via Stereogum
As of late, it’s been quite popular to rag on award shows for some troubling racial undertones. The Oscars were torn apart last year for giving Selma a pity nomination for Best Picture, snubbing it in nearly every other category (Most noticeably in the acting categories, which are filled with white guys who do and don’t deserve to be there). Then last night, we had the Grammys. White guy Sam Smith walked away with a ton of awards, and Beck won a career recognition award for an album that isn’t his best (but it’s still a good record, dammit) against Beyonce’s self-titled record. Did Beck deserve album of the year for Morning Phase? Probably not (Side note: at least it went to Beck doing a safe-but-actually-decent record on a night where legitimately offensive acts like Iggy Azalea were pulling in tons of nominations) (Side side note: Kanye said Beck needs to “respect the artistry”. Shut up, Kanye). But here’s the thing: the only reason everyone gives a damn about these “injustices” is because we put too much weight in shiny awards decided by dudes in suits.
The Oscars and The Grammys and all of these other award shows are fun to watch, but we give them too much weight. All of a sudden, we need to give meaning to something that is inherently meaningless. Often, we use surface level observations to confirm a wrong that isn’t there.
Now before this becomes a weighty race issue (which, it might…sorry), let’s make something clear: there are still problems with race in America. We do not live in a post-racial society (Sorry, Fox News); I even live in one of the most segregated cities in the United States. It is a real problem and we should be addressing every perpetual problem that leads to it–poverty, awful education systems, and our own culture.
Films and music are our culture, so we can praise (and criticize) how they effect our perceptions of society. We should be mad when a Transformers movie has a robot in blackface, and we should be angry that the only artists that get huge on the charts are simply aping a sound and culture for money (*cough* Iggy Azalea *cough*). So, I guess this is the next question –“So, why shouldn’t we criticize award shows?”. Plain and simple: criticizing them just perpetuates their power to maintain a status quo.
Kanye West’s MBDTF was not nominated for Best Album in the year of its release. Rap was not respected as a music form until Gogurt like Vanilla Ice stepped on the scene. Insane Jazz records from the late 50s and early 60s were pushed over for live standup and big band music. The Grammys have always been wrong, and they exist for the sole reason of keeping music the way it is: safe, normative, and profitable.
People like what they are familiar with, and the Grammys know this. That’s why Taylor Swift and geriatric rock bands have dominated the awards for years. It took OutKast making a rap album that was only 50% rap to win Album of the Year, and the same goes for Lauryn Hill. We need to stop expecting an organization that is designed to preserve the status quo to change the status quo.
The Oscars have gotten better in recent years, pressured by other award shows around it. 12 Years a Slave was able to win Best Picture last year, partially because the other shows that aired before it were able to recognize a great film and great actors. The Academy Awards pre-1960s would never really do that (They normally reserved black acting nominations for movies that depicted blacks as subservient to white people, like Gone With the Wind).
In the Grammy’s case, we need to find new ways of expressing what is good and–more likely–important. I love Beck’s album, but I’m guessing I’ll be the only one praising it 5 years from now. Beyonce’s record? That will stand the test of time. We need to find another outlet to reward music that deserves to be rewarded (Hey Pitchfork, start an award show).
Or…we could just ignore awards. This may seem like a stupid argument (THERE ARE CHILDREN IN AFRICA STARVING!), but putting so much analysis on award shows is exactly what the industry wants. We get angry about something that we cannot legitimately affect, since we are not part of an academy.
Television broadcasts are fun, but we often get caught up on awards that don’t matter. No one remembers that U2 album that won a couple years back. Herbie Hancock finally won for a covers album. The Oscars have also been notorious about this–No one remembers The Greatest Show on Earth, and for a good reason. Award shows are stupid and meant to entertain. The ones that didn’t win–Citizen Kane, Goodfellas, The Shawshank Redemption– those are the ones we remember.
What actually stands the test of time? Good music. Good films. People will remember D’Angelo’s new record. People will remember Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange. People will remember Yeezus and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and The College Dropout. People will remember Beyonce. Maybe the Grammys should get rid of the awards all together, and just become a huge and spectacular performance that represents disparate cultures and genres. Let’s talk about the music itself, and not about what some dude in a suit decrees as “the best”.
Also, here’s some baffling Grammy facts to end on a funny note, reminding us that award shows are kind of stupid:
- Bob Marley never won a Grammy.
- Neither did the Beach Boys
- Milli Vanilli
- Tenacious D won Best Metal Song last night. They are a comedy rock band.
- Chris Brown is still getting nominated for things
- Spoon was not nominated last night, nor any other night ever.
- One of the first Grammy awards went to a stand-up soundtrack to a TV show.
- Late 60s Sinatra beat The Beatles. Several times.
- Jethro Tull
Vantage Point Music 