Rant #2,073: I Believe In Music

Yes, I really do, but no, the Grammy Awards do not represent anything I enjoy about pop music.

The show, which was once a fun exercise to watch, is now probably one of the most painful shows to watch, because it celebrates music that is generally garbage, acts that don't deserve the accolades they are getting, and, of course, the show has a political bent that all awards shows now have that simply turns most of the population off.

And as I say that, this year's Grammy Awards came in with the lowest rating it has ever gotten.

You simply can't pat yourself on the back and then, with one fell swoop, constantly knock somebody else.

Like I have said over the over, "Shut up and sing" ... but please, the music is just so absolutely awful that maybe I should simply say "Shut up" period.

"Nothing from nothing is nothing," somebody once sang, and that is what you have on this show.

Nothing ... except if you still cannot accept the fact that your gal lost the election.

Yes, she made an appearance on the show, and if that is the best that this so-entitled group can muster up, then it just demonstrates how completely misguided these wannabes really are.

But I have a respite from all of this non-class and non-musicianship, and it is my own record collection.

People say that they can really gauge where a person was, is and will be by simply looking at his or her record collection and seeing what they have liked over the years, and with my collection, I do think you would be really surprised at the stuff that I have collected over 50-plus years of doing this.

Sure, I have the popular stuff, the stuff that sold millions and millions of copies, like the entire Beatles record catalog of LPs that they put out during their period as the best-selling band in the world, the 1964-1971 years, which, quite frankly, are my years of concentration in my collection, although I do love music from both before those years and after those years too.

I am also in the process of collecting as many Beatles' singles as my bank account can muster. I have a lot already, but I don't have them all, which is my goal, to collect all of them released in the U.S. with picture sleeves.

I also have the stuff that kind of fell through the cracks, stuff that I liked but music that maybe isn't to everyone's taste. Heck, I was a big fan of Nick Lowe during the day, and "Cruel To Be Kind" aside, can anyone name another one of his songs simply from memory? I can, but can anyone else?

I have a virtual A--the Association--to Z--the Zombies in my collection, and with it, although most of the collection is rock and roll, I do have Judy Garland and Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra in there too.

I also have a wealth of comedy albums, including a whole stash of Bill Cosby LPs--yes, he was funny way back when--Allan Sherman, yes, even Woody Allen, and so much more.

I have Broadway albums and movie soundtracks, and I have old radio shows on vinyl, too.

And I have spoken word, for more pensive moments.

I have male performers, female performers and those who pushed androgyny to its limits, like early 1970s David Bowie.

And yes, I do have political stuff, everything from the Clash to U2, to Mort Sahl and Lenny Bruce.

Every once in a while, something forces me to go back to my collection and re-examine an artist's work. I remember a few months ago, I decided to actually digitally record everything I had on Gary Lewis and the Playboys.

It was a fun exercise, and along with the obvious hits that we all know--like "This Diamond Ring" and "Green Grass"--I found a while load of gems that I really didn't know that well that after examination, I do now.

At for the current moment, I am looking back at the career of the Bangles, a girl group that I really enjoyed during their heyday 30 or more years ago.

I really liked the GoGos too, but I really, really liked the Bangles.

I think they were a step up on the GoGos in musicianship, songs and yes, even looks (please don't cite me for sexual harassment now).

But the music was the big selling point, and whether you are talking about "Walk Like an Egyptian" or "Walking Down Your Street," these ladies really had it going.

And the good thing is that they are still around, still trying to crank out the next "Eternal Flame."

So the Grammys can whine and whine some more and show how "with it" they are, but sorry, to this music lover, the music they celebrate as the best is really cut-rate junk, and if even I ever have any doubts about that, all I have to do is go to my local neighborhood record collection and see, once and for all, exactly what is good, what was good, and what will always be good.

Music certainly is in the ear of the beholder, and for this guy, I will even take the 1910 Fruitgum Company over the trash that is being portrayed as "music" today.

You don't have to agree with me on any of this, but you can't disagree with my collection of about 10,000 LPs, singles, and even my CD and cassette collection.

I believe in music. I really do.