Does Anyone Watch the Grammys?

Another year and another awards ceremony I won't be watching.

Are any of the nominees and/or performers known for anything other than controversy? Does anyone remember when the recording industry was about music and relevance? (This is the post where I come off sounding like a poor man's Lester Bangs.)

I was looking at the top ten songs on iTunes, and the only artist I recognized as someone known strictly for his music was Tom Petty. The rest are names I wish I didn't know or couldn't care less about.

Here's my take on recording artists' lame names.

• A name that sounds stolen from an alien character in any given Alan Dean Foster sci-fi novel
• A stage name seemingly made up by the musician for their 5th grade talent show that they never tried to improve
• First choice on an uncreative parent's short list; second choice: Kilometery
• Estranged brother of the Kingston Trio making it under his own steam; an Andy Gibb for the 21st century
• Perfect name given by the parents of the decade