes and works with Elton (which is a brilliant stroke in itself) and then throws us a hell of a musical curveball like this.

And on a different note, Elton's mock-dido inflections in the song made it all that much stranger, highlighting their own artificiality -- almost feeling more disjoint and this sampled than on the album version, where the sample might as well be organic to the song. Pop culture never ceases to delight.

Oh gawd its award ceremony time again. *sigh* this means all music related letters pages and internet forums will be full of "why wasn't tedious group (x) Nominated!??" letters and lots of information we already new about the ceremonys all being fake.

Ha. Any awards ceremony that gives awards to Eminem is bollocks.

I can't believe people these days support bigots like Mr. Mathers.

What do you mean, "these days"? Was there some halcyon time that I missed where overt and institutionalized racism didn't exist?

Yeah, Dan, like remember 5 years ago, on that one day in June? That's when it happened. Women were treated well that day too ;)

I have a question, Ned: What do you mean, "this year"? I go on the awards ceremony tip every year. I love them, the cheezy artificiality, the horrendeously obnoxious choices, the extremely bad outfits, the completely amazingly bad winners (Macy Gray's, what, 3 year old now song winning best pop vocal, female over Madonna AND Britney Spears? What the fuck?). And then it's over and I don't give a shit. I talk about it while it's happening with whomever is over watching it with me or whomever I"m on the phone with bitching to, and then the next day I've virtually forgotten 90% of the winners. I think a vast majority of people, recording-literate or no, are exactly like that.

Bring on da Oscars, baby.

Ally: you are my hero. :)

I think one reason people got so worked up about the Grammies this year is because Eminem is such an obvious target. I mean, come on. You've got this horrorcore rapper who's so firmly embedded into the mainstream that you can't ignore him up for the most "prestigious" awards in the (American) music business? Of course people are going to scream and yell! Eminem is the public face of something that's been going on in American suburbs for at LEAST the past ten years and the adults in control are working themselves into a tizzy because they didn't want to acknowledge that it existed.

Well, there was a time when 12% of the population were nice and not cunts. I think it's 5% today.

Seriously, I don't have time for violent thugs who are horrible women- bashers and gay-bashers. I can't believe people get awards for lyrics like that. It's encouraging hate.....

I really don't understand why some people insist on affording Eminem such little artistic lisence. And how they fail to spot all the contradictory signals abound... in dickon's diary he quotes that "fag or lez or trans-a-vest" line from Amityville, but later in that song he's all "while i'm holding a gun with this much calibre here?". when in 'who knew', he's settled to just a little "who's letting the guns into this country? i couldn't sneak a plastic pellet gun through custoums over in london." it's nigh on impossible to draw any such obvious meaning from his lyrics. it's a little more possible to take them as the lashings of some crazed, screwy kid lashing aty no-one quite more than he lashes at himself.

I think Courtney Love had the worst outfit on. Made Betty Page look modest.

Regarding this year -- I guess something to do with Mr. Mathers, whoever he is, seemed to focus more attention. Dan's point is good, because it demonstrates why Monsieur M's so utterly uncompelling. Yet another play-acting fuck-up -- er, thanks. That's half the people I listen to, surely, and I run into people like that on a regular basis around this campus, where they can often afford to be indulged. Tres boring -- I can afford to give him so little artistic license when the art isn't much to interest me beyond such a pointlessly common setting. Elton slathered on top of it was like mayonaise substitute on a terribly indifferent ham sandwich, really.

I do remember that one day, though. Everyone stopped drinking as well. ;-)

But jel, do people expect Courtney Love to dress conservatively at the Grammies (or anywhere for that matter)?

Except for a brief period a few years back where she was borrowing clothes from Sharon Stone, she has always dressed like Alterna- Hoochie Mama Number 1.

As for Mr. Mathers, I just don't care anymore. He could blow up the Empire State Building and kidnap Britney Spears and I still couldn't be bothered.

His performance w/EJ wasn't bad, but I am so utterly sick of being bombarded with 24 hour blanket coverage of him in Detroit -- I have just seen one too many "Local Boy Makes Good" stories. If you think he's overexposed on a global level, just imagine what it's like on a local level. The local news even did a 10 minute piece on the restaurant where he used to wash dishes!

Nicole, if Eminem blew up the Empire State Building and kidnapped Britney Spears, he'd be my new personal IDOL. Why? Because he'd actually be DOING something instead of just mouthing off, coming across for all the world like I guy that you could just slap and he'd pussy off. All front.

This just put an image into my head of Eminem going King Kong and CLIMBING the EMpire State Building with Britney Spears. That'd be the best movie ever. Better than Riding With Death.

My objection to Eminem winning anything for the 'Marshall Mathers' LP is that I thought it was genuinely terrible. It is the proud owner of the title 'Most Boring Record I Have Ever Heard Ever' and made my arse go numb over the 80-odd minutes it took to listen to it. Why do people want to hear this self-obsessed twaddle? If it wasn't for a friend of my brother's taking it off me I'd have smashed the fucker into a million pieces.

Why do people want to hear this self-obsessed twaddle

Because "Drug Ballad" was the best song of 2000. Plus lyrically he beat Arab Strap at their own game with that song, and I feel kinda foolish having bought The Red Thread at this particular moment.

What on earth's wrong with a play-acting fuck-up if he does it with wit, rhyme and a great deal of smarts? More interesting than campus mopers, but my main point was the old wilde line, there is no moral or immoral art. And ally, the thing i enjoy about Eminem is the ridiculous, preposterous mouthing off next to absurd comic misery, teachers trying to get kids beaten up and so on. Which is exactly why eminem with briten on the empire state could be the best film ever. i'd never watched the grammies before, and was truck by how ludicrous it all was, the Brits have nothing on them. you gets this alarming eminem/elton performance (i did think it was quite wonderful - elton's singing was entirely wretched but it was great to hear the rap anew) and then - "and now, bette midler and stevie wonder!"

I don't care - the MM LP still made my arse numb. Unforgivable. No record has ever BORED me in quite the same way.