Great Responsibility

Hey Soul Mates,
I got something very exciting in the mail yesterday: my first Grammy Ballot. That's correct, yours truly is voting! But with this power comes great responsibility. Having watched the Grammy telecast for years and knowing "what I like," I figured it would be easy to vote for what I thought was the best of the best. But having read the criteria and the cover letter that came with the ballot, I feel I need to seek out and at least listen to, once, each of the nominated songs (whole albums, not so much) to make an informed choice.

NARAS takes all of this very seriously and as someone who's single vote might now determine the fate of an artist, I shall too. As a result, I've discovered some great songs nominated in individual fields that didn't get a lot of radio play or otherwise. I've also heard some things that are lackluster and surprise me that they were tabbed for the shortlist. There is no "write-in" choice on the ballot, so them's the breaks.

The deadline for turning in the ballot is in about 3 weeks, so I've got to get cracking. I'm also hoping to attend the show at Staples on Feb. 11. Should be fun, lots of nominees I'd like to see perform: Justin Timberlake, Prince, Mary J. Blige, Gnarls Barkley, RHCP. And of course, I'll be there rooting for my selections. No, it's not Decision 2008, but finally voting is getting to be a fun experience again.

Be sure to watch the Rush Hour Soul Live at the Gig webcast!
Happy Friday, all.
Love, Power, Peace

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