Grammy Boycott (not really)

It's time for the Grammy Boycott again. It's not really a boycott, I just really don't care that much about the whole thing. Sure some of the live performances are worth watching, but I would rather do other things with my time than watch the bloated egos compete against each other on stage. Most of the performances which were halfway decent in the past ended up being ruined by the one-up attempts of thugs to get their names in the headlines the next day. I usually flip through the ceremony to watch a little bit of the affair. Right now I can't tell if the singer is man or a woman and it's onstage with Fantasia, the worst of all the American Idles.
It seems like most of the artists I like aren't a part of the ceremony anyway. They are off in indie land or they released music which wasn't even considered for a nomination because it didn't fit the "radio friendly" format. It also seems like a lot of categories were made up to please the masses of listeners (which have nothing to do with the awards anyway, that's what the American Music Awards are for). I usually read through the list of winners on MSN the next day and don't feel too surprised by what I read.

Looks like I might be playing bass again for a band. It's progressive bluegrass/country, something I don't really make an effort to listen to because it annoys me. True, this sounds like a contradiction, especially since I won't be making any money off of this. Even though the music isn't what I would consider to be "a slice of heaven", nothing compares to being able to play music with live, warm bodies rather than sitting around the house on a stool wondering how well things actually sound. Playing with other musicians helps me to grow because: I play better since I don't want to embarrass myself; I enjoy interacting with other musicians; and I am great at playing for a gestalt experience ( I don't get a big head and try to lead the band with the electric bass). I haven't heard the band's music yet, but it's something along the lines of Nickel Creek and traditional country/bluegrass, which is Nickel Creek once again. It should be interesting. More updates will follow soon.

Halftime

I am a Stones fan, no denying it. I don't know how they can still be around after all these years; but they are and they still sound great. I tuned in for the halftime show Sunday night (after watching interception after interception) to see how they would do. Mick's voice was spot on and although he never did the chicken-walk, he did dance around like a madman at times. Keith and Ron took turns looking lost and not being sure which song they were playing. Darryl Jones continued to keep things moving along, although he seemed to have lost some of what he had 25 years ago when he was playing for Sting. Charlie looked like he was making as little effort as possible in playing the songs. I expected two guys in white to pull him from the stool to a wheelchair, before rolling him down the ramp, to the van which would take him to the nursing home where he spends most of his time air-drumming. Charlie's purple shirt was almost the show stopper of the night (god how brave he must be!), but Mick won out with the skin hanging down from where his triceps were hidden from sight. The skin bounced around a bit when he threw his arms up: just plain scary.