brent johnson looks at the grammy award noms and how the nominating committee seems to be “getting it” …
Recently, Bill Bodkin — the other ‘B’ in the B& B Entertainment Blog — sent me an e-mail noting that the nominations for this year’s Grammy awards were announced last week.
‘Does anyone even care about the Grammys anymore?’ Bill joked. ‘Sound like a blog?’
Yes, it did. Once upon a time, the Grammys walked the perfect line — recognizing music that was both popular and well-crafted. Over the years, Album of the Year — the show’s most prestigious trophy – went to Sgt. Pepper, Thriller, Graceland, Jagged Little Pill, Speakerboxx/The Love Below.
But this is all you need to know about how crazily out of touch the Grammy have become: Two years ago, Album of the Year went to … Herbie Hancock … for a record of Joni Mitchell covers.
Bill had a point: Why would anyone — let alone someone under the age of 20 — care about the Grammys anymore? I was ready to write all about it …
… until I read an article in Entertainment Weekly, about how this year’s batch of noms reflect music that people — namely young people — actually listen to. Eminem garnered the most nods. Bruno Mars was all over the place. Katy Perry snagged a spot on the Album of the Year list. Justin Bieber scored a place in the Best New Artist race. Even Cee-Lo’s ‘Fuck You’ didn’t scare away the oft-ancient-minded voters.
I’m leery to predict that the Grammys will return to their glory days. If Bill — a pop-culture maven — didn’t even realize the nominations had been announced, what are the chances your average teenager did? But this year’s slate is a tiny step in the right direction.
Brent you’re a wonderful writer. There is no one on your list I know.