It was the worst thing ever.

First, the presenters, or lack of presenters. Dustin Hoffman opened the show, and I swear he was high on PCP or something. He stumbled on lines, tried to sing No Doubt’s “Hey Baby” song by saying “Say baby say baby, hey”. Then they had the performers presenting the next segment. It was so tense watching them fumble, and seemed so disorganized.

Then, the sound, and performances in general. The sound for the performances was so messed up. Vocal volumes were cranked up, drowning out drum beats and guitar sounds. When Simon and Garfunkle played, I couldn’t hear Paul at all. Art was overpowering him, which I’m sure suited Art just fine since Paul’s been hogging the spotlight for so long. When No Doubt played, I swear I couldn’t hear the drum beat or bass guitar. What is normally a quick and jumpy song sounded slow and washed out.

The show itself was a mass of confusion. People tripping on lines, camera changes and messed up shots. People getting confused as to which side of the stage to exit. Graphics showing on the screen for split seconds, requiring me to pause my TiVo to even see what they said. It was an utter foul up.

The only reason I watch the Grammys is to get an idea of what people think is popular these days. I’m not much of a pop music fan, I’m usually going for stuff thats less known to the mainstream, but popular in it’s own circles. Seeing performers like Avril what’s her name is lame, as if her style of music is cutting edge or something. I’ve seen countless punk bads, even as a kid, that used to churn out the same chorus-chorus-verse crap she puts out, but far better.

Watching the Grammys gives me further motivation to encourage people to put a little more effort into looking for good music outside of the mainstream. When you support local or independant music, your dollars are usually going directly to the artist, until they sign to a major label, at which point you start the cycle again.

If you don’t seek out good music, you get the 2003 Grammys. A filthy waste of time.