Grammy 2015 – WTF?

Were it not for our 12-year-old I don’t think I’d have a clue who any of this years’ Grammy nominees are. Even with the help of this “insider” who has iTunes access, an iPhone, and headphones – and can sing all the words to these songs – I’m still somewhat out of the loop when it comes to todays music.
This despite having a subscription to Rolling Stone magazine and being forced into doing a regular scanning of top iTunes downloads once a week for my cycle group exercise class (hard to believe I actually teach this!). This class, which requires “high-energy inspiring music” has forced me to stay more current with music than some of my peers.
While it’s nearly impossible to have gone this past year without humming Taylor Swift’s “Shake it Off” or Meghan Trainor’s “All about That Bass” – both nominated for both “record of the year” and “song of the year” awards – I’ll bet some of you couldn’t hum songs by other nominees Childish Gambino, Sai, or Hozier. I know I can’t.
That being said – I do love “Ain’t it Fun” by Paramour (nominated for best rock song) almost as much as I love last year’s record of the year winner “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk. Despite what anyone says, good music is still being made. “Don’t believe me just watch!”
The problem is with the watching. The Grammy’s have become for this life long music lover a big hot mess of a show and a waste of time. Dramatic live performances, like Adele’s magnificent crowd-slaying post-surgery triumph a few years ago, were wonderful – but also rare. And now with YouTube and other on demand services – watching live has become completely unnecessary. Why sit through stupid speech after stupid speech to get to what might be a good moment? Read about it first. The Grammys have an astounding 78 categories of awards. Thank god not all are awarded during the show. 
The point here is that this year, for the first time,  I won’t be watching the Grammy’s.
I know I am at great risk of missing Iggy Azalea or Sam Smith deliver a well-prepared, elegant, and tight speech geared toward the millions of viewers watching rather than music insiders tonight.  I’m simply willing to take that chance.
After all, “Better Call Saul” premiers tonight on AMC.