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I’m not jaded. I promise. But I’ve never really been able to get into the Oscars or the Grammys simply based on the shear spectacle of it all. Plus, I can’t stand the hours and hours of coverage that wastes my time with news of who’s wearing what, if you want to call that news. However, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to appreciate the Oscars, and completely despise the Grammys. It may have something to do with my discovery of the Oscar pool, but I like to think it has to do more with substance.

You see, the Oscars manage to show appreciation for movies that are legitimately good. I’m a bit older than used to be and I live with my girlfriend so naturally, I see alot more movies in the theater than I used to. If you asked me what my favorite films of the year are I’d say Benjamin Button, Slumdog Millionaire, The Dark Knight and maybe The Reader, with Slumdog taking the cake. For best actor I’d go with Sean Penn (Milk), Heath Ledger (Dark Knight) or Richard Jenkins (The Visitor). The point is, the nominees and winners are actually a reflection of the art. Of course there are some politics at work, but in the end the people who win deserve to.

At the very same time, the Grammys do exactly the opposite. Well, not EXACTLY the opposite…it’s not like Beyonce wins for her LACK of talent. But it’s all about showmanship and popularity and record sales and mainstream radio. I’d like to think that being able to pull off a character like Harvey Milk (Milk) or Hanna Schmitz (The Reader) requires much more talent and (especially) craft than singing a hit song that someone else wrote, or playing three or four chords. What makes it difficult to really judge everyone from a level playing field is that amount of stuff out there. You couldn’t very well list all the singles or records that could qualify for best of the year, even if you were taking a more appreciative approach. So unfortunately, we’re left with the standard measurements by which the populations decides what’s good, and what isn’t. What you hear when you turn on the radio. What you see on the racks when you’re shopping at Target, or Walmart. The Grammys are a show…and that’s it.

I don’t know why I feel the need to rant about this stuff, or if there’s really even a possible solution. Pop culture is pop culture for a reason…because the populace eats it up. It would be nice if we had an alternative to the Grammy here in the US, sort of like the Mercury Prize in the UK. If you’ve never heard of it, the Mercury Prize was established in ‘92 in response to the industry-dominated BRIT Awards and has a reputation for being awarded to those with outside chances, rather than the favorites. I don’t know…South By Southwest has a reputation for highlighting breaking bands at their live event…maybe they’ll sponsor an award?

Someone get me South By Southwest on the phone.