Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

53rd Grammy Awards - Hawaiian Music Nominees

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #31
    Re: 53rd Grammy Awards - Hawaiian Music Nominees

    Originally posted by scrivener View Post
    This is not good. If Cyril thinks the other nominees were that much better than the winning entry, he's certainly entitled to that opinion and I don't begrudge his expressing it. But this stuff goes beyond the music itself and now I only want to root against him.
    You're not alone. One of my sources over at MIDWEEK says they're already getting a lot of e-mails, mostly anti Cyril. Next week's Letters section should be interesting.
    .
    .

    That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

    Comment


    • #32
      Re: 53rd Grammy Awards - Hawaiian Music Nominees

      I read and re-read the MidWeek responses cited. And here are my reactions to both of them.

      1) Tia, Amy, and Daniel (who I will collectively refer to as TAD) pointed out the pink elephant in the room that nobody else wanted to publicly acknowledge. And that is, their detractors were playing the race card.

      Many have complained that “Mainland voters are ignorant of Hawaiian music.” But as stated, voters are professionals in the recording arts. They judge musical quality, regardless of celebrity, residence, sales, air-play or race.
      Amy’s presence renders attacks of race and authenticity groundless
      TAD goes on to explain and detail the involvment of native Hawaiians in their work. Of course, their detractors know all of this already. What the detractors don't have the guts to say is something along the lines of; "Tia and Daniel don't deserve to win the Hawaiian Grammy because the award should go to a frontman or woman who is Hawaiian."

      2) When given a opportunity by MidWeek to state his opinion as to why TAD was not deserving of a Grammy, Cyril cites chart data, sales numbers, the location of the recording work.... all of which are supposed to be irrelevant to the awarding of a Grammy, no matter what category you're talking about.

      Cyril could have talked about the artistic/cultural merits (or lack thereof) of TAD's album. It would have been a personal opinion. But coming from him, at least his opinion would have carried some weight. Unfortunately, he doesn't take that route;

      I think, given the biographical music history of our CD contributors and the other albums up, Ledward Kaapana vs. Tia Carerre, it is a no-brainer.
      On comparing the artistic merits of the nominees, is that all Cyril could come up with? "It is a no-brainer." Geez.

      Behind the public display of the Aloha spirit and participants acting like one big Ohana, it's no secret that a lot of backroom politics takes place when it comes to events like Na Hoku awards and the Merrie Monarch festival. The local media may ignore it, but the complaints are there every year about some winners being underserving, but being fortunate enough to be in the good graces of the right clique. These complaints go way back and are nothing new. Local performers (both in and out of this clique) have learned to accept it as a fact of life.

      But I think what's happening here with the Hawaiian Grammy is this: Some of these performers who have long been used to receiving accolades and praise from the local media are miffed when a respected organization like NARAS doesn't play along with the same game that takes places when it comes to handing out awards like Na Hoku. That's my theory, at least. Musicians believing all the headlines and hype that are heaped on them by the local media. And when an organization like NARAS doesn't play along with that game, it's a bitter pill for them to swallow.

      Originally posted by Leo Lakio View Post
      Moving forward, will more qualified individuals join The Recording Academy and get involved in the process, as some of us have already done for many, many years? If they can but do not, then they have no room to express complaints about how an industry operates their own celebration of their peers.
      Leo, what you say is absolutely right. Those who criticize the Grammy selection should do as you say. That would be the logical thing to do. Unfortunately, logic doesn't always prevail in these situations.

      Most of us know of someone who always seems to have a chip on their shoulder. They'll say stuff like, "Oh, I can't get anywhere in this company because the boss doesn't like ________s. He hates _______s." But when an opportunity comes to apply for a higher position (with more responsibilities) that Mr. Complainer is qualified for, he holds back. Why? Because Mr. Complainer doesn't want to face the possibility of perhaps failing at his new job and coming to grips with his shortcomings. He would rather point his finger at excuses rather than facing the truth. Same with these disgruntled critics of TAD. It's so much more comforting to blame a Grammy loss on Grammy voters who are "ignorant mainlanders" rather than facing up to the same loss...... but with an increased number of voters who do hail from the islands. IOW, Leo, your suggestion would strip away the last excuse that TAD's detractors are able to cling to.

      And that frightens them.
      This post may contain an opinion that may conflict with your opinion. Do not take it personal. Polite discussion of difference of opinion is welcome.

      Comment

      Working...
      X