).
The Grammy telecast got off to a good start this year: Bono stomping around like Frankenstein in his roach-killer boots. Closely followed by Whitney Houston trying to make it through presenting Best R&B Album without passing out or flying off the stage. To top it off, Jennifer Hudson came up to get the award wearing - I don't know - it looked like a bib to me - or a crumpled piece of butcher paper (she should shoot her dress designer). Gotta love the music biz.
And if you were watching for the fashion don'ts (which I wasn't, but some things can't be ignored), you also had to love MIA's interesting maternity outfit. Most pregnant women probably would not think to put on a skin-tight black body stocking and then slap some big polka-dots on your belly, butt, and boobs. And they'd be right not to think of such a thing.
Speaking of polkas (without the dots), it's no surprise that Jimmy Sturr took Best Polka Album. Again. That's Grammy #18 for Jimmy, which I am pretty sure is a record. Kinda sad that the man has won more Grammys than anyone, and they still don't put his category on the telecast. We need to start a campaign - next year, Jimmy Sturr performs live on the show, even if (unlikely as it may be) he isn't nominated again! Write your congressman. Or your local Recording Academy member...
Adele won Best New Artist (also got Best Female Pop Vocal Performance). She was my second choice, after Duffy, for most deserved. As such, I'll be sorry to see her go. I was hoping the curse would swallow the Jonas Brothers, but what can you do?
Pete Seeger took Traditional Folk Album (yeah, now all he needs is a Nobel Peace Prize), and Robert Plant/Alison Krauss got Contemporary Folk Album. So I'm 2 for 2 in the folk category. I was also right on Best Contemporary Blues Album, which went to Dr. John's City That Care Forgot. Traditional Blues Album went to BB King, which I kind of expected, though I wanted it to go to Buddy Guy. So I'll take credit for 50% accuracy in the blues catagory.
As for the other "big" awards, the Recording Academy managed to surprise me this year. I was really expecting them to go Coldplay-happy and give them a clean sweep, but they limited them to just one: Song of the Year. Don't worry, though, they also managed to pick up a couple other awards: Best Rock Album and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.
I was pleasantly surprised to see Record of the Year go to Robert Plant and Alison Krauss for Please Read The Letter. It's a great song, but the gentle, haunting melody doesn't have the commercial mass appeal that I expect the Academy to go for. I was even happier that they also won Album of the Year for Raising Sand. Plant and Krauss also took home Grammys for Best Contemporary Folk Album, Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals, and Best Country Collaboration With Vocals
Song of the Year: I was hoping this would go to Sara Bareilles, but wasn't particularly surprised when Coldplay took it for Viva La Vida.
On the Christmas song front: Bela Fleck's Jingle All the Way beat out Spyro Gyra's A Night Before Christmas for Best Pop Instrumental Album. The Flecktone's version of Sleigh Ride lost Best Country Instrumental Performance, but I can't complain, because they lost to a song called Cluster Pluck (by an all-star supergroup), which probably deserved to win for the title alone! Josh Groban's and Barry Manilow's Christmas CDs both lost out in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category to Natalie Cole's second album of her father's songs. So only 1 out of 5 Christmas nominations made it.
Below is a list of all the winners of this award since they started giving out the Grammys. While their track record is pretty good in the early years, you may notice that many of the later recipients have all but vanished from the music scene. And many of them vanished almost immediately after receiving the coveted award. Makes you wonder....
Why is there a Grammy for Best Polka Album? Is it really a big genre? Is there a lot of competition? Apparently not, since the category has been dominated by a single performer since they started awarding it in 1985 (a year that I, for one, do not associate with a big resurgence in the polka world, though perhaps I missed it).
Overall score: Jimmy Sturr 18, Walter Ostanek 3, Brave Combo 2, Frank Yankovic 1.
Actually, if you're looking to get yourself a Grammy nomination, I recommend doing a polka album. After all, the last time I checked, the polka section of the local record store was one thin section of one bin, and most of those were old. I'd guess the nominations in the Best Polka category probably cover every polka album released in any given year, so snagging that seat at the awards ceremony should be pretty easy!
Last night was Grammy night. Lots of folks complain that the Grammys are pretty predictable. But in no category are they as predictable as Best Polka Album, which was taken by Jimmy Sturr last night. Jimmy has won Best Polka for 12 of the last 16 Grammy awards. Which leaves one to wonder, why is there a Grammy for Best Polka Album at all? Obviously, there's not much competition (hmmm, Walter Ostanek won 3 times in a row from '92 - '94, and there was Brave Combo in '99, before that you have to go back to Frank Yankovic in '85). I suspect the nominees consist of every polka album released in any given year, since the last time I checked, the polka section of the local record store consisted of, well, actually, I don't think there even was one......
The Grammy Award nominations are out. Some highlights (and lowlights)
follow:
Well, that's enough for now. Get back to work!
Looks like I did pretty good on my predicitons this year. I thought Norah Jones
would sweep everything, and she did. Of course, that doesn't bode well for her
staying power. I'm betting the sudden, overwhelming success is going to overwhelm her.
Just another victim of the curse...
And, of course, my prediction that Jimmy Sturr was going to take Best Polka Album
was a pretty safe bet. I'll go out on a limb right now, and predict he's going to
take it next year, too.
Not much to say this year. Just one word. Jimmy Sturr. Best Polka Album.
OK, that's a lot more than one word. No further comment.
And one other thing, for all those who scoffed: Best Song Written For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media went to.....
The Grammys have snuck up on me this year. They're actually tonight, and I haven't sent out my annual commentary yet. So here goes...
Leading the pack for nominations this year is Mariah Carey, with 9 nominations, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year. John Legend is a close second, with 8 nominations, including Song of the Year, and the dreaded Best New Artist. Kanye West got 7 nominations (8 if you give him credit for being listed as one of the many producers on Mariah Carey's Album of the Year nominated record, but I won't), including Record of the Year and Album of the Year. Stevie Wonder got 6 nominations, but none of big awards. Gwen Stefani got 5 nominations for herself, including Record of the Year and Album of the Year, and two of her producers are up for Producer of the Year, so a total of 7 Stefani-related nominations. U2 tied with Gwen, with 5 nominations (actually, they're just a shade behind, as only one of their producers is up for Producer of the Year), including Album of the Year and Song of the Year. Bruce Springsteen also picked up 5 nominations (no producers), including Song of the Year. And somehow the song Devils and Dust is in the rock category, but the album Devils and Dust is in the contemporary folk category. Paul McCartney only pulled off 3 nominations (4 if you count Nigel Godrich's nomination for Producer of the Year), including Album of the Year.
So on to picks and predictions:
I'd like to add more, but there just isn't enough time... After all, I have to talk about the all-important Best Polka Album category. There's a real showdown shaping up in the Polka world. 3-time winner Walter Ostanek is up against 14-time winner Jimmy Sturr. Last year's winner, Brave Combo (who've taken it twice now) doesn't have an entry. There are 3 other entries in the field, but who really gives them any chance? Between them, Walter and Jimmy have one all but 3 of the Best Polka Grammys (the 2 to Brave Combo, and the very first one, which went to Frank Yankovic). I'm picking Jimmy Sturr to win. How could he not?
Well, this year's results are in.
I almost forgot (actually, I did forget, so I'm adding this later) that I wanted to mention the Best Musical Show category. I thought it was interesting that one of the nominees was a new recording of Hair. I didn't even know they had made a new one, but the original was a great album, so I assume this one is pretty good. Still, I'm kinda glad the grammy went to Spamalot. It's another vindication for all of us who constantly have to defend our position that Monty Python was one of the most hilarious shows ever made.
Gee, I totally ignored the Grammys last year. How did that happen?
Actually, I could almost ignore them this year, too. Not really into it this time around. But it's at least worth looking into my two favorite categories: Best New Artist, and, of course, Best Polka Album.
OK, New artist. There's Feist (who doesn't strike me as particularly new), Ledisi (who?), Paramore (who, too?), Taylor Swift (who is apparently so new that she isn't even 18, yet - though she will be when the awards come around), and Amy Winehouse. I'm a little ashamed to admit there are two artists on the list that I've never even heard of. I guess I'm just getting out of touch with mainstream music. Personally, I like Amy Winehouse. She's also up for 5 other awards, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal, and Best Pop Vocal. If she wins, I doubt she'll escape the "curse". I'm predicting it will go to Taylor Swift, though. I think they'll want to give it to the cute teenager.
Best Polka Album will be a tough fight this year. Jimmy Sturr is up for it, of course. But so are Brave Combo and Walter Ostanek. Between the three of them, they've won every Polka Grammy except the very first (1985 to Frank Yankovic). There are two other competitors in the field, but they haven't got a chance. I'd say the odds favor Jimmy Sturr, with 15 past Polka Grammys to his credit, versus Ostanek's 3 and Brave Combo's 2. But who knows? Can't you just feel the tension building?
One more interesting tidbit: Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and Barack Obama are all up for the Best Spoken Word Grammy. Two former Presidents and a current candidate. How weird is that? Even weirder - all three of them have won previous Grammys. Maya Angelou and Alan Alda are also up for the same award. I kinda hope one of them gets it. We're going to be hearing enough politics next year already....
Late post-Grammy posting: My preferred artist (Amy Winehouse) won Best Artist, rather than
my prediction (Taylor Swift). She also won 4 other awards (Record of the Year, Song of the
Year, Female Pop Vocal, and Pop Vocal Album). I'm thinking she'll succumb to the curse by crashing and burning in a chemical stew. Jimmy Sturr took Best Polka Album (naturally). Obama took Best Spoken Word (as well as the Presidency ).
Late again, but at least I didn't miss it altogether. The nominations have been out for a while, so here's my quick rundown of the interesting categories.
First, the all-important Best New Artist. Adele, Duffy, Jonas Brothers, Lady Antebellum, and Jazmine Sullivan. As far as I'm concerned, the competition is between the two mono-monikered ladies, though I have to give the edge to Duffy. That's who I think deserves it, and thus not who I think should get it. Hands down, I think it should go to the Jonas Brothers, who most deserve to fall into the black hole of the New Artist Curse.
Jimmy Sturr is, of course, up for Best Polka Album, again. But so is Walter Ostanek. And Walter has help from Jerry Darlak and Bob Kravos. The other nominees aren't worth mentioning. It'll go to Jimmy Sturr without a doubt, I'm sure. He's got the odds in his favor (17 to 3, actually).
The really competitive category (in my mind) this year is Best Traditional Blues Album. BB King, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, Pine Top Perkins, and Elvin Bishop. It's a tough call, but I have to go for Buddy Guy, though they are all deserving. Contemporary Blues Album also has an excellent line-up, but Dr. John's City That Care Forgot is a clear favorite, in my mind.
I like Pete Seeger for Traditional Folk Album, and Robert Plant/Alison Krauss for Contemporary Folk Album. As for the other "big" awards, my picks (who I want to win, not who I think will win) are:
And the interesting observation of the year: I don't think I ever remember seeing so many Christmas albums up for awards (or, any, for that matter). Spyro Gyra and Bela Fleck both have their holiday CDs nominated for Best Pop Instrumental Album (I think the Flecktones' Jingle All the Way should get it). Bela Fleck's version of Sleigh Ride is also up for Best Country Instrumental Performance. Josh Groban and Barry Manilow have Christmas CDs in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category. I think that's all of them, but I could easily have missed some. Still, 5 Christmas nominations seems like a lot to me. But it's a good trend - you can never have too much Christmas music, if you ask me.