Really? This won the Grammy for best song

[Miigwech]

I am really getting old. Weird.

[JaneyVee]

1. Because it's a great song.

[bravenak]

3. Yup!nt

[Agschmid]

6. Yup!

[TDale313]

7. Yep.

I had no problem with that win, personally.

[Electric Monk]

9. Tom Petty thinks so, too

http://www.businessinsider.com/sam-smith-pays-tom-petty-royalties-over-stay-with-me-2015-1

[Agschmid]

16. Wow.

[DebJ]

25. Wow. Just wow. n/t

[hifiguy]

71. Nearly note for note plagiarism.

Wow.

[Mojorabbit]

22. Holy Moly! nt

[world wide wally]

26. Exactly what I always thought

[ND-Dem]

29. pretty blatant steal

[Warpy]

32. All art is derivative, especially music.

I might find it a bit easier to forgive if I liked the song. I don't.

[ND-Dem]

34. that's more than derivative.

[joshcryer]

55. Everything's a Remix

[ND-Dem]

75. note for note rip-off

[Arugula Latte]

74. I do think it's possible to write a "rip-off" song without realizing it

at the time. We've all heard so many thousands and thousands of songs over our lifetimes, I'm sure you could easily just "come up with it on your own" whether you were subconsciously channeling another song or not.

[mimi85]

33. Amazing!

I hadn't even heard this Sam Smith's song. We're way past the current Grammy bunch, where the question of the day seemed to be "who are you wearing". I'm from the show up in jeans years. Yep, Tom deserves every penny from what I can hear.

[rocktivity]

37. THEY GAVE A GRAMMY TO A RIPPED-OFF SONG???

That deserves a one hundred headbang salute -- thanks for standing up for rock and roll, Tom Petty!














rocktivity

[Orrex]

73. Girl

You know it's true.

[Cha]

49. Well, it certainly was an amicable settlement.. Tom Petty gets 12.5% Profits and

Songwriting credits with Jeff Lynne.. and of course, Sam Smith, James Napier, and William Phillips.

Thank you for the link.. interesting!

[Historic NY]

56. Glad to see Tom Petty won't back down.

[ScreamingMeemie]

64. Tom Petty has actually been pretty cool about it.

Because Tom Petty was born cool.

[n2doc]

63. Barf

Barfy song, Barfy lyrics, fake 'soul'. I remember last year when the top 40 radio started pushing this garbage on heavy rotation. Channel Changer.

(on edit- I don't mean "I don't back down" That one is ok, not TP's best but I was never a real fan of his collaborations with mr. ELO)

[whatchamacallit]

70. Unintentional plagiarism at best

It's pretty easy to get into "trouble territory" when your chorus is a three chord phrase (IV, V, I) and your melody is a 6 note motif of chord tones. That said, close enough for rock and roll was a little too close in this case.

[louis-t]

76. Aww, you beat me to it.

I didn't know he had to pay royalties for Petty's song. It was obvious to me the first time I heard it.

[Atman]

41. Wow...that's what's considered a "great song" these days?

I couldn't listen to that auto tuned pap. Does anyone know how to play instrument anymore? Just more Garage Band laptop crap.

[giftedgirl77]

60. Yes indeed it is!!!!

[bravenak]

2. Damn. I love that song, lol!

I romance my hubby to that one.

[Agschmid]

4. Then you are gonna hate this remix...

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1zm8sg_sam-smith-stay-with-me-rainer-grimm-remix_music

Dance the night away my friends, congrats Sam!

[lunasun]

5. Really! Sam Smith won a lot tonight

[countryjake]

8. I'm not watching, but I'd advise a SPOILER alert on your subject line...

just to be on the safe side. The people on the West Coast have yet to hear who has won that award. (At least, I don't think so.)

I love the song. Liked it the very first time I listened to it, too.

[Agschmid]

10. Oh my favorite gay bear version... PLEASE GO HOME!

Y'all might find this offensive .

[Kalidurga]

14. I like this version better.

[Agschmid]

17. Yup, its pretty true to real life haha.

[SMC22307]

24. Offensive?

Not in the least. Meeting on the dance floor, finger toothbrush, I want to be alone, yep, yep... regardless of orientation!

[TeeYiYi]

40. That's perfect. :D ..nt

TYY

[lunasun]

69. +1 Or love it !! HA

[WorseBeforeBetter]

81. LOL... that's better than the original! (n/t)

[napkinz]

11. He should sue Tom Petty! :)

[Miigwech]

21. same song ... theft alright ...

and the newer version sounds like the guy needs a diaper change!

[world wide wally]

27. While we're at it, check out Fleetwood Mac's "Over My Head" with a song done by Irish singer

John Martyn called "Over My The Hill" which was done about 3 years prior to the Fleetwood Mac song.

Sorry, I don't know how to load them, but you'll see what I mean.

[Straw Man]

35. Here they are.

I see the similarities, but the Petty/Smith pair are a closer match. They're even in the same key. (Key of G -- the Petty song shows no sharps in the key signature, but it contains a D-major chord and resolves to a G-major chord.) Looking at the sheet music, you can see that the melody is virtually identical.

[world wide wally]

43. WOW! Thanks

[Straw Man]

53. Y'r welcome!

[Beaverhausen]

52. Petty sued and won

http://consequenceofsound.net/2015/01/tom-petty-awarded-songwriting-royalties-for-sam-smiths-stay-with-me/

[SunSeeker]

54. Petty did not "win" in court, it was amicably resolved out of court.

From your link:

“After it was pointed out to Sam’s camp, they didn’t try to fight it and amicably dished out royalties. It wasn’t a deliberate thing, musicians are just inspired by other artists and Sam and his team were quick to hold up their hand when it was officially flagged.”

http://consequenceofsound.net/2015/01/tom-petty-awarded-songwriting-royalties-for-sam-smiths-stay-with-me/

[mia]

12. Love the song - always turn it up on my car radio.

Not crazy about the video though.

[herding cats]

13. His voice, I love it.

It does something to me, and I like it!

The best thing about music, is how it evolves.

The Evolution Of Popular Music By Year (1890-2009)

Music Melody- A History of the Evolution of Music (1928-2012)

Music is supposed to evoke emotion and move us. It has since we first beat two sticks together and created a beat, and will continue to do so in its own fashion, as time moves forward.

[Mira]

15. Well - little bit of self disclosure here

I am an opera lover and classical music is what I listen to. Until tonight I did not even know Kanye West was famous for singing. I thought he was maybe an athlete.
I was though on a tear to expand my limitations a bit and kept looking in on the Grammys for that reason.

Out of the box, when the first one was "Best new artist" and they did little minute snippets of the ones nominated I said out loud "Sam Smith" one I heard the snippets
then
when he got it,
I said to myself that I, also, still have it.

[countryjake]

19. Wow! He got Best New Artist, too?

That's pretty cool (as is the correct call that you made).

I saw him on Letterman last year and fell in love with his voice.

[Mira]

30. As it all started tonight it was the first award and

yes, I think he did.

It seemed a no brainer to me as I listened to the short bits of all of them, and knew well it was not a fair assessment on so little. Just seemed right to me, the novice.

Another fun bit of self disclosure:

My grandson sat me down a half a year ago and told me I needed to learn about JayZ and his history.
So I learned a bit, and also that Beonce who won tonight (sp ?) is his wife.
A while later I read the phenomenal book
The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America by George Packer and JayZ was one of the people chronicled. I was really pleased to not be new to his name and history.
My brother (German) recommended the book to me in a phone call, and called the author George Pecker, and I kept laughing and made him spell it.

Oh well,
that is how we older people get dragged into the scene we live in.

[countryjake]

46. Thanks for that recommendation!

I went off reading reviews of The Unwinding and I think I'm going to try to get it now. Tammy Thomas' story (the Ohio woman) caught my eye, as an old line worker and machine operator myself, who watched the plants of my state crumble and run away before I gave up, packed my car, and headed out West here with my little girl, in 1980. (I'm hoping that Tammy's story has a better ending than my own.)

My daughter was the one who has always tried to keep me "with it", tho as she's nearing forty, I scolded her just last year for getting a bit lazy on caring if I'm current. In response, she sent us a record player and some recent LPs...none of them very interesting, in my stodgy opinion, but at least now I've got a decent turntable and we can finally listen to my own old record collection.

David Letterman has always turned me on to good new stuff (like Sam Smith) and I dread the day that his show ends.
I will truly be lost and sorely outdated, come then.

I had to chuckle about your grandson telling you to get hip about Jay Z and Beyonce. My girl cued me in about them both long ago, ha! Love Beyonce's voice, too.

[tridim]

18. Good singer. Not my style. Congrats, but really couldn't care less. :)

[Journeyman]

20. Nice song. Good vocals. First I've heard it, but I like it . . .

The video is a little confusing -- was that a church choir?

[yeoman6987]

23. I thought the entire Grammy's were awful

The songs were too slow and the rock was not rock.. Bring back the 80's!!!!

[Paulie]

31. Exactly!

[Violet_Crumble]

44. Take that back! Beck won two Grammies! Not all of it was awful...

Just most of it. The bits of it that wasn't Beck were boring, awful and so boring that I didn't even watch them...

Here's some live Beck, because I know everyone must love Beck as much as I do. Unless they love 80's crap and then there's no hope for them...

[dissentient]

28. Well, at least this kid has the good taste to copy a real artist like Tom Petty

That is more to say for him than most pop music garbage these days.

[rocktivity]

36. All this song does for me

is make me yearn for the next Adele album.


rocktivity

[JI7]

38. the Brits seem excited over it

[T_i_B]

48. I'm not

Sam Smith sounds even more miserable then Leonard Cohen or Morrissey. But without the decent lyrics.

Drab, boring, maudlin and to be honest pretty dreadful.

[JI7]

50. at least he is better than third direction

[T_i_B]

51. That's like saying something is better then gangrene!

[TwilightGardener]

39. How does such an obvious rip-off win best song?

Not my kind of music anyway.

[olddots]

42. hey these kids with their tight hair and long pants

or you know what I mean dammit ! The Grammys used to be about the recording bizz ,they even had spoken word ,comedy , classical , jazz ..you name it they had awards for it ......Now its these plip plop and these half naked ladys shaking their tushies .. oy with the electric guitars and the pagan drum beats ......And this best new artist ? Vat bullshit artist ???

[louis-t]

77. "And their Eddie Van Heflin....."

[Exhibit A]

45. Ugh.

I started complaining about "the music these kids are listening to" when I was still in my twenties, though. Things started going downhill in the 1987-88 school year and by the time I was in college, I found it hard to like anything new that was coming out.

[cemaphonic]

79. Late 80s radio/MTV hits were the worst

That was the music of my high school years, and it drove me to listening to classic rock and classical music.

There was a lot of good stuff on alternative/college radio then though.

[laundry_queen]

47. Yeah, he was a little over represented tonight

But of course, I know it's subjective. My personal opinion of that song, besides that it sounds too much like Tom Petty and I am not a big fan of that song of Tom Petty's, is that I want to fall asleep during it.

But I can't say I'm a huge fan of any of the other stuff that was nominated tonight, except maybe Hozier. My age is showing, lol. So, I really couldn't care less.

[Bonobo]

57. Sucky song sucks. nt

[egold2604]

58. Winning a Grammy is like winning Student Council President in Middle School

Having produced an album that was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Traditional Folk category 8 years ago, I have first hand knowledge of what it takes to win a Grammy. First, there are only about 5 or so thousand members of Naras (National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences). Music is submitted to a panel of 150 "experts". These experts cull out the crap and the album or song gets into the nomination process. Only about 150 albums make the cut in each category. In my case, only 37 albums made the cut in the Traditional Folk Album category, which has since been eliminated in 2012. Once an album makes the cut, the PR process begins. Naras members are bombarded with with e-mails, swag, etc. to vote for a particular album. The labels get into the process and pull favors from members to vote for their artist.

Vote for me because I am a great artist.
Vote for me because I am pretty
Vote for me because my label will cut your legs off at the knees.

After the votes are in, the top 5 in each category are then considered Grammy nominated. And the awards are given to the top vote getter.

That is why Taylor Swift (whom I consider to be an incredible performer and song writer) got a whole bunch of Grammies when she was young and on the way up and nothing now when she has matured and is writing better songs.

[ChosenUnWisely]

59. The Grammy's, Oscars, SAG's, etc.. are nothing but a popularity contest

and is not directly related to the quality of the winners work either.

Except for the Peoples Choice Awards only a small subset of the community the award is given too are the voters.

Why get upset over meaningless nonsense?

If you like you listen and buy, you don't like don't listen or buy.

[GeorgeGist]

61. Trite.

[alarimer]

62. Two words: Christopher Cross.

Remember him?

I didn't think so.

Next year, we'll move on to someone else.

I hate popular music. What the Grammys rewards is what SELLS, not what is good.

[ScreamingMeemie]

65. "When you think of Laura, laugh don't cry... I know she'd want it that way...

..."Arthur's Theme..."

Yeahum... I think so.

Sad, sad, sad.

[HappyMe]

66. I like the the song, and love the guy's voice.

Way better than that crap Madonna was auto tune warbling.

[Catherine Vincent]

67. You folks in here are tripping

[LWolf]

68. I'm getting old, too.

Except that I love all kinds of music, music in a wide range of genres and generations, and that one...I listened to it for the first time this morning, and forgot to pay attention; was off doing something else halfway through the song. It clearly didn't resonate.

[Catherine Vincent]

72. Same here

I like all kinds of music and new voices.

Btw, this dude was born in 1992. Geeze I'm getting old.

[immoderate]

78. Bad haircut, but really nice coat.

I'm usually not a fan of guys who sing in the castrato range. And this song is nothing special, that I can tell.

Claiming that one song can be the "best this year" is kind of silly. And the Grammies are silly. It is a circle jerk.

--imm

[WorseBeforeBetter]

80. I listened to it yesterday and have already forgotten it.

Music for the masses.

And with that, it's time for some Depeche Mode.

[MohRokTah]

82. He wrote that song about a man he fell in love with. eom

[kwassa]

83. Jeff Lynne, co-author of "I Won't Back Down" performed on the Grammys last night ...

with his band ELO.