So many aging symptoms are physical. Achy joints, less energy, sketchy memories and interrupted sleep from midnight lavatory visits. There are others, and some would dare to write them down but not me. PG is my max when it comes to personal revelations.
But one particular age defining symptom is that of Award Show Fatigue. The Grammys were on last night and I wanted to see the Dolly Parton tribute, sigh….
People (especially younger ones) may not realize how extensive Dolly’s songbook is. She’s been writing songs for almost 60 years, AND SHE’S NOT DONE!! 25 number one songs, 41 top 10 albums, and 100 million records world wide. As a female, or ANY performer,
She’s a LEGEND!
Okay, so she looks sort of odd…as my dad used to say, she could fall forward in a breeze without a push. And she herself said “It takes a lotta money to look this cheap”. And all those wigs….
Who Cares?!
Her songwriting talent is stellar. My favorites are her trio albums with Emmy Lou Harris and Linda Rondstadt. “Wildflower” and “Little Sparrow”, “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” and “The Pain of Loving You” and soooo many others. And lest we all forget, she wrote “I Will Always Love You” years before Whitney made it iconic. Admittedly, my dad faithfully watched “He Haw” so my old school country music education has no gaps. But Dolly is also a pop mainstay.
So…what happened at the 2019 Grammys?
Katy Perry is what happened. Her awful, terrible stylizing, of Dolly’s “Here You Come Again” is what happened. Kacey Musgrave was fine if a little hesitant but who wouldn’t be when paired with that awful performance?
I like some of Katy Perry’s music, some is fun and catchy. Loved her “Eye of the Tiger” themed band and her over the top productions are more than Dolly worthy but why?! Why did she have to blow it so badly on that song? She could have sung it straight up and we’d have all loved her for it.
My favorite Grammy performances are always the collaboration of genres and of older and younger groups, voices and talents. Justin Timberlake has played with so many people over the years, he could sing the phonebook and I’d tune in. John Legend the same. Miley Cyrus has potential, her “Jolene” is a strong cover of the original, the girl has pipes. Lady Gaga can sing anything, (maybe not while standing upright) her David Bowie tribute a few years back was exceptional even though I’m not a Bowie fan. They are out there Grammy people!
Dolly deserved better
I simply falling out of touch with pop culture, my interest in these shows is dimming yearly. I probably won’t watch the Academys, I’ve passed on the Globes for years, Grammys have been off my list (this year’s exception), I’ve never watched the MTV’s, and as for the People’s Choice? Who cares what the people like anymore. Record sales and Movie stats have proven that I never like what the people do, so why would I watch them award my rejects? About all I enjoy anymore is making fun of their outfits and I can do that by reading People at the hair salon.
I have some fun memories of the award shows, especially the Academy Awards. Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond singing “You Don’t Bring me Flowers” to a surprised standing ovation audience. John Denver singing a medley of all nominated songs when he hosted, doing a fabulous job of it too. I miss that man’s voice. Watching Bette Middler when she said “I thought I’d rise to the occasion” while scooping her cleavage upwards. Everyone knows that iconic, “You like me, you really like me”, comes from Sally Field’s acceptance speech for “Norma Rae”. Bob Hope, Johnny Carson, David Letterman and Billy Crystal hosting, making fun of every puffed up movie star and getting away with it.
And who can forget the streaker?!
It’s not like these shows have ever been puritanical. If you go back through some of them you’ll find the hosts had as many off color jokes (that’s what they were once called) and political zingers as we hear today. The Grammys, in particular have always been notable for envelope pushing fashion and performances (remember Jlo’s see through dress?). But last night I saw more spread eagles than a gynecologist sees in a month! If men can rap about vulgarity, women have proven they are more than up to the challenge.
Equality unimagined
So now I feel old. I wanted to talk about pop culture with a bit of knowledge and to at least know what and who is making headlines. My kids still tune into it though I’m not sure they’re fans of what I saw last night. I have a daughter who is a Disney tune-acholic, another who is in love with Fall Out Boy. Then there’s my one who loves unknown artists. She loves telling me how she loved a song or band before they ever became popular. In fact, if they become popular she ditches them, as demonstrated by Walk the Moon and their song “Shut up and Dance With Me”, which I first heard on…
Dancing With the Stars
Hmmm…..maybe I’m more musically, culturally relevant than I know. I mean, if it’s on DWTS it must be relevant–right? And if Cardi B is one of my girls’ favs then I’d rather not know…
So take that Grammys!
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