We went through the pains of watching Sunday night's GRAMMY Awards telecast so you didn't have to.

Ray Charles was unsurprisingly the top winner, but our Bay area homeboys in Green Day made us proud with American Idiot's win for Best Rock Album. Their live performance of the title track was triumphant. Thankfully their use of fireball pyrotechnics elicited more of a rock n' roll fist pump than a cringe. Billie Joe was even invited to sing "Across the Universe" alongside other luminaries including Bono, Brian Wilson, and Stevie Wonder, proving that Green Day's getting some serious r-e-s-p-e-c-t these days. Download the song from iTunes here and feel good that the proceeds will benefit UNICEF's tsunami relief efforts. Check out the complete list of winners, and let us know if you see any other Bay Area musicians that were honored.

Overall, we have to say this year's telecast was an improvement over past years. The performances were a little better, Latifah did such a good hosting job that you could almost forget they had a host, and though the constant interjections of Lifetime Achievement Award winners was distracting, at least some long-lasting talents were given their props. That being said, it was still the puffed up egofest it has always been. Thank you, Neil Portnow, for informing us that the GRAMMYs are "the pinnacle of musical achievement and excellence." If you do say so yourself.

Our highlights and lowlights after the jump.