To a music purist, the Grammys are always controversial in that they try to appeal to so many different segments of the listening public and have always been accused of focusing too much on pop music at the expense of rock or rap or other genres that are more culturally relevant at the time.  Having said that, it is still a fun awards show and it is still MUSIC, right?  I stayed up late Sunday to watch the show and thought it would be fun to take a break from luxury eyewear and talk about one of my real passions – MUSIC.

It was very sad to learn about the death of Whitney Houston.  I can’t say I was a huge fan of her music, but I can certainly appreciate her incredible talent.  So sad to see how her life took its turns over the years and so sad for her family and especially her daughter.  Thank you Jennifer Hudson for your tribute.

As LL Cool J said at the show, the best way to celebrate and honor is through MUSIC.  That is what heals and hopefully makes us all smile.  So let’s focus on the fun from the show.

First – is there a better way to start any music show than with Bruce??  For me it was very bittersweet seeing him up there without Clarence but at least the band is still up there.  Read Bruce’s eulogy for Clarence here.  Truly awesome.  Can’t wait for the tour to start.

Second great moment was watching the Foo Fighters.  I always loved Nirvana but never really got into Foo Fighters – however, I have always liked the songs I hear. I have a totally newfound admiration for Dave Grohl and the band.  Like Bruce, he is ALL about the music. No dancing, no tricks, no “show”.  Just hard-core great music.  His acceptance speech said it all.  This is what music should ALWAYS be about:

“This is a great honour, because this record was a special record for our band. Rather than go to the best studio in the world down the street in Hollywood and rather than use all of the fanciest computers that money can buy, we made this one in my garage with some microphones and a tape machine…

“To me this award means a lot because it shows that the human element of music is what’s important. Singing into a microphone and learning to play an instrument and learning to do your craft, that’s the most important thing for people to do.

“It’s not about being perfect, it’s not about sounding absolutely correct, it’s not about what goes on in a computer. It’s about what goes on in here [your heart] and what goes on in here [your head].”

He has it RIGHT.  Music is about your soul – not a computer generated sound.

I still love Coldplay.  The recent album was not as well received but it is GOOD.  And they still play a GREAT live show.  Hard to repeat the energy from their “Clocks” performance a few years ago but they are still excellent and it is great to see great “rock bands” still focusing on albums and making great music.  In the age of iTunes and singles and pop hits you can download (of which I am totally guilty too), Coldplay reminds us of the great “bands” making albums.

We then moved on to a lifetime achievement award for the Allmans.  When did all my favorite bands become the “lifetime achievement” guys?  Nice to see the Academy recognize “the Brothers”.   They have arguably had a lot more influence over music than the majority of performers featured on the Grammys over the years.  And a great way to gear up for the annual Beacon shows this March.

Last but certainly not least — it is the rare album or singer/band that can truly dominate a year in music and really deserve it.  I am 41 years old and in my adult lifetime I can only think of U2’s The Joshua Tree or Nirvana’s Nevermind or Michael Jackson’s Thriller that really foot this bill – that changed the conversation for a year (although there were MANY MANY great albums during this time for sure).  Adele accomplished it and then some this year.  I don’t care how often I hear her on the radio. I do not care how overplayed the album has become.  It is just GREAT and she deserved every award she won.  I saw a great tweet this morning calling her a combination of Patsy Cline and the second coming of Dusty Springfield.  Her voice is so much more.  And she seems so down to earth on top of it all.  Thanks Adele for an AWESOME album.

So go listen to some music this week and remember the important things in life – friends, family, and how you feel when you hear a GREAT song.