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This Blog is about music events in Bakersfield, especially if they involve CrA$#!!! Craddock & the Head-On Collisions!!!
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7th Standard is now Merle Haggard Drive! 50th Grammy Awards Show Guitar Hero? Wayne “The Train” Hancock at Fishlips Wednesday, December 12th, 2007 Post Halloween Melt-Down Porter Wagoner, RIP Listen to 75 Songs Chosen Especially for YOU!!!!! Fishlips October 20th, 2007, Trainwreck w/ Kyle Gass of Tenacious D October 07 November 07 December 07 January 08 February 08 March 08 April 08 May 08 June 08 July 08 August 08 September 08 
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Location:
35089 7th Standard rd,
bakersfield, CA 93308
I went to the ceremony today at the Harley Davidson dealer on what is now Merle Haggard Dr. If someone has an extra ticket for tonight's show, call me. As I drove through Bakersfield at 10:30 PM on Monday night, the crescent moon looked like a big orange bowl in the western sky. It was really eerie, and I wondered what kind of soup it held, but decided that it was a bowl of orange sherbert instead. Last night I watched the Grammys, and I thought it was a pretty entertaining show. Amy Winehouse was the big winner, and that was kind of a shock, since she had to perform via satellite from London, being denied a visa. She was all tattoos and mascara, and a very unusual voice. Kind of a retro R&B sound, but pretty good nonetheless. I was glad for her, hope she can stay out of trouble, but thought perhaps they could have given a few of the awards to other people.
I liked the “duet” of Alicia Keys and Frank Sinatra. She is really classy and was wearing a very pretty green dress. They combined the live music with the film of Sinatra very well, and I thought it was a great start for the 50th Grammy Awards show. Later on she performed one of her own songs, won some awards, and was just about perfect in every way. Her name is even cool, for someone who not only sings but plays keyboard, and always sings in the right “keys.”
I also liked the duet with Keeley Smith and Kid Rock. He had a smooth sophisticated look, kind of a gangsteresque black suit with fedora. He was uncharacteristically charming, and even though he blew his part on “Old Black Magic” by totally losing the beat (It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing, Kid) he at least showed proper respect and acknowledged that Dave Koz was playing the Sam Butera role, though Koz was playing alto sax and of course Butera was a tenor man. Kudos though, for even knowing his name.
I liked the Carrie Underwood number, though it was really cheesey, or perhaps it was because it was so boldly cheesey. “Before He Cheats” is a great song, but they daringly did it with a really different arrangement, like a cross between Flashdance choreography and Stomp. What with all that, it still somehow managed to be Country. She was up against Winehouse for some of the awards she didn’t get, but at least she triumphed in the Country category.
Kanye West is so full of himself, and mostly it is just annoying, mainly because his music is not very good. He is someone I love to hate, but he at least put on a good show, what with his black light, light goggles, and a song that took on the haters (that would be me) in the kind of direct confrontation that won my grudging admiration. “Stronger” did win for best rap solo performance. It was followed by an emotional tribute to his mother, who died this year. He had “Mama” shaved into his head.
Tina Turner and Beyoncé performed “Proud Mary,” and it was a kick to see songwriter John Fogerty’s reaction from the audience. He performed later with Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard, but the look on his face while Tina did Proud Mary seemed to say that, I wrote that song, but Tina owns it. Beyonce was really working her mojo, and she had all the right equipment, but Tina Turner is a force of nature. Ike Turner died earlier this year, but there she is, still amazing.
The biggest surprise of the night was Herbie Hancock winning for best album. As he remarked, a jazz artist hasn’t won it for 43 years. He was referring to Getz/Gilberto, a classic bossa nova jazz album that was also hugely popular. I remember Santana won for Supernatural, and the next year he was a presenter. As a joke, he said that A Love Supreme by John Coltrane won. But mostly jazz doesn’t get recognized. Some critics have a theory that they give awards not so much for the album, but for their career overall. Herbie has certainly done a lot, from Maiden Voyage, through his work with Miles Davis and Wayne Shorter, The Head Hunters, and his funky stuff like Rock-it. This album was the music of Joni Mitchell. He also won an award for his solo on Both Sides Now, from the album. And he performed Rhapsody in Blue as a piano duet with Lang Lang and a full orchestra. Along with Amy Winehouse, it was really a great night for Herbie Hancock. Michael Brecker died this year, but he won for best jazz album, Pilgramage, and another for his solo on “Anagram.” It was sad to see Max Roach and Michael Brecker pass away last year.
Feist didn’t win, either as best new artist or for her song, “1234,” but it sure made an impression on me. It was also featured in an iPod commercial, and I saw her do it on Letterman as well. There is something simple, yet profound about the song. And great to hear it build up from just her voice and guitar to a full chorus with brass and banjo. She performed again on the show, and it was one of many high points.
I heard a song on the radio, “Radio Nowhere,” and thought it sounded great. I wondered who it was, though it sounded like Bruce Springsteen. For some reason, I thought it was someone else, though obviously it was The Boss. He did win, and that saved me from having to Google the lyrics to find out who did it. The song has mysterious drama that builds tremendous power. It is from the aptly titled album Magic.
Nominated, but neglected in the award area, were Corinne Bailey Rae and Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift made a slight lapse, rubbing it in that she had just turned 18, but her dream was to be on the Grammy show before she was 18. She just missed it, and poor Taylor. Boo hoo. Corrine Bailey Rae was also someone I caught on Letterman, and she has such a pretty voice and a unique sound. She is on the Starbucks label, which is a pretty hip label, so don’t hold that against her.
Steve Earle, Prince, Vince Gill, Joni Mitchell, and The Beastie Boys all won awards. The Beastie Boys won a couple but it was for pop instrumental. Weird. And Lucinda Williams was nominated for a few, but in the Rock category. Robert Plant and Allison Krause won, together, in a duet. Willie Nelson, Ray Price, & Merle Haggard won for “Lost Highway,” but Merle was left out of the list that I saw. Hey, I know he was on that song. I have a promotional CD and I distinctly heard all three of them, they recorded and went on tour as “The last of the breed.”
Finally, I really wanted Tom Higgenson and The Plain White Ts to win for the song, “Hey There, Delilah.” My niece told me about the song because I named one of my dogs Delilah, and then I kind of started liking the song. A lot. I saw The Plain White Ts perform in Bakersfield in the Walmart parking lot. It was an awesome show that climaxed with “Hey There, Delilah” as thousands of kids lit their lighters and/or snapped photos with cell phones. I read that Tom Higgenson, the band’s singer and the writer of the song in question, was going to take Delilah DiCrescenzo to the Grammys as his date (with her boyfriends permission, so no hanky panky—but still)! It seems that Delilah DiCrescenzo is a Columbia University graduate and a steeplechase runner who’s training for next year’s Olympic trials. Higgenson was quite taken with Miss DiCrescenzo, and claimed to have a song about her brewing. It was just his akward attempt at a smooth pick up line, but about a year later, he made good on his promise. Now the song is ubiquitous (being everywhere at the same time, constantly encountered, widespread). “When I'm at the gym, it's playing; when I'm at the pool, it's playing,” says Delilah. “Part of me wants to scream at the top of my lungs that it’s about me. Another part of me wants to cower and say it’s not.”
Is that a great story or what? Kind of like the red haired girl that Charlie Brown pursued, and then it was revealed that Charles Schulz really did have a crush on a red haired girl, and he later got to be friends with her, though by then she was married, and so was he. Or how about Antonio Carlos Jobim? He later became friends with “The Girl From Ipanema.” Anyway, Tom Higgenson, you might not get the girl, but what a great song came out of your suffering!
RECORD OF THE YEAR
"Irreplaceable," Beyoncé
"The Pretender," Foo Fighters
"Umbrella," Rihanna, featuring Jay-Z
"What Goes Around Comes Around," Justin Timberlake
"Rehab," Amy Winehouse (Winner)
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
"Echo, Silence, Patience and Grace," Foo Fighters
"These Days," Vince Gill
"River: The Joni Letters," Herbie Hancock (Winner)
"Graduation," Kanye West
"Back to Black," Amy Winehouse
BEST NEW ARTIST
Feist
Ledisi
Paramore
Taylor Swift
Amy Winehouse (Winner)
SONG OF THE YEAR
"Before He Cheats" (Carrie Underwood)
Josh Kear & Chris Tompkins, songwriters
"Hey There Delilah" (Plain White T's)
Tom Higgenson, songwriter
"Like a Star" (Corrine Bailey Rae)
Corinne Bailey Rae, songwriter
"Rehab" (Amy Winehouse)
Amy Winehouse, songwriter (Winner)
"Umbrella" (Rihanna)
Shawn Carter, Kuk Harrell, Terius "Dream" Nash &
Christopher Stewart, songwriters
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