February 10, 2019 – Up to now, the biggest news I could find on the Grammys was all the news about who was going to snub it, not who was getting snubbed, but who was going to not go. There were billboards and advertisements all over the place here, most of which featured Ariana Grande. Apparently, she was going to sing. But… she decided not to go. The organizer, producer, whatever he is, tweeted something to the effect that Ariana couldn’t get ready in time, and she lost it, tweeting stuff about how he was wrong. Her tweets also seemed to have some vague reference to the President, I think. The producer then responded saying she was wrong. And I’m really not sure if Ariana chimed back in yet or not. All of this just makes me say to myself, “what?” Then, somewhere along the way, Drake and some other hip-hop guys said they weren’t going either, apparently in protest to the Grammys not having enough rap participation. My goodness, I think that’s all that is represented. So another, “what?” Taylor Swift decided she didn’t want to go, that one because her boyfriend –a British actor who won’t publicly acknowledge the relationship unless he’s backed into a corner — is having some award given to him in the U.K. and she wants to be present … somewhere near him, not go together, just be somewhere … around. Again. “What?” Seriously, all these people and all of their fits, and I’m totally not even caring about who or what was nominated.
Turns out some of the awards are already in. Sure I could wait until they all are, whenever that is today, but I think the part I care about has already taken place. Oh what part? Not the best hip-hop everything (no Drake, the Grammys are all about your genre, radio is all about your genre), but the rock award. Greta Van Fleet took the award for best rock album for their EP From the Fires. Personally, I’m not sure an EP is an album, but I’ll take it. It is, after all, rock. Then, there’s this little bit of news I saw on the pre-Grammys show from last night, a review by the industry magazine Variety that gives me much hope.
A little background, and forgive me, people who pay attention to my occasional rants about songs, but there’s this song from last year by a hip- hop artist called Post Malone. The song has almost unrecognizable, and certainly unbearable, lyrics that say blah, blah, blah, just like a rockstar.
Post Malone performed at the Saturday party, and, from what Variety says, introduced himself with a name, meaning a name a human being uses. Austin Richard Post, he called himself. He then played a two-song acoustic set on guitar, talked about having cut his finger, apologizing that he might hit some bum chords because of that injury, honestly, kind of rockstar-esque.
Variety mentions Greta Van Fleet’s performance at the same show, that band performing earlier in the concert to loud appreciation from the industry audience. The Variety article mentions others, but it’s their conclusion that I loved. “Who knew the future of music is … guys with guitars,” said the Variety reviewer. Describing the otherwise private Saturday showcase of mostly hip-hop, R&B, Latin and K-Pop, these two sets – Post Malone’s acoustic songs and Greta Van Fleet’s songs — were the most appreciated. Variety referred to Greta Van Fleet as “the great white hope of rock ‘n’ roll”, qualifying that with their statement “or, really, the only hope for a young rock band achieving any fresh notoriety in this day and age.” They also said if Post Malone, aka Austin Richard Post, goes the way of rock-folk he won’t make as much money. But I wonder.
I wonder if the surprise of the Variety writer, I wonder if the response of the crowd, I wonder if the mood, a mood where just by singing about blah, blah, blah rockstar makes a hip-hop artist want to pick up a guitar, isn’t the first moves to a new world. Guys with guitars. Girls with guitars. Guys and girls with guitars. Pay attention music business. This is what people want, even Post Malone, now Austin Richard Post. I give it two years….