The Grammy Awards for me are never
about who actually receives the award.
Yes I took patriotic pride when The Arcade Fire won 2010’s album of the
year, setting Twitter ablaze with tweets decrying “who are The Arcade Fire”. Occasionally
there’s a landslide, (ie. Adele, Bonnie Raitt, Santana), that makes or defines
an album or career, but more often the Grammy’s are about who succeeds in the
spotlight rather than who gets a trophy.
With that in mind, here are my Grammy winners and losers from last
nights 2012 awards
Winners
1) Bruno
Mars and Sting -Whether you’re a fan or not, there is no denying Bruno Mars
is the new James Brown or Prince He’s
written a string of hits for himself that Michael Jackson would’ve envied,
while giving out extra hits he’s written like “Forget You” to CeeLo or “Waving
Flag” to K’naan. Pairing up with Sting,
who sounded the best I’ve heard him in years, they tore through “Locked Out of
Heaven”, segued to a horn improved version of “Walking On the Moon” before
adding Ziggy Marley and Rihanna for a Bob Marley tribute.
2) Mumford
& Sons-For the second year in a row they turned in a raw and spirited
performance, (“I Will Wait”) that eclipsed their records, and acquitted well themselves
on a tribute on the 3rd verse of The Bands “The Weight”, (last year
was joining Dylan for “Maggie’s Farm”. Their success has left them with a
target on their back, and yes, they’re overplayed on the radio. But given that most rock stations are still
filling 12 hours a week with Nirvana and Stone Temple Pilots, Mumford and Sons
are still a welcome relief for those of us who’ve broken their car’s cd player.
They also happened to win Album of the Year
3) Jack
White – Originally the two bands idea, (one all male, one all female),
seemed like a crass gimmick. Last night he showcased the best possible use of
it. Sounding like a soulful exploration of his roots with the ladies, and
turning in a cut knuckle garage rock tune with the men, he assured me his
success hasn’t diluted his spirit.
4) Kelly
Clarkson - She won Pop Vocal Album, for Stronger even though the album’s
two years old, but given the other nominees, she was the best choice in a weak
category. More importantly, her tribute
to Patti Page and Carole King showed that underneath the layers of album
production, she is a gifted singer who excels filtering a song through her own
experience and distilling the emotions down to pack a punch.
5) LL
Cool J & Chuck D- Their closing performance, while not the best song
choice, showed that they are both still formidable forces for good in both
Hip-Hop, and music in general. Both excellent examples of how to “grow up with
grace, but not get old” (Wayfarer, “Daughter of Time”)
Holding Steady
1) The
Lumineers – This was the performance I was most looking forward to, and it
was ok. They played well, but unlike the Mumfords, seemed overwhelmed by the
audience. “Ho Hey” is by no means their best song, and their slightly
self-conscious rendition, will help millions attach the band to their radio hit.
But like many who know their album, I was hoping for better.
2) Taylor Swift – She had her biggest hit this
year with her weakest single yet, “We Are Never yada yada yada”. She performed
alright, and she didn’t grab a bunch of trophies she didn’t deserve, so what’s
to like? She’s a MUSIC FAN. Whether it
was Bruno Mars, Mumford, Lumineers, she was up dancing and singing along with
every word. Her best music probably won’t come until a couple albums of
disappointing sales etch a roadmap in her porcelain cheeks, but she makes me
remember how much I love music. When a concert song or album is so good, I can’t
help but grin, I’ll now feel like Taylor Swift at the Grammys.
3) Zac Brown Band – They’re not a
favourite of mine, but they did win Country Album of the Year. Unfortunately Country
music has been cross bred more than Amsterdam
pot, so it’s hardly even related to my recollections of it. He did a stellar
job on the first verse of “The Weight” though.
4) Ed Sheeran- He sounded great, and
seemed a true gentleman, honouring Elton John’s legacy by letting him bleet all
over his best known song
5) The Black Keys – Still one of the best “big”
bands out there. They won a boat load of trophies for an album that came out in
2011, and their performance was pretty good. I liked the idea of bringing out
Dr. John, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and might’ve liked it better if
I could hear them. Whoever did the mix blew it because it didn’t sound any
different than a typical two man Black Keys lineup, which left me disappointed.
Losers
1) Elton
John – Yes he’s a legend but he embarrassed himself on Ed Sheerhan’s “The A-Team”. While
it’s nice that he’s a fan of Sheeran, he’s been doing this long enough to know
if the song’s too high for you sing, change the key or don’t bother
2) Frank Ocean –
His performance showed that while Frank
Ocean the story is pretty interesting,
Frank Ocean the music is downright boring. The
green screen “Forest Gump” came off like a poorly written postcard, a facsimile
of emotion that you send to someone you should be missing but more truly just a
token of ambivalence.
3) Fun
– Best New Artist is usually a kiss of death to a career, and in this case I’m
hoping so. Yes “We Are Young” was infectious, but every subsequent fun song I’ve
heard has been cloying and grating to the point that I don’t think they’ve ever
had any of their namesake. They seem like nice enough guys, but their style
grew old faster than Panic! At The Disco.
