Grammys and Music - Everything Changes

So as is my standard posting schedule, subject matter, ideas, so on and so forth, I have a few things that I focus on and the rest is shall we say... "fair game". So at the moment I will take on The Grammys. Actually, to be a bit more precise, the music of today.

I will not (I can not) review the Grammys as a comparison to the shows of previous years. There is a simple reason for this, I have not watched an entire show before. After all we have to remember, this is a show that has some awards thrown in. Not that there is anything wrong with that. There is entertainment value in almost everything these days and music is at the core of entertainment. As a result, the awards ceremony in the music industry needs to have flair and excitement. It needs to wow it's crowds. I don't mean the fans watching from home. They need to wow their peers. The fellow entertainers sitting in the audience. They need to be in awe of what they see being presented. That is hard to do every year. As I stated earlier, I cannot speak to previous years, but I think this year... they did just that.

Ratings-wise the Grammys have historically been good for CBS. According to TV By The Numbers the show has averaged around 26 million viewers for the last 3 years (not including ratings numbers from 2012). I did not include the 2012 show in those averages because there was an unusually high viewership last year due to the death of pop star Whitney Houston. The show had around 40 million viewers last year. So what did the show do last night? Well, last night the Grammys got about 28 million viewers which is right in line with what they have been and just a tad higher. So it is safe to say that CBS was happy with the results of the shows viewers.

Of course, that means almost nothing to the average person like you or I. Either way, I still think it is interesting data to discuss. But we wont do it here or today. The Grammys is an awards show that if you ask me does it right. There are plenty of awards shows out there, big and small, that do things drastically wrong. However, the Grammys do it very right, and I will give you the one reason that I say this.

The Grammys are a hit because of the musical pairings they give fans and have over the years. They put classics together on stage with newcomers. Old with young, male with female, rap with rock, they will put it all on stage and the best part about all of it? The fans want to see it. In addition to the historical pairings and duets they put together, the tributes they produce really do the original performers justice. They pay homage to their heroes, icons, and idols and they do it well.

Take for instance last nights tribute to Bob Marley. Bruno Mars and Sting performed for a bit and the Ziggy and Damien Marley joined them on stage. It was truly a magical performance. I am not a Bruno Mars fan either. I have heard a couple of his songs, but I can't say that I like them. However, last night his renditions of Marley's tunes was amazing. He really did all the Rasta proud!

So what about the music? Well aside from the show aspect of the Grammys we have the music itself. Music is a wonderful thing. It truly is. It can be a form of communication, entertainment, relaxation, medicinal therapy.. music is really universal. But what has happened to music over the years is mostly evolution.

Many people will say or have said (myself included), "What has happened to the music today?" The answer is.. Nothing! Well, nothing out of the ordinary anyway. Music goes through it's changes and evolutionary periods much like anything biological would. Of course music is not a biological organism but in this way it certainly can act like one. In the earliest days of humanity music (whatever there was of it) was most likely just a collection of odd sounds that sounded pleasing to the person making the sounds. In some ways this definition could be also used to describe some music today - 2013.

Over many eons, music has changed, formed, changed again, stayed stagnant, had a revolution, changed again, etc.. there is no set pattern to any of it. Music changes along with the society that develops the music. As we change so does the music. So if someone was to really think about that question asked earlier, "What has happened to the music today?" You could in a sense say that nothing has happened to the music, but commercialization has taken shape around it.

Yes. This is a new term I am introducing to fray. Commercialization can be described in two ways when you are discussing it and music. In its most peaceful form ways for people to make money from the music. Now in another more drastic and dangerous way it can be said as changing the music in order to make money from it. See the difference? There are those who will do both through various periods in their career in music. But most times money will control all of it. That is what happened to the music today.

So let's consider what we figured out. The Grammys were a hit last night and if they continue with their current formula I don't see any reason why they wont be successful for years to come. The historical pairings are just that.. historical. If you choose not to watch for whatever reason that's fine. But you will be missing out on some of the best performances of our time. Music itself also has a history all its own. Even though it follows the society that it comes from, don't mistake it for conformity. Music by its very nature is rebellious in form and sometimes function. Regardless, it is always entertaining and that is both its advantage as well as its disadvantage. People will always try to make money and entertainment is a great money-maker. When music is the entertainment we have to be careful.. what if anything is going to change?