So another musically sucky year "officially" draws to a close with The Grammys.

Instead of going on a mad rant about how much I really loathe this particular awards show, I've decided to pick a handful of winners and comment on their particular category and congratulate them on doing such a "Good Job (TM)" this year.

Best Reggae Album -- "Jamaican E.T.," Lee "Scratch" Perry, Sanctuary Records/Trojan Records

Okay, this is actually kind of cute and I'm not going to say ol' Lee doesn't have a hell of a history behind him...but that's just where his history lies. This genius of a dub producer really hasn't done anything of note for at least a decade or more. I guess the Grammy voters just sort of recognized the name and went, "Oh yeah, he's good!"

Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical -- "Hella Good," Roger Sanchez, remixer (No Doubt), Interscope Records

The proper way to read the above category is best re-mix of the year and it's supposed to be dance based. Of all the re-mixed dance records that came out last year we're supposed to believe No Doubt's tune was the one burning up floors the world over with its incredibly manipulated beats? Right. Gag.

Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical -- Arif Mardin, "Come Away with Me," Blue Note Records

I could go on and on about Norah Jones and how completely middle-of-the-road I consider her to be. I can admit she has a pleasant voice and "Come Away With Me" is definitely a sleepy Sunday album that finds its way into my stereo on a fairly regular basis but she is -- admit it -- the aural equivalent of baby formula. It's strangely pleasant but you're reasonably sure it's not all it could be. That said, I can think of far better produced albums this year, but hey, every year's gotta have their golden girl, right? Let's hope this doesn't completely kill her career, eh?

Best Rock Instrumental Performance -- "Approaching Pavonis Mons By Balloon, The Flaming Lips, Warner Bros. Records

Okay, not exactly the award I'd like to see the Lips win but it's always nice to see a band with real talent honored in some way...even if a Grammy is a back-handed compliment at best.

Best Hard Rock Performance -- "All My Life," Foo Fighters, RCA/Roswell Records
Best Alternative Music Album -- "A Rush Of Blood To The Head," Coldplay, Capitol Records
Best Metal Performance -- "Here To Stay," Korn, Epic/Immortal Records

Since when is there a difference between any of these genres anymore?

I’ve run out of steam…just looking at the lists of winners – the supposed cream of the musical crop – is enough to make even the most casual music fan cry…

In regards to over-packed night-clubs and the like...

...all I can say, especially after working in places like these for the last umpteen years or so, is that when a crowd panics on a large level there is no way someone viewing the situation from a fairly rational view-point after the fact can really be allowed to judge the actions of people caught within a particular moment in time.