lifetime achievement award

Last night I watched – on and off – the Grammys for about 2hours. If you watched, the broadcast of the award show is much more about performances than the actual presentation of awards, but hell… that’s why I watched.

Anyway, while watching it got me thinking about the music I like. Nay, the music I’m drawn to. Upon reflection I discovered 2things that will make a song timeless (for me).

1. harmony: This can really be broken down even further to a) songs with existing, tight vocal harmonies and b) songs to which I can harmonize. I love love love me some good harmony. If given the option – whether vocally or instrumentally – I will always choose to sing/play the harmony. Preferably a lower harmony. Nonetheless, if it’s good, it’s good. If there is (potential for) a killer harmony on a song, it will be in high rotation on my iPod. Done.

and

2. melody: This may seem fairly obvious – in order to like a song, you must first like the melody, right? And yeah, sure. However, in order for me to truly respect a song as a piece of art, the melody must be challenging enough that I couldn’t sing it well a cappella. Now, I don’t fancy myself a “singer,” but I can carry a tune. And if your melody is complicated and challenging enough that I can’t sing it without accompaniment, you have me sold. I would like to add the caveat here, though, that the song must still sound good. It doesn't mean anything to just string together a series of notes that can’t be replicated if it sounds like musical vomit.

With that in mind, last night I was practically drooling over a few performances due mostly to point #1: Muse, Lady Antebellum, Mumford & Sons, and the musical tribute to Dolly Parton by Norah Jones, Keith Urban and Johnny Depp John Mayer.

However, none of this is to say that I won’t still love and appreciate any other song and/or performance (see: Cee Lo, Gywneth Paltrow & the Muppets singing “Forget You”). It just may not be on my playlist 5years from now.   

But until then, let’s rock out.