i enjoyed it all... you have to picture me splayed out in bed with one
of my cats on the pillow above my head and the other one sleeping
next to my feet... and wife by my side sharing snacks!! Lazy Sunday, indeed!

What floored me was when John Mayer said he was 16!! and all of it
was happening too fast, etc... nice little speech, I thought....

Was it just me or was there a bit of emphasis on real musicians 
playing, whether
it was backing Eminem or the Philarmonic (man! I dug those drummers... one guy
had a wide-assed set of toms or whatever they were....)... even NSync 
sounded alright
acapella.... the New York subtext was great... from Simon & Garfunkel 
(interesting subject
matter in that old song) to Bruuce.... I thought the speech from the 
president guy was positive
and interesting.... all in all, very enjoyable .... did they EVER 
catch Diana Krall in frame with
Elvis Costello? When they first announced they're dating - it was a 
MAJOR story here in vancouver
since she's from these parts...Elvis - how do you do it?

Norah Jones - good for her... I was talking to a friend of mine who 
knows Jesse harris and he remembers
seeing her play to 12 people in a New York bar barely two years 
ago.... yeah, ok, some of it sounds
like it's been done before... but the thing is... it isn't being done 
NOW... I like the album myself (DON'T
like the Hank cover) but what's cool about Norah Jones and even Diana 
Krall is the old-school heavy weights
behind the production chairs....

The other thing I was gonna mention is.... I think most musicians are 
able to vote if they pass
the qualifications for joining the Academy - I think you have to have 
had an album out in the past year or
something... I could be wrong....and the cash to join, of course! 
Voting is cool - I'm a member of the canadian equivalent and get all 
the ballots and newsletters and stuff.

All in all, it was a cheap way to check out acts I usually wouldn't 
care about or be exposed to... and....
Steve Van zandt bobbing around and him & dave grohl pointing their 
pick hands in unison....total bar rock...
yeah! Down by the river..... down by the banks of the River 
Charles... now THAT'S a tune I would've
paid to see them do.....no disrespect to  The Clash but ......can you 
imagine.....

that's my 2 cents

Ralph
Dig that crazy Bongo Beat!
Visit my web site
Http://www.bongobeat.com