COUNTRY CONNECTION: Winning without grace…
Advertisement
Text size: small | medium | large
BY PAUL KENT
FOR THE STAFFORD COUNTY SUN
Published: May 21, 2008
Twelve years ago, Pearl Jam - one of the few rock bands from the 90’s to remain relevant today - won a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance. Eddie Vedder, lead singer and general malcontent, said in his acceptance speech, “I don’t know what this means; I don’t think this means anything....thanks, I guess.”
Vedder was trying to make a statement about awards shows in general - how can one piece of art be better than another? That goes back to our Bucky Covington discussion a few weeks ago. Eye of the beholder, one man’s trash, so on, so forth. But at the same time, you’re being given an award, perhaps not so much that your song is “better” than another band’s, but that your song was rather good and the Powers That Be would like to recognize this. So even if you don’t agree with the concept, you can at least appreciate the gesture and just say “Thank you! This was really nice of you.”
What does this have to do with country music? The answer lies in the last few days, where Kenny Chesney accepted the ACM award for Entertainer of the Year, his fourth such award and placing him level with Garth Brooks. The award was decided by public voting this year for the first time, and Chesney leveraged that to the fullest. After lobbying on his MySpace with banners asking fans to “bring it home for KC,” he accepted the award and then blasted the process in interviews with reporters.
“I don’t think it’s right that [the public] picks the one award that means the most, that all the artists sacrifice the most for...They’ve taken it from what the award really represents (and turned it) into a sweepstakes to see who can push people’s buttons the hardest on the Internet,” Chesney lamented after the show.
No, Kenny, the words you’re looking for are “thank” and “you,” preferably in that order.
This surpasses Eddie Vedder’s dismissal of his Grammy by a country mile. The Grammys are one thing; this is a voter-supported award. Chesney was chosen by the people, or at least a dedicated and fanatical base, to be Entertainer of the Year. For some reason, this takes away from what the award represents? Granted, things turn into a beauty pageant of sorts, but still. They like you. They like you enough to believe that you are, in fact, the Entertainer of the Year. Just because some dudes in suits from Nashville didn’t deem it to be so - you know, like the other three awards you’ve won - doesn’t lessen the impact.
Some people simply don’t know how to accept a compliment. I’ll admit to be guilty of it myself at times, but I’ve learned in my travels that people really just want to show appreciation when you do something that makes them happy. You can accept it gracefully, or you can kick ‘em in the teeth. One way will win you more friends in the general populace; the other will win you more friends in the dental community.
No disrespect to the dentists, but teeth-kicking simply should not be the option.
Paul Kent hosts Thunder After Dark, 7 p.m. - midnight weekdays and the Saturday Night Special, Saturdays 7 p.m. - midnight on Thunder 104.5 Everything Country and More.
Post a Comment
Please Log In
Comment posting requires free registration with Stafford County Sun.
Already have an account? Please log in.
Can't find what you're looking for? Try our quick search:
Reader Reactions
Posted by ( NJJ ) on May 22, 2008 at 3:56 am
From Kenny to his fans -
Dear Friends…
I want to thank each of you personally for your part in this 4th Entertainer of the Year Award… You are not just the reason we do this, you are a lot of what makes us Entertainer of the Year. Beyond even your votes - which were critical - but the way you inspire me and the guys. We are more because you give so much… and I want to make sure you know how much I appreciate you, and how much a part of this you guys are.
Just hearing the sounds from the parking lot when everyone’s out grilling and hanging with their friends makes me wanna get out there and rock. To be part of that kind of a good time is the reason I started going to shows, and it’s absolutely why I live to do this.
Which is part of the confusion over my response to the change in the awards criteria. There’s a lot more to being Entertainer of the Year than what we show you… and that’s because I want the music to just be your music, your songs, your life - the way it was for me. I’ve always been a bit uncomfortable with the amount of information that gets out there about how many trucks, how we do the effects, those sorts of things… because I don’t want it to be about semis, I want what we do to be about that moment when you hear the music and we hear you.
To me, Entertainer of the Year is about the work that goes into it. I don’t ever want you worrying about the work; I want you living the songs… being in the moment of the music… finding your life on the radio, whether it’s something easy like “Summertime” or a song that helps you through a rough time like “I Go Back” or “There Goes My Life.”
That was my point. Let the people who do the work, judge the work part of it… let the fans love what we do for that. And that was what I was being asked about… what a lot of people in the business were talking about… and frankly something an awful lot of artists and business people have told me they not only agree with, but something the entire media room applauded pretty resoundingly after I addressed it Sunday night.
Sure, to make me sound ungrateful is a sexy way to spin this to drive viewers. It’s controversy, and that sells. But realistically - and based on the response in our fan forum - you know how important you are to me, how much I believe in the way we’ve all built this together. You, the fans, are the reason I keep pushing, keep striving, keep wanting to be more and better.
When I stood on the stage and said “this means the world to me,” I meant it… because it means not only am I blessed with the best fans in the world, but you guys were willing to stand up for us and be counted. It’s not the same award… given for the same things… but knowing how much you care, how much you believe in this dream, well, that is everything.
So please know… I love you. I believe in you - and the way you believe in this music, these nights we get to share, the way it all comes together when we’re together. There is nothing like the feeling of being out there with you guys… and I live my whole life just for those moments. Thank you for that, because in the end, that is what matters the most to me.
Kenny