He said the awards are given out in a poignant ceremony that means a lot to the musicians and their families. In November, Portnow said, Richard Pryor was genuinely moved when he learned trustees voted to give him one for his comedy albums. Pryor died Dec. 1, and his family plans to accept.

Portnow also argues that the Grammys remain one of the few life achievement love fests that still have some cache. In other words, a lifetime achievement award with the name "Grammy" on it is a lot better than the generic brand.

That's all well and good. But last year a record 10 were awarded, including two to entire musical families.

One can only wonder if the guys in Devo will wear those goofy red helmets when their turn inevitably comes up.

From the e-mail bag…
Needless to say, last week's Oscar nominations, and the related column in this space, brought a number of opinionated comments. Here's a sampling:

-- "Going to the movies used to be a magical experience. Not anymore. The five best picture nominees were a pretty gloomy bunch. I would not be thrilled to give any of them the award for best picture. Although I would vote for 'Crash' if I had a vote, to me 'King Kong' is what movies are all about. However, because it didn't pull in $200 million the first week out, it is declared to be out of the running for best picture, even with favorable reviews." (Rob Wills, suburban Toronto teacher)

-- "People don't go and see movies for the sake of the movie, they go and see their favorite star — Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, Will Smith, etc. I'm sure 'Capote' is a great film. However, who is Philip Seymour Hoffman? Until now, I'd never heard of him." (Nicole Wright, Memphis business consultant)

-- "For one audience member who saw the nominated movies and performances, they are cheered. There are almost two dozen additional performances that could have been nominated without anyone realistically suggesting that the quality of the nominations was in question. Regardless of the TV broadcast, the nominations are quality. And, for some people, quality films are what the Oscars are about." (Jude Bourque, Baton Rouge lawyer)

-- Finally, reader Rick Brewer in the University of North Carolina Sports Information Department suggested a way of cutting down on Oscar acceptance babble:

"How about allowing all winners to use 'Thank you' only twice. And they can't list 20 people — just one or two individuals or cover everyone with 'cast and crew' and/or 'family'… And, if there's any major deviation from the guidelines, simply start showing a clip from the film on one of the large screens."