6:34 p.m.:  No-show-yet Timberlake wins his second Grammy of the night.

6:46 p.m.:  Somebody didn't get the memo: Unlike Timberlake, Beyoncé, Blige, et al., Carrie Underwood's actually at the preshow, accepting the Female Country Vocal Solo Grammy for "Jesus, Take the Wheel."

6:47 p.m.:  For those keeping score at home, Underwood thanks God, then American Idol.

7:01 p.m.:  Hmmm, Lewis Black...He's funny. He's well traveled. He's a Grammy winner for Best Comedy Album. Why, some might consider him a catch.

7:02 p.m.:  I ask Black if he has anything to declare about the parentage of Anna Nicole Smith's baby. He says (pretends?) he can't hear me.

7:03 p.m.:  Another reporter shouts and rephrases the question: Is he the father? "I wish," Black says. "That's a hell of a lottery ticket."

7:08 p.m.:  The preshow's over. Only one more show to go!

7:17 p.m.:  If anyone asks, I'm eating a sandwich and listening to the soothing tones of Al Jarreau, who, yes, even sounds soothing when he's talking about a Grammy win (for Best Pop Instrumental Performance for George Benson's "Mornin' ").

7:31 p.m.:  The songwriters of "Jesus, Take the Wheel," winners of Best Country Song, are back here, and I'm curious: Is the title meant to be taken literally?

7:32 p.m.:  No, it is not, Brett James, one of the writers assures me. "Don't throw your hands up and let Jesus take control of your vehicle," he deadpans.

7:40 p.m.:  Don't look for OK Go's next video to feature the band working out with, say, Thighmasters. "There is a little bit of exercise equipment," lead singer Damian Kulash says. "[But] it is not a single take, and it is not a dance video."

7:43 p.m.:  Somebody didn't get the memo: Nancy Wilson, a Jazz Vocal Album winner and wearing a sparkly full-length gown, is dressed elegantly enough for the Oscars.

7:47 p.m.:  Peter Frampton comes alive—as a dapper, gray-haired gentleman holding a proper Grammy for Pop Instrumental Album (Fingerprints). It's feel-old moments like these that make me glad I'm not a baby boomer.

7:52 p.m.:  I wonder who Enya, a first-time Grammy attendee, and winner for, natch, New Age Album (Amarantine), listens to when she's stressed out.

8 p.m.:  The Grammys are on. The Police are back. And the boys from Wolfmother (winner of Hard Rock Performance) exit the press-conference room on account of no one's going to listen to them anyway.

8:30 p.m.:  The dry-ice cloud in the hall makes me cough.

8:31 p.m.:  Tony Bennett, spotted entering the media center, coughs, too. Finally, the legend and I have something in common. Well, besides being big fans of Target.

8:58 p.m.:  John Mayer's "Gravity" is so heavy it's vibrating the behind-the-stage handrail I'm leaning against.