Grammy night at my place is like Super Bowl night to everyone else. I take this shit seriously, although in recent years, as I've grown to like more non-mainstream music, the luster of the Grammys has started to wear off.
The nominations were announced today, and it's time to rip them.
THE ONE THAT MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE
Everyone agrees that Herbie Hancock in the Album of the Year category is totally bizarre, but the one that really gets me is Lily Allen for Best Alternative Album. On what planet is Lily Allen alternative? She could not possibly be more pop. She's up against the White Stripes, Bjork and the Arcade Fire. The alternative field is the one I really care about these days, and every year the Grammys manage to fuck it up.
THE COMICAL PRESS RELEASE
My Chemical Romance's epic Welcome to the Black Parade got overlooked, except for a Best Box Set Packaging nod. MCR's label, Reprise, put out a press release touting this nomination as if it was something to be proud of. I can just see Reprise preparing this big press release, thinking that MCR were going to get a bunch of nominations, and then when they only got one, someone said, Shit, what do we do now? Fuck it, send the press release anyway! (Read it here).
RECORD OF THE YEAR CRITIQUE
Rihanna's "Umbrella" is hands-down the Record of the Year. I thought from day one that Beyonce's "Irreplaceable" was a stupid song, and I'm sticking by my story. Justin Timberlake got nominated, but for a weak song, "What Goes Around." It was as if the academy felt they had to nominate him, but couldn't really decide for which song. And the Foo Fighters have inexplicably been Grammy favorites for years.
PLEASANT SURPRISES
It's cool to see female-fronted emo rockers Paramore in the Best New Artist field, though I can't say they truly deserve it. And I was a bit surprised to see my personal choice for Song of the Year, the Plain White Ts' "Hey There Delilah," actually be recognized in that field. Arcade Fire and Madonna also managed to score nominations.
THE ONES THAT KINDA MAKE SENSE
The Grammys continue to do a decent job in the dance fields, where Justice, Mika and LCD Soundsystem got recognized, and Best Music Video, which features Justice, Feist, and Johnny Cash, who all made brilliant videos.
THE ODDITIES
Politicians always show up in the Best Spoken Word category, and this year Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter are all there. But my favorite oddity is R. Kelly, whose Trapped in the Closet Chapters 13-22 is up for Best Long Music Video. Sweet!
The full list of nominees is available at www.grammy.com.
