Aftermath of the Grammys: yays and nays

Poor Bob Hilburn -- trying so desperately to remain hip, but getting it so wrong [“Sentimental Flight,” Feb. 14]. “Genius Loves Company” was a masterpiece of 2004. To denigrate it as a make-up call says more about the writer than the work. Endearing? Sentimental? Perhaps. But Ray also took each of those talented artists to school with each track.

To say Kanye West was more deserving is more than ridiculous. To call this self-promoting malcontent a musician goes beyond the bounds. Now perhaps I’m sacrilegious, but I’ll go to the mat every time on this: Rap may be urban poetry; it ain’t music. It can surround itself in music, but without a melody, the rapper is not a singer.

Steve Crawford

Pacific Palisades

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Thank you for voicing what I’ve been thinking for many years. Honoring “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” was bad, but this one takes the cake. The Grammys’ stock was on the rise when OutKast and White Stripes were going head to head, but the trifecta of Maroon5, John Mayer and Ray Charles has sent their stock into the abyss.

Barrett Porter

Los Angeles

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Hilburn made a good point: Ray Charles probably should have gotten the top Grammy honors years ago. But the voters had made different choices. This imperfect system we call democracy. He seems to favor taking the decision-making process out of the hands of the poorly informed masses in order to ensure “truly deserving” winners. So, who is going to make the “right” decision?

Peter M. Graf

Hollywood