I’d like to start by saying that I love Herbie Hancock. He is a musical genius who has very rarely made anything that is anything less than spectacular. But Herbie as Grammy winner for Album of the Year? Come on, seriously!
I just said he’s a genius and he is. But Herbie Hancock winning Album of the Year is like Pele winning FIFA Player of the Year right now. It’s a lifetime achievement award disguised as something else. Musically his collection of reworked Joni Mitchell songs is probably far better than Kanye’s album or that god-forsaken Amy Winehouse, but that really makes no difference. You know why? Because no one has heard it.
I’m not saying that Album of the Year should have anything to do with sales figures. But I do think sales figures indicate something about an artist’s contemporary relevance. And at the end of the day, if it’s irrelevant to 99.99% of the population then it shouldn’t be Album of the Year.
