Somewhere in South Dakota, Steven Tyler executed an almost fatal spin-turn, taking a nasty fall off the stage. He ended up breaking his left shoulder and receiving 20 stitches in his head. Aerosmith’s tour with ZZ Top was subsequently canceled, which is why I was headed to Madison Square Garden after work for a refund.

I had noticed a colossal tour bus on 33^rd Street, right outside the venue. In all the times passing by MSG, I had never seen one parked outside. Inside the Garden, there were posters of Taylor Swift everywhere and one of her chirpy songs blasted through the speakers. That’s when I realized Swift was performing that night, and it was probably her bus. Approaching the box office, I noticed the man with the moustache and curly hair behind the ticket counter bore a striking resemblance to the late photographer/actor Allan Arbus, best known as Dr. Sidney Freeman on M*A*S*H. He had the drowsy, slightly annoyed expression of a man who was in the midst of being tormented. Lots of New Yorkers have this look, so it wasn’t too out of the ordinary.

“You believe I’ve had to listen to this shit all day?” The man asked this with a sapped sigh, although it wasn’t really a question. It was more of a statement from someone who was surviving something traumatic. No wonder he appeared so somnolent. Looking at the two rock’n’roll titans on the ticket, he more than likely felt comfortable (as Dylan put it) laying down his weary tune, figuring I would appreciate and relate to his plight. He assumed correctly, as I instinctively burst out laughing.

It really was funny, when you also consider just how popular Swift is. And not just with young women. On a music forum, I once read a middle-aged male compare her 2010 record Speak Now to Bob Dylan’s 1975 masterwork Blood on the Tracks. Sounds like a joke, but Swift fans mean business. Both albums deal with disintegrating relationships. The difference is one comes across as a painful, funny, sad, lonesome and harrowing “dark night of the soul,” and the other the soundtrack of your next visit at Chuck E. Cheese. Nothing against Taylor Swift, who comes across as a smart, formidable and charitable person, but let’s not compare her to Dylan just yet. Or maybe ever, ever, ever.

After giving me the refund, the man said, “Sorry about the inconvenience.” I had a feeling the guy wasn’t normally this polite. It could be that you can never underestimate the bond between strangers who share an opinion that counters conventional wisdom.

Five years later I was watching the 2014 Grammys when I suddenly thought of this guy. Taylor Swift performed “All Too Well” at the piano, and I pictured him wherever he was, looking pained and drained. It then occurred to me that while I don’t connect with her music, millions of others do. In an increasingly dark, harsh world, if she’s able to light up every single one of their lives, including deluded, short-sighted, middle-aged males, that’s not a bad thing.

And she was preferable to Imagine Dragons, who won Best Rock Performance that night. Other artists in that category? Jack White, Alabama Shakes, Queens of the Stone Age, and … um … David Bowie and Led Zeppelin. Think about that for a minute.

Actually, all you had to do was watch their mashup with rapper Kendrick Lamar to see what a strange, foolish choice they were. Fifteen years ago Eminem and Dido proved one could mesh ultra-violent hip-hop lyrics with chill folk melodies you might enjoy at the local coffeehouse. All Imagine Dragons/Kendrick Lamar did was prove that rappers and guys who look like Micro-Content Producers don’t mix well.

It had actually been a surprisingly decent Grammys. Even the Macklemore & Ryan Lewis/Madonna team-up was ok, mainly because it was good to see so many couples of various backgrounds and orientations get married. If it was also a publicity stunt, it’s hard to argue with the message of unity. A few months later though, Macklemore came out on stage wearing a giant prosthetic hooked nose, dark beard and bowl cut wig, looking like some bizarre anti-semitic caricature/concoction of Pete Townshend and what Simon Helberg would look like if he were cast as Fagin in Oliver Twist. So much for unity.

Metallica and Lang Lang’s collaboration on “One” produced mixed results. While a brilliant musician, Lang Lang’s piano drowned out Hetfield and Hammet’s poignant, gentle guitar interplay that gives the beginning of the song such resonance, and sets up the heavy metal thunder to come.  However, it was similar to Mick Garson’s work with David Bowie, the kind of discordant playing where it sounds as if someone suddenly put a knife to the pianist’s throat while they were in the middle of performing. In other words, perfect for Metallica.

Surrounded by a Dan Flavin-inspired backdrop, Paul McCartney and his excellent, long-time touring band were joined by Ringo Starr for “Queenie Eye,” from his most recent album, New. As always, it was great to see the surviving Beatles together. Ringo’s trademark mid-tempo groove powered the song, reminding everyone just how vital he was to The Beatles sound, and what a unique rhythm section the two of them make. Unbelievably, on this night, The Beatles received the 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award. Wouldn’t you have thought they had gotten this … I don’t know, let’s pick any random year — 1977? How is it possible it took that long for The Beatles to get a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award? Perhaps transforming music, society, culture and art wasn’t enough? Exactly what do you have to do to get one?

Maybe the highlight of the evening was seeing Daft Punk, Pharrell, Stevie Wonder and Nile Rodgers turn the Staples Center into a giddy dance party with “Get Lucky” and seeing McCartney, the mighty Joe Walsh and Yoko Ono, among many others, get down. The 80-year-old Ono stood out, dancing as hard as anyone, throwing out the occasional peace sign. If seeing that didn’t make you feel good, nothing will.

When Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories won album of the year, Paul Williams, one of its many contributors said, “You know, back when I was using and doing drugs, I used to imagine things that weren’t there and were frightening. And then I got sober and two robots called me and asked me to make an album.” Perfect. If you’re a Generation X music fanatic, “Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born),” “What Would They Say” from The Boy in the Plastic Bubble and “The Rainbow Connection” from The Muppet Movie made a fairly big imprint on your childhood.

Trent Reznor, Dave Grohl, Josh Homme and Lindsey Buckingham did Nine Inch Nails “Copy of A,” which went right into “My God Is The Sun” from Queens of the Stone Age. At 64, Buckingham, with his usual air of passionate detachment, black leather jacket and funky-classical, romantic “Big Love” guitar picking, came across as the coolest guy in the room. Too bad the Grammys decided to end the show in the middle of their performance.

Speaking of childhood guitar heroes, throughout the night, Peter Frampton and Steve Lukather performed side by side as part of the house band. We all know Frampton’s accomplishments, but people forget what a distinguished career Lukather has had. Aside from being in Toto, he’s been one of the major session musicians for over thirty-five years, ripping shit up on Don Henley’s “Dirty Laundry” (with Joe Walsh), “Talk To You Later” by The Tubes, Lionel Richie’s “Running with the Night” and he’s the other guitarist on Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” Eddie Van Halen did the solo, but that’s Lukather playing the rest of the song, including the main hook, and even the bass. How good is he? Miles Davis wanted him for his band, and he actually turned Miles down. As Chris Farley once exclaimed, “Holy schnikes!”

Another favorite moment was when Steven Tyler and Smokey Robinson came out to present together. The self-described “Demon of Screamin’” and a national treasure whose every melodic utterance sounds like a plaintive sigh. It was an historic meeting; “The Lord of the Thighs” Meets “The Lord of the Sighs.” Tyler started to sing “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me,” leading the audience in what seemed to be an impromptu gesture, with Smokey appearing genuinely touched. Later that year Smokey released an album of duets, one of which was “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me” with guess who? Maybe that moment wasn’t so spontaneous. Still memorable though. After all, this is being written a year later.

Despite some flaws, the Grammys did appear to make a concerted effort to attract adults. It was the kind of show even an exhausted, deadpan Allan Arbus look-alike could appreciate.