This morning, I had an interesting experience while taking a music survey…
And I didn’t take the survey because I write about music. I actually took the survey because I am a member of MySurvey.com, which is a site where members take surveys and earn points that can be traded in for cash or gift cards. I’ve been on MySurvey.com for about ten years and it’s been an interesting experience. Sometimes I test products. Sometimes I watch videos or commercials, then answer questions. Sometimes the surveys are really boring and tedious and sometimes they’re pretty interesting. This morning’s survey was one of the cooler ones.
The first thing I liked about the music survey was that it was visually very appealing. It used bright colors and graphics, which I found engaging and exciting. I was asked about a variety of popular music artists, everyone from Andrea Boccelli to Lady Gaga. The questions on the survey asked if I had ever heard of them, liked their music, or owned their music. I was asked if I bought CDs, downloaded albums, or listened to “free” music sources like Spotify. I was even asked if I used a peer to peer music service like the old Napster. Next, I listened to fifteen music samples from a variety of different artists– everything from reggae to modern country. I heard a few folks for the first time that I actually really enjoyed. In fact, I found that I liked a lot of the music that was sampled, even though I’ve fallen out of touch with really mainstream pop music. Another part of the survey was about how much of certain types of music I own and whether or not I ripped CDs owned by other people.
I noticed that the people who made the survey were probably British, based on the language they used and the way they spelled some words. And I noticed that they seemed to be pitching U2 and Lady Gaga…
As this classic U2 song played during the survey, I realized how awesome and iconic U2 is… But maybe that’s just because I’m old.
Those two artists got several clips dedicated to them.
I’m sure the music survey I took this morning is about finding out what people like and what people are willing to buy. For me, it was kind of an interesting discovery process. I kind of wish I had written down the names of a couple of the singers I was introduced to on the music survey, even though they seem like they might be a bit trendy for what I usually like. But then, I don’t pay attention to what’s hot as much as I do to what I like. If I’m somewhere out and about and hear a song I like, I use Shazam to find out what the title is and who’s singing it.
I don’t often enjoy the surveys I take on MySurvey.com, though I have made some money and scored some freebies doing them, which makes it worthwhile for me. I hope they send me more music surveys, though. This morning’s experience was very intriguing. It makes me realize that I probably ought to turn on the radio more often.
As 2013 draws to a close, here’s hoping we’ll all have a Happy New Year!
I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season thus far. I had a relatively nice Christmas, except my husband gifted me with a particularly nasty bout of swine flu and I spent four days in bed. I feel mostly better now, except for a hacking cough, sore nose (from all the running), slight hoarseness, and lingering fatigue. I managed to get dressed yesterday, but I have a feeling I will stay in my nightie today. It’s dark, chilly, and cloudy outside and I might still be persuaded to curl up in bed with a good book and maybe some new tunes.
2013 has been a fairly decent year, I guess. I remember finding out just days into the 2013 that my husband and I would be packing up and leaving North Carolina and moving to Texas, which has been a whole new world for me. In 2014, my husband will leave the Army and we’ll be in transition yet again. We don’t have any big trips planned… at least not officially. On January 10th, we do plan a “military hop”, which will probably land us in Europe somewhere for a week or two. But then we’ll come back and start wrapping up our active duty Army business. It’ll be time to embrace the civilian life and decide if we want to buy a house in Texas and put down roots. To tell you the truth, I’m not quite sold on Texas yet. I don’t hate it, but I’m not quite used to it yet.
I suppose I could do a “best of” 2013 list today, except my mind is so fogged with flu meds that my mind is a bit of a blank. One song that I do usually play on New Year’s Eve is an old one by ABBA…
“Happy New Year” by ABBA was a deep cut on their Super Trouper album in 1979…
I will never forget the first time I ever heard this song. I was living in Yerevan, Armenia, serving with the Peace Corps. I often listened to the radio when I was at home in my apartment and there was a station from Moscow called Nostalgie. The Russian station would play all kinds of obscure songs in English from the 70s and 80s. Of course, being a 70s and 80s music nerd, this was a great thing for me. I could even overlook the station’s annoying overuse of sound effects and the fact that I don’t speak or understand Russian.
One day, “Happy New Year” started playing. I listened to it and enjoyed it, even though it was nowhere near New Year’s Eve on the calendar. The song was kind of poignant, with a sweet melody and earnest singing from Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. I got a kick out of the fact that the song mentioned 1989 in the future, when I was listening to it in the 90s. Of course, now that 1989 was about 25 years ago, it’s even funnier to listen to ABBA’s “Happy New Year”. But then I realize how many years have passed and how I somehow went from being young to middle-aged.
Another song I often play for New Year’s is “New Year’s Day” by U2.
U2’s “New Year’s Day”…
U2’s political anthem about the Polish Solidarity Movement was released about 31 years ago, which makes me feel even older. Nevertheless, even though the song isn’t so much about New Year’s as it is politics, I am always reminded of it as one year fades into the next. That song also reminds me of high school, mainly because U2 was all the rage when I was a teenager. And it still doesn’t seem like that was so long ago, even though it really was.
As usual, Bill and I don’t have New Year’s Eve plans. We gave some thought to going out, but that was before we were struck down by the flu. And though we are both now feeling much better, it’s just as easy to stay home, drink bubbly in our jammies, and listen to music as we talk to each other. 2014 is going to be a big year, I think. I hope everyone enjoys this last day of 2013 and rings in the new year with joy and the expectation of something good to come.
For my guesses on who’ll win the rap categories, click here.
The issue with a lot of categories that the Grammy Awards choose to recognize is the fact that the categories themselves are so amorphous. OK, it’s easy to figure out what constitutes a “rap” performance, and “pop” is an all-encompassing term. But “rock” is one of those terms that means different things to different people, and when you look at a group of nominees in a rock category, there tends to be a lot of “those two bands do NOT belong in the same category”.
It’s the same premise as the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In that case, “rock” refers to any American music made after the rock era began in the mid-Fifties (which is why artists as disparate as Miles Davis, Bob Marley, Madonna and Grandmaster Flash are in the HOF). No one can really argue with that definition, can they?
Well, of course they can, because most people think of the word “rock” and immediately conjure up an image of five white guys with long hair playing guitar (there might be one black guy-he plays bass). However, even THAT definition is pretty amorphous: I mean, The Beatles are a rock band, but so is Against Me! So is Vampire Weekend. And you’d never see any of those three bands playing a bill together or hear them on the same radio station, right?
My point is that it occasionally leads to some head-scratchers, lilke Train’s “Drops of Jupiter” winning Best Rock Song in 2002, or Pink’s “Trouble” winning Best Female Rock Performance a year later. I mean, when you break it down, both bands can be considered “rock”, but…tell that to some kid listening to Led Zeppelin who has a fairly narrow definition of rock (which probably wouldn’t even include the blues singers and players Plant, Page and co. stole from).
By the way, “Drops of Jupiter” popped up on my iPod today, and I was reminded of what a great fucking song it was.
Anyhow, off my soapbox. This year’s Grammy nominees in the rock category have a very “old guard” quality to them thanks to the presence of Springsteen, U2 and Green Day (yes folks, Green Day is now classic rock). Even the nominees in the “harder” categories are a bit aged. Not sure what to attribute that all to, but here are the nominees.
Best Rock Song (awarded to the songwriter)
Nominees: The Fixer (Pearl Jam), I’ll Go Crazy if I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight (U2), 21 Guns (Green Day), Use Somebody (Kings of Leon), Working on a Dream (Bruce Springsteen)
Will Win: Kings of Leon
Should Win: Pearl Jam
Three Grammy favorites (including U2, who have won more Grammy Awards than any band in history) are here, along with a moderately-recognized band who made a great record in Pearl Jam and a team of relative new jacks in Kings of Leon. So why am I picking the new jacks to win? Because “Use Somebody” is the only one of these records nominated in a major category (Record and Song of the Year), because KoL won in this category last year (for “Sex on Fire”), and because “Use Somebody” was freaking ubiquitous last year. As much as I like the Followill boys, though, I think Pearl Jam made an amazing record (the album, “Backspacer”, was released after the eligibility deadline) and should get recognized for something. Won’t happen, though.
Best Rock Album
Nominees: “Black Ice” (AC/DC), “Live from Madison Square Garden” (Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood), “21st Century Breakdown” (Green Day), “Big Whiskey & the GrooGrux King” (Dave Matthews Band), “No Line on the Horizon” (U2)
Will Win: U2
Should Win: ????
This is what I’m talking about: yes, AC/DC and DMB both qualify as rock bands, but should they be competing against one another, considering their styles of music are worlds apart? That said, this is a ridiculously interesting category, and anyone could win. AC/DC’s got the long-overdue recognition thing going for them (they’ve never won a Grammy), as well as the anti-establishment vote. Clapton and Winwood have the superstar collaboration thing going for them that worked so well for Alison Krauss and Robert Plant last year. Dave Matthews Band have the only one of these five albums in a major category (Album of the Year), plus this is their first album following the death of sax player LeRoi Moore. U2 is, well…U2. So this one is a toss-up with the only sure loser being Green Day (who got MTV and American Music Awards anyway). Thing is, though, with the exception of Clapton and Winwood (the only one of the five nominations I’ve never heard), everyone in this category made a sub-par album (to be fair, AC/DC’s wasn’t exactly subpar, it just sounded like every other album the band’s ever made). None of these guys really deserves this award. Is that sad or what?
Best Solo Rock Performance
Nominees: Beyond Here Lies Nothin’ (Bob Dylan), Change in the Weather (John Fogerty), Dreamer (Prince), Working on a Dream (Bruce Springsteen), Fork in the Road (Neil Young)
Will Win: Bruce Springsteen
Should Win: I think I’ll sit this one out, too.
I couldn’t pick a “Should Win” for the last category because no one really deserved it. I won’t pick a “Should Win” for this category because I’m fairly unfamiliar with the nominated songs. I’m not sure if I even ever knew that Fogerty and Young released albums last year. That said, I was sort of surprised that Grammy voters didn’t show Bob Dylan love in any of the major categories, since they’ve slobbed Zimmerman’s knob plenty over the course of the past decade or so. This could be his consolation prize. It’s between him and the Boss, who had the closest thing to a universally-recognized critical and commercial success out of any of the five nominees. One thing I will say is that when 51-year old Prince is the youngest nominee in a category, it’s time for an infusion of some new blood, STAT.
Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group
Nominees: “Can’t Find My Way Home” (Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood), “Life in Technicolor II” (Coldplay), “21 Guns” (Green Day), “Use Somebody” (Kings of Leon), “I’ll Go Crazy if I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight” (U2)
Will Win: Kings of Leon
Should Win: Kings of Leon
My Spidey Sense tells me that KoL will also win this category, with Grammy deciding to award the band that currently has the best balance between commercial recognition and “cool” factor. I wouldn’t count out either Green Day or U2, though. “21 Guns” was far and away the best thing on “21st Century Breakdown” (probably the most disappointing purchase I made in 2009) even though it was a bald-faced rewrite of “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”. U2 got a surprising amount of critical love for “No Line on the Horizon” (Rolling Stone named it the best album of the year), so…who knows? Whoever wins Best Rock Song will also win this award, so the most likely scenarios point to U2 or Kings of Leon winning this award.
Best Hard Rock Performance
Nominees: War Machine (AC/DC), Check My Brain (Alice in Chains), “What I’ve Done” (Linkin Park), “The Unforgiven III” (Metallica), “Burn it to the Ground” (Nickelback)
Will Win: AC/DC
Should Win: Alice in Chains
If Nickelback wins in this category, there will probably be a riot. Count them out immediately. I first picked Linkin Park to win this award (because Grammy voters honoring a live version of a 2-year old song sounds like something they would do), but then I thought about it some more and realized that now might be a good idea for the voters to finally acknowledge AC/DC’s contribution to rock and roll. With the double-platinum success of “Black Ice” and the probability that there probably won’t be another AC/DC album to nominate in the near future, if ever again, I say Angus, Brian and company finally walk away with a golden gramophone. Since Grammy folks like to award bands retroactively, this will be their consolation prize for not winning anything for “Highway to Hell” or “Back in Black” (although, to be fair, this category didn’t exist when those two classics were released). Personally, I don’t have a problem with AC/DC winning, but it would also be nice to see AiC rewarded for making a near-improbable comeback both creatively and commercially.
Best Metal Performance
Nominees: “Dissident Aggressor” (Judas Priest), “Set to Fail” (Lamb of God), “Head Crusher” (Megadeth), “Senor Peligro” (Ministry), “Hate Worldwide” (Slayer)
Will Win: Slayer
Should Win: I am NOT a metalhead
This is the one category in which I can safely say my familiarity with any of these songs is minimal. I know who all the bands are. I’ve heard music from all these bands before. I just haven’t heard the nominated works, and none of the bands ranks as anything I would listen to regularly. Metallica won in this category last year, and this year they have slid over to the Hard Rock category. Of the five nominated bands, Megadeth has seven nominations over their career without a win, while Ministry has six without a win. The only band in this category with an actual Grammy win to their name is Slayer, so my gut says they will prevail again and Dave Mustaine will continue to be the Susan Lucci of the Grammy Awards.
Best Alternative Music Performance
Nominees: “Everything That Happens Will Happen Today” (Brian Eno and David Byrne), “The Open Door” (Death Cab for Cutie), “Sounds of the Universe”(Depeche Mode), “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix” (Phoenix), “It’s Blitz!” (The Yeah Yeah Yeahs)
Will Win: Brian Eno and David Byrne
Should Win: Phoenix
Here’s another thing I don’t get. What qualifies as “alternative”? Alternative to what? That’s yet another amorphous category that has in the past awarded everyone from Green Day (post-punk) to Gnarls Barkley (R&B) to The Beastie Boys (hip-hop). This year’s nominees nod to the new wave of yesteryear while also giving a glance to morose singer-songwriter pop and French dance/rock. “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix” was, after Animal Collective’s “Merriweather Post Pavillion”, the year’s best reviewed album in any genre, so Phoenix could be a sleeper winner here. However, in line with Grammy voters recognizing artists belatedly, this one could also go to either the very solid Depeche Mode album, or the Eno/Byrne collaboration. That said, the latter album was only released digitally, and it’s hard to think that the industry would award an album that was released as kind of a “F*ck you” to the current label distribution structure. Hell, even Radiohead’s “In Rainbows” (the album that won last year) was released through traditional distribution channels.
Anyhow, we’ve now wrapped up the rock categories (except for the Best Rock Instrumental Performance category, which doesn’t interest me and probably doesn’t interest you either). Next, we jump on the Soooooooooul Train and check out this year’s R&B nominees).
