GRAMMYS tonight (this afternoon, Pacific) and Last day of NAMM. Sunday, Jan 28 2018

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First, for tonight's live music scene, go our Jan. 23rd edition:

https://acousticamericana.blogspot.com/2018/01/live-music-this-week-jan-23-2018.html
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For our NEWS of NAMM, including exhibitors to see and performances to catch on the last day at the world's biggest music trade show:

https://acousticamericana.blogspot.com/2018/01/live-performances-streaming-from-and.html
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NEW FOR TODAY...

We're delaying our "Part 4" coverage of the NAMM Show and saving it for a wrap-up edition. That's because all our readers are not at the big rodeo in Anaheim, and those who are there will limit their time perusing exhibits on this final (and short) day there, anyway. Some, from exhaustion, after three very full days. Some, who journeyed from frozen regions, to enjoy the California sunshine before boarding the tin bird tomorrow. And many, because today's GRAMMY Awards telecast is early.

Indeed, it's the GRAMMYs that dominate all the entertainment coverage today — online, in the show biz sections of the newspapers, and in today's conversations among musicians.

So editorializing on that subject — The GRAMMYs — is our single story today.


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♪ 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards Presentations


This year, the GRAMMYS are in New York City instead of L.A., and unlike too many past years, the West Coast will get the live broadcast without waiting three hours, 'til after it happened.

The live TV broadcast is on CBS at 4:30 pm Pacific, repeating in prime time at 8 pm. For those that want to see which of those infatuated with "being seen" spent entirely too much money on goofy clothing, CBS offers a Red Carpet show / GRAMMYs Preview, at 3:30 pm Pacific.

Of course, the Recording Academy has long billed the GRAMMY Awards as "Music's Biggest Night." All of us in the Folk-Americana world cringe when we hear that. Because the deck is soooo stacked in favor of ever-growing additional awards for rap, hip-hop, and the so-called R&B that, these days, provides cover for more of the first two.

And because voting memberships in the Recording Academy are routinely bought for every employee in big corporate entertainment conglomerates? Those voting are, too often, people whose jobs are wholly unreleated to music, and they are simply "encouraged" not to bite the employer's hand that feeds them.

And because — to the ridiculously limited extent that the GRAMMYS include "our" multiplicity of music genres at all — our best artists are inexcusably lumped together. Thus, they are grossly underrepresented, crammed into the few contrived categories where they might qualify. We've covered this many times, in detail, and discussed the lack of inclusiveness practiced by the Recording Academy. So we'll keep it brief for this go 'round on the 60th anniversary of the GRAMMYS.

To wit: when Cajun and zydeco are competing with New England fiddle and ukulele artists and sea chanties; and all those folks are competing in the same category with labor organizing and non-rap protest songs; with traditional cowboy-western music; with accordion-driven Southwest borderlands; with songs of the Great Lakes and the railroads and the decaying ribbons of superhighways; with songs of the coal mines and the few remaining steel mills and heavy industrial jobs; with songs that invoke a hopeful future of solar and wind and tidal energy; with songs that celebrate achievement by persons of color and women who overcome oppression in the workplace; with songs critical of politicians and banksters who ignore global climate change and economic disparity and corporate control of absolutely everything; with songs that question why any kind of imposed conventional "wisdom" should be accepted at all; and with a great many more artists whose vital, continuously evolving, traditional music forms of expression, born of past ethnic roots and places of settlement — music forms and genres performed on acoustic and traditional instruments that produce virtuosos of instrumental mastery, movingly passionate voice, stellar writing and stunning performances — are all force-fitted into competing for a single GRAMMY for "Best Regional Album — then the disparity is scandalous.

Of course, some will watch the GRAMMYS no matter what.

There will be a nice moment when NEIL DIAMOND receives his well-deserved Lifetime Achievement Grammy. And we expect a full-production tribute to him and to Sir ELTON JOHN, since both just announced their retirements from touring and live performance. Two artists, who, by any measure, have spent decades among the absolute best live concert acts in the world.

And, for the fans of the more youthful artists, some folkies and acoustic music fans will be particularly interested in these awards because ED SHEERAN is nominated in two categories. And whatever you think of the merits of his music, he IS a global phenomenon who performs on an acoustic guitar, and he seems to be an unassuming nice guy. Nothing wrong with either of those traits. Even if his vocal talents are quite thin and his music is rather annoying.

Beyond that? Sure, we could list all the nominees in all the categories, as we've done in past years. But why, when we've said everything that needed saying, and the lists are easily available using your (hopefully non-Google) browser.

That warrants a quick aside...

If you just said "Huh?!" to that last part, about using a "non-Google browser"-? Consider our long track record of (a) supporting the innovative art of talented indie artists; (b) celebrating human achievement, creativity, and forums that reward human potential; and, most relevant here, (c) "outing" the big corporate syndicates who engage in Borg-like assimilation of labels and proceed to drop artists because those artists don't do soundalike pop crap.

Percolate and cogitate a moment on that. And you'll have an idea why we oppose megagiant corporate pandemic empires of cyberspying and data-selling who laugh at the notion of anyone having a right to privacy, and who use their octopus tentacles to strangle all they do not own. Google may have entered history's tableau a bit late for the year 1984, but we steadfastly oppose their relentless efforts to enrich their empire by invoking George Orwell's version of it, now or at any time.

Oh. Did we say we had a quick aside? That was it. Enjoy the GRAMMYs.


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♪ THAT'S A WRAP FOR THIS EDITION.
MORE ABOUT NAMM IN OUR POST-SHOW DEBRIEF, COMING SOON.
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The Guide persists... with many more inclusive an' inquisitive
an' informative an' enlightening features on musical people,
music groups and ensembles and collaborations,
the music industry and crazy music business,
new gear, instruments, new album releases,
and all kindsa things, continuing
forward and onward across
the spectrum of time,
space, tunefulness,
and
the wonderfully wacky,
creatively goofy,
necessary-as-oxygen,
arts scene
— all in our MUSIC NEWS editions.

Throughout 2018, you can expect more interviews, previews, reviews, an' such.

AND, we'll bring you more investigative pieces on how regulatory changes and corporate and internet hegemony effect the industry and effect individual artists. Plus, word on how to keep all that cyberspying from invading your private thoughts, identifying your preferences, compiling and selling all your personal data, which is being done at a relentless pace, because they believe they can sell you more sh*t by "knowing what you want before YOU know what you want."

"They" and their artificial intelligence bots may believe all that, but around here, we respect you for being a creative human, and we offer you a wide range of things for your consideration.

Meantime, check in and LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK about THIS edition.

Y'all come back now, y'hear?

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See you again, soon!

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LEGALESE, CONTACTING US, 'N SUCH...

Boilerplate? With or without a Belpaire firebox? Circulators or thermic syphons? Where's the main pressure gauge? Superheated or saturated? Is it Walschaerts or Baker or Stephenson valve gear? Duplex or Standard stoker?

What "boilerplate"? Who came up with that goofy term for basic essential informational stuff... geeez... soon as we take water from the tank, top-off the lubricators, and get beans from the Harvey House, we are sooo steamin' down the line, and tyin'-up someplace with good music!
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♪ The ACOUSTIC AMERICANA MUSIC GUIDE endeavors to bring you NEWS — and views of interest to artists everywhere — more specifically to musicians and the creative community and music makers and fans of acoustic and Folk-Americana music. That includes both traditional and innovative forms. From the deepest roots to today’s acoustic renaissance, that’s our beat. We provide a wealth of resources, including a HUGE catalog of acoustic-friendly venues (now undergoing a major update), and inside info on FESTIVALS and select performances in Southern California in venues from the monumentally large to the intimately small and cozy. We cover workshops, conferences, and other events for artists and folks in the music industry, and all kinds o’ things in the world of acoustic and Americana and accessible classical music. From washtub bass to musical spoons to oboe to viola to banjo to squeezebox, from Djangostyle to new-fangled-old-time string band music, from sweet Cajun fiddle to bluegrass and pre-bluegrass Appalachian mountain music to all the swamp water roots of the blues and the bright lights of where the music is headed now.
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The Acoustic Americana Music Guide. Thanks for sittin' a spell. The porch'll be here anytime you come back from the road.

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