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THE ALBUM OF THE YEAR
It is curious to see an album like "River - The Joni Letters" by Herbie Hancock getting the Grammy for "album of the year" (It also got the Grammy's "best jazz contemporary album"). In my point of view, there are several things hidden in this fact - which was inclusively mentioned by the press as a surprise. I've heard the album. It has nice performances, nice arrangements, good harmonies and good moments - mainly because of Mr. Wayne Shorter, who seems to not care about the asepsis all over the CD - he plays f...ing great! The album features singers such as Tina Turner, Norah Jones, Joni Mitchell herself (which the lyrics inspired the whole project), Corinne Bailey Rae, and the brazilian Luciana Souza. On the last track, Leornard Cohen recites "Jungle Line'. It is important to say that four of ten songs in the album are instrumental. This fact, in my opinion, deserves attention, since the instrumental songs represents 40% of a record that wins a prize like "album of the year" (regardless if it is by Grammy or by any other institution). But, talking about Herbie Hancock, it is a pretty much commercial and well-behaved work if compared to his previous albums - which made his name to be a synonym of quality. But the question is not to judge if the album deserves or not the award. In the first place, I wouldn't use this argument, simply for not taking serious a competition like this, where the spirit is "we (The Cultural Industry) do, and we give prizes for what we do". In second place, the album is good, if compared with what has been done recently in the USA. The main question is: what's the message that the phonographic industry is giving to us by this? For me it is clear: "The artist can be the most talent as a composer, performer, improviser, arranger and etc., but he/she will need the artists that WE projected to get real success". It is like a sustentation for (an) arguments such as "Only when Herbie recorded with Norah Jones and Tina Turner he got the prize of the album of the year". It is idiot, but it has the "bless" of the Grammy... To see an artist like Herbie Hancock winning this prize makes me remember the cynicism of some TV channels, which are obligated by the law to exhibit educational TV shows, and they really do, but at 05.00 a.m.! This industry's cynicism reach for his peak when you realize that the prize came precisely when the pianist releases his work that fits more to the "system". Trying to clear the cultural industry concept, I bring the german philosopher Theodor Wiesengrund Adorno (1903 - 1969) up, who was the first one to deny the term "mass culture" to create the term "Cultural industry', which according to him "stops the formation of autonomous human beings, independent , able to judge and decide with conscious". In other words, for the cultural industry, people are mere objects. And through the constant press massacre, the person becomes a machine that buys anything. Adorno still mentions: "Interested on men just as consumers or employees, the cultural industry reduces the mankind, in its group, like each one of its elements, to the conditions which personates its interests". It is important to make it clear which the mass media conquers the costumers by the familiarity, and not for the taste. Mentioning one more time Adorno, the article " The Fetishism in Music and the Hearing Regression", he says: "If we ask someone if he enjoys a successful song released in the market, we couldn't steal ourselves the suspicion that liking and not liking already not corresponds to the real state, even if this person answers in terms of enjoy or not enjoy. Instead of the value of the thing, the criterion of judging is the fact of the successful song being known by everyone; to enjoy an successful album is almost the same thing of being aware of it.' Detail: this text was written in 1938! And it translates exactly what happens today: the individual listen to a atrocity on the radio, thinks it sucks and laugh. But, after one week listening to this, he is already whistling the melody and even the keyboard introduction... So, from this to buy the album is just a step! I am not tired to say: genuine culture is not coming to people. What comes easy - "the best sellers", "the best winners of contests", etc. - is what they want you to buy. Then I ask: who's going to be the next lucky one to get the "album of the year" prize, Sonny Rollins? Ornette Coleman? I don't think so. Only if they record with someone like Justin Timberlake or Beyoncé. that would be a nice hook for the prize... Well, I keep laughing of those who still believes in the importance of this prizes, and even more of the people who record albums with the minimum amount of songs waiting for a nomination for the Grammy. That's hilarious! Be aware! Or watch to the next ceremony... Michel Leme, 03/05/08. *Thanks to Bruno Bacchi (Single Note Communication) for the argumentation. Check the website: http://michelleme.com
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