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Home > Austin Music Source > Archives > 2008 > February > 10 > Entry
Live Blogging the Grammys
The 50th annual Grammy awards are here.
- Photos: Red carpet arrivals | Winners and performers
- List of winners | Grammy fashion | Quick quotes
6:54 p.m.: Austin’s own 94-year old bluesman Pinetop Perkins beat himself in traditional blues album category this afternoon. “Last Of The Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen: Live In Dallas,” Perkins’ album with Henry James Townsend, Robert Lockwood Jr. and David “Honeyboy” Edwards, beat our Perkins’ own ” Pinetop Perkins On The 88’s - Live In Chicago.”
Willie Nelson beat out fellow Texans Steve Earle and Kelly Clarkson for Best Country Collaboration With Vocals, for “Lost Highway,” his duet with Ray Price from “Last of the Breed.”
But Earle took Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album for “Washington Square Serenade.”
7 p.m.: Hey, it’s Frank Sinatra! Is he up for anything this year? No, wait, it’s just a clip from the first Grammys, first held (and broadcast) 50 years ago.
7:01 p.m.: Oh, dear. Alicia Keys is dueting with what looks like a hologram of Sinatra on “Learning the Blues.” Is it going to be that kind of night? Quite a dress, however.
7:06 p.m.: Carrie Underwood seems to be dueting with an off-brand version of Stomp on “Before He Cheats.” I smell remix!
Not sure why a junkyard was chosen for this set, but maybe I haven’t been listening to the lyrics hard enough. Her hair would look better at Grammys ‘68 than Grammys ‘08, which wouldn’t be all that bad (Amy Winehouse made Grammys ‘63 hair work) except Underwood’s ‘do makes her look like a worn-out 40. Probably not what she was going for.
7:10: Hey, Prince made a funny! “Boy, Frank Sinatra looked good for 150, didn’t he?” People forget he’s funny. Mostly because you can no longer tell that from his albums.
Then he gave Alicia Keys a Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. First speech of the night and the band has to play her off. Ouch.
7:18: So far, we’ve got some killer mash-ups going.
First Carrie Underwood and the off-brand Stomp. (Or is it the real Stomp? Anyone know?)
Now we’ve got the Time doing “Jungle Love” blending in with Rihanna doing a chorus of “Umbrella” and “Don’t Stop the Music.” Man, I love the Time. Don’t you think they would make the greatest wedding band of all time? You couldn’t top that wedding. Everyone else’s wedding would be called off.
7:23: Does Tom Hanks know that none of the Band fought in World War II? Or the Civil War, for that matter?
7:25: Based on Tom Hanks’ intro to the Beatles tribute, I can completely believe that no Hollywood writers worked on this program.
7:28: I was recently told by a high school teacher and mother of a 15-year-old that the 13- to 15-year-old demographic was responsible for the success of the Julie Taymor movie “Across the Universe,” which inspired this tribute. (UPDATE: Actually, this was a tribute to the Cirque De Soliel show “LOVE.”) After seeing the exploding car on stage and the gospel choir on “Let It Be,” I believe it.
Has anyone ever heard the Sesame Street song “Letter B”? So, so much better than the weirdly overrated “Let It Be.” Seriously, check it out on YouTube.
7:34: God bless Cyndi Lauper. Seriously, that accent hasn’t budged an inch in 25 years.
Amy Winehouse wins best new artist; Lauper almost pulls something she’s so excited. She also says Winehouse is performing live “on a satellite.” Please tell me that’s a drug joke, because then Cyndi would rule even more than she already does.
7:39: While Jason Bateman is talking, let’s chat some more about Pinetop Perkins.
Perkins sounded pleased, but a little reticent about his win.
“Well, my mother always told me not to play on Sunday, so I try not to do that,” Perkins said. (He performed earlier in the day with Koko Taylor.) “But I also always try to do my best.”
“About 15 years ago, he decided that he wasn’t going to play on Sunday,” Perlins’ manager Pat Morgan said. “Frankly, I think he thought he was going to go soon and that he should stop playing music on Sundays, along with playing cards and fishing, which are the three things he loves to do. So it really bothers him when he plays on Sunday, so today he plays and he wins a Grammy.”
Morgan declined to speculate on the theological implications.
7:46 p.m. Kanye, dressed not unlike he should be fighting crime, busts out a surprisingly entertaining “Stronger” with Draft Punk, who looked liked extras from “Tron.”
(And I’m serious about the superhero thing. Go Google the costume for the modern version of the DC character the Ray.)
7:49 p.m. Now Kanye’s singing about his mother and he’s sounding like he’s gonna lose it right there on stage. He actually seems like he’s having trouble looking at the crowd. His singing isn’t any better than it’s ever been, but it’s a fairly affecting performance. Gets a standing ovation for it, as well.
Then we get Fergie and John Legend. Ah, showbusiness.
7:57 p.m.: George Martin is still alive. I know this isn’t news, but I’m just impressed.
8:04 p.m.: Beyonce just used the phrase “historical women,” but nobody cares, because everyone is staring at her green hot pants.
Man, how must Beyonce feel that Tina Tuner’s legs look better than hers? Then again, Tina Turner’s legs are historical. (And 68 years old. No kidding.)
Hey, if I was dancing like that in high heels since the Eisenhower administration, my legs would be historical as well.
Also, they’re both killing on “Proud Mary.”
8:12 p.m.: Grammy timing is nothing if not unfortunate. Beyonce and Tina, then Andy Williams.
Williams also just said that Burt Bacharach is the world’s greatest living composer. Does John Adams know about this? Does John Williams?
Amy Winehouse gets the Song of the Year award. “We’ll make sure she gets her Grammy,” says Nelly Furtado. Good for them for not making the joke, “We’ll also make sure she doesn’t sell it for a fix.”
8:35 p.m.: A weirdly cranky Jason Bateman introduced the Foo Fighters (with Pat Smear!), who tore it up playing “The Pretender.” Then George Lopez just told a Dave Chapelle joke, something about getting a Mexican vice-president and introduced Brad Paisley, who was totally professional.
8:42 p.m.: Kayne won Best Rap Album, rambled about how awesome he is for a bit and got the producers to stop playing him off while he talked about his mom. “It would be in good taste to stop the music then,” he said in the middle of his speech and holy cow, they did it.
Good for him, but if there’s one thing awards shows are not about, it’s good taste, as Kayne also reminded us with his jacket.
8:50 p.m.: Bebe Winans, Aretha Franklin and a whole mess of gospel nominees perform. Pinetop’s ethics have made me feel guilty; I decline to make a joke here. Perhaps the Grammy folks also feel weird; the gospel performance gets nearly nine minutes of airtime.
8:59 p.m. Feist plays “1,2,3,4.” It’s in good taste. Kanye would approve.
9:02 p.m.: Keely Smith is dueting with Kid Rock. His transition into the 21st century version of David Lee Roth circa “Just a Gigolo” is complete.
9:05 p.m.: Foo Fighters just took best rock album for “Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace.” Has Taylor Hawkins ever actually proved he’s not a clone of Dave Grohl grown in a vat somewhere? They’re looking more alike by the year.
9:11 p.m. - Hey, it’s 25-time Grammy winner Stevie Wonder, telling us about Berry Gordy, who gets this year’s Industry Icon award. Then he hits the harmonica (or is it pitch pipe) and belts out a few notes of “No One” before introducing Alicia Keys’ epic version of same. A duet between those two on that song suddenly seems like a no brainer; something tells me there are Grammy producers kicking themselves this very minute.
9:17 p.m.: In the immortal words of Bob Dylan, “I’ve been thinking about Alicia Keys.” Man, was subbing her name for Ma Ranye’s on “Thunder on the Mountain” a good call on his part or what?
Notice that Bob did not include John Mayer in his lyric about Alicia Keys. Why is Alicia including him here?
9:18 p.m.: Speaking of clones, do Ringo Starr and Dave Stewart realize they look exactly alike?
Then they give the country album of the year award to Vince Gill, who gets in the joke of the night: “I just got an award given to my by a Beatle. Have you had that happen yet, Kanye?”
OH, SNAP. Better, faster, stronger, indeed.
9:26 p.m.: Herbie Hancock and pianist Lang Lang are performing “Rhapsody in Blue.” You can hear the viewers flipping channels. It would be in good taste to pay attention to the music, but it ain’t happening.
9:33 p.m.: “Umbrella” (Rihanna featuring Jay-Z) takes Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, to the shock of absolutely nobody. Jay is “translating” her comments and it should probably annoy Beyonce that Rihanna actually gets him to shut up.
9:42 p.m.: Amy Winehouse looks shaky, but much better than a lot of us thought she was going to. Her beehive is black, not blonde, which seems a good sign. She cranks (hah! sorry) through “You Know I’m No Good” and “Rehab,” irony flashing in and out of her voice. She may have just saved her career.
9:46 p.m.: Winehouse looks shocked, seriously, no-kidding shocked, to win Record of the Year. The stage explodes for joy. She half-dives into the band for a hug. She gives a big hug to her mom, who joins her on stage. It’s nearly 4 a.m. in London, so maybe she’s tired, but it’s a hypnotic moment.
“Uh, thank you to everyone at Island Records,.” She sounds a little shaky, then better. “To my Mom and Dad….to my Blake incarcerated.”
Jeeze, did she just freestyle that? Where’s Jay-Z?
“This is for London!,” she shouts.
I am now completely convinced she saved her career, am taking back all the mean jokes I made about her and am looking forward to spinning through “Back to Black” as soon as the awards are over. Without a doubt the moment of the evening.
10 p.m.: People who died montage. Ike Turner gets, like, two people applauding. Andrea Bocelli and Josh Groban sing, sing SING for Pavarotti. Don’t laugh, Groban sold three million albums last year. Of a Christmas album, no less. Recognize!
10:15 p.m.: John Fogerty, looking somewhat lifelike, is playing with Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis. How on Earth did lyrics like “Good golly Miss Molly/ sure likes to ball” make it on to the air in the 50s?
10: 24 p.m.: Will.i.am is rapping about the Grammys, which seems weirdly perfect. He is the Billy Crystal of hip-hop.
10:28 p.m.: Quincy Jones and Usher are out to wrap this up, we hope. Mark Ronson won non-classical producer for “Back to Black,” which is almost another win for Winehouse. “There are no losers in this category, Kanye,” Usher says.
10:30 p.m.: GREAT MERCIFUL UPSET! Herbie Hancock, in a huge, Giants-vs-Patriots win, takes Album of the Year. He thanks everyone for giving the award to a jazz album, which apparently hasn’t happened in 43 years. No reaction shots from Winehouse or West, which probably just means the directors and producers were just as shocked as the rest of us.
That’s it, folks. Good night!
(All photos: ASSOCIATED PRESS)
- Photos: Red carpet arrivals | Winners and performers
- List of winners | Grammy fashion | Quick quotes
Comments
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By Laura
February 10, 2008 8:06 PM | Link to this
Was looking for a live Grammy blog for the heck of it, and Google turned you up. You’re funny, so congrats.
So I will now make my instant comment:
What on earth was Cher wearing???
Or Beyonce for that matter.
Keep blogging!
By Rose
February 10, 2008 8:07 PM | Link to this
It’s homage to the 80’s at the Grammy’s, eh? (tina)
By Dee
February 11, 2008 9:57 AM | Link to this
On your 7:28 entry your mentioned the tribute was for Across the Universe actually it was for “LOVE” performed by Cirque De Soliel. “LOVE” won a Grammy for Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. Otherwise good job on blog entries!