Everybody is raving about the performance of Jayonce's Drunk in Love. I must agree it was a great way to open the Grammy's. Who wouldn't want to see Beyonce half naked grinding on a chair, imagining you were the chair? I'm just kidding! Or who wouldn't want a surfboard shaped like Beyonce if you know what I mean? Oh yeah back to the Grammy's. Everyone has talked about how wonderful this performance was, but while watching it I noticed there wasn't a lot of great choreography or harmony. It was a bootylicious performance. But, beyond the booty, where were any of the elements that tend to make performances great? Our eyes were tantalized. Our ears were cheated. In fact the musicality of the music performance wasn't that great. It seems that what we celebrated was the entertainment and artistic value -- the visual and not the musical. Unfortunately this was not the Oscars, but this is the Grammy's.
It makes me wonder what happened to the music in the music industry. At more sober times, I miss the Motown sound, the genius of sax record sessions and other innovations in music and dance. Long gone is the appreciation for the harmony of the Temptations, the powerful cadence of the Four Tops, or magical dance moves from artists like Michael Jackson. In fleeting moments, I imagine the new James Brown, 2014's hardest working man in show business, shimmying across the stage on one leg, falling to his knees, bouncing up, spinning around, grabbing the mic, and screaming "Ow!" Of course this is just my imagination. Instead of great lyricists, gravity defying dancers, and scale bending singers, we have half naked, no dancing audio tune entertainers. There is less emphasis on the music -- the sound. There is no real appreciation for dancing. It is all about the look. Recently, Justin Bieber is spending his time getting in trouble as opposed to perfecting his dancing and singing. Maybe it's because he realizes the new music industry is less about the music and more about the industry. In the industry, a flat stomach and spiked hair is more important than a full sound and superb harmony.
There were no great lyrics. There was no compelling message. There was no angelic sound. There were no inspiring dance steps, just a chair and a wonderful booty. Beyonce taught us a lesson at the Grammys. For all you aspiring superstars, if you ever find yourself drunk in love with a smoking body just shoot a video on your cellphone and show it to the world, who knows you might become the next great pop star. Whether you can actually sing or dance is another matter. I mean it doesn't matter.