Opinion: Grammys and Award Shows… Stop the identity politics and focus on the real issues!

I’m someone who writes about music so it’s no surprise that my feed was full of Grammys discourse and oh boy is it more polarising than ever before. There were some happy moments celebrating the wins of Kendrick Lamar, Chappell Roan, Billie Eilish, and Sabrina Carpenter. And many people were extremely happy for Beyoncé, who has won the most Grammys of all time at 35 wins and 99 nominations. Yes, more than legendary producer Quincy Jones, who worked with everybody in the 60+ years he was in the music industry. And this is where the discourse got polarising and I saw some ridiculous takes.

I saw people saying “Beyoncé’s win is activism”, “‘Beyoncé is overrated’ is a racist dogwhistle”, “If you didn’t like Cowboy Carter, you’re racist!”, “If you didn’t think Beyoncé deserved to win album of the year, you’re racist!”, or “if you didn’t think Beyoncé deserved to win, you hate seeing black people succeed and it shows,” and honestly I am sick and tired of people dishonestly using racism as a cudgel to win an argument. By liberally flinging around the word racist, you dilute the meaning of the word. You’re doing a disservice to actual victims of racism (like people who have been discriminated against in employment, education, housing, and healthcare) because now no one will take it seriously. It’s the same criticism I have of militant pro-Israel people who call any gentile criticism of the Israeli government antisemitic (and if it’s Jewish people criticising Israel, they’ll call you self-hating or say you have internalised antisemitism). It’s the same criticism I have of liberals calling legit criticism of President Obama racist. An identity is not a shield from criticism, and it’s another form of prejudice to give us special treatment because of our ethnicity. Stop this whole bourgeois feminist “more (insert group here) billionaires” and instead do “free college for all”, “free healthcare for all”, “living wages and workers rights for all”, and “no more wars”. The United States still doesn’t guarantee parental leave, vacation time, or sick time – that’s all at company discretion. Why have we regressed from Bernie or Bust to lib identity politics MSNBC rhetoric?

As a mixed woman, I would never resort to using such lazy arguments against people who don’t like my work. If you don’t like my writing style or my opinions, that’s okay. I know it doesn’t have anything to do with my ethnicity or any other aspect of my identity. I want to be liked for what I do. I want to ultimately be seen as a writer and classic rock historian, not with any qualifiers like female, mixed, bisexual, or autistic. The most important thing is I am me, and there’s only one me in this world. My identity is the least important thing about me. What matters most is my knowledge of music, my writing skills, and my character. All I want is to be treated like anyone else, that’s it. A lot of musicians who happen to be gay or bisexual have said they don’t want to be thought of as gay musicians, but just as musicians (who happen to be gay).

Sometimes a chair is just a chair. Music is art and art is subjective. There are no right or wrong answers when it comes to art. You can like A better than B, or vice versa, and that’s okay. Sometimes a certain genre or musician isn’t your cup of tea and that’s okay! I love classic rock, but if someone else doesn’t, whatever! It’s okay to not like country music. It’s okay if you don’t like Beyoncé’s voice or her stage presence. It’s okay if you didn’t think Cowboy Carter was really that country. A legit critique isn’t racism, it’s just an opinion. To each their own! I thought it sounded more country pop with a twang, like a Taylor Swift type of thing rather than an old school country album, but country music isn’t my expertise. I think she’s a talented vocalist and I appreciate that she’s branched out and tried something new, but it’s not my thing. Enjoy what you enjoy, don’t listen to stuff you don’t like. Simple as. Maybe don’t assume the worst of people all the time because that’s not good for your mental health. I’m no expert at having good mental health, but I know if you assume the worst intentions of people all the time, it makes you really depressed and stressed. I’m still working on it. The beautiful thing about this world is that we don’t all like the same things and we all have different opinions. How boring would it be if we all have the same opinions?

It’s silly to make a big deal of Beyoncé’s win in either direction. No, it’s not the end of the world that she’s won these awards. No, she’s not destroying country music, do you really think country music is so weak that it can’t handle a pop star trying their hand at it? Art is for all to enjoy, period. You don’t have to listen to the album if you don’t want to. But also, no, she’s not sticking it to the man or sticking it to the MAGAs by winning the top award in the music industry, come on! She is the establishment, by definition. Don’t forget how she made herself out to be this “feminist”, meanwhile her clothing line is manufactured in countries with few labour rights and the mostly female garment workers are being exploited. How can you call yourself a progressive and conveniently forget that? You can still like Beyoncé and not cheer on everything she does. Heck, I love The Smiths and Morrissey’s solo work, but there’s plenty of things I don’t like about Morrissey.

Any musician who is nominated for the Grammys is The Man. Why are people acting like it’s so groundbreaking because she won the Grammy for best Country album? She’s not an upstart or an underdog, she’s been famous for the last 25 years. You wanna know the real musicians sticking it to the man? Indie musicians who work their butts off to fund their music projects and write music from the heart and don’t have their parents’ names in blue on Wikipedia. Indie musicians from humble backgrounds who persevere in a capitalist system where the arts are dominated by posh trust fund kids and nepo babies, because that’s who has the money and time to afford to make art (that may or may not break even, let’s be real). Let’s hear it for the indie artists who deserve to be famous, but may never get to that level of fame. Something I often think about is for every famous musician that makes it, there are many other talented people who are just as deserving, or maybe even more deserving, who will never get the time of day because they weren’t born in the right place, they don’t have the right look, or they don’t know the right people. Like 19th century socialist artist William Morris once said, “I do not want art for a few, any more than education for a few, or freedom for a few.” I hope one day we can live in a post-scarcity, post-work society where mundane jobs are automated and people can spend time creating art, making life meaningful and beautiful.

Sorry I don’t have much sympathy for rich celebrities. I’m more worried about the average person who can’t afford healthcare, for whom homeownership is a pipe dream, who can’t afford their groceries, or who is trying to figure out how to afford childcare. The real divider in this society is money. If you’re a working class (insert your ethnicity here) person, you have more in common with a working class person of a different ethnicity than you do with a billionaire that is the same ethnicity as you. Rich people use racism (and homophobia, transphobia, and sexism) as a divide and conquer strategy to get the working class masses to resent each other and divide based on ethnicity, meanwhile they’re pickpocketing us while we’re distracted. The minority who are causing all the problems in society are the rich. You don’t need to go so hard defending a near-billionaire. Get real, they’re not paying your bills! Stop treating celebrities like gods and goddesses. They’re human beings, exceptionally talented and rich, but still human like you and me.

One good thing I’ll say about the Grammys is I’m glad to see that Chappell Roan stood up for living wages and healthcare for musicians and in support of trans rights and she read out a speech in front of the richest entertainers in the world. She didn’t have to say anything. She could have thanked her family or a higher power or something, but no, she stood up for those who had less. I’ll take what she had to say a step further and say that all people deserve healthcare, regardless of their employment status. If you’re not working for whatever reason, you still deserve to live in dignity. But hey, people need healthcare now and with any government, I doubt the US will be getting Medicare For All. Let’s be real, if we had Medicare For All, Luigi Mangione wouldn’t be in jail right now and he wouldn’t be a household name and Brian Thompson would still be alive. That whole tragedy is a policy failure. That’s not a take you’ll hear on mainstream media and that’s because it’s all run by oligarchs. I remember being in that English teaching programme and there were a couple of Russian students and I talked to them about these Russian travel videos I’d watch on YouTube and we’d talk about our countries and at the end of the day, we’re really not all that different after all. Americans will criticise Russia, but in reality, a lot of the same things happen in America too.

Even if Beyoncé hadn’t won a single Grammy this year, she would have been fine. She was fine even after the CMAs “snubbed” her. It wasn’t like she had lost money or anything. Last year was a great year for her with a successful album and the Beyoncé Bowl. She’s practically a billionaire! She could quit recording music right now and never have to work another day in her life. She’s so rich that not only is she set for life, but so are her children and any future descendants. She’s one of the most famous musicians of all time and her music will be remembered for decades to come. Long after she’s gone people will still be singing “Single Ladies” and “Crazy in Love”. She doesn’t get these opportunities out of the kindness of anyone’s hearts. She gets these opportunities because she’s popular and has a really dedicated fanbase, the BeyHive, that loves everything she does. It’s all business and all about making money at the end of the day. You don’t need awards to be valid as an artist. The healthy way to look at awards is it’s just the cherry on top, some sort of recognition for your work. But it’s not the only recognition of your work. The coolest creatives I know say the best recognition comes from the fans themselves, not snobby people at the top.

Honestly, these awards shows are a popularity contest and it’s definitely not always based on merit. The Grammys have always been a joke and the sooner you realise this, the better. As a classic rock fan, I know all too well about this. There are many classic rockers who have never won a Grammy and of the classic rockers who have won Grammys, many of them didn’t win them at their prime, for their best work. Why is this? Because the Grammys didn’t have a rock category for decades! On the rare occasion that a classic rocker wins a Grammy, it’s because it was poppy enough to cross over, like The Beatles with “A Hard Day’s Night” and Sgt Pepper or Fleetwood Mac with Rumours. The Grammys for Best Solo Rock Performance, Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group, and Best Rock Instrumental Performance were not a thing until the 80s! The Best Rock Song Award wasn’t a thing until 1992! The Best Rock Album Award wasn’t a thing until 1995! So throughout the best years of rock and roll, the 60s and 70s, there were no Grammys for these rock stars. Why is this? Because the Grammys are run by a bunch of uptight establishment old fogeys. The boomers weren’t running the show back then. Believe it or not, Queen, The Who, The Beach Boys, Rush, The Doors, The Kinks, Heart, and ABBA have never won a Grammy. I know you’re not gonna say they’re hacks! And that’s just a few famous names. These are some of the biggest bands of the classic rock era. Like I’ve said about the Rock Hall, it’s all politics and a popularity contest run by out of touch establishment music industry people. Many times the music industry gets it wrong and they’re out of touch with what the people want. How many talented rock bands were turned down by record labels, who have certainly regretted their decision?

Stop giving a crap about awards shows. Sure, music is a great way of escaping a humdrum life, but don’t let it distract you from the real issues in this world. Support small creatives because for these rich musicians, one album sale is a drop in the bucket, but for small and independent creatives it’s a big deal and we do a little happy dance every time we sell something.

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