"We ain't nobody's darlings/ we never should've made it this far" Nobody's Darlings - Lucero"

Sunday night was the Grammy's and to say that it's a celebration of modern music is like saying to take a dump is a port-a-potty is a celebration of modern plumbing. I admit I didn't watch much as I couldn't stomach the audacity of it all, but I carried away 2 things from the little I did see.

1)Green Day on Broadway? Really? It's official then, the band should be formally stripped of their long dead punk mantel and their Cd's refiled under show-tuns.

2)Sir Elton John is a whore. It's not bad enough that you bastardize your own song to honor someone you supposedly cared for greatly but now you'll sing with anyone for the price of stage time at the Grammy's. I wasn 't even born and I miss the Elton of the late 60's early 70's.

I think the Gammy's bother me so much because it epitomizes how dysfunctional the industry of big label music is. Incestuous in nature and empty of substance the awards are merely an act of masturbation. The big name labels celebrating their success in an industry they manipulate through bribery and monopolization and thus further shadowing the struggle of independent music.

While all those celebrities sit listening to bad jokes and applauding the mediocre winners their are bands bleeding and starving to make music a hundred times better. The price of the ceremony alone could fund the recording and completion costs of over a thousand independent records or provide well needed Health care for a hundred artists. A single statuette could cover the cost of gas or lodging for a 4 state tour. More important though if you started giving the Grammy's to artist that actually earn them , say Katie Herzig, Lucero, Kleveland, and The Hard Lessons, maybe bands like U2 and Taylor Swift might make an album worth listening to.

But enough of my ranting. It's already gotten me in trouble with my 81/2 year-old daughter who is a an avid Swift fan.

As for the goals. I'll be posting my first review shortly and am actively reaching out to bands to obtain materials for review. I'm hoping to review the latest albums from Sex Slaves out of New York and local favorites The Builders and the Butchers new live recording.