Grammy 2014: Press Play, Don't Press Pause!

Writing is therapeutic. No better way to experience this than by writing a post as one watches the Grammy Awards show. I did this a couple of times in the past and in addition to therapy (music covers up rising bile) it is also a self-declared challenge. I know many writers, well organized and eloquent, who write their pieces at one go, but I suck at it on my best days. I prefer a slow and deliberate stroll, closely tending to clauses waiting in the wings. It is a good writing exercise still, especially as it ties in well with a project on my mind for the near future. The creative arts are intrinsically linked � with each other and with the state of the society. Listening to what the industry thinks is its best-of is a good way to reflect on this interconnectedness of all things.

Disclaimers and Requests: Since my attention is torn between things (getting my morning started, making tea, and a wide range of music, much of which I do not understand or appreciate), get ready for a rambly ride. If music is not your thing, you can safely skip the next couple of paragraphs. If reading is not your thing, I have included a few videos obliquely related to the awards, but hey, you can still like my Facebook page. And finally, this post is going live on this blog because you guys don't follow the junk I write about music over at The Operative Note.

Before we set out, and as I let Lorde wash over the morning with her performance of Royals, let me share what I am looking forward to this morning. Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson regrouping (with Merle Haggard and Blake Shelton) and the possibility of Paul (chappie won the best trad pop album last year with Kisses on the Bottom and is up this year for the filmed live version of the same album) and Ringo playing together (happened!!!) are on top of the list. Somewhere nearby is a hope for a tribute to Phil Everly, someone who ought to be up there along with Robert Johnson, Buddy Holly, Elvis, and The Beatlesin the scheme of things. There is no middle or bottom of the list for me, so anything that sounds good (both Lorde � check out her cover of Everybody wants to rule the world from the new Hunger Games soundtrack - and Kacey Musgrave are incredibly promising) will be a bonus. I never �enjoyed� much of the harder variants of rock, but am convinced the NIN-QOTSA act will be more of a massacre than a true McCartney-Grohl moment. I am totally indifferent to both EDM and rap, so that leaves with nothing else to really be waiting for. Not a very optimistic view of the future of music, I admit, but usually by the end of the awards ceremony, like a Bruce Willis movie, music somehow redeems itself.

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