Michael has seen me watch the Oscars every year, because I literally cannot help myself. I have always loved the movies. Even if I haven't had time to see any of the nominated films, I watch.
Every year, though, I get a bit more jaded about the whole process.
Little films that struggled to get made often end up winning all the prizes. So why is it still so hard for small films to get made?
I have a teenaged son. He likes movies where something explodes every 5 minutes. Sometimes I've said to him "We're going to watch a DVD and this is a movie about PEOPLE, not explosions. I'd like you to look for 30 minutes and then if you don't want to continue to watch, OK." I have to say, most of the time he will end up watching the movie and enjoying it, if I've chosen well.
Michael loves music and so last night I said let's watch the Grammys. I remember watching them every year for many years, until I got old enough to be out of touch with popular music. This year, however, I've been listening to Michael's radio stations in the car, and so I know a lot of the songs. So I thought it would be more fun to watch.
Well.... yes and no. I had heard most of the pop songs, but none of the rock or country songs. That's OK.
What was shocking to me was the utter lack of talent. Even Beyonce, who I have to admire because she has a terrific voice and usually sings interesting songs, was stunningly awful. The show opened with her straddling a chair like in Flashdance, and she proceeded to writhe around and sing some awful un-melodic song. She had on no pants. Her butt was literally hanging OUT.
Michael was shocked. He laughed about it. I debated about whether or not to just turn off the show, but I decided to let him keep watching. Whether or not he wants to watch next year.... who knows.
Then, early in the show, Katy Perry did "Dark Horse" - but it looked like a very amateur scene out of Macbeth, or perhaps a bad early 80's MTV video. I was not impressed. I thought it was just silly.
What was really sort of depressing was that a young artist that I've heard on the radio many times, who has real talent but isn't flashy, Ed Sheeran, didn't win.
A country singer named Kacey Musgraves, who has no voice and sang a really lame song, did win.
I guess that's the most frustrating thing about the Grammys, the people who should win often don't.
In the end, I suspect that within a few years I will quit watching all awards shows altogether. I may even follow my brother's example and throw out the TV. It's not really necessary. You can see everything on the computer.
One of the comforting things about the Grammys is they always include Madonna looking silly. You're over 50, lady, get over yourself.
of course, it's not hard to see where she found inspiration:
