Wow, I'm out of it

And to think that I actually worked in the record industry. Sure, I listen to some Top 40 radio when I can't take any more NPR droning and laziness prevents me from plugging in the iPod, yet I recognize exactly one measly song out of the five nominated for the Song Of The Year Grammy award, and two Record Of The Year nominees. For some reason, however, I suspect I'm not suffering for this lack of current pop culture knowledge.

Remember the days when the Grammys were a big deal? Even during elementary school, schoolyard conversation would be abuzz with talk of winners and losers, best and worst dressed, all that crap. (This type of mainstream music convo eventually became woefully uncool.) In fourth grade I brought in a clipped newspaper photo of Michael Jackson cradling all his Thriller Grammys, onto which my teacher affixed a Post-It note politely requesting that my fellow students not to touch or drool on it. Yeesh.

Now it's hard to determine if children across the nation shared our interest in music's biggest night, or if this concern was typical of Chin Chin-fed Hollywood kids who lived in a warped world in which Olivia Newton-John and members of the then-stellar Lakers were spotted on our campus.

Comments

[Jess]

True, true. The above-mentioned hip hop songs are most excellent jams -- I don't change the station when I hear them. Plus Usher eating breakfast at boring ol' Caffe Latte on Wilshire and Crescent Hts. is one of my favorite celeb sightings of all time. Stephen King raved about the Green Day album in his latest EW column, but I can't really vouch for his music taste nor is that genre my bag.

Re: CEE: let it be said materialism and Industry-rule has gotten much worse than it was in our day. Reveta (the school director, who I greatly respect) can call all the attention she wants to her categorical no-gift policy, as she does in the recent NYer article about indulgent LA private school gift giving culture. Heh. Might be true on an individual level but money carries influence there, no doubt. Our teachers were grateful to receive the mugs and books we offered them (or at least they feigned thanks quite well).

[jgold]

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DATE: 12/10/2004 11:52:19 AM
It's not THAT bad a year for pop. The Kanye West and the Green Day are both really solid, and if I'm in a certain mood I can even admire the craft of the Usher/L'il Jon collaboration, which at least has healthy perversity going for it. And that bizarre Snoop song powered by the tongue clucks has to be the most interesting five minutes of hip-hop in years.

Also, it must be said that the student body at CEE, the de facto elementary school of the entertainment industry, probably has a greater interest in Grammy night than any 10-year-olds this side of Dalton.