[Dixielandjazz] Grammys - getting their due?

[TCASHWIGG at aol.com]

In a message dated 2/15/05 12:33:58 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
Vaxtrpts at aol.com writes:

> They don't even show any presentations of "good music" awards on the TV 
> show, 
> they just announce before commercials about "previously awarded categories."
> Yes, Ray Charles may have gotten some posthumous awards, but the still 
> wasn't 
> enough to make me watch.  Some years I have looked in at times while 
> watching 
> something else, but this year I didn't even look once.
> Mike Vax
> 

Hi Mike and all:

The show has become totally predictable from all the BS & pre show hype 
associated with it every year.  Any person who watches the news or any 
entertainment commentary show or listens to any radio station already knows who is going 
to win EIGHT GRAMMIES.

No need to tune in and watch, or worse yet buy a ticket and attend unless of 
course you are just into hanging out at show biz parties and sucking up to the 
current group of self appointed or incestly appointed members of the academy.

No Artists needs or deserves EIGHT Damned trophies for this achievement, and 
especially one as successful as Ray Charles, a wonderful tribute of playing 
his music and giving him the Lifetime Achievement award would certainly have 
been sufficient and garnered just as much hype and press as giving him Seven that 
should have gone to others who worked just as hard or maybe even harder to 
try and compete in the industry.

Same crap happens every year, they anoint one artist and give them the 
"TREATMENT" usually at the behest of the artists Major Record label, which reflects 
upon how many pieces of product they sold, and or the amount of product they 
expect to sell from all the publicity following the Grammy Awards Party.  In 
the case of a fine but dead artist Like Ray Charles, it is all but wasted except 
for the reasons I stated above to help the Record Label sell more product.

People are starting to wise up, after seeing it happen over and over again, 
Alicia Keys, Nora Jones, Michael Jackson, and on and on.

For the most part the Grammy committee has drastically lowered the Bar for 
quality on selections for nominations and winning.  You must remember however 
that any record label can nominate any recording for a Grammy in any and all 
categories if you want to fill out the paperwork and send in a box of free 
recordings for the "Reviewing Committee" who decides along with the "in the know" 
executives of the Grammies and the Record Labels as to who is going to get the 
hype package this year.

It's all in who you know, and do they have enough clout to get you on the 
ballot to even be considered by the voting members at large, who I doubt have 
much to do with it anyway, since it is indeed all about the money and what sold 
and what they intend to sell.

One of my long time artists also actually WON a Grammy and it never did a 
thing for his career, except hang on the wall as an ATTA BOY.

Another sometime member of my band has Three Gold Records hanging on the 
wall, and he owes me a lot of money which I will more than likely never see again. 
 When he shows up he makes a lot more money working for me than anybody else 
will pay him.  Most will not even put up with him.  Too bad too, because he is 
a fantastic entertainer, just can't keep his life together in anything 
relating to reality.   

Cheers,
Tom Wiggins
Former voting Member and two time nominee, for Producer of the Year, BIG 
DEAL, that and twenty bucks slipped to the Maitre' D might get you a window seat 
at a Denny's.