The Super Bowl, the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards are the pillars of TV diversion in mid-winter America, the season of cabin fever. They provide the Cliff’s Notes to popular culture, a chance to quickly check the nation’s creative pulse and dish on celebrities.
The productions are a little different in the post-Janet-Jackson’s-breast era. Language may remain blue for those in the arena seats but is sanitized for the television viewers via the magic of bleep buttons and delayed broadcasts. Paul McCartney is trotted out for a “safe” Super Bowl halftime show, and commercials are toned down. The raciest one this year–featuring a woman adjusting the strap of her tank top while advertising a Web site no one can quite remember–was yanked before it could get a second airing.
Now, it’s on to Sunday’s Grammy Awards from Los Angeles. Safe, this show usually isn’t. Somebody is bound to stir up something, though it’s unlikely that Jennifer Lopez will show up in the green Versace dress that was barely there in 2000. The band Green Day may have to make some lyrical adjustments if it unloads with “American Idiot,” the slightly profane tune that is the song of the year for every 15-year-old suburban kid with a guitar, three chords and a dream. The beauty of the Grammys is they provide entertainment for all–parents may tune in for country star Gretchen Wilson while teens are lured by Usher and Alicia Keys.
Let’s hope the Grammys don’t become too safe. The story of this year’s Grammy Awards, and American music, is the rise of rap and hip-hop, art forms that have moved from the cultural edge to the mainstream. Yes, some rap and hip-hop musicians are justifiably criticized for spewing out words of profanity, violence and misogyny. But let’s not overreact. Pop music, whether you’re talking Dylan and Hendrix four decades ago or Wilco and Outkast today, thrives on risks and challenging the establishment.
One of the big stories tonight is likely to be Chicago’s Kanye West. From Chicago’s South Side, West has carved out a remarkable career as producer, songwriter and performer. In his best-selling album “The College Dropout” he takes the gangsta out of rap, focusing on real life issues like working for minimum wage and grappling with faith. His is a musical world with rhythm, melody and meaning. With 10 nominations, his time has come, and a star has truly been born.
So if you’re a music fan enjoy the Grammys, enjoy the success of a guy from Chicago, and if the show gets a little dicey, well, that’s not a crime.
