If you were in the New York metro area this morning, and you happened to be within the range of FM radio station 97.1 (or Hot 97, as it's affectionately called), and listening around 7:35 or so, you would have heard Kanye West sharing his philosphy on--of all things--production design. He started talking about how he has been in discussions with folks like Gwen Stefani and Trent Reznor, and basically how production values really matter.
But then (this is where it gets good), the host asked him if all that production is really necessary and why not just walk back and forth across the stage and let his voice speak for itself. Kanye then started talking about how he's been to shows where there are towels and water bottles on the stage, and a DJ might have a laptop with stickers showing, which he feels is a sloppy look and that productions need to be cleaned up. He noted the use of moving lights specifically, saying that they should be hidden because "they ugly."
Now, here's where it get's really good. The hip-hop artist then went on to refer to Sunday's Grammy Awards, calling attention to his live performance with M.I.A., Jay-Z, T.I. and Lil Wayne. He said that he spent approximately 30 minutes taping and cleaning up the set before he would perform. Then he topped it all of by saying he wants to be bigger than Elvis.
Really, Kanye?! Really?! I wonder what Bob Dickinson, with his closet full of Emmy Awards, thinks of that sort of commentary.