The Biggest Night in Music

Everyone who loves music tuned in on Sunday night to watch the 56th annual Grammy Awards as the biggest names in the industry came out to honor one another.  Overall, the show was what I expected it to be.  It started off with a bang as Beyonce put on a stunning performance joined by husband Jay-Z which I'm sure made everyone think, how am I going to top that??  Other notable performances followed including a dark, satanic like performance from Katy Perry and a high flying, acrobatic blowout by Pink which seemed straight out of Cirque du Soleil.  Green Day's Billy Joe Armstrong and Norah Jones did a wonderful acoustic tribute to the Everly Brothers, and Metallica did a rousing, albeit non-traditional performance of "One" accompanied by pianist Lang Lang.  The big winners of the night were definitely Daft Punk taking home Album of the Year and Record of the Year among others.  It was also the year of Lorde as the 17 year old took home Song of the Year for smash hit "Royals" and Best Solo Pop Performance for the same.  While Beyonce didn't take anything home, Jay-Z managed to win what he called a "sippy cup" for daughter Blue Ivy, taking home best Rap Collaboration for "Holy Grail" featuring Justin Timberlake.  As a fan of rock and roll however, the night was a massive disappointment.  Metal and rock fans worldwide did a double take as Jeff Hanneman, incredibly influential lead guitarist for Slayer, who sadly passed away this past year, was left out of the award shows tribute to fallen members of the music community.  In addition, the one rock act slated to perform, a super group made up of Josh Homme and Queens of the Stone Age, Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails, Dave Grohl on drums, and Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham, was cut short as advertisements and credits began to roll over their closing performance.  That being said, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney performed together with Ringo on his kit and McCartney on piano which was moving as the Beatles were honored with a lifetime achievement award that night.  However, the best moment of the night for rock fans was when McCartney took home an award for Best Rock Song alongside Dave Grohl and fellow ex-Nirvana band mates Krist Noveselic and Pat Smear for "Cut Me Some Slack" a song recorded in only three hours at Grohls studio in California during the filming of his documentary Sound City.  Overall, the night was entertaining with many people taking home awards which were undoubtedly deserved.  However, it also served as a reminder of the ever increasing efforts to push rock and roll underground.