I haven't watched in years either. Only looked for Tracy Chapman's video when I heard she did a duet with Luke Combs. Fast Cars is in my Top 5. It was good to see her on stage again. Loved his story/attachment to the song.

OMG, Tracy Chapman. love her , love that song. Where has she been? I thought Fantasia did a great job on the Tina Turner salute. I liked Miley Cyrus. She’s such a bad girl. In general Im not a fan but liked her performance. Im now a Dua Lipa fan. Id heard of her but couldnt have picked her out of a lineup.

Show was mostly good. Congrats to Taylor Swift. Are we allowed to say her name?

Congrats to Taylor Swift. Are we allowed to say her name?

Beyonce says "Say my name" so yes, we are allowed.

We got in trouble the last time we mentioned her, but let’s not go there.

The thread is back!

I watched the beginning of the show and thought it was just great! The performance by Tracy Champan and Luke Combs was so moving. Billie Eilish and her brother were also so good. And I just loved Miley Cyrus - her confidence and exuberance made for a fantastic performance. And da*n she looked amazing. I wish I had recorded the show because I missed so much as well - Joni Mitchell, Jay Z, the tribute to Tina Turner, etc. I typically don't watch the Grammys but so glad to have caught what I did of this one.

Oh and another great thing - women, including Taylor Swift, had a phenomenal night!

Don't watch these self congratulation shows. I do look for pics of the red carpet. It's quite a statement when one considers all the women's marching and #metoo. Somehow being naked is what women want to be known for. SIGH. So much for all we fought for. What was feminism is now garbage. Seeing Celine was there was heart warming. Heard nothing about Chapman/Combs until this afternoon. They weren't naked.

Everyone has their "thing". Guilty pleasures and pet peeves. I think arcy_gw 's guilty pleasure is being a party pooper.

I didn't watch. It wasn't on my radar.

But I adore Tracy Chapman. Thanks for sharing, Judi.

I'm such a Tracy Chapman fan. Someone on this site told me about her performance of Baby Can I Hold You Tonight, and I think I listen to it once a week now. The juxtaposition of a young woman with paralyzing stage fright (though she's come a long way) and the self-possession/formality of Pavarotti, somehow works in the most stunning, heartfelt way. Just beautiful.

Ah, Bestyears, that's one of my favorite TC songs. I listened to her back in the day when she was first popular. Her music was part of a transitional time in my life, and she stirs a lot of emotions.

They play "Fast Car" every hour on the radio....here. The re-recorded version is #1. Tracy has NOT been forgotton. She IS AMAZING!

Rubyclaire, I”m pretty sure you can stream the show.

No because the rock and metal awards are only given on the pre-show. They used to not show them at all but at least it's on a livestream. It's a joke.

Although I saw the clips of Tracy Chapman and also Annie Lennox singing for SInead O'Connor.

I love Tracy Chapman -- in fact, I first saw her perform long before she was famous. She was busking on the streets of Cambridge back in.. hmm.. 1985? 1986? I was in grad school and she was at Tufts (i believe?).

Fast Car isnt my favorite -- but I get why it is so popular. I just love the resurgence of accolades for her. I had all her albums ... and she still makes it into my rotation. I think New Beginnings is my favorite album ... but really, they are ALL so good!

ETA another favorite ... love the bluesy sound

I half watched portions of it last night but had it recorded and managed to watch about half today. Just loved the Fast Cars duo (stunning) and Joni Mitchell, although I too thought it could have been shortened. Maybe she wanted to do it that way. It reminded me of hearing Willie Nelson in concert last year. He half sang, half spoke his songs too, and at 90 can still play just fine. When he did sing, it was the same old Willie, he just doesn’t have the breath he used to have. Joni had an aneurysm i believe.

Kanye has had a dust up with TS previously when he butted in on her on stage. I believe I’ve read she and Beyonce have a mutual admiration for each other, so he should just butt out. I’m sure by now TS will take the high road.

I really enjoyed the entire tribute to deceased musicians/artists, especially Jon Batiste.

If I can't mention TS's name, well, I have a blank space baby and I'll write your name.

I just looked up Joni's illness,. it's Morgellons disease. Supposed to feel like you have something crawling in your skin.

She did the same song sitting in the same chair in 2022 at the Newport Folk Festival. Her performance reminded me when the boys were teens and we were watching the local news. They did a story about a very elderly lady getting her first ride in a motorcycle car. It was a surprise for her from her family but when she was sitting in the car it looked like she was sleeping and about to pass away at any minute. I looked at the boys and told them they had best not parade me around like that when I'm old. lol

Found another video of Joni last March with Brandi.

This is the song I sung t my boys while rocking them to sleep.

I did not see the Grammys.

Love Tracy Chapman and have a tangential connection to her of which I am unreasonably proud.

Official Video for “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus

695,891,609 views; I think several of those were me.

In re Jon Batiste, you may recall we saw him and his wife on Homeworthy. I only belatedly realized I had read Suleika's columns in the NYT. I now want to read her book. I loved American Symphony on Netflix. I rewatched her TED talk, which is so excellent. The two of them are simply amazing and wonderful people.

Thank you, Mtn. I watched an AD video of them showing their home, and they are so delightful together, so exuding love for one another, it takes my breath away.

Yes, sorry it was AD.

I’ve never watched the Grammys but enjoy seeing snippets of them every year after reading post mortems like this. I’ve heard of Tracy Chapman of course but completely missed her in the 80’s and 90’s. Because of this thread I listened to a couple of her songs on youtube. I can understand why they are appealing and have the pull of songs heard at a certain part of one’s life. In 1988 the only popular music I heard was Hap Palmer— children’s songs for my kids who were five and one year olds—and I still love that music now!

I have very mixed feelings about the current deification of Joni Mitchell. I haven’t seen this Grammy appearance but i thought the last one was sad and awful and exploitative.

Ahh Jon Batiste. I adore him. I loved Suleika’s book, which I read when it first came out, having no idea that the boyfriend she mentioned was the band leader on Stephen Colbert’s show, which is how I knew Jon at the time. I have been somewhat obsessed with both of them, and I have listened to his most recent album a thousand times. We are going to see him in concert next month, can’t wait!

I love this video filmed in NOLA (where he grew up).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YHVC1DcHmo

Deification?

It would seem you're equally unfamiliar with Joni Mitchell's history.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joni_Mitchell

I love Joni Mitchell and her music, Judi. She was ignored for years as musical tastes changed and she was no longer au courant. Now the pendulum has swung because a younger generation has ”discovered“ her and has put her in performance situations she’s not up to. i think it’s unkind. It is not age shaming to stop performing when someone can simply not sing any longer. Linda Ronstadt stopped singing when she was no longer able due to Parkinson’s. I wish Mitchell would decline to sing and the rest of the world would not gush about how wonderful it is.

two of my besties went to high school with Tracey and were very close with her. When I went to visit on of them at Tufts, we went to a small theater to hear Tracey sing. She was amazing.

But don't you think that Joni performed at the Grammys because she wanted to? Nobody was forcing the issue, right?

No, she doesn't sound like she once did. That doesn't mean that her original fans and her new fans don't still find something to treasure when they hear her voice. Personally, I am thrilled when the artists from my youth bring it, although I have read some very unkind things about them (Stevie Nicks and her inability to sing, dance and look like she did in her younger years comes to mind). To me, there is positivity in showing up in later years and doing what one did at the height of their popularity. It's about remembering and showing the world that one still has blood flowing through their veins. Ageism is the unattractive part of the equation.

What I know for sure is that our 2 college student granddaughters want to hear more Joni Mitchell after seeing her Grammy performance.

If Joni was ok with performing, its ok with me.

I, too, might have been good not seeing her at this age and condition. But, that’s on me.

The Grammy effect.

I LOVE Tracy Chapman. Thrilled that she was on the show!

I just had to wiki Tracy because I was so curious about her. I really loved this--"Chapman maintains a strong separation between her personal and professional life.

"I have a public life that's my work life and I have my personal life", she said. "In some ways, the decision to keep the two things separate relates to the work I do."

I just saw this written about Joni:

"When you write a song at 23 years old and then you sing it again at the Grammy Awards at 80, and that song proclaims "I've looked at life from both sides now," it makes it seem like you're not only a great songwriter but someone who planned and built a song that could accomplish this exact feat, that was indeed meant to be sang from both sides of life, with each side's meaning reflecting and refracting the other, like two mirrors passing a beam of light back and forth. What a consummate genius."

Oly, thanks for this. I've never been a fan of Joni Mitchell's music, and I was a little uncomfortable with her appearance on the Grammys. If I had put my feelings aside and reflected on the words, I think I'd have been way more appreciative.

I was never a big fan either. I liked some songs but never purchased any of her albums. I do appreciate that she's beloved by so many.

I was a little young to say Joni Mitchell was an icon of my youth-- but I do like some of her songs. What I find most inspiring though is how she has returned to do a select few performances despite her severe stroke and other health issues. She is an inspiration in resilience and overcoming vanity and physical limitations to do what she loves.

If you want to talk appearance-- wow! Tracy Chapman has aged beautifully. I am pretty sure she is within a year or two of my age ... I only wish I looked as good!

Tracy Chapman was simply radiant at the Grammy's.

It’s not Joni Mitchell’s appearance that is problematic, and it’s not ageism to acknowledge that she can no longer sing. In fact, having her sing is IMO a kind of condescension / ageism, as in ”how wonderful thst she can still do it” when she so clearly can not. Would you want a 90 year old ballerina attempting to dance the pas de deux in Swan Lake and having to be dragged around the stage by her partner? It’s disrespectful.

If you want to see disrespectful take a look in the mirror.

Brandi Carlile: How I got Joni Mitchell back on stage

The singer on the truth about Joni Mitchell’s return to the stage at Newport Folk Festival, the monthly ‘Joni Jams’ and their friendship

https://jonimitchell.com/library/print.cfm?id=5301

https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/music/joni-mitchell-makes-music-history-with-brandi-carlile-in-gorge-triumph/

“What I find most inspiring though is how she has returned to do a select few performances despite her severe stroke and other health issues. She is an inspiration in resilience and overcoming vanity and physical limitations to do what she loves” THIS !!

i feel like she was being honored for her long career and all that she had overcome. I dont see it as disrespectful at all.

I dont see it as disrespectful at all.

Not Funkyart's comment.

This is what I was referring to:

Yes, i was just agreeing with Funky”s comments and disagreeing with KSWL”s comment.

There’s never been a singer/ songwriter like Joni Mitchell; like her or not, she is inarguably a completely original and brilliant talent. She had a stroke eight years ago that left her unable to walk or speak. I found her appearances at the Newport Folk Festival and at The Grammy Awards to be very moving and brave. She’s playing two shows at the Hollywood Bowl next October!

"There’s never been a singer/ songwriter like Joni Mitchell " One could say that about MANY. I understand the nostalgia and respecting the staying power but that's as far as I would go. To each their own.

Judi, I have one last observation to make: it’s possible to disagree about something without making rude personal remarks.

What Ida said. I love seeing the passion come out and whether or not they're still able to do it well or not, it's their choice to perform. Their fans enjoy seeing them! And after all everybody if they are blessed, will get there.

Aging is bittersweet.

I did not watch the Grammys but I do like commenting lol!

People who don't do things perfectly have value. Children with downs, autism they have value. Handicapped people OLD PEOPLE.

At the school where I work they recently had a boys basketball game and I go to those and they brought a boy out with Downs to play for a while and the teams were told you are going to let him make a score no matter what and he did and he was so happy and I'm happy they celebrated him at their own cost and that he exists, if imperfectly.

This thread has brought to my mind the subject of ageism (hence my comment above). It's something that's been highly topical for me lately, as I try to decide whether I want to make a new career move or retire from the workforce entirely. That those of us who are mature and highly experienced may still be bypassed in favor of someone who is younger with a seemingly longer trajectory to go in their career does not escape me in the least. The younger/less experienced employee stands a chance of staying longer and being better trainable (not true); the younger/less experienced employee will do the job for less compensation than the older one will (maybe).

When you're in the throes of something like this, you tend to notice ageist attitudes in so many places - even (or perhaps especially) ingrained in your own mind.

I realize that we all have different life experiences and none of us is on an identical path. My experience tells me that those who are older and still longing to remain active, productive - yes, relevant even - oftentimes are met with great resistance from others who feel they "know" how one's older years should look. It's somewhat surprising to me how this often comes from one's own peers. I mean, it's perfectly fine and normal to have likes and preferences, but when it comes to projecting those likes and preferences onto what someone else does with their life in later years? I think - not so much.

People who don't do things perfectly have value.

Wonderful reminder.

I was a bit bemused that people thought critics were being kind to Joni Mitchell. I didn't feel that her youthful performances of the song are the standard by which her Grammy performance should or must be judged. For me, to do that missed the point of this stand alone performance of the song. From her opening bars in the backward facing chair, the cane/staff, the lower registers, the choice to verbalize (as many other artists have, e.g. Leonard Cohen), the accompanying artists, were valid and incredibly moving artistic choices, all of which touched me as only music does, because of where I sit today as I listen. When I was young, the song to me meant falling in and out of love, carving my path, getting on with it and face planting sometimes. On Sunday, the performance meant looking back (the chair!!) at choices that can't be revisited, facing the loss of my two horses and the life I built around them, literally and emotionally, and realizing that after all this time, I really don't know clouds at all.

kswl, my observation of your observation.

I didn’t watch the Grammys and am hopelessly ignorant of current music and musical artists. After reading this thread I think it’s time to up my IQ WRT current music trends. I’ve always been a fan of Joni Mitchell so I had to google her performance to see what all the above opinions were about.

I was expecting to hear a raspy throated, (yeah I know, years of smoking) out of key, washed up performance. IDK, I didn’t hear that at all. I thought her timing was on point, her voice was in key - maybe not the key of her youth - and there was much less verbalizing than I expected to hear based on the comments above. I don’t know who selects the songs but I thought this selection was poignant.

Those of us on this forum all come from different generations or the same generation separated by a decade or so. As was mentioned up thread, Joni Mitchell fell out of favor and I suspect if one missed her early years, one might be inclined to minimize this performance. I thought the stage set was a little overdone but, hey. Artistic license.

I am impressed with her come back from her stroke. It must have taken a lot of hard work to get to the place where she can sing/verbalize on key. I wonder if I could have done the same work. Just my opinion.

whew, that was a lot of typing for someone who rarely posts and hasn't done so in months!

We've been renovating our beach house and I haven’t come up for air since October. Okay, off to google Tracy Chapman!

ETA: just googled TC. Boy am I behind. Thanks to this forum, I can catch up!