Sour Notes

Although it certainly would be fair to say the Academy Awards are every bit as much a popularity contest as the Grammys are, for some reason I'm OK with Mr. Oscar, yet have never watched a single Grammy show in my entire life. (Probably a bit surprising given my music obsession.) I'm not entirely sure why, but it seems like you can find a general consensus as to what a good movie is, yet music is somehow far more personal. A recent article in USA Today ("Grammy's Top Song Not Always in Tune") completely confirmed everything I already knew about the music awards when it made cringe-inducing statements like "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt would have been a better choice than "Not Ready to Make Nice" by the Dixie Chicks in 2006 (I don't know much about the Chicks, but I do know that James Blunt is the most annoying vocalist of all time), "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion was an example of a "great choice," and that Marc Cohn's "Walking in Memphis" (a song I like) should have won instead Natalie Cole's version of "Unforgettable." (Never mind the fact that the person who wrote this article makes fun of Grammy for giving Christopher Cross a bunch of awards in 1980 -- including Best New Artist -- but then complains that Cohn -- who was way more of a one-hit wonder than Cross and actually WON Best New Artist in 1991 -- didn't win another?!!) And do we even need to talk about the year Herbie Hancock took home top honors?