Five Minutes at the Grammys

Last night the 49th annual Grammy awards were on television. I watched about 10 45-second snippets.

The majority of groups nominated for awards were people I've only heard of, and even then, just a slight majority. Only a handful were people whose music I might actually be able to pick out of a lineup, and most of those were old crooners (Stevie Wonder and Tony Bennett were among the winners last night).

I realize how far off the mainstream music path my tastes have fallen. Its probably true that most of us most closely identify with the music of 7-10th grades. That's when we went to the city pool, when we first became consumers, when we listened to music in our spare time. For me, that was about 1984. The big albums of that era: Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA," Michael Jackson's "Thriller," and Huey Lewis' "Sports." Other big names were Lionel Ritchie, Cyndi Lauper, Billy Joel, Sting, Phil Collins, and Prince. Ironically, Ritchie sang at the Oscars, Prince was the Super Bowl halftime act and Joel the pre-game anthem singer. Sting led off the Grammy's with his Police band, and Springsteen won a Grammy for folk music. Huey Lewis was on a different stage -- the Pebble Beach ProAm.

While I still listen to the music of my youth on occasion (which also includes the music of my parents' youth, as it was often on the stereo in our home), my tastes now run toward music I can use today, namely, Christian hymns and worship songs. Call me old-fashioned, or just plain old -- either one would be accurate. I'm not hip to the Grammy's, that's for sure.

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A quick note for C.G. -- the reference call came Sunday night.