Grammy 2011 - Indie Music Wins, Urban Music Loses

I was all set to write an angry blog trashing Grammy voters for crapping on contemporary Black music. And yes, I still will. But can we stop for a minute and celebrate what just happened with Arcade Fire winning Album of the Year??

I'm no fan (I happen to think LCD Soundsystem is better) but I respect Arcade Fire as one of those indie bands that people seem to love. I love "Wake Up" after hearing it on the Petros and Money show. But this is a huge win not just for them, but for indie music, critical favorites and a fan base that pushed them to the heights they have now.

I was shocked their last album debuted at #1 and I was shocked they got a Grammy nod for Album of the Year in one of the weakest years in recent memory. But after a blistering performance, they lived up to Grammy tradition which usually says if you perform, you win. I loved their reaction and the fact they went right back to perform another song. That's the definition of cool and loving music.

Indie rock just took a huge step forward tonight. And throw in the fact that my new favorite band The Black Keys (above) won multiple Grammys, I think that's the biggest story of the night, not that Lady Antebellum winning 5 Grammys. If you support independent music, tonight was a good night.


Speaking of which, I don't hate Lady Antebellum despite my longtime concern about their name (Lady of the Old South pre-Civil War). I think they are earnest and their vocals are solid. But the Grammy voters used them to make a big statement - we still won't support contemporary Black music or respect them as great songwriters.

Since 2000 - there's only been 2 contemporary R&B or rap songs that won Song of the Year (Alicia Keys "Fallin" and Beyonce "Single Ladies"), none for Record of the Year and only 1 album that won Album of the Year (OutKast off the strength of "Hey Ya"). This includes epic screwjobs such as Steely Dan over Eminem in 2001, the great Ray Charles over Kanye, Usher and Alicia in 2005 and Herbie Hancock over Kanye in 2008.

Taking it back further. Michael Jackson never won Song of the Year for his solo work (Beat It won Record of the Year). Record of the Year has seen Black artists win for epic pop songs (Kiss from a Rose, Unforgettable with Nat and Natalie Cole, What's Love Got to Do With It) but not too many contemporary R&B songs.

I'm not saying every time an urban song gets popular it deserves to win nor do the winners not always deserve it. But just being nominated is no longer enough. You can't tell me that "Need You Now" will be remembered as much as Cee-Lo's "F You", one of the best kiss-offs in years. Until Black artists get respected for their hit-making and songwriting by the Grammys in the major categories, it feels like a slap in the face.

And one more thing, tell the Grammys to show an R&B category on the telecast. It's embarrassing that one of music's most important genres can't get on TV even though the genre's in creative trouble.

Congrats to winners Sade, Bruno Mars, Cee-Lo's 2 Alternative Grammys, John Legend + The Roots winning 3, Switchfoot AND Danger Mouse winning Producer of the Year. Low twos to no awards for Janelle Monae or Big Boi. Low twos to Jay-Z winning for anything BP3 related.

More tidbits

- Welcome back Dr. Dre!!!! But say hello to Skylar Grey even more. What a voice!. As pointed out by a Twitter follower, she's no rookie to being on a hit. Eminem killed it. Word to Big Proof, your boy is back.
- The power trio of Janelle Monae, B.O.B. and Bruno Mars. Bruno's voice may not be strong enough to match his energy but he knows his doo-wop very well. And seeing him on drums and Bobby Ray on guitar back up Janelle on "Cold War" gave me chills!! Way better than Corinne Bailey Rae, John Legend and John Mayer together a few years ago.
- Muse's performance was great but I was disappointed that people still don't know them for their earlier work. Definitely the most artistic performance of the night at that point.
- Mumford and Sons was a great surprise. Love their alternative bluegrass sound

- How in the world did the King of R&B get so boring??? Usher apparently aged overnight but if any performer could make dance moves look so easy and soulless and music devoid of any passion, he did. Sad to see this happen.
- Bob Dylan still has that growl and anger in his voice. Even though I could barely hear him perform Maggie's Farm, he still has the cool.
- I guess that Mick Jagger has a bright future ahead of him. Not bad for his 1st ever Grammy performance, which sounds weird cause I've seen Paul McCartney twice on the Grammys
- Did Lady Gaga really wear plastic booty pop pads? And what was up with that egg?? Proof to support my idea that she's Madonna's daughter ready to be reborn with her new album?

- I'll have more to say on Cee-Lo as I recap watching him and Big Boi's show Friday. But his performance with the Muppets was cool and creative even if I realize his stage presence is more cool than over the top.
- Gwyneth Paltrow, good luck on that music career. Reminds me that I can't remember a great acting performance in years outside of Iron Man. But she does have a great voice.
- Katy Perry did better than she did 2 years ago starting out with a mellow song that she could sing over but she still can't sing live over her uptempo joints.
- Adam Levine is still one of the coolest musicians around. Playing piano behind Rihanna only showed his range as a dope artist.
- Even though she wasn't there, Grammy still loves Taylor Swift. 3 commercials in one night? Overkill much?
- I'm going to give Justin Bieber his props for having the most musicianship out of any teen pop star. He's not my cup of tea but his skills will make him last. Til then, leave him for the kids.


Update: I did a guest spot on my friend Tyler's podcast Anybody Listening regarding the Grammys. Feel free to check it out.

2004 - Music (Ushering in the Last Stand)

Like I said, it was the last great year for the music industry as we know it. I've talked with one industry insider this year and she pretty much told me that there is no industry. Credit the downfall to rampant downloading, Soundscan not taking album downloads into consideration, and the lack of connection that'll tie fans to a movement.

That's why I say that Usher exploding with Confessions with the last of a dying breed. It was a monster that combined the rising crunk sound, a 3-year wait between albums and a deeply personal album that involved him and TLC's Chilli (allegedly). It had all the ingredients to be a monster and it was.

1.1 million sold the first week, four No. 1 singles that spent 28 weeks at the top, the last album to sell 10 million in the US - that's why I call it the Thriller of our (this) era.

It was also the year Kanye West said hi. I'll never forget people going nuts over bootlegging it and the day it dropped, someone recited "All Falls Down" at a poetry slam and I thought it was dope without knowing who it was. College Dropout still remains one of the best albums of the decade and one of my all-time faves.

Like I said in my last post, Kanye spoke to me like no rapper had before. Some other music highlights/lowlights

- Conscious rap was supposed to be in vogue but it turned out not to be what we thought. Talib Kweli's album wasn't as solid, Mos Def's album was as inconsistent, The Roots dropped arguably their worst album.

- Kanye's ascent coincided with the last stand of the three rap heavyweights. Jay-Z was in the middle of his retirement album, Eminem dropped his worst album (which still has some gems on there), and Nelly dropped 2 albums, his last major success. I still love Suit and think it showed the direction that Nelly was gonna succeed with.

- Maroon 5 dropped with a dope sound. It's funny cause I remember my friend Vanessa going to see them in Fall 2003 at this local bar in San Diego before they blew up. Then they came out to our campus in 2005. Unbelieveable

- T.I. dropped his biggest hit of the time "Bring Em Out", setting the stage for his rise as the next biggest rapper.

- Franz Ferdinand was a breath of fresh air and dropped one of my favorite joints of the decade "Take Me Out", rock needed a kick in the balls and this song smashed anything else at the time. And then MIA dropped "Galang" and it still sounds as fresh/original now.

- Biggest comeback had to go to Green Day, who changed their sound, elevated punk rock and made the soundtrack to a crazy election year and eventually the recession "Blvd. of Broken Dreams" still sounds relevant today esp. for college graduates and 30-somethings who watch their dreams get re-evaluated.

- "Why?" was one of the best songs Jadakiss ever did. Ironically it may have been the last major hit from NY from a non G-Unit artist. Oh wait, forgot about wack Mims.

- Oh yeah, I also got into Prince a lot more closely. I bought his comeback album "Musicology" in December and I remember enjoying it all over Washington D.C. It made me discover a lot of his music. In 2005, I bought his greatest hits album and "Sign O the Times"

- Still can't believe people tripped out over Britney Spears "Toxic" - might just be the best reviewed single of her career. I actually liked "Everytime" because it was a piano ballad.

- And although I didnt discover it until 2005, one of the most beautiful albums ever dropped. Changed the notion of what I thought hip-hop could sound like. The Foreign Exchange - Connected. An album made with two guys in different countries who never met except on a message board and showed how the Internet could aid in making great music.

It was probably one of the last years we all had a shared musical experience. Everything was going to end up on I-Tunes, rampant downloading and message boards (plus the radio shifting towards a younger audience). Take it for what it's worth. Fond musical memories for me. What about you?