DEBORAH CROMBIE: The lede here should be just one word–JONI. She is everywhere this week, and so deservedly so. But let's back up just a bit and talk about more than her stunning performance at the Grammys on Sunday.
These "What We're Watching" chats are more difficult than they used to be, because there are so few opportunities for a communal broadcast experience these days. As much as I love streaming, we don't all have access to the same shows, and there is so much to choose from!
But the Grammys are LIVE on broadcast TV, and music is something that touches all our experiences and associations. It connects us, and, boy, did it connect us on Sunday night. I know everyone will have seen clips by now of Joni Mitchell's iconic performance of Both Sides Now, interspersed with talking head chatter. But I hope you watched it as it happened, because it was a moment that those of us who did won't easily forget. I'm still buzzing two days later.
What a night for women!! (The guys might as well have stayed home…) And not just Joni. The fabulous Tracy Chapman! Annie Lennox. Miley!! Dua Lippa. Mariah. Billie Eilish. Brandi Carlisle. Lizzo. Zsa. boygenius. Celine.
And Taylor Swift, of course, winning her 4th Best Album, with such grace and generosity, and having an absolutely terrific time. What I loved most about all of this was the thread running between these artists, how they've inspired and supported one another, how their journeys have fed our journeys and woven themselves into the soundtracks of our lives.
And I have to wonder, if Taylor is performing on that stage when she's eighty, what that will mean to the generation that has grown up with her as an integral part of their lives...
How about it, REDs? Did you watch? Did you love it? Favorite moments?
JENN McKINLAY: For me, it was Tracy Chapman. 100%. I love all the other artists, as well, but Fast Car came out when I was 20 and just figuring out who I was and where I wanted to go with my life. To have it circle back and hit the top of the charts again with the recent respectful and reverent rendition by Luke Combs–especially when I am, weirdly, figuring out who I am once again as my children are out of the nest and my writing career is making another pivot–well, it was just incredible. I felt that performance all the way to my soul.
DEBS:Tracy was mesmerizing, Jenn, I agree, and I was so glad that Luke Combs shared what the song meant to him. She was a touchstone for him, as Joni was for Brandi, and Taylor, and so it goes on. Kind of like the way writers build on one another, and support one another. I definitely felt the same sense of community.
Readers, were there special moments, or artists, for you?
