Kennedy Center Honors 2018: A Review

I've been following the Kennedy Center Honors for circa ten years, admiring how there is at least one night to salute people in film, television, theater, dance, and music (classical to rock) that have contributed to the cultural life of America and the world.  Every year, I would watch and be impressed by just how much great art was being produced.

However, in 2012, I skipped the show.  The idea of sitting through a salute to David Letterman and Led Zeppelin was simply too intolerable after having endured the idea that Oprah Winfrey was somehow an 'artist'.  Many things Lady O is, but someone on the same level as Lucille Ball or Johnny Carson she is not. 

As an alternative, I have submitted ten recommendations totaling 60 people.  Since I began my retrospective, a few suggestions have found themselves honored and a few have died. The following is an alphabetical list of my recommendations, with one asterisk meaning honored, two meaning dead. Three asterisks are for those who have died since the original post was written. 

John Adams
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Emanuel Ax
Burt Bacharach *** 
Shirley Bassey
David Bowie**
Monserrat Caballé**
Shirley Caesar
Michael Caine
Carol Channing ***
Francis Ford Coppola
Albert Finney ***
Gloria Estafan *
John Fogerty
Jane Fonda
Harrison Ford
Phillip Glass *
Gene Hackman
Herbie Hancock *
Dustin Hoffman *
Billy Joel *
Frank Langella
Annie Lennox
Sophia Loren
Sidney Lumet **
Shirley MacLaine *
David Mamet
Wynton Marsalis
Keiko Matsui
Reba McEntire *
Ian McKellen
Loreena McKennitt
Marian McPartland **
Liza Minnelli
Joni Mitchell
Mary Tyler Moore **
Rita Moreno *
Bill Murray
R. Carlos Nakai
Bob Newhart
Maureen O'Hara **
Peter O'Toole **
Christopher Parkening
Bernadette Peters
Malcolm John "Dr. John" Rebennack, Jr. ***
Diana Rigg ***
Lionel Ritchie *
Carlos Santana *
Martin Sheen
Carly Simon
Maggie Smith
Mike Stoller
George Strait
James Taylor *
Kiri Te Kanawa
Eli Wallach **
Betty White ***
Nancy Wilson**
Neil Young
Franco Zefirelli ***

At a time when we're told how important 'representation' is, we can break down my recommendations as such: Men: 33, Women: 25, Minorities: 14.

Breaking it down even further: 5 African-Americans (Bassey being British, would not count as 'African-American'), 2 Asians, 4 Hispanics, 1 Native American (as prima ballerina Maria Tallchief is the only Native American honoree so far).

With this year's Kennedy Center Honors, the Kennedy Center has dropped the pretense of actually being about lifetime achievement and has opted to be another glitzy awards show. It was a curious hodgepodge of honorees, some highly worthy, some clearly embarrassing to get the 'young kids' interested.

The honorees were as follows: Cher, Philip Glass, Reba McEntire, Wayne Shorter and "the creators of 'Hamilton': Lin-Manuel Miranda, Thomas Kail, Alex Lacamoire and Andy Blankenbuehler.

There were several breaks in tradition for this year's KCH. One was the honoring of the creative team of a musical show whose average age is 42, which I find odd for something touted as a 'lifetime achievement award' (the other honorees' average age is a mere 75 with the youngest, McEntire, being 63). Second was that these same average-age-42 honorees performed on stage, thus making me wonder why one work merited 'lifetime' recognition.

Curiously though, the "creators of 'Hamilton'" did not sit in the honoree's box seats. Rather, they were in the audience, albeit slightly removed from the other audience members.

I can't quite include the nature of the presentations as a third, but for some time now the Kennedy Center Honors has moved away from their traditional format of having someone speak about a particular honoree, then show a film about his/her work and conclude with performances honoring said honoree.

The choppy nature of the individual presentations was meant to be a shift from the perceived stale nature of the show, but what I think has happened instead is it has essentially removed all context of what makes the honoree's work, struggle, success or triumphs important.

Take Glass' section for example. We had former Honoree Paul Simon talk about Glass then go to a performance of Glass' work by Jon Batiste. The performance itself was brilliant, but there was no explanation as to why Glass' work is so revolutionary, no mention of how he came to be so minimalistic as to drive some listeners crazy and some to rapture.

Instead, we got some performances of his work which to someone not versed in Glass would be odd to confusing to boring. You had a performance of music from his score to Koyaanisqatsi, but whoever hadn't seen or heard of the documentary would wonder what it was all about.

As a side note, the camera work for this segment seemed to be as crazy as a 'Life Out of Balance'.

Again and again I think the honoree's were short-changed by not putting their life's work placed in some context. I'm puzzled as to why for example despite it being a lifelong dream that she accomplished, no footage of McEntire as Annie Oakley in the Annie Get Your Gun revival was used (unless there isn't any). I'm sure there's a soundtrack which they could have put over pictures of McEntire as Oakley, so this triumph was not that important I guess.

It would have been a damn sight better than Kristen Chenoweth's rendition of Doin' What Comes Naturally. Chenoweth, a mainstay of the Kennedy Center Honors, is by no means a bad singer. She has an extraordinary voice, but I found it far too chirpy for both the song and for Annie Oakley. It is almost operatic, which works for something like Wicked, but for the down-home Annie Oakley?

I guess I'm used to people like Judy Garland, Betty Hutton or REBA!, who seem more able to play 'country' than the more polished Chenoweth.

As a side note, I see opera diva Renee Fleming also popped up here again, this time for Shorter's tribute. Is she contractually obligated to perform at the Kennedy Center Honors until she gets one herself? Maybe by the time she gets that rainbow ribbon, Fleming's film will consist of nothing but her Kennedy Center Honors performances. It will save money on buying broadcast rights anyway.

They certainly did not make the case as to why Hamilton had to receive special recognition. Sure, it is popular in certain circles, but when was the last time you heard anyone sing The Schuyler Sisters in public? People have sung and know songs like Fancy and I Got You, Babe, but despite its wild praise I cannot think of a Hamilton song that has reached the level of a Climb Every Mountain, an I Could Have Danced All Night, a Don't Rain on My Parade, an I Feel Pretty or even an All that Jazz.

Contrary to what my friend Ryan Guzman thinks, I have nothing against Hamilton: The Musical. He loves the show. I have not seen it. My argument has never been that it's a lousy show or that the songs aren't good. My argument is that it is not as popular as works by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Lerner & Lowe or Kander & Ebb. They sound like great songs that work within the show.

I just am not convinced they will enter the Great American Songbook, at least not yet.

In terms of overall performances, I would rank them thus:

Glass, Shorter, Cher, McEntire and whatever the Hamilton crew came up with. It's interesting that the level of musical performances was inverse of the popularity of the honoree.

I imagine Philip Glass and Wayne Shorter are the least known of the honorees but their music is what I found both the best-performed and the best overall. Glass' tribute had a wonderful performance by the aforementioned Batiste and Koyaanisqatsi (even if I would have preferred selections from Kundun or the Bela Lugosi Dracula).

For me, the best performance of the night was S. Epatha Merkerson's rendition of Knee Play 5 from Einstein on the Beach with violinist Jennifer Koh. The music and the poetic recitation by Merkerson was almost like listening to a deep act of worship.

It was the only time in the 2018 Kennedy Center Honors where I was moved deeply.

I am not well-versed in jazz, but Shorter's music I find is extraordinary. It helps when you have Esperanza Spalding performing it. Her performance of Endangered Species and Elegant People showcased both Spalding's extraordinary talent and Shorter's extraordinary music. It was smooth and elegant, sophisticated yet accessible. It made me wonder, "Wayne Shorter and Esperanza Spalding, where have you been all my life?"

Granted, the only thing I remembered about Spalding was when she got all that hate from Believers enraged she won Best New Artist over Justin Bieber (who given how the Kennedy Center Honors are is sure to be recognized in ten years). It should be remembered she also beat out Drake, Mumford & Sons and Florence & The Machine, showing at on occasion the Grammys can get it right.

Not that I dislike Mumford or Florence.

Many have commented on how brilliant and moving Adam Lambert's version of Cher's Believe was. I would say it was very impressive, especially given he changed the song from a techno dance track to a tender, heartbreak ballad. I also learned that the lyrics aren't "Do you believe in love, that's a'love?" but "Do you believe in life after love?"

No matter how hard I try, I still keep hearing "I can feel something inside me-self" despite the lyrics actually being "I can feel something inside me say".

Lambert opted not to be glam but to be vulnerable, and it worked beautifully. Yes, his cover of Believe was effective. Curiously, Cher's tribute went from an "I don't need you" song to an "I need you" song when Cindy Lauper performed If I Could Turn Back Time, a pairing I found curious.

Both Lambert and Lauper did great work, but what was Little Big Town about?

I remember all the grief Luke Bryan got when he covered a couple of Lionel Richie songs, criticism that I think was racially motivated (aka 'a white country singer should not sing a black artist's music'). The criticism was wildly invalid because Richie has written country songs like Stuck on You and Lady. Yet the same people who went after Bryan, the King of Bro-Country, have so far kept quiet on Little Big Town doing their versions of Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves, I Found Someone and Baby Don't Go.

None of those songs, as far as I know, were meant to be country. Their versions were also not very good.

Even that I could overlook if I thought their versions were good. I'll admit I've never been a LBT fan, so that might color my view, but I was not impressed.

At least they did better than Lady Antebellum, who slept-walked through their crappy renditions of Is There Life Out There? and The Greatest Man I Never Knew. I'll comp to never being fond of Lady A either (you tend to lose country credibility with me when I hear a techno version of Need You Now). Yet I cannot explain how Lady A could take two songs and make them so uninspired and boring...apart from the fact that it's Lady A we're talking about.

I'm pretty disappointed at how bad all around the McEntire section was. We have the sleep-inducing covers from Lady Antebellum, we have the chirpy Chenoweth doing what didn't come naturally, and McEntire's signature song, Fancy, was done by her daughter-in-law in an underwhelming manner. Kelly Clarkson is a fantastic singer, but I thought her Fancy was dominated by brass and lost that element of scandal mixed with defiance.

Personally, it is a sad sign when the best part of a REBA! tribute is Bobby Bones.

Finally, after hearing two songs from Hamilton (The Schuyler Sisters and One Last Time), I can say that yes, the score is good to great. I was not in tears or thought of them as powerful/moving though One Last Time was excellent. However, there was no case for including Hamilton or its creators as Kennedy Center Honorees.

Kennedy Center Chairman David Rubenstein did his damndest to, and bless his heart for trying.

"Therefore, in this 41st year of the Kennedy Center Honors, it is fitting that we not only recognize the lifetime achievements of each of our four outstanding honorees, but also recognize a trailblazing work in the groundbreaking musical Hamilton, which has made an incomparable impact on the field of arts and culture in our country. Together, these eight artists have inspired us with their storied careers of unparalleled artistry and achievement".

Lordy, Lordy is he full of it.

Why specifically was it 'fitting' to recognize 'a trailblazing work' in the 41st year? 41 years seems a rather odd number to specifically single out one musical. I've been inspired by Philip Glass and Reba McEntire. I've even sung Believe (albeit with mangled lyrics).

However, in no way has Lin-Manuel Miranda inspired me with his 'storied career of unparalleled artistry and achievement', unless said 'unparalleled artistry' is to rhyme 'shiny' with 'hiney' (as he did in a song from Moana) or adopt a bad Dick Van Dyke-like Cockney accent in Mary Poppins Returns.

Seriously, doe anyone outside Broadway know any songs from In the Heights?

Look Dave, let's cut the crap. You selected 'the creators of Hamilton' for one reason and one reason only: ratings. You heard it was wildly popular (even if most people couldn't sing/rap you My Shot or Cabinet Battle #1 or 2 if their life depended on it). You figured that with such a wildly popular show being specially saluted, you would get boffo ratings.

It didn't work.

The Kennedy Center should just decide what to do with these presentations: eschew obscure yet influential artists to get at more 'popular' fare in the hopes of getting more viewers or surrender to low ratings but keep to their original goal of honoring those who have spent a lifetime creating, even if many have not heard of them.

There's nothing wrong with including 'popular' artists, people like a Gloria Estefan or Paul McCartney. There is something wildly wrong with including people who have not had a lifetime record (vis-a-vis 'the creators of Hamilton').

Thank Heaven Rubenstein and the Kennedy Center board didn't get the idea of honoring 'the creators of The Book of Mormon' for their 'trailblazing work'.

However, given how the Kennedy Center Honors is now, it wont be too long before perhaps Murray Perahia finds himself sitting next to Cardi B next to the empty Presidential Box.

Kennedy Center Honors 2018: Some Thoughts

The Kennedy Center Honors are dead to me.

And it's a pity too, given that somehow, despite themselves, they stumbled on some shockingly good choices for this year's selection.

I have long argued for two of the 2018 Kennedy Center Honorees: Reba McEntire and Philip Glass.  The former has been a country icon for more than thirty years.  I cannot call her the Queen of Country, at least so long as Miss Loretta Lynn is still around.  Then again, McEntire can be the Queen of Country if Lynn is called The Empress of Country.

I do so wish my friend Fidel Gomez, Jr. were alive to see Glass honored.  Fidel was such an enthusiastic fan of Glass' minimalist work.  I haven't seen Einstein on the Beach but his musical work, particularly his film scores for The Hours, Kundun and Dracula have all been brilliant.

Granted, Glass is an acquired taste, and I know some people genuinely detest his work, finding it both monotonous and repetitive.  There's merit in this argument, but I have been a Glass champion.  I think Glass is innovative and powerful, so this is a worthy selection.

I confess to knowing nothing of Wayne Shorter, but for my part, I applaud any move towards honoring jazz.

Now, with Glass, McEntire and Shorter as Kennedy Center Honorees, I would imagine I would be happy, and I am.  I would have taken it as the Center, long looking foolish by honoring rock bands in an effort to drum up publicity for the declining ratings, was shifting back towards honoring the actual arts.

Again, I love Led Zeppelin and The Eagles.  I even like LL Cool J, though I still simply cannot find logic into putting a man whose sum artistic output has been I Need Love, Mama Said Knock You Out and NCIS: Los Angeles on the same level as Fred Astaire, Richard Rodgers, Lucille Ball or Cicely Tyson.

My major issue is with the last two honorees: Cher and 'the creators of Hamilton: An American Musical' (composer Lin-Manuel Miranda, 38, director Thomas Kail, 40, music director Alex Lacamoire, 43, and choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler, 48).

First, let's look at Cher.  What major cultural contributions does Cher really have?  I Got You Babe was done with Sonny.  Yes, she had hit songs: Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves, If I Could Turn Back Time, Believe. She's done good work on film such as in Silkwood and Moonstruck.  However, there's still something amiss about placing Cher as among the truly greats.

It's interesting that Cher receives a Kennedy Center Honor but has yet to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.  Normally, it's the other way round.

I may be talking my way into finding a tortured logic to Cher's inclusion to a special recognition people like Peter O'Toole and Olivia de Havilland never got.  I'm willing to listen to a case being made for Cher, though I still would right now vote 'no' into putting her among the truly great artists of the Twentieth/Twenty-First Century.

Even if I could reluctantly agree to include Cher, honoring 'the creators of Hamilton' is appalling.  As has been pointed out, this would be the third time that an honoree is tied to a musical work at the Kennedy Center.  Carole King was honored during the Kennedy Center's run of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, and Gloria Estefan was honored just before On Your Feet! opened there.

However, in both those cases King and Estefan had long careers behind them to back up their selection. People today can sing many of their songs.  Exactly how many hit/popular songs has Miranda actually written?

People aren't singing the songs from Moana the same way they sing them from The Lion King or Beauty and the Beast or Phantom of the Opera or Evita or Fiddler on the Roof among others.  Far be it for me to question Miranda's musical genius, but I'm going to guess that Oscar Hammerstein II, Lorenz Hart, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Fred Ebb, George M. Cohan, Stephen Sondheim, Alan Jay Lerner, Jerry Herman and Ira Gershwin probably could have come up with a better rhyme to 'Shiny' than 'Hiney'.

I'm going to pick on Miranda just a touch.  His musical output, at least on Broadway, has been three major works: In the Heights, Bring It On and Hamilton.  Compare that to Oklahoma!, Cabaret, My Fair Lady, or West Side Story, all of which I would argue are better and have had and continue to have a greater impact on theater than Miranda's work save perhaps for Hamilton.

However, I would argue that at a mere three years old, it is far too soon to declare Hamilton to be the 'Citizen Kane' of musical theater, the most groundbreaking work to hit The Great White Way.  It may be a good show.  It may be a great show.  However, to declare it among the greatest musicals of all time...let's just wait and see.

I'd like to see it, but curiously enough, even though Hamilton was made for 'the common man' with its raps and non-traditional casting, I cannot afford a ticket.

The Kennedy Center Honors were meant to be a lifetime achievement award, not a salute to the newest 'In Thing'.  I'm genuinely surprised they didn't go out and honor 'the creators of The Book of Mormon', which is only four years older than Hamilton.  Anyone remember how wild everyone was for that musical spoof of the Latter-Day Saints?

Again, it might be great.  However, will it really have the same impact something like Show Boat or The Sound of Music or Hello, Dolly! had and continues to have?  Will it really be remembered and performed decades after it took Broadway by storm, or will it be relegated to be with such Best Musical Tony winners like The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Contact, Fiorello! or Redhead (and I ain't talking about Annie)?

How often have you sung to any songs from the musical about former New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia? Were you aware there was a Pulitzer Prize-winning musical about former New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia?  Were you even aware there was a former New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia?  Apart from the airport, I doubt anyone would even know anything about the mayor, let alone a musical about said mayor.

Again, I have nothing against Hamilton itself.  What I do have something against is in taking an award that is meant for 'lifetime achievement' and throw it a group of people who simply do not have the creative body of work to merit it.  The Kennedy Center insists it is honoring the musical itself because of 'its enormous influence'.  OK, let's test that out.

Exactly how many songs from Hamilton have become mainstays of popular music?  A person can still sing Old Man River, Oh What a Beautiful Morning, Someone to Watch Over Me, Climb Every Mountain, One (Singular Sensation), Willkommen, Memory, Don't Cry for Me Argentina, If I Were A Rich Man, or It's a Hard Knock Life among others, but how often do we hear My Shot or Cabinet Battle #1 sung on the street where you live?  I bet more people can sing songs from Oliver! than they can from Hamilton.

From my vantage point, honoring 'the creators of Hamilton' is an embarrassment because it makes a mockery of the KCH's stated goals.  It is instead a desperate ratings and cash grab by latching on to something that is wildly popular in some circles with the hopes of getting more attention.  There is no case that can be made to single out this particular musical for a 'lifetime achievement' award.

I would remind the Kennedy Center Honors that there is a place where a musical can be honored.  It is called 'The Tony Awards'.  Honoring 'the creators of Hamilton' at the Kennedy Center Honors is the newest worst decision they have made.

I would watch the salutes to Glass, McEntire and Shorter, maybe the one for Cher, but with its inclusion of 'Hamilton: An American Musical', the Kennedy Center Honors now has opted not to salute individuals or even bands (something I still find dubious).  Now it has decided to salute non-living objects.

It's laughable. It's embarrassing.  It's ridiculous. It's all over.

I look forward to seeing Kennedy Center Honoree SpongeBob SquarePants next year.

Kennedy Center Honors 2017: A Review

Forty years ago, at the inaugural Kennedy Center Honors, the five artists feted were an opera diva, one of the premiere songwriters of Broadway, a master choreographer, one of the greatest pianists of all time, and probably the greatest dancer in film history.

For this year, the Kennedy Center honored one ballet dancer, two pop music songwriters, a television writer/producer who uses his programs to further his own political agenda, and a rapper.

If anyone can make the case for LL Cool J being in the same league as Arthur Rubenstein, Fred Astaire, Marian Anderson, Count Basie, Lucille Ball, Sammy Davis, Jr., Maria Tallchief, Ella Fitzgerald, or Cary Grant, I'm more than happy to listen.

Before we continue, I think it's important to note that I have championed both Gloria Estefan and Lionel Richie being Kennedy Center Honorees.  However, Ladies Love Cool James?

In the past few years, I have objected to the shifting of the Kennedy Center Honors from fine arts (ballet, theater, music, film and television) towards more 'pop' culture: rock/pop music (including whole groups) and talk show hosts.  It's been a bit of a slippery slide, going from Richard Rodgers and Leonard Bernstein to Led Zeppelin and Sting.  Now, I love Zeppelin, Sting and The Eagles, but I wouldn't put them in the same category with Lerner & Loewe or John Williams.

The 2017 Kennedy Center Honors was despite some controversy and a big push to attract more viewers via LL Cool J, both a remarkably stale affair and a bad example of how not to make a case for certain honorees, though not without some standout moments.

In order, Gloria Estefan, Norman Lear, LL Cool J, Carmen de Lavallade, and Lionel Richie were celebrated for their lifetime work (despite the fact that the youngest-ever Honoree, James Todd Smith, aka LL Cool J, is 49, which respectfully does not exactly fit into 'lifetime').  Various performers introduced a bit of a biographical sketch of the particular artist and there were tributes via musical performances or monologues by other well-and-not-so-well-known individuals.

For most of the special, the first three were done a great disservice by their presentations.  Things started off badly when Eva Longoria saluted Estefan in a dress that showed an immense amount of cleavage.  While the music was good, it is curious that in the musical performance segment, the production decided to perform two songs Estefan did cover versions of (Turn the Beat Around and Everlasting Love) rather than her own compositions (Coming Out of the Dark would have been a great moment, but if memory serves correct, not played).  The title song from her Spanish-language album Mi Tierra was, and performed badly.

I've not heard of Becky G, but I though her singing was terrible, and her wardrobe looked like she was honoring Selena more than Gloria.  Further, the Kennedy Center Honors didn't properly acknowledge that the performance was connected to her jukebox musical: On Your Feet!  For all the audience knew, they were just doing a medley of her greatest hits (and covers), not seeing people who were doing a Broadway show.  This is even stranger considering that two past Honorees: Billy Joel and Carole King, also had jukebox musicals but in their salutes, they had greater recognition (King had her whole salute bookended by Beautiful: The Carole King Musical).

In what might be the night's most unintentionally hilarious moment, Queen Latifah's salute to LL Cool J stated, "Tonight, we honor LL for his contributions to our culture, that began with him banging on the garbage can on the corner of Farmers Boulevard".  Somewhere in that statement, there's a metaphor.

The clip reel did not make the case as to why LL Cool J is that important in terms of overall culture or impact on it, and his "contributions to our culture" are apparently that he's well-built, a good husband and father, the films Toys and Any Given Sunday, and his long-running stint on NCIS: Los Angeles. 

Despite the constant urging of the DJ and rap performers, apparently only Anthony Anderson stood to celebrate weak renditions of Mama Said Knock You Out, the only song I actually recognized.  If the clip reel is to be believed, that song was about knocking out drugs and teenage pregnancy, not dissing on other rappers and proclaiming LL's own return (I can't call it a comeback).  I love Busta Rhymes, but I don't think his gravelly voice was the best to belt out Mama Said Knock You Out.

I do wonder why MC Lyte could not be persuaded to perform I Need Love or Around the Way Girl or Doin' It. My guess is that at least the first two are from a male perspective, but nothing says she could not take ownership of them.

The presentation of Norman Lear, the oldest-ever Kennedy Center Honoree, sandwiched between Estefan and J, was perhaps the worst, but not because the presentation itself was bad or because he isn't worthy of recognition.  As a digression, I confess to having seen only one of Lear's programs: The Jeffersons.  The only other Lear program I heard about as a child was One Day at a Time, but that was only because my mother referred to it as 'the show where the mother has an affair with the plumber'.  Whether Ann and Schneider ever did have a fling I leave to any fan-fiction (something I don't think existed at the time).

The presentation was bad because a good part of it wasn't devoted to his actual television work, but to his creation of People for the American Way, his left-wing advocacy group.  Was Lear being honored for his body of work on television or for his political activism?  This isn't like when Danny Kaye was honored for his UNICEF work.  To focus so much on Lear's PFAW to me is as ghastly as taking up time to salute Charlton Heston's NRA advocacy (which I don't think they did when he was honored).

Lear had already introduced politics into what should have been a nonpartisan event, but more on that later.

 
This year, despite the high-voltage names in the honoree box, the only ones that managed to make a case as to why they should be honored were Richie and, somewhat ironically, de Lavallade.  I say 'somewhat ironically' because previous Honoree Meryl Streep admitted that few know who de Lavallade is. 

The prima ballerina's tribute included a performance of Wade In the Water, choreographed by the late and legendary Alvin Ailey, and a performance by another prima ballerina, Misty Copeland, who respectfully acknowledged that as an African-American, she stood on de Lavallade's shoulders.  These were beautiful and brilliant renditions of dance and showed how de Lavallade matters.

With Richie, we saw the scope of his songwriting and all the influences he has drawn from.  That is what makes the criticism of the performances so strange to me.  On 'the Twitter' many bashed the fact that country singer Luke Bryan performed two numbers: Penny Lover and Sail On.  I suspect that what those complaining about were saying that a 'country' (read 'white') singer should not perform music from an R&B (read 'black') singer/songwriter.

You can criticize Bryan for a lot of things with regards to his own music or his singing, but to criticize him for performing two Richie covers is idiotic.  Lady is a Richie song performed by country legend Kenny Rogers (who I think merits a Kennedy Center Honor of his own), and Stuck on You is a pretty solid country song.  Furthermore, Bryan's generation embraces all types of music.  One of Bryan's biggest hits, That's My Kind of Night, has him all but rapping himself and talks about listening to 'a little Conway, a little T-Pain', a mixtape I doubt either Conway Twitty or T-Pain would enjoy.  Maybe That's My Kind of Night is an awful song, and maybe Bryan epitomizes the worst of 'bro-country', but to say Bryan 'shouldn't' sing Lionel Richie is to me irrational to the point of foolish. 

Finally, on the political front, much was made of the fact that neither President Donald Trump or First Lady Melania attended, the first time either the President or First Lady skipped the event.  This was done in response to Lear, then later de Lavallade and potentially Richie, boycotting the traditional White House presentation.  This, to me, was a bad decision, showing that some performers cannot get over their disagreements. 

Barbra Streisand attended despite being presented to former President George W. Bush.
Charlton Heston attended despite being presented to former President Bill Clinton.

All four rose above their personal grievances and politics to recognize the artistry and the Presidency.  Granted, Trump is not my idea of a President, but he is the President, and it's time we got over that (and I say this as a charter member of Never Trump).

With the exceptions of de Lavallade and Richie, the Kennedy Center Honors did not make the case as to why these five individuals were worthy or recognition (LL Cool J the most dubious selection).  Given how the Kennedy Center did not honor Maureen O'Hara or Peter O'Toole when they were alive, or Olivia de Havilland who is 101, it all seems so strange.

The fact that this was the lowest-rated Kennedy Center Honors in the twenty years they've kept records does not make this any easier.

Perhaps it's time to focus more on Emanuel Ax, Bernadette Peters and or Betty White than on Run DMC.

Kennedy Center Honors 2017: Some Thoughts

It seems almost funny, if it weren't all so sad, so very, very sad.

In 1978, the first Kennedy Center Honors were presented to opera diva Marian Anderson, actor/dancer Fred Astaire, choreographer George Balanchine, Broadway composer Richard Rodgers, and pianist Arthur Rubinstein.  Astaire is the only name to have built his career primarily in Hollywood features, but I don't think anyone would question his mastery of dance on film or say he wasn't among the greatest performers of his time in any medium.

A mere 39 years later, the Kennedy Center has decided that rapper LL Cool J is on the same level as Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, Aaron Copland and Van Cliburn.  The last four I would say are musical geniuses. I'm not sold on the first one being in the same ranks.

The list of 2017 Kennedy Center Honorees shows that whatever goals the Center had when creating these awards have all but been forgotten.  This trend away from 'traditional' arts: theater, dance, classical music performing/composing and more towards pop culture: actors, pop singers, even rock/pop bands, has been going on for at least the past five to ten years. What was once heralded as 'a celebration of the performing arts' now appears to be 'a desperate effort to get ratings'.

I don't oppose honoring people who are popular.  I've firmly held that Betty White should be an Honoree given the lifetime of work she has produced.  I would argue that honoring Tom Hanks was too soon but I would have figured he would get one.

I also don't oppose some of this year's nominees.  I have suggested both Gloria Estefan and Lionel Richie in the past (though I'm beginning to have my doubts).  I don't even oppose Norman Lear's selection, though to be fair, I've never seen any of his programs save The Jeffersons: not All in the Family, not Maude, not Good Times, not One Day at a Time (original or remake).

As a digression, again with the exception of The Jeffersons, no one in my family has either, though my mother still goes on about how One Day at a Time is 'the one where the mother had an affair with the plumber'. I think her memory on this subject is hazy at best.

I do question the inclusion of Ladies Love Cool James for two reasons.  One, at 49 he is the youngest Honoree since Stevie Wonder and I do wonder whether they could have found someone older to have been honored this year in place of him: say a 95-year-old White, a 96-year-old Carol Channing, a 78-year-old Tommy Tune, a 71-year-old Liza Minnelli, a 65-year-old George Strait, a 78-year-old Shirley Caesar, a 70-year-old José Carreras, an 80-year-old Philip Glass, a 70-year-old John Adams, a 69-year-old Bernadette Peters, a 73-year-old Kiri Te Kanawa, an 87-year-old Gene Hackman, a 92-year-old Hal Holbrook, and a 102-year-old Norman Lloyd and 101-year-old Olivia de Havilland.

It's not like the Kennedy Center is starved for people twice or even thrice LL Cool J's age.

Two, I'm a bit at a loss to understand what high cultural impact LL Cool J has had.  Unlike Wonder, I don't know if any of his songs have become standards that will be played long after his death.  I know only two songs of his: I Need Love (which I used many a time to woo a young maiden, failing spectacularly each time) and Mama Said Knock You Out (which I used many a time when I spectacularly failed to woo a young maiden to pump myself up).  I also know he's on one of those NCIS or CSI shows that I haven't seen.  Apart from that, has LL Cool J really had that great of an impact on American arts and culture to equal that of a Tennessee Williams, a Count Basie, a Lena Horne or Mikhail Baryshnikov?

I'd like to hear the case that his artistic output matches that of a Leontyne Price, an Arthur Miller, or a Quincy Jones.  I'd also like to hear the case for Oprah Winfrey, David Letterman, The Who, The Eagles and Led Zeppelin too.  It's not that I don't like The Who, The Eagles, or the Led.  I think they are all wonderful.

I just think there is a distinction between Led Zeppelin and Zubin Mehta.

For these past ten years, probably more, the Kennedy Center Honors have turned away from anything that reeks of 'artistic' and shifted to more contemporary trends.  There's an unofficial quota where one slot is saved for 'artists' from those 'elite' areas: opera, classical, theater, dance.  This year it's choreographer and dancer Carmen de Lavallade.  Last year, it was pianist Martha Argerich, and before her there were conductor Seiji Ozawa, ballet dancer Patricia McBride, opera diva Martina Arroyo, ballet dancer Natalia Makarova, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and dancer/choreographer Bill T. Jones.

As late as 1999, the year Wonder became the youngest-ever Honoree, more 'traditional' artists outnumbered the 'big names'.  Only one name was a film star (Sean Connery).  The others were a pianist/humorist (Victor Borge), a dancer/choreographer (Judith Jamison) and one who went between film and Broadway (Jason Robards).  While it's hard to pinpoint exactly when the Honors started moving away from 'the arts', 2007 seems a good a year as any.

Out of the five Honorees that year, Leon Fleisher is the only one who wouldn't be considered a pop artist.  He had the enviable duty of finding his piano virtuosity lumped in with Diana Ross, Steve Martin and Brian Wilson.  From 2007 onward, the Honorees were more well-known but dubious, with a dearth of artists that didn't have hit films or Rock & Roll Hall of Fame memberships.

Again, I don't mean to suggest that people like Bruce Springsteen or Carole King weren't worthy recipients (Sting, I'm still unsure about though).   I do think that the Kennedy Center Honors, perceived as stuffy, elitist, and boring, has swung the pendulum too far the other way, all but ignoring performing arts and Golden Age television/film performers in favor of rock stars and those whose artistic body of work is scant.

They found time to honor David Letterman, but neither Milton Berle or Sid Caesar ever got the call.  They managed to laud LL Cool J before he sheds his mortal coil, but Debbie Reynolds and Maureen O'Hara went unheralded.  George Lucas is, judging by Kennedy Center Honors standards, a far more important artist than Peter O'Toole.  Oprah Winfrey has done more for television, it seems, than Mary Tyler Moore.

Should there be any confusion, let me state it as clearly as I can.  I don't object to having more 'popular' names in music, film or television honored.  I don't object to having pop artists selected.  I love James Taylor as much as anyone.  I just think the Kennedy Center Honors should keep a balance between so-called 'high' art/culture and 'pop' culture.  There's no reason why LL Cool J (still the most questionable selection) and/or Estefan (59) could have been selected another year to allow pianist Emanuel Ax (68) or classical guitarist Christopher Parkening (69) to be selected.  You'd then have two 'classical' artists and three contemporary artists, a better balance.

Doubtful any of them would be
honored nowadays.

Will we ever see a time when film/television stars are outnumbered by artists whose work can transcend American-centered culture? Will the Kennedy Center Honors continue to select those who are more popular over what is more artistic or will they opt to return to their roots to encompass a wider group of 'arts'?

Kennedy Center Honors 2015: Some Thoughts

There are many things about this year's Kennedy Center Honors that surprised me.  The first is that the actual announcement itself was this week.

Traditionally, the KCH are announced after Labor Day, which is when I was expecting them.  Therefore, imagine my surprise to see the announcement on the same day as the Emmy Award nominations (as a side note, I won't be watching the Emmys because I have never seen an episode of any of the nominees for Outstanding Comedy OR Drama this year. I have seen episodes of Downton Abbey and Parks & Rec, but that was years ago.  That and the fact that The Americans, Bates Motel, Elementary, and Gotham, all good shows, were practically ignored.  When Gotham can't muster a cinematography nomination, then the Emmys stop being serious).   The announcements of the KCH this year took me by complete surprise.

The second surprise was that, in a rarity, I don't have much of an argument with at least four out of the six honorees.  That actually can count as a surprise in an of itself: traditionally, there are only five honorees per year (unless they are a duo or group, like Lerner & Lowe, Kander & Ebb, or, for some reason never made clear to me, Led Zeppelin).  Why they went for six honorees this year I don't know.

However, as I was saying I think the majority of the honorees this year are excellent.  We really have an extraordinary multicultural group here: one Hispanic, one Asian, one African-American...and a bunch of white people.  That is progress, particularly because a.) those minority honorees are extremely deserving of recognition, and b.) their talent, not their ethnicity or gender, puts them in the pantheon of great artists.

As someone who has been pushing for at least two years to get Rita Moreno recognized, I'm thrilled for her.  Perhaps this was a response to the criticism (which has some merit) that Hispanics were getting overlooked over the likes of Oprah Winfrey (still among the worst choices for the KCH).  There was Placido Domingo, there was Chita Rivera, and after the infamous 'go f*** yourself' reply from the Kennedy Center to Hispanic groups who raised their concern, there was Martina Arroyo and Carlos Santana.  Now, all of them I think are worthy of recognition regardless of their ethnicity, but no case could be made why Moreno, one of the EGOT winners, was constantly shut out. 

Her recognition was long overdue.  I think that with the exception of Carole King (whose name had been bandied about for some time), the others are a bit of a surprise.  I think rather pleasant surprises.  Cicely Tyson has been a trailblazer for African-American woman, and given that she's 90 (!) and still working, my hat goes off to her.   It would in any circumstance.

Seiji Ozawa is another wonderful surprise.  This is in the traditional "one classical artist" slot the KCH has been selecting, someone from the more traditional arts like ballet, opera, and in Ozawa's case, symphonic conducting.  In fact, Ozawa is the first conductor to be honored in nine years since Zubin Mehta (who like Ozawa, is Asian, albeit Mehta is Indian and Ozawa Japanese).  Yes, Leon Fleischer is a conductor as well, but I put him more as a pianist.

Another great thing about this year's roster is that, discounting The Eagles, the average age of the honorees is 79 (King: 73, George Lucas: 71, Moreno: 83, Ozawa: 80, Tyson: 90).  Compare that to last year, when the average age was 67 (incidentally, around the same age as all The Eagles).  As a side note, this year's honorees average age is around the exact age average from the first KCH (which was 80).  Maybe things are getting back on track with the Kennedy Center Honors.

If only this were a perfect list.  There are two honorees which I have some problems with.  First, George Lucas' inclusion, to me, is a bit puzzling.  Yes, I love Star Wars as much as anyone (though am one of the few people with no interest in the next batch of sequels and standalone films).  However, he's directed only six films in his career (and the last three were the generally awful Star Wars prequels, yes, I said it: Phantom Menace was crap, Attack of the Clones less crappy, and Revenge of the Sith the least crappy but still not as good as the first three...of which he directed only the first).  He also gave us Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which I don't think helps his case for honoring any (though I'd love to see someone perform the title theme to Howard the Duck in his tribute).

Think they'll show clips from The Star Wars Holiday Special?

Then there is The Eagles.  Again, I love The Eagles, but here we have yet another rock group being honored.  As much as I like Joe Walsh, you really think he's along the same lines as Richard Rodgers?  I wouldn't have a problem if they honored the duo of Don Henley and Glenn Frey, but the whole group?  Ah, what is it with the Kennedy Center Honors and rock groups? 

I'm also curious whether the hits the members produced independent of The Eagles will get recognized.  Technically, Henley is responsible for The Boys of Summer and Frey responsible for The Heat is On among other hits.  Could you really play them when they weren't the collective work of The Eagles.

Minus Lucas and The Eagles, both of which I question but won't get in an uproar over, this year's list of Kennedy Center Honors recipients is as good a list as I've seen in a while.

Congrats to all the honorees, and I look forward to the show.  I do hope next year though, we include others, like Gene Hackman, The Betty White, Christopher Parkening, Bernadette Peters, and/or Philip Glass.  All of whom I'd honor before The Eagles...

Kennedy Center Honors 2014: A Review

2014 KENNEDY CENTER HONORS:

A REVIEW

Hanks A Lot for These Honors Sting

In terms of honorees the 2014 Kennedy Center Honors at least weren't as disastrous as when they suggested Led Zeppelin was in the same musical universe as Lerner and Lowe, or put forth that David Letterman was at the same level as Bob Hope or Johnny Carson.   Back when these things started, they were meant to be a serious tribute to artists who had spent a lifetime contributing to American and world culture.  Now, they seemed to have been, like almost everything else today, dumbed down to where we have a celebration, not of the performing arts, but of people whose name we still (mostly) remember. 

The Kennedy Center has chickened out with regards to actual performing arts.  The last composer honored was in 2004, and that was John Williams, who is known primarily for his film scores.  You have to go way-back to 1998 to find anyone close to writing non-pop music, that being Andre Previn.  That is a good sixteen years since anything close to concert music composition has been recognized.  By the way, aren't both Philip Glass and John Adams still alive? 

The 2014 Kennedy Center Honorees are Al Green, Johnny Madrid (formerly known as Tom Hanks), Patricia McBride, Sting (aka Gordon Sumner), and Lily Tomlin.  Two pop music stars, a comedienne, a film actor, and a prima ballerina.  Out of that group, only one can be considered as being from the traditional arts.  The others, mostly more well-known (Tomlin being the outlier) are perhaps if not more dubious at least just as able to appear at the People's Choice Awards than at the Kennedy Center. 

Now, I'm not suggesting the KCH should select only those who perform on the stage, but somehow it's been a running thread that the KCH will select at least one 'cultural' honoree and everyone else is more a popular selection.  Let's go to the last five years: 2014-2010:

Bill T. Jones:
New Meaning to "Token"

2014: ballet dancer McBride
2013: opera diva Martina Arroyo
2012: ballet dancer Natalia Makarova
2011: cellist Yo-Yo Ma
2010: dancer/choreographer Bill T. Jones

Compare this to the first five years, 1978-1982.

1978: opera diva Marian Anderson, actor/dancer Fred Astaire, choreographer George Balanchine, composer Richard Rogers, and pianist Arthur Rubenstein
1979: composer Aaron Copland, jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, actor Henry Fonda, dancer/choreographer Martha Graham, and playwright Tennessee Williams
1980: composer/conductor Leonard Bernstein, actor James Cagney, dancer/choreographer Agnes de Mille, stage/screen actress Lynn Fontaine, and opera diva Leontyne Price
1981: jazz composer Count Basie, actor Cary Grant, stage/screen actress Helen Hayes, dancer/choreographer Jerome Robbins, and pianist Rudolph Serkin
1982: Broadway impresario George Abbott, silent film actress Lilian Gish, jazz composer Benny Goodman, actor/dancer Gene Kelly, and conductor/violinist Eugene Ormandy.

Barbara Cook: the last Broadway-connected Honoree

In its first five years, the KCH recognized two opera singers, five composers, four choreographers, three classical musicians, two conductors (and this isn't including people like Basie and Goodman, who conducted their own compositions with their jazz groups) and one playwright.  In its last five years, the KCH has recognized one choreographer, one classical musician, no conductor, no composer, no playwright,  and one opera singer.

It's like the KCH has a quota: one "artist from the classical world" to give it a veneer of prestige, and then people whose careers, while remarkable, may not be as culturally impactful as previous honorees (and I say this as someone who supported Billy Joel as a Kennedy Center Honoree, which puts me squarely in the minority). 

Steve Martin?
David Letterman?
Oprah Winfrey?
The Who?
LED ZEPPELIN?
LED ZEPPELIN???

Isn't someone missing?

Led Zeppelin isn't even a band anymore.  They disbanded the moment John Bonham drank himself to death, so technically, the Kennedy Center Honors honored a dead entity, which is against their own rules that only living people who must be present may be honored. Granted, a little technical but still a point of debate. 

What I'm driving at is that the Kennedy Center Honors no longer takes risks.  They dare not really honor people from Broadway or the classical world in large numbers, merely a token representation.  It's easier to get attention for honoring Elton John than for Merce Cunningham, to recognize a Diana Ross than an Alexander Schneider.  The Kennedy Center Honors, rather than be a true 'celebration of the performing arts', has devolved to yet another awards show desperate for attention and ratings, bringing out people who may or may not be worthy of the lofty aspirations the Kennedy Center touts itself to have. 

It is failing, miserably, in its task of finding artists from all branches: music (not just what you hear on the radio today that DOESN'T involve NPR), THEATER, DANCE, and screen (large & small) to both salute and draw attention to.  It's also failing, miserably, in drawing the ratings it so nakedly wants.  I think the Kennedy Center hopes that by honoring 'big/popular names' like Sting, Green, and Madrid, people will watch. 

They aren't.

We also should consider the age issue.  This year's honorees average age is 67 (Madrid at 58 is the youngest, Tomlin at 75 the oldest).  Compare that to the first year of the KCH, where the average age was 80.   Let's dig deeper and compare the ages of both groups when they were feted.

2014 Honorees: Green: 68, Madrid: 58, McBride: 72, Sting: 63, Tomlin: 75.
1978 Honorees: Anderson: 81, Astaire: 79, Balanchine: 74, Rogers: 76, and Rubenstein: 91.

Richard Rogers would die within a year of his honors.  Every honoree since 2006 is still alive.

Is it me, or do you think the majority of those honored this year could have been honored five or even ten years from now?  It's not like the Center is starved for people to salute: 94-year-old Maureen O'Hara, 84-year-old Gene Hackman, 93-year-old Betty White, 72-year-old Harrison Ford, 77-year-old Philip Glass, 83-year-old Rita Moreno, 80-year-old Maggie Smith, 70-year-old Tim Rice, 86-year-old Martin Landau, or 100-year-old Norman Lloyd.   Even 67-year-old classical guitarist Christopher Parkening or 66-year-old Broadway veteran Bernadette Peters might be better choices than Madrid or Sting (who are both younger than the last two recommendations, I might add). 

Now, this all isn't to say I dislike the honorees.  I like Al Green.  I like Sting.  I even like Madrid and remember Tomlin fondly for The Incredible Shrinking Woman, which as a child I found hilarious (and any social commentary mercifully went over my head).  However, this year's selections seemed oddly out-of-touch with actual culture or relevance.  Richard Rogers' music still impacts people today.  Marian Anderson's performance in front of the Lincoln Memorial as a form of protest against racism will live on in history.  Fred Astaire will always be emulated.

Can that really be said about Madrid or Sumner?

Out of all the honorees, for me the highlight was the one for Patricia McBride, perhaps the least known to the general public.  It shows that being exposed to things outside our general experiences can be fascinating. 

A Fascinating Rhythm, if you will.

Despite how ballet might be thought of as silly, I think it takes a great deal of athleticism and physical strength to perform these routines.  The ballet performances were beautiful and entertaining, revealing a world few of us really venture into but which has more to offer than we might all think.

Al Green was the weakest in terms of making a case for his inclusion.  Sure, he had great songs, but has really had that great of an impact on music?  However, his musical tribute was awesome, as was Lily Tomlin's somewhat perplexed reaction to it all.  Usher's rendition of Let's Stay Together was phenomenal and the Mavis Staples/Sam Moore duet of Take Me to the River brought the house down.

Johnny Madrid's career highlights, oddly, didn't include Turner & Hooch (apart from an appearance by 'Hooch', which even I, not Madrid's biggest fan, found in poor taste), Dragnet, or a little-known but actually good film, Punchline.  However, the whole thing had the feel of a farewell.  Hanks isn't as big a star as he was two decades ago, where he was collecting Oscars like Cracker Jack prizes.  Today, Madrid is not a good return on an investment.  Let's look at the highlight reel:

Saving Mr. Banks (not a big hit)
Captain Philips (not a big hit)
Cloud Atlas (flop)
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (flop)
Larry Crowne (flop deluxe)
Angels & Demons (I'd say flop)
Charlie Wilson's War (flop)

In between all these films I found only one real hit, and that was Toy Story 3.  This might explain why the former biggest star in the world now is listed as one of the most overpaid stars of 2014.  Certainly not a position a man known best for his likeability and average-American persona to be.

Oh, and there was that matter of when he suggested racism was at the heart of America's war against Japan (Pearl Harbor I figure not having much to do with the war).  Hanks has grown nastier and more partisan as the years have gone by, eroding the loveable all-American quality that is his best selling point.  I still think he's a great actor and probably a nice guy, but he's not as big as he once was, and he now thinks he's a historian and political expert, indifferent to how he can be isolating his audience.

His tribute was perhaps the worst of the five.  The inclusion of the title song to That Thing You Do! was nice (though not a fan of the acapella version though).  Everything else seemed a bit nutty.  A big tap dance number from a child?  Martin Short's excruciating long and unfunny salute that culminated in a reworked version of Yankee Doodle Dandy to fit Johnny Madrid?  A trio performing They Can't Take Away from Me (another odd choice, given his much-vaunted Broadway debut denied him a Tony Award)?   How all this goes with Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, Apollo 13 or Saving Private Ryan I don't know.  Seriously, they couldn't even put in "Houston, we have a problem" as part of the film portion of Madrid's tribute?

I saw Colin Hanks, a respected actor in his own right, in the audience, but I don't know why he didn't speak at his father's tribute.  Mary Martin's son, Larry Hagman, spoke at her Kennedy Center Honors tribute.   Maybe Hanks fils wanted to keep stepping away from the shadow of Hanks pere, but still...

Tomlin, well, at least she's funnier than the person who introduced her: Garrison Keillor, who always looks a bit unkempt and has the power to put me to sleep.  Woe, would HE be gone...

Sting's musical tribute was great (songs about stalking always go over well), but again, Sting?  The performances were fine: Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga, and best of all Bruno Mars with his cover of Message in a Bottle were all excellent. 

Still, STING?

Again, the 2014 Kennedy Center Honors weren't a disaster, and a case can be made for all of them (albeit with varying degrees of success).  However, as Reba McEntire, Jane Fonda, Jane Lynch, and Kate McKinnon from Saturday Night Live were saluting Tomlin and her 'wife' (I still can't bring myself to say that the female partner of a woman is a wife, sorry.  Companion, domestic partner or partner, but 'wife'...a bridge too far), how I wish they'd shown this instead...

It might even have been more fun if I (Heart) Huckabee's director David O. Russell could have had a few laughs on Tomlin's big night...

Certainly more entertaining than Martin Short and the child tap dancer.

Kennedy Center Honors 2014: Some Thoughts

Hanks for the Kennedys!

And The Betty White Gets Screwed Again!

Oh, Kennedy Center...why do you keep deliberately slipping into irrelevance?  In the past few years the Kennedy Center Honors went from saluting such figures as Ella Fitzgerald, James Stewart, Maria Tallchief, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Ray Charles and Katharine Hepburn, to finding such illustrious honorees as Steve Martin, Oprah Winfrey, and Led Zeppelin.

For the record, I love Steve Martin, but even if I were the biggest Martin fan in the world, I would have said it would have been far too early to acknowledge him when he was so honored, but that is perhaps for another time.

While the Kennedy Center has had a few bumps in the past few years (the Led Zeppelin thing being perhaps the most outrageous, with the Center telling Hispanics to go F-Themselves when they had the temerity to question why in nearly thirty years they'd managed to find only two Hispanic honorees a close second), it looked like with a more open selection process and even invitations from the public for honorees things would improve.  Let's look if they have.

This year's honorees are:

Singer Al Green
Actor Tom Hanks
Ballet Dancer Patricia McBride
Musician Sting (why couldn't it be Gordon Sumner)
Comedienne Lilly Tomlin

Well, at least they got two women (and one gay person), but while this list isn't horrible it is also a bit 'meh'.  It isn't one that inspires great passion or excitement.

Lilly Tomlin?  I have a sense that most people under 40 have little to no idea who Lilly Tomlin is.  I think she was in a Muppet movie, and she was very funny in The Incredible Shrinking Woman, but is America jumping out of their chairs to salute Lilly Tomlin?

I don't mean to sound like I'm bashing Tomlin in particular or that she somehow isn't worthy, but in the 'calling a spade a spade' tradition, this newest batch ain't nothing to rush out and see.  However, if the Kennedy Center used THESE clips as part of the Tomlin tribute, then I'd DEFINITELY watch.

Foul language in clips.  Be warned.

Of course, they wouldn't, nor will they dwell much on Hanks' early years as a comic actor. They'll go on about Philadelphia and Forrest Gump (a film I absolutely detested the first AND second time I was made to watch, to where I was called 'un-American' for not liking that drivel), but will they show clips from his Criterion Collection-worthy Turner & Hooch or Dragnet (a personal favorite)?  I do get a sense they will have to mention when the Reverend Al Green had boiling grits thrown on him by an angry girlfriend while he was in the shower.  Talk about a downer...

Even more surprising, it's one of the whitest groups in the Center's history.  Having only one minority honoree doesn't necessary doesn't necessarily mean they are ignoring minorities (though maybe the failure to include Hispanics or more African-Americans is a backhanded compliment to the Annenberg Minority Study which found that there are few Hispanic or African-American characters on film and television and fewer black and Hispanic writer/directors, shocking absolutely no one).  I would just argue that this group is perhaps the most vanilla group, one where the appeal to non-whites is pretty limited.

When was the last time Sting had airplay on BET?  Apart from Misty Copeland, can anyone name an African-American prima ballerina currently performing? 

2013 Honorees:
Strength in Diversity

This isn't a terrible group on the whole.  I'd question the selection of Sting (who may be the first single-named honoree in the 37 year history of the event, for even B.B. King was billed as "Riley B.B. King" at the ceremony rather than by his stage name).  Sure, I like Sting's music, but shudder to think I'll have to hear someone play Fields of Gold (a pretty but frankly sleep-inducing number).  Well, who doesn't know Every Breath You Take?  One can only hope they don't go on about that tantric sex...

I do also question Hanks' inclusion.  No, he deserves to be honored, but we must be honest.  Isn't he a bit 'young' to receive this recognition (and yes, at 58 it does seem strange to say he's 'young')?  It doesn't help that Hanks has grown increasingly partisan, putting aside his "Loveable All-American" persona to stir up controversy.  There was his overt Obama-worship, which in itself wasn't wrong but it was the first time he became so enmeshed in politics when he had pretty much steered clear of such things.  Rather, it is in regards to his The Pacific miniseries, when he suggested American fought the Japanese because of racism on America's part; I guess that whole 'Pearl Harbor' thing was just a mild misunderstanding.  The internment of Japanese-Americans was wrong, immoral, and illegal, but it was also brought to you by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, liberal of liberals. Whatever flaws George W. Bush had (and he had many), at least HE didn't lock up Arab or Muslim-Americans in gulags like FDR did to "the Japs".

Maybe Hanks will get around to putting that in another "World War II was the only war worth fighting" production. 

The Kennedy Center could have honored Peter O'Toole (a better actor than Hanks).  Oh, wait...he's dead.  They could have honored Broadway veteran Elaine Stritch...oh, wait, she's dead too.  I'm sure they would have gotten around to it, once Led Zeppelin and Oprah Winfrey got their just desserts.  I'm sure they'll be plenty of time to honor 94-year-old Maureen O'Hara, 93-year-old Carol Channing, 92-year-old The Betty White, or 84-year-old Gene Hackman.

After all, none of them contributed much to American culture or are as big as Lilly Tomlin...

Again, this isn't a bad list per se.  Each certainly has achieved great things in the arts.  However, try as I might I can't work up great enthusiasm for seeing them honored.  I skipped the KCH two years ago.  That time, I did it out of protest over honorees David Letterman and Led Zeppelin (whom I felt both made a mockery of the Kennedy Center Honors goals).  I think I'll skip it this year too, only this time, out of sheer boredom.

No Class of Honorees will ever beat 1997, which I consider the greatest collection of talent ever honored in one year apart from the very first Kennedy Center Honors.  Sorry, Class of 2014, you'll never be as big or as great as these...

1997 Kennedy Center Honorees:
Dylan, Bacall, Villella, Norman, Heston.
Legends All...

Kennedy Center Honors 2012: Some Thoughts on Heart's "Stairway to Heaven" Tribute

I Can Admit When I'm Wrong

I am not above making mistakes, but I am someone who can acknowledge when I am wrong.

I wrote a couple years ago that I thought Led Zeppelin was a horrendous choice for a Kennedy Center Honor.  I stand by that original statement.  The Kennedy Center Honors are not the bloody Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.  It is suppose to be a celebration of the arts, not an acknowledgement of a band (as great as they may be). 

 
This was the first time the KCH had been given to an entire band (not like when Roger Daltry and Pete Townshend of The Who were honored as individuals, and I wasn't too keen on THAT either).  I have not shifted from my view that it was a desperate ratings grab for a show that isn't on anyone's Must Watch List. 

I myself did not see that year's special, though frankly seeing David Letterman honored didn't sit too well with me either...that unfunny misogynist being ranked with Johnny Carson and Bob Hope. 

As part of my diatribe against this I wrote that I wondered what band was going to subject us to an overblown version of Stairway to Heaven.  It is on that point that I must admit, if I am to be intellectually and spiritually honest, that I was completely wrong.

Heart's version of Stairway to Heaven is brilliant, especially when they got John Bonham's son Jason to play drums.  I was wrong: far from being overblown, it was an astonishing rendition.

With that, I officially retract my comments about an overblown rendition of Stairway to Heaven being played at the Kennedy Center Honors tribute to Led Zeppelin. 

 

 

 

However, I stand by my contention that under Kennedy Center Honors rules, Led Zeppelin was ineligible for honoring.  Since John Bonham is dead, we can say that "Led Zeppelin" is similarly dead.  The Kennedy Center Honors are officially reserved for living people, so in a sense, they broke their own rules. 

 

Just like Joy Division ceased to exist when Ian Curtis killed himself, Led Zeppelin ceased to exist when Bonham asphyxiated on his own vomit after consuming copious amounts of alcohol. 

 

Led Zeppelin and Heart get a Whole Lotta Love from me.

 

The Kennedy Center Honors gets none...unless they honor The Betty White and/or Rita Moreno this year.