Grammy and Halford musing

It's Monday and - yawn - I'm trying to recover from 2-1/2 hours of my life that I won't get back-- better known as the Grammy Awards. I was sadly disenchanted with this year's event. Many of the awards seemed more politically-motivated or guilt-driven rather than based on true talent, but then the nominees were slim-pickin's in quite a few categories to begin with. Who decides these things? It sure isn't fellow artists or even the fans....

My gripes:

1. The Police- their reunion was so over-publicized, why did we get only one song from them?

2. Rascal Flatts doing the Eagles. They were trying hard and I'll credit them with that, but they missed the mark. The tunes just weren't a good fit. And what's with their lead singer looking like an aging Lance Bass? Dude, you need a makeover from the "Queer Eye" guys.

3. Justin Timberlake- I guess the public just can't get enough of him, but I can.

4. Red Hot Chili Peppers- again we were blitzed by how hot they are and I really expected more from their performance which was so-so. (Maybe hard-core Peppers fans were thrilled, but many of my co-workers expressed disappointment, so I think I'm on the money here). Perhaps it was the song they chose, but I don't get the buzz...

5. The tiny listings across the bottom of the screen of awards that we would not be seeing presented. Many of them changed too quickly to read all the way through, especially when you had action on stage at the same time.

6. The commercials- OK Heinekin and Chevrolet may be the sponsors, but geez, couldn't they have a few more different commercials. Better yet, combine one ... on second thought - beer and cars - that might not work ....

Enough griping, though, I will share with you the better parts of my evening.

1. Lounging on the futon in my jammies with a nice fuzzy blanket and a bowl of popcorn....

2. John Mayer, John Legend and Corrine Bailey Rae - their music is a little soft for my personal taste, but their musicianship is awesome! They also prove that good song writing may have a chance at a comeback.

3. Carrie Underwood was simply charming as whe warbled "Sweet Texas Rose." And she looked precious too.

4. Christina Aguilera - wow! can that girl sing... need I say more??

5. Justin Timberlake. Yeah, I know he's on the gripe list, but I will admit that I was impressed to see him pounding on the piano and he is a decent entertainer, plus he seemed to be enjoying himself.

6. Shakira and Wyclef Jean were spice, sugar and perfect together. They gave out a lot of energy and were obviously having a lot of fun, which scores points with me big time. Plus the costumes were hot! They were the best act of the show.

7. Prince was cool. He led the standing ovation for Mary J. Blige after losing an award to her and he did it with a smile- that's class. I also thought that his Super Bowl thank you commercial was a nice touch. (Hey, didn't your mom teach you to always write thank yous to people for nice things, well his ad saved him from writer's cramp and would have made any mom proud).

All right, I know there's things I've missed (like extra sleep), but I can't comment on everything. Drop me a line and share your thoughts on the Grammys... I may even write you back!

Last on my things to do list today is to tell you about Halford's newest videos. His bassist and my friend, Mike Davis, shared the news and told me where to check them out. Halford's voice is as fine as ever and his band is steamin'! Take a moment and visit www.robhalford.com or search him out on www.youtube.com. Congrats Mike and be sure to let me know when we can catch you on tour!! P.S. When are you going to teach me how to cook a nice dinner? (Mike's a great chef, it's a wonder how he keeps so svelte!).

See y'all on the flipside.. 'til then~

keep on rockin'!

Mickie