David Macias, a music producer who has nabbed a Grammy, had this to say regarding the nomination of Linda Chorney for Best Americana Album for the double disc titled “Emotional Jukebox”: “The Grammys run the risk of being diluted.”
We’ll get to that concept in just a moment, but first some background: Linda Chorney managed to snag that nomination from seemingly out of nowhere courtesy of a hardcore bit of self promotion through the social networking web that is all the rage among the kids today. Of course, Linda Chorney, at 51 years of age, is only a kid compared to Joan Collins, but you get the idea. What Macias and other negative Nellies are pointing to is the idea that the Grammy Awards have traditionally been free from such blatant marketing ploys that undo the artistry of those that really deserve it.
To which I have a few things to point out. Facts all. You can look them up for yourself.
Christopher Cross won Best Album over “The Wall” by Pink Floyd. The soundtrack for “Saturday Night Fever” beat out Jackson Browne’s “Running on Empty” for Best Album. Joy Division/New Order has never won a single Grammy. A Taste of Honey beat out both Elvis Costello and The Cars for Best New Artist.
In other words, the real question that must be raised regarding the controversy over Linda Chorney getting a nomination as a result of advertising herself when American radio won’t touch anything that has been officially conferred worthy by the Industry at Large is one that should force an answer from David Macias.
How can you dilute the Grammy awards when they possess not a single shred of credibility?
“The Simpsons” has taken aim at the lack of credibility in the Grammy award for years and with good reason. In 1969 the Beatles recorded what went on to become their biggest single ever and a song that spoke to an entire generation with “Hey Jude.” So, naturally, the Grammy voters chose “Little Green Apples” to represent the best of 1969. “Anarchy in the U.K.” by the Sex Pistols caused an explosion heard throughout the music industry that is still sending sound waves through the record business today. Punk rock challenged traditional notions of what it meant to be a rock and roll band, reissued the call for revolution among lazy arena bands too caught up in their cocaine fueled ennui to notice that the power of the 1960s had become the listlessness of the 1970s, and provided the spark necessary to stimulate the rise of MTV and the death of corporate rock for at least a few years in the early 1980s. Amid all that power from the streets of London, what did the Grammy voters view as the most important song of 1976?
“Send in the Clowns” from a Stephen Sondheim Broadway musical.
No, Mr. Macias, you are wrong. The nomination of Linda Chorney, even if it is the product of a sea change in how advertising of musical product is engaged, is not enough to dilute the Grammy awards. The voters already have half a century of doing that very thing behind them.
For more from Timothy Sexton, check out:
The Great Sad Irony of the Mainstreaming of Rap Music
Class Warfare, Ideology and the Ways in Which Country and Rap Music are Identical