Strider Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 (edited) I'm not an Arcade Fire fan...they're a little too much Dexy's Midnight Runners crossed with Up With People for my taste...but if you haven't heard of them then you can't really call yourself a serious music fan. They draw massive and passionate audiences whenever they play. Their last two albums, Neon Bible and The Suburbs have received tons of attention and reviews around the globe. Like I said, they are not to my liking...but to say"Arcade who?" is rather like admitting you've been living under a rock the last few years. It's the equivalant of claiming ignorance of Radiohead when Kid A was nominated in 2000. So those people in Jahfin's clip are pretty much like the idiot Bieber fans who defaced Esperanza Spalding's wikipedia page...clueless. TOP PERFORMANCE OF THE NIGHT: Cee Lo Green by a mile!!! With his Elton John inspired costume and the muppet band and even Gwyneth Paltrow slinking around the piano like Michelle Pfieffer in The Fabulous Baker Brothers, this was easily the highlight of the night! It's a great song, too...both versions, "Fuck You" and "Forget You". I had a smile on my face the whole time...loved the way the back-up muppet singers would sing "Shhhhhh!" Watch the awesomeness here: Cee Lo Green 2011 Grammys Also of note was the Eminem/Dr. Dre/Rihanna performance of "Love the Way You Lie". That was pretty intense and the people here who knee-jerk respond with "rap sucks" any time rap is mentioned need to get over themselves. Yes, there is some bad rap out there; just as there is bad pop, bad rock and bad country. But, when it is done right, rap can be an amazing musical almagam. It is no accident that rappers frequently look to Led Zeppelin, another musical entity misunderstood in its time, for its beats. And Rihanna certainly faired better during this performance than she did on her own later in the show...that was ghastly. The third performance I liked, and was most surprised by, was the trio of Norah Jones, John Mayer and Keith Urban doing a nice job on "Jolene" as a tribute to Dolly Parton. I usually can't stand either of these three, especially John and Norah, who to me epitomise the very essence of the dreaded "Adult Contemporary" genre. Another surprise was that I actually enjoyed Mick Jagger's tribute to Solomon Burke more than I did Bob Dylan's tribute to William "Froggy" Laughlin. The rest of the performances were the usual dreck...and who let Michael Bay in the house? Seriously, does EVERY performance need fire and explosions and 1000 dancers dancing nonsensically? Please kill me before I ever have to hear another Katy Perry or Train song again. But my biggest disgust of the night was directed at the ignoramuses who, during the In Memoriam segment, when they paid tribute to the music figures who passed away the past year, left out both Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse AND Trish Keenan from Broadcast! FOR SHAME!!! Edited February 17, 2011 by Strider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotplant Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Jagger made it worth the watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 There was no musicianship being displayed. They mugged for the TV, wore hats, bowties, etc. The music seemed to take a back seat to the showboating. I would have preferred Bob to use a 4 piece backing band playing acoustic instruments and displaying their talents. I'm sure both bands are talented, unfortunately anybody tuning in to the Grammy's would probably not be inspired to buy any of their music based on what was presented. I actually have a song by the Avetts courtesy of Starbuck's Pick of the Week. Dylan was also mugging for the camera and was attired similarly to his bandmates in Mumford and Sons and the Avett Brothers. I still don't get what was inauthentic about it. For the record, I've seen someone else make the same observation but they've yet to be able to explain themselves either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virginia Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Jagger made it worth the watch. I just started typing "how old is" on google and Mick was the first thing to come up He looks incredible for 67; I can't believe how athletic and bouncy he still is. Particularly after all the hard living; it's pretty amazing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JethroTull Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 I still don't get what was inauthentic about it. Exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 (edited) Exactly. Exactly what? If the Avetts and Mumford were "faking" I've yet to figure out what it is they were faking. While I like Mumford and Sons and Dylan, I've never really gotten into the Avetts so all I'm trying to do is understand your point. As for increased sales, they've definitely gone up for Mumford and Sons and the Avetts since the Grammys last Sunday. It was a great night for NC artists such as the Avetts and the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Merge Records (based out of Chapel Hill) also did remarkably well since that's the label Arcade Fire records for. Edited February 18, 2011 by Jahfin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JethroTull Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 Exactly what? If the Avetts and Mumford were "faking" I've yet to figure out what it is they were faking. While I like Mumford and Sons and Dylan, I've never really gotten into the Avetts so all I'm trying to do is understand your point. As for increased sales, they've definitely gone up for Mumford and Sons and the Avetts since the Grammys last Sunday. It was a great night for NC artists such as the Avetts and the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Merge Records (based out of Chapel Hill) also did remarkably well since that's the label Arcade Fire records for. I get the sense you are intent on starting a fight with me. I understand you idolize these artists and are sensitive to criticism. I merely expressed my opinion. You don't have to try to poke holes in everything I say and imply that I don't know how to express my opinion. I think I was pretty clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juliet Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 Jagger made it worth the watch. Hi: I agree..... Juliet PS I did also enjoy MUSE...but fell asleep before Canadian band. ARCADE FIRE, performed....I feel so guilty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 I get the sense you are intent on starting a fight with me. I understand you idolize these artists and are sensitive to criticism. I merely expressed my opinion. You don't have to try to poke holes in everything I say and imply that I don't know how to express my opinion. I think I was pretty clear. I'm not trying to start a fight at all. In fact, it's quite the opposite. I'm just trying understand what it is you feel Mumford & Sons and the Avett Brothers were "faking". And, if you read my post above (the one you quoted) you will see where I say I'm not even a fan of the Avetts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 (edited) I'm sure both bands are talented, unfortunately anybody tuning in to the Grammy's would probably not be inspired to buy any of their music based on what was presented. Again, not trying to start a fight here. I'm just saying The Avett's performance definitely inspired lots of folks to seek out their music. Sales also went up for Mumford & Sons. From CreativeLoafing.com: The Avett’s Grammys surge February 18th, 2011 by Jeff Hahne Just got this in a press release: Following their performance on this year’s Grammy Awards broadcast, The Avett Brothers sold 23,000 singles withing the show’s broadcast. Immediately following the live Grammy telecast, The Avett Brothers topped the iTunes Top Songs and Top Album chart. The band also reached “volcanic” status on Google searches as well as becoming a trending topic on Twitter. The traffic to the band’s site increased 525%. Additionally, The Avett Brothers experienced a 256% sales increase, which was a higher increase than even that of other performers Arcade Fire, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Lady Antebellum and Bruno Mars. Edited February 21, 2011 by Jahfin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebk Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 We just watched the show tonight and I have to say I enjoyed the Avetts/Mumford/Dylan number. If it's not your type of music, I understand, but the performance itself was great. Same for Mick Jagger. And, we were quite taken with Bruno Mars, and thought the Cee Lo / Gwynneth performance was really fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 We just watched the show tonight and I have to say I enjoyed the Avetts/Mumford/Dylan number. If it's not your type of music, I understand, but the performance itself was great. I enjoyed it too, except for the Dylan part which was just painful to watch. My aversion to the Avetts began with their manager hyping them to death on a local (NC) music discussion list back in the early 00s. I would probably enjoy them in concert but haven't done so yet. They're playing the Azalea Festival in Wilmington so I may try to check them out then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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