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Tag: Linkin Park

  • 2008 Grammy Nominations: As Usual, Huh?

    Some folks view the Grammy Awards as a congratulatory pat on the back for music executives and record industry types, and they’re partially right. However, not all 12,000 members of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences are the Clive Davises of the world. Actually, a good chunk are the artists, songwriters, producers and engineers themselves. However, that’s not to say that even the folks behind the scenes can’t get things wrong sometimes. Here’s a look at some of the gimmes, the “huh?”s and the “WTF”s that today’s nomination announcements brought:
    Kanye West led the pack with eight nominations, surprising no one. Actually, up against this year’s Album of the Year field (which features Amy Winehouse, Vince Gill, The Foo Fighters and Herbie Hancock), Grammy practically paved a path for him to walk up and claim his very first Album of the Year prize. His only true competition is…
    Winehouse, whose nutty factor makes her a wild card. Will she show up at the ceremony? Will she live to see the ceremony? Will she deliver one of her famously off-kilter performances? Will she impale herself on any award she wins? Will that aforementioned wild card hurt her chances as the one award which should be a landslide for her, Best New Artist?
    The Best New Artist nominees also include Canadian hipster fave Feist, MTV-anointed metal band Paramore, neo-soul also-ran Ledisi and country hitmaker Taylor Swift. Conceivably, Swift and Feist could both challenge Winehouse for the award. Although Winehouse would have faced stronger competition from four artists who didn’t even get nominated-soul singer Robin Thicke, American Idol castoff Daughtry (who got nods in several other categories), folk-pop singer Colbie Callait (the most surprising omission) and Amy’s fellow Brit Lily Allen (who inexplicably is in the Best Alternative Music category), despite the fact that Allen’s “Alright, Still” is as pop as Gwen Stefani.
    Herbie Hancock and Vince Gill’s nominations in the Album of the Year category (Gill’s album is a 4-CD box set) are both surprises, beating out predicted nominees like Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney. Hancock’s album, in particular (a Joni Mitchell tribute record) seems a bit out of place.
    Where the hell is Linkin Park? They have the biggest-selling non-soundtrack album released in 2007, and all they have to show for it are empty hands. With members appearing at the nomination ceremony, you figure they’ve gotta be a little pissed? They’re this year’s most surprising shut out, and the only glaring omission I can think of (aside from Thicke, who enjoyed nealy double-platinum success this year…I’m a bit surprised at Pink’s absence this year as well).
    The Foo Fighters? Seriously? I like Dave Grohl as much as the next guy, but has he not made the exact same album six times over the past twelve years?
    “Hey There Delilah”, a song even easier to hate than Soulja Boy’s “Crank Dat” (which was also inexplicably nominated…for Best Rap Song) gets nominated for Song of the Year?
    There are enough female rockers out there. Why has Grammy not yet reinstated the award for Best Female Rock Vocal?
    While it’s a bit early to speculate on potential winners, you can find a complete list of this year’s nominees at http://www.grammy.com/

  • …And The Winner Is…

    So, with the CMTs just past and the American Music Awards in just a couple of weeks, the music award season is in full bloom.
    The cutoff period for consideration for the Grammy Awards was September 30th. This means that albums with a release date ranging from the first week of October 2006 to the first week of October 2007 can be considered, with the later period of releases included because they ship to stores during the last week of September.
    Grammy has become a bit hard to predict over the course of the past couple of years, and the muted list of this year’s releases makes things even easier to predict. Parity will be the name of the game here, with no surefire Norah Jones, Dixie Chicks or OutKast release to clean up at the ceremony. However, there are a couple of folks that I think will be smiling hard when the nominations are announced in mid-December.
    KANYE WEST: He’s been nominated for Album Of The Year for each of his first two albums, and (in case you’ve been under a rock and have not heard his complaining) he lost both times (to Ray Charles and U2). “Graduation” has had the biggest balance between critical cred and sales (1.7 million in two months of release), so this could be the year Mr. West finally receives his big trophy (although it would be highly ironic that he would win for his weakest album…) His competition??…
    BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: “Magic” snuck in just under the deadline, and…well, Bruce is as much of a gimme in Grammy world as any other artist. It’s Bruce’s return to rock after the well-received “Seeger Sessions” & ‘Devils & Dust”, and “Radio Nowhere” is his most catchy single in two decades. I see Record and Album Of The Year nominations in Springsteen’s future, with an outside chance at winning both awards.
    AMY WINEHOUSE: She’s almost a lock for Best New Artist (unless the stench of bad press from her assorted substance issues follows her). “Back To Black” is one of the year’s biggest surprise successes, and, despite her problems, she’s quite obviously a real talent. Besides, how much of an entertainment lift would the Grammy telecast receive based on a performance by the wildly unstable Winehouse?
    WILD CARDS: Paul McCartney and Joni Mitchell both went over to Starbucks and scored fairly successful albums. Grammy has a history of awarding veterans. It’s not out of the realm of possibility to see either of these legends up for Album of the Year, where anything from Linkin Park to the Dreamgirls Soundtrack Album could be up for this. Two things that will NOT be nominated are the two biggest selling albums of the year so far-Daughtry and the High School Musical 2 Soundtrack. “HSM2” is way too kid-friendly, and Grammy has never been kind to grunge-lite. Daughtry will get a Best New Artist nomination (where Winehouse, Lily Allen, Robin Thicke and Colbie Caillat all have a chance at getting nominated), but that’ll be the extent of it.
    Speaking of “Dreamgirls”: although Beyonce’s “B-Day” is no longer eligible, several singles from the album are, and I’d be completely stunned if “Irreplaceable” didn’t end up with a Record of the Year Nomination. Other potential nominees: Springsteen’s “Radio Nowhere”, West’s “Stronger”, Fergie’s “Big Girls Don’t Cry”). On the R&B side, look for big mentions for Thicke, John Legend (whose “Once Again” is eligible this year although it seems like the album has been out longer) and the strong comeback effort by Chaka Khan.
    With a month to go before nominations are officially announced, lots of speculation will ensue, but I’m pretty confident that my picks will end up coming out of the presenters’ lips.