09 February 2004

I watched about half of the Grammys last night, and only have one real comment.

"Dance With My Father" won Song of the Year. The award was shared by Richard Marx and its performer Luther Vandross, who is recovering from a stroke. Marx and Vandross's business manager accepted the award, and gave some very heartfelt comments regarding Vandross. It was perhaps the most genuine set of remarks given the entire evening.

And then comes NARAS boss Neil Portnow, who at first calls out for more support for music education, but then craps on everything that happened in the previous five minutes by going on about downloading. While this year's call against downloading was more focused on education (which is how Portnow tied it into his earlier remarks) and much less strident (RIAA lawsuits against 11 year olds apparently put you on higher ground) than last year, it still ruined what should have been a nice one-two in support of a fallen artist and for embattled music education programs nationwide.

And now I just want to download songs to be a jerk. Thanks a lot, Portnow.

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