Day 55 – Classy Not! The Grammys

Monday March 15, 2021

Trevor Noah did a great job as MC for The Grammys. I read headlines that some artists weren’t attending out of some sort of protest about something. Yeah, well, to quote Whoopie, “O.K.”

Due to Covid the show was stripped down, which made it quite nice. There were some artists who performed who actually sang, in tune, to music, with words that all matched and made sense. Very weird. Then there were some that did something else. What that was I can’t really say, or maybe I can and prefer not to say, not sure.

I think my downhill slide began when my wife asked me if I knew what ‘WAP’ stood for. Wop yes, WAP no. So I looked it up. It’s the title to a song by Megan Thee Stallion (not her real name, who knew?) Then I looked up the lyrics. I am glad for once that a rap performance says words so fast that you can’t understand them. Or as Trevor Noah put it, “If you have kids in the room tell them it’s about washing a cat.”

Old Megan won Artist of the Year. What? She was accompanied up on stage by Beyoncé, who was doing her best impression of Mariah Carey “can you see my cleavage?” haberdashery. I’ll say this about B (everyone in the know calls her B you know.) She makes a visual impression. If there is anything about her artistry that I like it is that ability. Her music? Her singing? It’s okay, but Adele would blow her off the stage.

Beyoncé made history by winning more Grammys than any other artist ever. What? Are you serious? I’ve watched some of her big numbers at previous Grammys and they are spectacular – visually, but then she has to sing, and she ain’t no Whitney Houston. 

So I don’t get it. My nephew would try to explain it by blurting out, “You’re old.” 

Yeah, Ha ha. When I was your age …

Many of the artists I have seen on SNL or heard at the Grammys this year or before, and for many years I have to say, “I don’t get it.” 

I think HER (not her real name) has a cool vibe, but singing? Eh.

Billie Eilish similar, but in a different way.

One is jazzy; one is other worldly ethereal.

But there is something to what they do that is interesting. Intriguing.

Then we get to Megan thee Stallion (not her real name.) I guess she thought putting the extra “e” on “the” made her classy. Maybe there is a place for fat, unrefined, sexually explicit women in the entertainment world to be gross, uncouth, and sexually explicit? I mean how else to you describe her rise to artist of the year? 

I’ve gone on about this sort of thing before so I won’t take up too many pixels doing it again, but really? Why? Why are we subjected to such? At least when Sasha Baron Cohen is being gross we can choose whether to go see his movies. I guess the same is true for Megan. 

Okay, moving on. 

There were some interesting pre-recorded segments both singing and interviews.

BTS did a video for the show. I think I need to work on my boy band wink at the camera sexily move.

Harry Stiles in boa and butterfly tat? Really?

The opening was good. Artists sitting on stage and each in turn getting up to perform. The Black Pumas were interesting. I had never heard of them. They had a good back story and I wanted to hear more about how the two men that form the backbone of the group came together. I expected a more funky James Brown kind of beat from them.

Billie Eilish (part of her real name) did a good number. Later on the show did a video about her and she described being in a rather dark place, and bad circumstances and in the video she said she asked herself what she could do to make something out of this negativity. (I’m misquoting but I think I’ve got the idea.)

Bruno Mars (Not his real name) did a great 70s style song and later he did a terrific Little Richard number. 

Taylor Swift (her real name) got nothing all night long, then came Album of the Year. Boom. I also read her backstory in Wikipedia. I knew some of it but not all. 157 weeks for her first album on the Billboard top 200? Yeah. Also, she got the opportunity to open for Rascal Flats after they fired Eric Church as their opening act for playing too long. He had said that when she got her first gold record she should give it to him, and she did! With a note that said “Thanks for playing too loud and too long, Taylor.”

Meanwhile, Covid is still a thing, and hopefully people will realize we got to keep on doing what we’ve been doing if we want to defeat this virus.

Joe Biden is continuing to lead. Satan and Republicans are criticizing, blaming, and trying desperately to take credit.

The law may be moving in on you know who. It seems he’s feeling the heat. I do hope he’ll try his “everybody knows” and “a lot of people are talking” as his defense in court. 

I would also like to see a black person stand real close to Ron Johnson. I wonder if he could take it. I mean. Oh wait, maybe we should have a few … no, never mind.

The Grammys were interesting. There was nothing spectacular and there was a lot that was better left unsaid.

Trevor did a masterful job.

PS WAP WAP A LOO BOOP!