I was getting ready for my Wednesday morning show a couple of days ago when I ran across the complete list of Grammy nominees. As I was poring over all of the names and titles, I began the slow realization that there really wasn’t much for me to get excited about.
And that made me sad.
It made me sad for a lot of reasons. I’m sad because I can’t turn on the radio anymore and wait for something good to play—unless it’s old. I can’t wait breathlessly for a new song that I heard the other day for the first time, to play again. It’s just not there on commercial radio. And this year’s Grammy list reflects that wasteland.
Now, anyone who’s listened to either of my shows, would probably agree that while I like to hear an occasional classic—sometimes several of them in a row while I’m doing a “This Day in Music History” segment, I am all about new music by new artists. I continuously search for quality songs, albums, and musicians. I always have and it’s what drives me to do my shows!
So I don’t feel that I’m coming to this point acting like a big band guy complaining that beautiful music is being ruined by “this new rock n roll fad.” As a matter of fact, there are quite a few nominees that I like and listen to. I wish them luck. But there’s not enough of them.
So it is with a heavy heart that I now feel that I have outgrown The Grammys. I never thought I would. I have tried to hang on with a spirit of hope that music brings to me. I know that a lot of my friends have quit the current music scene years ago. I was the one holding on, refusing to let go.
But I have to because I know in my heart, what I play on my shows is tremendously better, in most instances, than what’s on those lists. I mean, I don’t mess with classical or opera as examples. I’m not trying to be “full of myself,” but I know that with the sheer volume of music that I listen to and play—and I’m guessing it’s more than most Grammy listeners or music reviewers do, that I can say these things.
Maybe this is just a bad year for Grammy music. Maybe next year will be better. I sure hope so because then that’s better for all music lovers and artists. But until then, it’s:
GOODBYE GRAMMYS, HELLO PHILBYS!!!!!!!!!
Oh, yeah. On a totally unrelated topic (Ha, ha!), The Philby “Hot 100 Songs of 2016” starts Monday night from 8PM-10 PM ET!
Here’s a link:
Listen live: www.whfr.fm/images/stream_audio.html
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