Grammy Disillusionment - When Did it Hit You?

[Basslice]

Today's thread on Rock vs Pop got me thinking about charts, popular songs, trends, charts, and awards.

I remember there was a time I couldn't wait for the Grammys to see if my favorite song was nominated or won. Then, at some point I became jaded and disillusioned. I attach a list of the Major Grammy winners over time:

Grammy Award | Definition, History, Winners, & Facts

I find recalling excitement from the winners from 1966 to around 1979. I was between 2 and 15. Those prior and after? Meh. As years go on, Meh for later releases has turned into active dislike.

Do others track their love of popular music to a period of their life?

 

[bholder]

I don't think I ever got "illusioned" in the first place. Awards shows in general have always seemed painfully stupid to me.

 

[stubborne]

Definitely when Holy Wars... The Punishment Due won over One. What a rip-off.

 

[Guitalia]

 

[WillyW]

 

[Basslice]

I've heard of them but can't name any Grammy winner from any year.

LOVE IT! The Simpsons writers are always on it.

 

[LBS-bass]

I don't think I ever got "illusioned" in the first place. Awards shows in general have always seemed painfully stupid to me.

What he said. I've never been particularly enamored with any facet of the entertainment industry as a commercial institution. I despise the celebrity worship that goes on in our culture. I like making music, though.

 

[Killing Floor]

I think by 8th or 9th grade I realized the scheme.
But it wasn't until I was in college that I learned firsthand a record label could buy "ether" pallets of CDs through distributors like Justin and others to artificially elevate sales numbers for charting and/or industry awards.

 

[Basslice]

I was just doing some reading (real-work? What' that?). When they started the Grammys there were 28 categories. Today, there are 86! I better understand the Simpson clip. It is almost like how schools now give awards for trying...

 

[BarfanyShart]

This is basically the answer to the question. But the Grammy's problem has probably always been that they don't identify the most artistically worthy artist IN THE YEAR THAT IT MAKES SENSE TO AWARD THEM, and then they wish to correct that mistake by retroactively award that artist in a later year for a less worthy project, usually at the expense of a more artistically worthy artist in that year. It's kind of an endless cycle like that.

If anything, the Grammy's are a little less frustrating with this kind of thing now, just because the music trends move so fast their picks at least don't seem as upsettingly out of date as they used to.

 

[dalkowski]

We are roughly the same age. Raised on NYC AM radio, so I like to think I know from pop. Never really cared a fig for the Grammys — just seems like another industry jircle cerk to me.

If you are into charts, etc. may I humbly recommend:
https://slate.com/podcasts/hit-parade

 

[yodedude2]

"they're not here, so we'll just accept this for them and divvy it up backstage."

funny stuff right thar

 

[WG Plum]

Grammys?

Never really paid any attention, so I guess I've never been disillusioned. I do recall the hullaballoo about Jethro Tull and Metallica, pretty amusing in a that's-weird kind of way.

 

[Basslice]

We are roughly the same age. Raised on NYC AM radio, so I like to think I know from pop. Never really cared a fig for the Grammys — just seems like another industry jircle cerk to me.

If you are into charts, etc. may I humbly recommend:
https://slate.com/podcasts/hit-parade

WABC!! The $25,000 Button!

 

[Timmah]

I don’t know if I’d call it disillusionment, but I’ve never been enamored with the Grammys. I attribute it mostly to growing up in the 2000s, when the music culture of my peers was much more decentralized than when I assume (and pardon me for assuming) most TBers were growing up. We never got angry about who won or lost Grammys, or who was even nominated, because we simply never put much stock in the show as an arbiter of quality or cool.

One poster above mentioned that when the Grammys were launched there were like 1/3 of the categories that exist today- that alone points to a musical landscape that’s a lot harder for them to process and assess than it was 40 or 50 years ago.

I’m not sure who Grammys matter to at this point- industry types? Investors? But it sure isn’t 20-somethings

 

[Razman]

Do others track their love of popular music to a period of their life?

Yes - I recall periods of time in high school where my music tastes changed, even beyond.

As for the Grammy's, I think it's all predetermined like wrestling (where were you when you found out wrestling was fixed? ) At least wrestling was entertaining - I don't recall when I ever watched the Grammy's or paid attention to them, and now care less than ever before.

Think about it - radio stations have their setlists mapped out months in advance, and the awards are given out by music industry execs (a horrible industry as another recent thread has illuminated). Is it really a surprise? Same goes for the Oscars, etc. A bunch of self-absorbed narcissists obsessing over themselves is not entertaining to me.

And get off my lawn...

 

[dalkowski]

WABC!! The $25,000 Button!

Cousin Brucie!
Dan Ingram!
Harry Harrison!

 

[mrcbass]

Never cared about any of the awards nonsense. I know who got me going and didn't care if the awarders going or not.

 

[Bassamatic]

Please! Grammys are just one of the most obvious - There are NO awards shows that are worthwhile. They are and have been from their inception a tool to draw attention to selected people and products. The Oscars were invented to pump the flagging movie industry and the rest have followed.

The awards really mean nothing (See Simpsons clip). All selected by a bunch of bigwigs sitting around a table. Do you know anyone that has voted for Best Anything?

 

[dalkowski]

Do you know anyone that has voted for Best Anything?

Pretty sure my mother has voted for Worst Son....