CLAUDE PATE AND THE GRAMMYS: ONE DEGREE OF SEPARATION!
One of the areas where the Grammys did well this year was in its awarding of Lifetime Achievement Awards. Among the honorees were Janis Joplin (who received a televised tribute sung by Melissa Etheridge and Joss Stone), Jerry Lee Lewis, the Carter Family, Art Blakey, Morton Gould, Jelly Roll Morton, the Staple Singers, and 91-year-old Delta blues pianist Pinetop Perkins. one of Claude Pate's drummers, Jon Hahn, has played with the legendary Perkins.
AND THEN THERE WAS LED ZEPPELIN: The British quartet that opened the door to heavy metal (and whose name was originally one Keith Moon proposed during a period when it appeared the Who would break up) was also belatedly recognized by the academy, though they did not have to wait as long as Perkins, I guess. I caught of glimpse of Jimmy Page looking surprisingly good, by which I mean not looking like one of Keith Richards' legions of the undead. The Crowley thing must be working for him. It's a shame John Bonham didn't live to see the day they won a Grammy, but my tribute will be to point you to a site which purports to have some John Bonham outtakes available to download for the next few days.
BRIAN WILSON, MusiCares Person of the Year, was honored with an all-star tribute concert over the weekend as part of the Grammy festivities. The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Earth, Wind and Fire, Barenaked Ladies (no, not palying “Brian Wilson”), Jeff Beck, Darlene Love Neil Young and more took part before Wilson finished the evening, which, imho, would make a nice CD release. Although Smile did not win Best Pop Vocal Album (being wiped out by the Ray Charles disc), “Mrs. O'Leary's Cow” won Best Rock Instrumental Performance . Given that Wilson's original effort to record this track are a legendary disaster and emblematic of Brian's second breakdown, the award takes on additional meaning. Finally, one of the odd moments of the Grammy telecast was during the all-star version of “Across The Universe” (the proceeds from which go to tsunami aid), when Brian looked more comfortable on stage than Norah Jones. The number also showed how much taller Brian is than most pop musicians.
WILCO took Best Alternative Music Album for A Ghost Is Born, not that Jeff Tweedy cares. Tweedy recently told The Birmingham News: “I can't say that having Grammy nominations means an enormous amount to us. I don't see it as being a validation of anything. To be really blunt, I don't have a lot of respect for the artists that have won Grammys. “On the other hand, it's very exciting to be nominated for a Grammy because it makes your parents happy.”
THE FULL LIST OF WINNERS is up at the Grammys site. In general, it was a big night for the late Ray Charles and Alicia Keys.
AND TO DIGRESS for a moment, mentioning Jon Hahn reminds me that another good reason to hit Austin for SXSW would be for the BBQ.
REMEMBER, IT'S VALENTINES DAY! Looking for a last-minute valentine? How about downloading a EPS file of the cards Lisa and ralph exchanged so many moons ago on The Simpsons? Or maybe go straight to the designer sex toys.
IRAQ ELECTION UPDATE: The Shiite parties' 48 percent of the vote is far short of the two-thirds majority needed to control the National Assembly. Thus, the situation will require formation of a coalition government, which should allay the fears some had that a resounding victory by the Shia would move Iraq toward theocracy. As an aside, I would like to complain about something the press almost always gets wrong. News accounts, including the one I just linked, tend to break down the population of Iraq into Shia, Sunni and Kurds. The Kurds are an ethnic minority, not a religious one. Many Kurds are Sunni muslims, so this breakdown is technically inaccurate. The press is using the term Sunni to refer to the non-Kurd Sunni population in central Iraq that gained the most under Saddam and is the most supportive (though certainly not completely so) of the insurgency. It's shorthand, but sloppy. And that doesn't even consider the degree to which Iraqis align with their tribe above and beyond their religion.
IT'S OFFICIAL: Former Vermont Gov. and presidential candidateHoward Dean took the helm of the Democratic National Committee on Saturday. “This is a revolutionary redefinition of the party chairmanship,” said Brian Lunde, a former national party official who, during the 1980s, helped several Democrats win the chairmanship. “We are moving into totally uncharted waters.” FWIW, I think Dean hits it on the head in saying that the path to success for Democrats in national and congressional elections is to win races from school board on up.
DEATH OF A PLAYWRIGHT: Arthur Miller, a giant of 20th-century American literature and one-time husband of Marilyn Monroe, died of heart failure at his beloved Connecticut farm on Friday, aged 89.
NOT LOVIN' IT: McDonald's has agreed to pay 8.5 million dollars to settle a alifornia lawsuit over artery-clogging trans fats in its cooking oils, the company said Friday. No doubt Ronald is happier with the 14 states that have passed so-called “common sense consumption” acts, dubbed by some as “cheeseburger bills,” that bar people from seeking damages in court from food companies for weight gain and associated medical problems.
XTINA: Engaged to her longtime boyfriend. He's a music executive instead of a backup dancer.
WHAT'S NEW, PUSSYCAT? Tom Jones is fed up with ladies chucking their knickers at him. “If I'm doing a ballad and trying to create a mood, then undies appear from nowhere and then it's a problem,” he said.
INDIE ICON ANI DIFRANCO is unhappy with the state of our society and her industry: “The corporate overthrow of our whole society does not help any of us independent or small-business owners,” she says, likening media consolidation to mom-and-pop stores driven out of business by megachains. “On every level of the music industry, indie record stores are closed, indie promoters locked out of venues because Clear Channel has bought up every last live performance venue and has exclusive deals with their corporate promoters, indie radio completely gobbled by corporate conglomerates with very restrictive play lists.” But when the music world gets like this is when things get interesting, imho. Punk and the original DIY movement came out of a similar environment. This time, I think it will happen (or is happening) through the internet.
NAPSTER'S UNLIMITED MONTHLY DOWNLOAD DEAL appears to have a huge hitch in the not-so-fine print: all of your music disappears if you unsubscribe.
CNN EXEC RESIGNS UNDER BLOG PRESSURE; Having noted last week that liberal bloggers forced the resignation of a conservative reporter for a web site run by a conservative activist, balance dictates that I note that CNN chief news executive Eason Jordan quit Friday amidst a furor over remarks he made in Switzerland last month claiming that journalists had been “targeted” by the U.S. military in Iraq. Although most accounts of Jordan's remarks in Davos have him backtracking after being challenged by Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) and David Gergen (who has worked for Presidents of both parties), bloggers found a pattern of Jordan making such claims against U.S. troops and Israeli Defense Forces. The session was “off the record” but videotaped; apparently, Jordan made a judgment about what that tape would show if released. Incidentally, one of the people often quoted in support of such claims tells The Mudville Gazette — a blog written by a soldier in Fallujah — that Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Jornalists misquoted him.
XBOX is being used to train U.S. troops in Iraq. “Moreover, the military does not allow booze or prostitution for the troops in combat zones these days. So compelling electronic entertainment solves a potentially serious morale problem.”
HIP-HOP CONFIDENTIAL: Karinne Steffans, the legendary hip-hop groupie/video vixen/wannabe actress who goes by the nickname “Superhead,” just signed a “lucrative” deal with HarperCollins' imprint Amistad books to “tell all — and we mean all,” which amy iclude tales about Usher, Jay-Z, Chris Rock, Ja Rule, Ice-T, Vin Diesel, Xzibit and Sean 'Puffy' Combs.”