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Pop Rock Nation

Category: News

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  • Zac Brown Band Shreds All-Stars – Grammys 2010

    JoBros in the house, and the screams start early.  Need You Now and Lady Antebellum take the stage.  They’re not really country no matter how much music companies want to slot them there.  Brilliant harmonies.

    CBS shills The Big Bang Theory during Best Comedy Album.  Six nominees and Colbert wins for a cute skit that turned into a record.  And for this we’ve given up a Kings of Leon or a jazz or a blues performance?  Or maybe even that, whaddya call it?  Classical.

    Off of commercial, Norah Jones and Ringo Starr.  Remember, Norah’s dad and Ringo go way back.  Bobby Darin gets a Lifetime Achievement Award as Mack The Knife plays.  Ringo pumps up the audience for Norah.

    Beyonce’s Halo, I Gotta Feeling by the Peas, Use Somebody by Kings of Leon, Gaga’s Poker Face and Taylor Swift’s You Belong With Me are the nominees.   Kings of Leon pull off another huge upset.  Peas and Swift were safe here.  Good for the Academy voters.

    Robert Downey, Jr. is introduced as the most self-important actor of his generation which is a joke gone bad or a horrible intro.  He is Sue’s at Movie Rewind’s main dude. Gotta give it to Jamie Foxx who can make an intro.  Autotune at The Grammys is a big no-no in my book especially when we all know Jamie can sing.  Some weirdness when Jamie’s mic seemed to cut in and a different timbre was heard.  I’m just saying…  T-Pain who is never losing AutoTune regardless of venue prances a bit. The whole thing is a bit muddy for stars this talented.

    It’s the big jam as Slash enters with hat and blazing guitar.

    Katy Perry, kind of looking like his daughter, shows up with Alice Cooper.  They give  Florence Greenberg a posthumous  Trustee Award and start naming   Best Rock Album nominees.

    Best Rock (Kid Rock?  Rock of Ages?) whatever that means anymore, goes to Green Day.  That’s a strange choice with Dave Matthews and the album I thought had won, AC/DC’s Black Ice.  Insiders Butch Vig and Chris Lord-Alge get name checked by Billie Joe Armstrong who doesn’t let anyone else talk.  He writes great hooks, but I’m getting bored with Billie Joe again.   This happened after Dookie too.

    Chris O’Donnell shills one of the NCIS shows.  He throws a lifetime award to Harold Bradley.  He then gives way for Zac Brown Band and Leon Russell.  I would say Leon looks great, but between the shades, big white hat and beard, I couldn’t say.

    He sounded great though as did the protracted acapella version of America that opened the segment.  Brilliant, brilliant band.  Harmony.  Lyrics.  America.  Shredding acoustic guitar solo.  These guys will be around on a decade.

  • Fergie Vs. The Censors – Grammys 2010

    SLoretta Lynneal brought the crowd to life with a Lifetime Achievement Award for Leonard Cohen. Then he opens up with another performance. No boring awards here.

    Roll out the songs.

    Here’s Pink, doing herself proud in front of the industry and a worldwide television artist. Her outfit is a cross between nun’s habit and none habit. She is glamour and spins through the track without blemish eveas she disrobed into truly none. If Jerry Falwell hadn’t died, this would have killed him. Our girl spins as though in a circus, looking sexier by the minute until she is drenched in water and hit every note while spinning above the crowd in fabric.

    Amazing.

    Miranda Lambert and Keith Urban, both beautiful, look pretty pedestrian after that. They announce Loretta Lynn’s Lifetime Achievement Award and a Trustee Award for long-timer producer Walter Miller.

    Best New Artist, the Kiss of Death Grammy, that Gaga should have been eligible for rolls up. I told Money Mike that Hilson was the safe Academy choice although The Ting Tings or MGMT should win. Zac Brown Band pulls the well-deserved upset! The boys look happy, yet even though they are performing later, they get played off.

    Miley Cyrus, all growed up, introduces the Peas. Fergie gets “mother-father” in place instead of the lyric and CBS reacted too late for the delay. CBS began experiencing audio difficulties. Language. After watching Pink spin above the crowd, dripping water and dressed in ribbons, do we really need to worry about some lyric. BEP does their typical strong musical theater performance. I’ve Got A Feeling brought everyone out, robots included.

    Welcome to the Future, they exhort the crowd. Except, you know, for the censorship part.

    Loretta Lynn photo: Scott Schram http://schram.net/

  • Gaga, John Open Grammys

    beyonce
    Beyonce: How A Star Shines.

    Live blogging the Grammys tonight and away we go once Ryan Seacrest scampers in from the red carpet after letting slip (yeah, right) that he’ll be performing on We Are The World.  To quote Lionel Richie, “We had Dan Akroyd there so yes, you can sing.”

    Gaga updated the opening with the real Gaga that mashed a circus, steampunk and a power ballad that has the likes of Alice Cooper and Elton John gushing to mainstream media about the latest to ascend the throne they built. Lady Gaga relises being a monster. That’s why Sir Elton donned specs years after shedding them from his act.

    Gaga pulled all the specs and eye patches off and dueted with Sir Elton brilliantly. Alice Cooper said it best. Gaga works as an artist because she can sing.

    Stephen Colbert does his schtick to a flat crowd including a once-over glance from Jay-Z. One liners: Jeff Beck has the all-time high score on Guitar Hero. Then he told his daughter to stay away from Katy Perry.

    Finally Song of the Year on an iPad. Beyonce and co-writers win for Single Ladies. I’m not sure the songwriter award belonged to that track. It was certainly my choice as Record of the Year. Colbert talked so damn long that they played the songwriters off lightning-fast.

    Jenny from the Block is up. We told you years ago that American Idiot would be a Broadway show. The Broadway cast and the once-punkers met onstage for GD’s title track. Writing hellacious hooks was never a problem although Joey Ramone probably revoked their place in Punk Heaven. The good news is that Tres Cool’s kids will never want for college tuition. So Green Day has been Glee’d. They won’t be the last.

    There’s a promo for When in Rome masked as presenting. The actors shill for people to get interactive and vote for Bon Jovi to play one of three songs. Oy. The Pro Bowl is before the Super Bowl and now we get to vote on Grammy performances.

    Best Country Album was Taylor Swift’s when the nominations were announced although Zac Brown Band sure had a chance. No Kanye sighting although Taylor’s delight is getting a bit tired. Taylor, you’re winning everything on every show. Accept it. Nice young woman. I’m sure it’s a dream.

    CBS shills The Mentalist by trotting out Simon Baker without worrying about his accent. Hugh Laurie was undoubtedly jealous. I’m simply jealous because he introduced Beyonce. She is our generation’s Streisand and Cher rolled into one mixed with a supermodel’s looks.

    The mix sounded off on my set, but was resolved about halfway through. The holding pen she sang to moved a little of the gravitas from the show, but music is about people so no complaints here. Beyonce threw a fake cold ending at the audience and owned the venue.