Re: THE GRAMMYS - Jewish Music Categories 2002

[Joshua Horowitz <horowitz...>]

Budowitz Website: http://www.budowitz.com

Now there's a hot one! I don't know if this issue has been brought onto the
list before, but I just want to express my personal feelings about this:

When I first read the plea, below, I thought, "This is great, after all,
what would give me a better chance to get a Grammy than to make a special
category for Jewish music?" I mean, there are enough other somewhat
left-of-mainstream-center categories for the Grammies (the Gospel category,
for instance, might be a good analogy), why shouldn't we get one of those
categories?

In fact, who doesn't want a Grammy? The reasons I want one are as follows:
1) It looks good on a resume, even if you're only nominated.
2) It raises record sales by at least 0.5 %
3) If you are nominated you can spend a couple of days worrying about
spending your theoretical future payroll on clothes that really show who you
are
4) You get to attend the ceremony and wait for thousands of others to get
their prize before that moment of glory and maybe even drink a beer with one
of your idols
5) You get to tell your family and buddies that finally you've gotten the
recognition you've worked your whole life for and wave your certificate in
front of all those who said you should have gotten a day job
6) You get to stay home after that waiting for the calls that will now
surely pour in because, after all, you just won a Grammy

It could easily be argued that the Grammies need more categories, and these
should bring balance to the ones that already exist. If Gospel, a distinctly
Christian genre, can be chosen, why not Cantorial, a distinctly Jewish one?
Gospel, which is commonly represented as an Afro-American genre comprised of
a particular downtrodden ethnic minority (actually thousands of geoethnic
minorities and many religious subgroups, but lets not get into that), could
be balanced by Cantorial, which is represented as a Jewish genre comprised
of a particular downtrodden ethnic minority (actually thousands of geoethnic
minorities and one religious one, but lets not get into that), but after we
do that, where do we stop?

I personally would love to see a category created for the Tundran Yukagiry
people (they are among the last 900 on the planet who speak Yukagiry,
paleo-asiatic language, and whose religion is animist shaman). And lets also
not forget the Sunnitic Cryzans and Caucasian Gaputes, but hey, those just
represent my personal taste.

If we rule out any of these ethnicities/genres/religions we place ourselves
smack in the middle of the question of: "Does popularity have anything to do
with the creation of a new Grammy category?" After all, we probably don't
get the music of these peoples because Sony or World Circuit haven't yet
sent producers out to exploit them for mass consumption and put them on the
map like they've done with Tuvan throat singing and Cuban lounge music.

If popularity is a pre-factum condition for new Grammy categories, then
you'll just have to rule out most of the diverse types of music found on
this planet. There's just no comparison between Dolly Parton and the Cantor
of the Dohynanyi Synagogue - as impressive as his Kol Nidre is.

Personally, I feel ashamed to ask for a special category. Somehow I still
have hopes that my music has enough intrinsic musical qualities to win the
female pop singer category on its own merits, and believe to this day that
if I had remained a virgin and pierced my navel, I could have had a real go
at that title.

Don't get me wrong, I'm as desperate to get a Grammy as the next pathetic
Git who says he or she doesn't need accolades but secretly paints the
envelope of the CD being sent out with different colored magic markers so
that it will be noticed by the person opening it.

Still, I just can't bring myself to believe that winning the Grammy for
"best European klezmer group that uses a flatted second note over a leading
tone" would have any meaning for me and may potentially even embarrass me.
But maybe I'm just dreaming. Secretly. Josh Horowitz

>> January, 2001
>>
>> Dear Jewish Music Enthusiast:
>>
>> REBBESOUL MUSIC, on behalf of Jewish music artists and fans throughout the
>> country, will be submitting a proposal to the National Academy of Recording
>> Arts and Sciences (NARAS) Awards and Nominations Committee to establish new
>> GRAMMY Categories for 2002:
>>
>> JEWISH MUSIC CATEGORIES
>> Female Solo Performance
>> Male Solo Performance
>> Duo/Group Performance
>>
>> The proposal will be submitted to the Committee on February 25, 2001.  It
>> needs to be accompanied by your letters of support for these new Jewish Music
>> Categories in order to be considered for inclusion in the 2002 GRAMMY Awards.
>> We need YOUR support and the support of your colleagues and friends.  Our
time
>> is NOW!
>>
>> Please mail, fax or e-mail (as a Word document) us a letter of support on
your
>> letterhead explaining why Jewish music is unique, does not fit into any other
>> GRAMMY music category and why the time is now for Jewish music to be added in
>> the three categories named above.  Please also include any supporting data
you
>> have, such as distribution of recordings, awards you may have received,
>> petitions, documentation, etc.  Please be sure to include your contact
>> information (name, phone number/s, e-mail address, complete mailing address,
>> including zip).  Let's make it happen for 2002!
>>
>> The Awards and Nominations Committee meets in April to make its decision, and
>> we need to make this a nationwide campaign to let our voices/music be heard.
>> Ask friends, recording artists, media contacts (radio, television, web-based
>> program personalities), press (publishers, editors), venue owners, producers,
>> writers, publicists, screenwriters, record label heads, members of NARAS,
>> booking agents, managers, distributors, heads of organizations, politicians,
>> rabbis, cantors, promoters, fans?.to join us in our campaign.
>>
>> Thank you!  We will make it happen, and we'll celebrate at the 2002 Grammy
>> Awards!  Please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any
questions,
>> comments or suggestions.  This is a team effort, and we are counting on YOU!
>>
>> We will also be submitting a list of Jewish Music recordings (CDs) released
>> between October 1, 1999 and September 30, 2000.   If you have a contribution,
>> please send it immediately to RebbeSoul Music to be considered for submission
>> to the Awards and Nominations Committee.  If you know of any other artist who
>> fits into this category, please ask him/her to contact us now.
>>
>> Thank you for your support, and I welcome you as you join us on our Jewish
>> musical journey.   See you at the GRAMMYS!
>>
>> Shalom/Peace,
>>
>> Linda Yelnick, Agent
>
>> NARAS Member
>
> leahhaifa (at) usa(dot)net
>
> www.rebbesoul.com
>
> 520 South El Camino Real, Suite 320
> San Mateo, CA 94402
> Phone/Fax:  650 692-1723
>
>>
>>
>
>
>

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