For a guy who declares himself so unhip that he
stopped listening to music after Toto retired, Jon Stewart seems to be doing
OK by the Grammys.
Stewart was back in the saddle Wednesday for the second year in a row to host
the music industry’s fest on CBS. (Winners were announced after press deadline.)
In a teleconference before the awards show, Stewart said he once was confused
for a member of the Kington Trio when he was performing in Las Vegas.
“The guy had left me a note. It took me a while to figure out what the guy actually
wanted.” When asked if this year’s show would be edgier, Stewart was quick with
the quip. “Look, this is CBS. Anyone who is under 60 is edgy.”
Stewart also was asked of comedy was getting back to form after the Sept. 11
tragedy. “I don’t think President (George) Bush is a sacred cow now. You still
have dissenting voices. Just immediately after the tragedy, you didn’t have
as many dissenting voices.”
Stewart also listed some of his musical favorites growing up. “I had the ‘Kiss
Live’ album, and was part of the Kiss Army. There was Peter Frampton, the Outlaws,
Molly Hatchet, Van Halen, and then MTV made us think Duran Duran was cool until
we found out what a red herring that was.”
He also mused why U2 was up for Grammys with an album that was released 16 months
ago. “Is there no statute of limitations for Irish bands?”
From his last Grammy-hosting stint, Stewart said he was amazed by the entourages
of many pop stars. “Me and a couple of the writers would rush out to see the
tops of a bunch of people’s heads.”
He also was asked if a comedy album could be in his future. “No, I’ve done the
comedy thing,” Stewart said. “I was thinking of doing an album of songs or maybe
some spoken word poetry, something I truly suck at.”
© Sun Newspapers 2002