Grammy's Going Gaga

It wasn't entirely Lady Gaga's night but folks are definitelly listening and tuning in because her The Fame hauled in wins for best Electronic/Dance album and Best Dance Recording at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards. On the music industry's biggest night of the year some other winners were Taylor Swift (Album of the Year), Kings of Leon (Record of the Year), Zac Brown Band (Best New Artist), and Beyonce (Song of the Year). Am I the only one who always wondered about what the difference was between some of these categories? I still go to record shops and buy 12" vinyl records. Isn't that an album too? If 'Best Record' category is for a single song by an artist, then what about 'Best Song'? Isn't that a record too? You see where I'm at? If you're looking for a bit of clarification you can find out more at the winners page on the Grammy's Website.

Every year I end up thinking not about the winners and losers but about how much music the Grammy Awards show is missing out on. Greg Kot's recent article does a nice job of pointing this out without knocking the platinum selling artists off their pedestal. There's not room for everybody at the big show but there's plenty of good music out there. Don't listen to the naysayers who tell you there hasn't been any good music since 1968, or 1982, or 1991, or _____. It seems like I'm always cajoling you to use your library card to explore some new (maybe unheard, maybe unheard of) music from our collection. What better way to take a chance on something you have absolutely NO idea what it sounds like? NO idea if you would like or not? The great thing about the library's music collection -- and forgive me if I end up sounding like a broken record (pun intended) -- but we have the Grammy winners and nominees (ok, most of 'em) as well as current new releases from artists that might be celebrating at next year at the Grammy's. Yep, we have ALL that and a lot more.

Do you sometimes take a trip to the library to peruse the new fiction or non-fiction books looking for something that might jump out and appeal to you that you'd otherwise never heard of before? Do you do the same thing with our music collection? Come in sometime and give it a try. You might be surprised what you can find.