When an awards show finally felt relevant

There was something splendidly different about these women-dominated' Grammys — in the quiet but firm way these women made political statements

- SANDIP ROY

Two Baby Boomers Watch the Grammys, a New Yorker magazine cartoon a friend shared this week on social media pretty much sums up the annual Grammys predicament for many of us these days.

As a wise friend said, a sure sign that we are getting older is when we know more people in the "In Memoriam" segment than among the actual winners.

The cartoon shows a couple sitting on a couch watching television with their cat curled up on a rug in front of them. The thought bubble for both reads the same-"Who? Who? Who? Who? Who? Who? Who? Who? Who?" And then "Joni!" Joni of course refers to Joni Mitchell, who made her Grammys debut at 80.

Resplendent in a black velvet shirt with gold embroidery and a black beret, she sat in a plush armchair, tapping her cane with a diamond-encrusted tiger head as she sang her iconic 1966 song Both Sides Now. The voice, of course, did not have the old bell-like clarity she was famous for. At first I pined for that.

But then I realised this version had something the original did not-decades of life experience baked into it. It gave the song a certain grit that the original never had. After having a neardeath experience because of a brain aneurysm recently, Mitchell had truly looked at life from both sides now.

When she sang "Well something's lost but something's gained in living everyday", the internet teared up.

She got a standing ovation, but these Grammys had more retro feel than just Joni Mitchell. Billy Joel sang, as did Tracy Chapman and Annie Lennox.

Yet the Grammys were not just a nostalgia fest.