Why the Grammys don't matter

(Paul McCartney, Rihanna and Kanye West perform 'FourFiveSeconds' at the 57th Grammy Annual Awards on February 8 2015. Image - Just Jared)

For as long as I can remember, I've looked up to my brother.

Not just because he’s older and taller, mind. He has opinions, strong as himself, and speaks well, but not to the point where he is argumentative. He is extremely intelligent and well-informed, and has always challenged me to think for myself, and not what people tell me to think.

When it came to music, growing up, we rarely agreed on things. I went through the inevitable emo phase, (which I’m not sure I ever really came out of, being), and become obsessed with Fall Out Boy, much to his dismay. When he called them shit, or mocked Pete Wentz’s bass playing, I would defend them to the end.

He would never let up though. Comparing them to John Legend, (an artist we both love), he would always say, “but sure how many Grammys have they won?”

Big fat zero, that’s how many. I listed off the numerous awards they had managed to nab – MTV, Teen Choice, People’s Choice, Kerrang – but he would just laugh.

“They don’t matter!” he said. Artist after artist, he would make me question their credibility as musicians and artists.

Why is that the Grammys are held in such high esteem? What makes the number of Grammy awards a person has the best indication of quality?

Brace yourselves: it doesn't.

Now, that’s not to say that MTV awards and the like are only given to the finest of musicians – far from it. Simply put, the award has come to be nothing more than a title.

This goes without saying, but music taste is completely subjective. It would be impossible for the academy for the Grammys – or any judges board, for that matter – to compile a list that would please everyone.

Criticism of this year's ceremony has been extensive. After interrupting Beck's acceptance speech following his Album Of The Year Win, Kanye said it was all a joke, “like the Grammys themselves”. Ironic, considering he's performed for the academy countless times.

Memes have since circulated comparing Beck's 'Morning Phase' to Beyoncé's self-titled effort which attempt to undermine Kanye's comments about artistry, highlighting Beyoncé's extensive employment of song-writers. Pitting artists against each other like this only devalues the industry itself. Just because Beck arranged his album himself doesn't make it better than 'Beyoncé'. Likewise, Beyoncé's album doesn't trump 'Morning Phase' just because it's Beyoncé.

EDM giants Calvin Harris and Kaskade were also critical. At the inaugural GQ Grammy after-party, they slammed the telecast as “geriatric”, and complained that their music was unfairly represented. Most of the awards for dance categories were awarded before the main ceremony.

In 1989, rap and hip-hop communities initiated a boycott against the Recording Academy when their categories weren't televised. This year, rap and hip-hop artists were serious contenders within certain categories. This, however, has been overshadowed by the fact that this year's Grammys were 'the whitest in 35 years'.

In the past six years, Best Rap Album has gone to white male artists four times – Eminem and Macklemore. In the past four years, there were no black artists nominated for Best New Artist, Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year.

On top of that, Best Rap Album nominee rapper Iggy Azalea was a lightening rod for controversy, accused time after time of appropriating black culture and encouraging black erasure. When she lost out to Eminem's 'The Marshall Mathers LP 2', people reacted gleefully. But was she nominated for the sake of causing a stir? Was it just an attempt on the part of the Recording Academy to stay relevant?

It's not just the Grammys that have been getting a roasting. Resident crank Morrissey penned an open letter recently, criticised both the Brit Awards and the Mercury Prize for giving out awards to artists “who had not earned it”.

"The Brit Awards do not ask the public who they would like to see receive awards - for that would be to risk too much, yet the fierce insistence is that artists are rewarded for their prominence in the previous twelve months because, after all, 'it's what everybody wants'," he wrote.

"Thus, for 2015, we have MacDonna [Madonna], who had a quiet 2014 (but who is quite usefully about to release her new album!), yet here she is again promoting her frightening career on the Brit Awards even though her music has not ever said anything at all about British life."

Morrissey also wrote that awards are a cynical incentive to produce quality music. "At its most honest, the Brit Awards are unfairly given to singers who, it is hoped, might be encouraged enough by the award to actually write a good song. Just as the Mercury Prize lands like a voodoo doll in the hands of the unlucky recipient (who is usually to be found selling mattresses ten months later), a Brit Award generally goes to a lot of shriveled young souls who have not earned it, yet none are likely to ask 'are you sure I deserve it?' - possibly because they know the reply."

Comments on Morrissey's outburst varied. The most significant, however, was probably the one that read, “how can anyone get so bitter over something so insignificant?”

We are now living in age where, hopefully, people are beginning to realise that there is no correlation between the number of accolades an artist or band has garnered, and the quality of their music. People scour obscure music blogs and streaming services to find music they enjoy, and that's fine. Others rely on the charts or popular media when it comes to their listening preferences, and that's also fine.

My tastes have broadened since that conversation with my brother, (Fall Out Boy are still the one, though), and I am insatiable when it comes to my knowledge of music and culture. I'm still learning to form my opinions on things, and how not to be blinkered by mainstream media. My brother and I, we still don't agree on everything, and he still calls me out on my shit.

A couple of years ago, I posted a link to a Bruce Spingsteen song on my Facebook. I can't remember which one. I do remember, however, his comment underneath it.

“Wow, something good for once. I'm proud of you!”