Still, it's better than Crash

A few disclaimers:

1) I am not a big fan of hip-hop music. This probably has much to do with the kinds of music I was raised with, which tended toward Nanci Griffith and classical. I do not consider my lack of appreciation a reflection on the inherent quality of the musical form.

2) I am not a big fan of Eminem in particular. I think he is a misogynistic, homophobic lout.

3) I did not watch the Grammy Awards last night. Acting awards shows I watch like a religion. Anything else, music awards shows especially, I skip.

All that said, I know with 100% transcendent certainty that the winner of a couple of last night's big awards was wrong. Deeply, deeply wrong. From the Times:

Asserting the power and versatility of the new Nashville, the country-pop trio Lady Antebellum was the big winner at the 53rd annual Grammy Awards, which were presented on Sunday night at the Staples Center arena here.

In a night of upsets, the band won five prizes, including the top two awards for a single track — record and song of the year — for “Need You Now,” besting Eminem and Jay-Z, as well as sweeping the country categories. It won in every category in which it was nominated except album of the year, which went to the indie-rock heroes Arcade Fire for “The Suburbs,” the first time a band solidly in the alt-rock world has taken that top category.

No. No, no, no.

I have heard "Need You Now" in various shopping centers, occasionally when flipping through channels, and maybe once on the radio before frantically spinning the knob to anything else. "Need You Now" is like Xanax-laced pudding being forced into one's brain through the ears. It makes "We've Only Just Begun" sound like "Darling Nikki." It could make Ambien obsolete.

It is inoffensive enough, I suppose. But there is no way it could possibly be considered the "Best" of anything.