Grammy Monitor
Here we go again: some of the best artists overlooked, music lauded for its catchiness, mediocre albums up for superlative awards. The time has come. Every February, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences determines for the country what music is the best. Will this year's decisions be accurate? Doubtful. Will they be credible? Probably not. Will they be memorable? Oh yes.
Surprisingly, this year's Academy has made only a few glaring mistakes in its nominations (Paul McCartney, alternative? Britney Spears, best vocals?). We'll see how many other mistakes have been made regarding the winners when the decisions are announced during tomorrow's television broadcast. Cross your fingers and hold your breath, it's going to be a typical Grammy night of frustration and disappointment.
The Grammys have a tendency to resemble a high school popularity contest, congratulating those with the most album sales and airplay. Yet the Recording Academy deserves applause this year in its 43rd effort to do justice to the nation's music scene. Yes (groan), Britney has made it on the list again (twice). But so have Moby, Aimee Mann, Bjork and D'Angelo.
The most important award of the night, record of the year, is contested. Please tell me 'N Sync's insane sales numbers won't influence the votes - "Bye, Bye, Bye" is fun and horribly catchy but lacks importance in today's soundscape of innovative music. Madonna's "Music" also is fun and catchy as well as (somewhat) innovative. But lyrically, the song flounders. Macy Gray is another contender with "I Try." Her chance is slim; although it's a great song - no doubt about that - it's old and has been losing its momentum for months.
The real battle is between Destiny's Child and U2. Both have two chances for a Grammy, in the same two categories: record of the year and song of the year (awarding the songwriters).
"Beautiful Day" certainly deserves song of the year - it's an uplifting tour de force that gets better every time. Yet "Say My Name" is worthy of an award as well. Destiny's Child is a group with a strong sense of female empowerment as well as phenomenal vocal work - "Say My Name" can't be overlooked. Hopefully, each group will receive one of the awards.
The second most important category, for album of the year, is just as stiff with competition. Eminem's "The Marshall Mathers LP" is a brilliant piece of work, but will the Academy take such a risk? The album is full of derogatory lyrics. To reward such an album would be fodder for an uptight public's feeding frenzy.
The album most deserving of this award is Radiohead's "Kid A." Innovative and profound, "Kid A" is doubtless the best 50 minutes of music recorded this year. But Paul Simon and Steely Dan are veterans, and the Academy is overflowing with older critics. Having never won a Grammy, this year might prove to be the one for Steely Dan.
The category of best new artist is a throwdown for Jill Scott. "Thong Song" might capture our booty-showing and shaking generation accurately, but what else does Sisqo have to offer? Not much. Shelby Lynne has been around too long to be called "new," and Papa Roach is present only in the category to provide a variety of nominees. Hands-down, Jill Scott, a prophetic poet and masterful R&B vocalist, deserves this title and will most likely get it.
As for best rock album, who knows? None of the nominees are much stronger than the others. Rage Against the Machine might win simply because "The Battle of Los Angeles" is its last album as a band. Or maybe Bon Jovi's "Crush," a surprisingly decent comeback effort from an '80s rock superstar, will get the Grammy. I hope not.
There are plenty of other nominees worth mentioning, including Bjork's "Overture" (from "Selmasongs") for pop instrumental performance; "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely" by Backstreet Boys (come on, their harmony is incredible), nominated for duo/group pop performance; Madonna's "Music" for pop vocal album; and Creed, nominated for two awards.
Possibly the most memorable event of the night will be the performance of Eminem's "Stan." Elton John will accompany the staunchly homophobic Marshall Mathers: Is Elton asking for a lyrical beatdown? Hopefully Mathers will be able to hold his tongue. Not likely.
Eminem is not the biggest fan of the Grammys, as is apparent from a line in his song "The Real Slim Shady." Who knows what his acceptance speech will consist of - he's sure to win at least one award for either best rap solo performance (no contest), best rap album (unless his master, Dr. Dre, can beat him down), best duo/group rap performance (together, Eminem and Dre can take on anyone), or possibly album of the year. Maybe, if we're really lucky, he can beat Fiona's 1998 Grammys dissertation regarding the "bull----" of the world.
Other Grammy night performers include Macy Gray, Shelby Lynne and Marc-Andre Hamelin (a pianist nominated for two instrumental Grammys). The highlight will be Moby (who is nominated for best dance recording) performing with Jill Scott and Blue Man Group.
Jon Stewart, of Comedy Central's "Daily Show" fame, will host, giving some comical touch to the show.
In the past, Grammys night has brought much surprise. Last year, the previously overlooked Carlos Santana was given several well-deserved awards. With such talented nominees as Radiohead, D'Angelo and Eminem, perhaps this year will be just as pleasantly surprising. One can only hope.
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