I had a choice to make last night and I ended up having the Grammys on in the background while I cataloged some of my comics. I can't say the cataloging was fun but it was a lot more interesting than the Grammys. It used to be the joke that the Grammys had way too many categories to go through during the broadcast, but I would have welcomed knowing who won the best polka song than what I had to go through. It was boring. The opening tribute to Aretha Franklin was boring with all those women trying to out-belt each other recreating the Aretha sound. Gaga was boring, singing her new Madonna sound. Justin Beiber still didn't show any explanation why he has millions of fans. Here's what the Grammys reminded me of; Jayden Smith performed with Justin Beiber, and the cameras continued to focus on Will and Jada Smith in the audience. When Jayden's spot was done, Jada stood up like a proud parent cheering 'her baby' on at a school play. That was the feel I had, a bunch of parents cheering their kids on at a school play. The kids may not have been good but the audience, full of parents, were going to give the kids encouragement for a job well done, even if the job wasn't ready for prime time.

It's sad that the state of music today is so low. I know in twenty years people growing up with the music today will look back on it with fond memories. They will wax nostalgically about Katy Perry, Justin Beiber and others of the hot acts of today. I work with people who can't understand The Cure, Smiths or even Duran Duran, but I would take those bands, I would even take a-Ha over a lot of acts today who seem either like retreads of trends from the 80s or some watered down, safe corporate manufactured pap.

On a similar subject, 60 Minutes did an interview with Lady Gaga before the Grammys. Wow, hearing her talk about herself and music was so telling of a calculating, manufactured persona. I wouldn't go so far as to call it arrogance, because I do sense she is being truthful about her motives of her style and music. Where I have fault with her, and I again I don't think it is so much her fault, but because her whole persona seems to be about people being themselves, no matter what, because of her fame she is able to preach something that many are unable to attain. She encourages people to be themselves yet many of her 'little monsters' (what she calls her fans) follow her blindly. They are a contradiction of individuality because they worship at the feet of Gaga.

This is probably nothing more than teenagers following the recent fad, desperately trying to show their individuality by locking on to someone they admire, ironically becoming part of the crowd. I look at the quality of music today and I see it lacking so much energy and originality. Anyone with ProTools and a camera to shoot a video is putting stuff online and calling themselves a singer.