Doechii winning was the only highlight I cared to know (I didn’t watch). Your writing is a wonderful cohesion of culture, history, industry, and politics but for people who are voracious readers. If you would’ve given us 1000 more words, I would’ve continued reading without wincing.
As you pointed out, we are entering a post-rational era where even pushing through tragedy feels neither dignified nor honorable. Pardon the fatalism, but I thought about the band playing as the Titanic sunk as the best visual example of what I described.
Lastly, this quote is my favorite: “The Grammys should have ended the night Clive Davis’s pre-Grammy party continued at Los Angeles’s Beverly Hilton while Whitney Houston’s dead body was wheeled away at the same hotel.”
Your writing makes me want to actually get up and throw hands—fighting and praise dancing! Brilliant as always. Loved the bit about Doechii especially because no matter how much I feel about the pageantry and performance of all of this rape culture and white supremacist bullshit, something in me still wanted to see her win. This shit is so entangled and embattled. Thank you for “getting it” and saying it as only you can.
the way your words are well weighty, blows the mind. dragged bar for bar as though wading through a swamp of perishing celebrity culture. love your work.
Baldwin's most fitting coda to your most excellent piece is a most merciless nail into the cross of song's crucifixion, the agony and slow death of amerikan music's demise. yet jimmy b does offer the possibility of redemption and resurrection, i think, even if it is but a slim chance.
Your analysis is icicle-accurate and your writing sits in the (very hard to pull off) space between poetry and analysis. Thanks so much for this piece. We need prophets and seers as we move into this moment of culminatory sickness. I'll be holding your words close and waiting patiently for more.
When I saw Sabrina Carpenter I knew the industry was cooked. American producers only tell Hollywood Golden Age jokes when they don't know where their paycheck is coming from
I don't know if anyone has written a better piece about the nonsensical form of this relic of a tradition. I am still wondering how and why they even had the ceremony. Seeing Doechii and Meshell win was absolutely worth it, but at what cost? Babyface being cut off Milton Nascimento not being allowed to sit with Esperanza, Beatles receiving another award….
Doechii winning was the only highlight I cared to know (I didn’t watch). Your writing is a wonderful cohesion of culture, history, industry, and politics but for people who are voracious readers. If you would’ve given us 1000 more words, I would’ve continued reading without wincing.
As you pointed out, we are entering a post-rational era where even pushing through tragedy feels neither dignified nor honorable. Pardon the fatalism, but I thought about the band playing as the Titanic sunk as the best visual example of what I described.
Lastly, this quote is my favorite: “The Grammys should have ended the night Clive Davis’s pre-Grammy party continued at Los Angeles’s Beverly Hilton while Whitney Houston’s dead body was wheeled away at the same hotel.”
Your writing makes me want to actually get up and throw hands—fighting and praise dancing! Brilliant as always. Loved the bit about Doechii especially because no matter how much I feel about the pageantry and performance of all of this rape culture and white supremacist bullshit, something in me still wanted to see her win. This shit is so entangled and embattled. Thank you for “getting it” and saying it as only you can.
Thank you for getting it. The imagery even she is forced to carry out is so very embattled I'd love to see her free from it too.
the way your words are well weighty, blows the mind. dragged bar for bar as though wading through a swamp of perishing celebrity culture. love your work.
thank you!!
Hand to God, at least once a month one of your pieces takes my breath away. I mean utterly stuns me… How do you keep doing this 🙌🏽
Baldwin's most fitting coda to your most excellent piece is a most merciless nail into the cross of song's crucifixion, the agony and slow death of amerikan music's demise. yet jimmy b does offer the possibility of redemption and resurrection, i think, even if it is but a slim chance.
Your analysis is icicle-accurate and your writing sits in the (very hard to pull off) space between poetry and analysis. Thanks so much for this piece. We need prophets and seers as we move into this moment of culminatory sickness. I'll be holding your words close and waiting patiently for more.
When I saw Sabrina Carpenter I knew the industry was cooked. American producers only tell Hollywood Golden Age jokes when they don't know where their paycheck is coming from
brilliant analysis
My grade school teacher would have required a complete rewrite without the run-on sentences.
I say, rules can be bent to suit artistic intention, and your work is compositional genius.
I don't know if anyone has written a better piece about the nonsensical form of this relic of a tradition. I am still wondering how and why they even had the ceremony. Seeing Doechii and Meshell win was absolutely worth it, but at what cost? Babyface being cut off Milton Nascimento not being allowed to sit with Esperanza, Beatles receiving another award….
So much blasphemy! Everything must change
In such times, public blasphemy is civic duty.
Well done
Thanks for the great read!