Grammy ’06 notes

Madonna/Gorillaz- not much of a collab but nice to see (an unannounced) De La Soul and Madge did an impressive set and must have made the CBS censors tinkle a bit in their pants

Stevie’s accapella tribute to Mrs. King was very moving

Mary J’s impassioned last verse on U2’s “One” (though I admit it did look like she had to pee badly)

Best intro: This next performer needs no introduction- Ellen Degeneris’ intro for Macca

Sly Stone’s weird cameo- permed white mohawk

Jay-Z’s Lennon shirt- impressive as it was to have Sir Paul there (who looked lost and uncomfortable at times) in theory, not a great musical moment per se

Bruce Springsteen finishing off his song with “Bring ’em home!” (for the troops)

Kanye’s reaction after not getting record of the year was not seen on camera. Rest assured, he wasn’t a happy camper.

Biggest surprise: Grammy head Neil Portnow at the end talking about New Orleans and pleading for support for the city instead of the downloading wars

The Pickett tribute at the end- once they hit the first chords to “In The Midnight Hour,” I admitted that I welled up…

ESPECIALLY ANNOYING

– the pre-taped interviews

– Sugarland- technical screw-ups

– Fionna not willing for best album- just to hear her speech

– Please, a moratorium on Bono speeches… but his shout-out to Kanye was nice

– Kanye’s marching band shtick

– Sting- he sounds even more pompous now- has he been practicing?

– A three hour show