At the Juno Awards Alanis Morisette got faux-naked, the big winner was a guy I've never heard of, and my bud Bob Ezrin was inducted into the Canadian Hall of Fame:
- Canadian rocker Alanis Morissette didn't bare her breast like Janet Jackson, but she did bare her soul Sunday night at Canada's annual music awards, demonstrating her disdain for what she called "hypocritical U.S. censorship."
Hosting the 2004 Juno Awards ceremonies, Canada's version of the Grammys, Morissette disrobed on stage to reveal a skin-colored, naked body suit with nipples and pubic hair.
As part of the skit, Morissette was then told by the show's assistant-director that "actually, we can't show nipples or pubic hair on national TV," at which time the Ottawa-born singer pulled off the fake body parts.
...."As you may or may not be aware, recently in the United States, I ran into a little problem with regards to a lyric in one my songs," Morissette told the near-sellout audience of 17,000, referring to her latest release titled, "Everything," which includes the lyrics, "I can be an a--hole of the grandest kind."
"It was requested that I change a word in the first verse. Well, I am overjoyed to be back in my homeland, the true North... strong and censor-free."
American radio stations threatened recently to ban the song, forcing Morissette to change the controversial word to "nightmare."
....The big winner at Canada's 2004 Juno awards was Montreal rocker Sam Roberts, who captured Best Artist of the Year, Best Album of the Year for "We Were Born in a Flame" and Best Rock Album of the year honors.
"We've toiled in relative obscurity for 12 years, so I suppose we were the underdogs," said Roberts, whose rock stock began to climb rapidly after playing on a benefit bill in Toronto last summer with several bands including the Rolling Stones. The all-day concert was organized in an effort to tell the world Toronto was safe to visit on the heels of the SARS scare.
Other winners included pop singer Nelly Furtado, who took home Best Single of the Year for "Powerless (Say What You Want)," Sarah McLachlan, who captured Best Songwriter of the Year, crooner Michael Buble, who won Best New Artist of the Year, and Nickelback, who walked off with two awards, including Best Group of the Year and the Fans' Choice honor. [Reuters]
Article comments
1 - Jim Carruthers
That Sam Roberts is a guy you never heard of (I should point out I don't really like his generic rock combo thing) is the big problem with the Junos. Their best new comer band award is usually a consolation prize for failure, and the highlights are by stars signed in the States (though I will give regards to Sarah McLachlan for sticking with the indie Nettwerk.
The Junos are heavily conflicted in that they are dominated by the foreign multi-nationals who are forced to produce recordings by Canadian acts as a loss leader, while celebrating the US success of acts they haven't signed and who don't work or live here.
Sort of similar to Ezrin's career.
But the nipples and merkin gag was funny.
2 - BB
Eric, I know Bob Ezrin and his co-producer Brian Christian very well. In fact they bought me lunch while we negotiated a deal for them to produce one of my bands back in the 80's when I was living in TO. It's a great story how it all came about and worthy of a post some day. I've been to his studio (Nimbus 9) and played on the same pinball machine that Alice Cooper (I also interviewed Alice) and all the others used between sessions. Great memories. Thanks.
3 - randy
The Junos were held in my city over the weekend. I volunteered for the "Juno Fest", which featured 54 bands playing 14 venues on the Friday and Saturday nights before the big Sunday broadcast.
It was nice to see Bob Ezrin inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, and his short acceptance speech focused on the importance of music education. Good for him. I hope our nutbag government officials were listening to what he said.
I've listened to Sam Roberts' music, and it didn't grab me, but more power to him, if he's doing well, and can win a few awards. In any event, I took the opportunity to scribble the names of a few Canadian bands with whom I am not that familiar, and placed holds on their CDs with the local library, so that I can listen to what was nominated, while driving in the car...
4 - Eric Olsen
Thanks for the input - I'd like to read that story BB! I think Jim summarized how the awards - and to a certain extent the entire Canadian msuic industry - works. It's very difficult when you share a culture with a neighbor 10-times bigger.
And from my talk with him, Bob Ezrin is a very smart, passionate, nice guy. He knows what's he's doing.
5 - mwanji
Radio threatened to ban Morissette's song because of the word "asshole?" I find that hard to believe. What happened to the good ol' bleep? And if she agreed to change the lyric, it couldn't have been that important to her, could it?
6 - Sandra Smallson
Bravo Alanis. Hypocrisy is becoming an epidemic. If this is the way Alanis has chosen to protest this particular epidemic, then bravo to her.
As for her removing the word asshole, I don't think it is a matter of how important it was to her or not. Personally, American radio is now filled with hip-hop music. I don't think any non-hiphop Artist should be changing their lyrics to suit airplay because it mightn't get played anyway. If they do play it, then they can bleep.
I must say that, in my opinion, Alanis has not released a decent Album since Jagged little Pill. I am yet to hear the new one. I live in hope. Jagged Little Pill is one of my fav Albums.
7 - Eric Olsen
I want to like Alanis as well, but there hasn't been all tha much to like since Dirty.
While her "performance art" may have been clever and interesting in and of itself, it is idsingenuous for her to pretend Janet's act had anything to do with art or free expression: it was a publicity stunt gone wrong, whose purpose was nothing other than marketing.
8 - Sandra Smallson
Dirty? I haven't heard that one from Alanis. what album is that on?
Janet's act might have been a publicity stunt. Maybe, if intentional, it was just to shock. She knew the audience. she knew it wasn't a rock/roll audience. families watching the superbowl. Clearly it was to shock middle America if it was a deliberate Act. That in itself is a statement of sorts. It doesn't have to have a Political or religuos message behind it before it is seen as a statement.
Alanis got it right. It's about hypocrisy. So, if we are to say Janet was making a stateement. The only one she could possibly be making judging from the venue and the audience she knew she had was on hypocrisy. I doubt Marketing had anything to do with it.
What marketing sense is there in outraging Middle America? Are the Baptists or Presbyterains going to rush off to Virgin Mega stores to buy her Cd because they have seen her right breast? Or are they more likely to protest the selling of her Cds?
I don't subscribe to this school of thought that says sexual acts or ploys are marketing stunts for record sales because there is no mathematical evidence to support that assertion. When Madonna did a sex coffee table book, Erotica, though a hit by all standards, was not as successful as the Album before it. Infact, there was a complete backlash well into the Bedtime Stories release. The kiss had no noticeable impact on American life or Britney's In The Zone Album..When Xtina did the Dirrty video her Album was not as successful in the charts as it became when she released "Beautiful".
So this myth that pop stars flaunt their bodies to increase Album sales has no basis whatsoever and is just a myth perpetuated by males who see that the women are now confident in their sexuality and strong enough to talk about and do things that their male counterparts have been doing for donkey years. Or by females who lack the body or self confidence to do such things. It's not for everybody. But when you find one female slagging off another who perhaps revels in her sexuality, then you know you are looking at a woman who has issues.
All publicity stunts are about some statement or the other. The Kiss was seen by some gays as Madonna's support for same sex marriage since she had just signed the petition a few weeks before. I saw it as a temporary return of the bad gal Madonna most love to hate and love to love at the same time. Publicity stunts/ Artistic expressions/statements? You see it as you want to see it and attach whatever relevance to it as you see fit.
9 - Eric Olsen
When I said "Dirty" I meant "Jagged" - sorry.
10 - tim bond
I can't believe the Kiss album Destroyer was not even cited in the this article. A must have in any rock fan's musical collection, it was the reason I Googled this article. I was pleased to see the rundown of Ezrin's other works. I will seek them out.