Various Artists

Today's Grammy Awards are much more credible than they were in the bad old days, when nausea-inducing performers such as Christopher Cross were regularly treated like musical geniuses instead of stains on humanity. But that doesn't mean that all of the acts with a chance to receive trophies during the...

By Michael Roberts

February 10, 2005

Audio By Carbonatix

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Today's Grammy Awards are much more credible than they were in the bad old days, when nausea-inducing performers such as Christopher Cross were regularly treated like musical geniuses instead of stains on humanity. But that doesn't mean that all of the acts with a chance to receive trophies during the 47th annual ceremony, scheduled for Sunday, February 13, deserve the opportunity.

Sure, there are good songs on this sampler, including Green Day's "American Idiot," Kanye West's "Through the Wire" and the Black Eyed Peas' "Let's Get It Started" -- which was more pungent under its original title, "Let's Get Retarded," but pretty catchy, nonetheless. However, many of the other efforts are dull (Los Lonely Boys' "Heaven"), safe (Seal's "Love Divine"), tepid (Norah Jones's "Sunrise"), putrid (John Mayer's "Daughters") and, yes, nausea-inducing (Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up," which makes even some Christopher Cross tunes seem tolerable in comparison).

Before watching the Grammys, make sure you've stocked up on stain remover. It'll come in handy.

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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