YOU'RE THINKING OF SHAVING IT OFF? ABE, DON'T YOU SEE THAT'S PART OF THE IMAGE? Fifty years ago, the Grammy for Best Album went to Bob Newhart for The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, besting recordings by Frank Sinatra, Harry Belafonte and Nat King Cole. Via Splitsider, here's an excerpt from Abe Lincoln vs. Madison Avenue.
We will be here in some form or other Sunday night, whether Covering-It-Live or just in the comments. In the meantime, are there any nominees for whom you're rooting? Do you care at all?
added: Bill Wyman on the secret committee that gets to monkey with the nominations, and category bloat.
One thing of note--remember that the top categories are not "Best Album," "Best Record," but rather "_________ of the Year." To me, that's a slightly different question.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I'd love to see "King of Anything" beat "Bad Romance" for Pop Vocal Performance, for Robby Kreiger to be (I believe) the first and only member of the Doors to win a competitive Grammy, for the Conchords, and, hell, for TMBG to win a third Grammy (none of which were for "Flood.")
#of Grammies given to Rush: 0. I believe that answers the question.
ReplyDelete#of Grammies given to Rush: 0. I believe that answers the question.
ReplyDeleteAre we on EGOT Watch for anyone?
ReplyDeleteCarol Burnett has a (non-competitive) Tony and Emmys, but no Grammy, and she's nominated in Spoken Word. Woody Allen is up in the same category, but he has only Oscars and nothing else so far. Julie Andrews already has a Grammy, so no excitement there (but seriously, Julie Andrews had three Tony nominations and 0 wins?) Emma Thompson is another interesting one, as she has 2 Oscars and one Emmy (for Ellen, of all things, though she was nominated for Wit and Angels in America) but no Grammys so far.
ReplyDeleteHey, in the Best Musical Show Album category, is that only for the producer or does the composer share in it?
<span>From Wikipedia: The award is given only to the album producer, and to the composer and lyricist who has written at least 51% of the music which has not been recorded previously.</span>
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<span>Who's up?</span>
Looking over the category list, I no longer know anything about pop music and know even less about subgenres of Latin music except what I can decipher from their etymologies. The most fascinating category to me is Best Americana album: Roseanne Cash, Willie Nelson, the Mavis Staples album with Jeff Tweedy, but also Los Lobos and Robert Plant(!).
ReplyDeleteIs there a reason why classical albums are split off from the production and engineering grammies? They require different skills, to be sure, but so would producing jazz or hard rock. I'm intrigued that Jennifer Higdon's violin concerto could win a Pulitzer and Hilary Hahn's CD of it not be nominated for a grammy.
Alan Ball and Ryan Murphy are competing for TV Soundtrack. Ball has an Oscar (American Beauty) and an Emmy (Six Feet Under), and Murphy has an Emmy (directing Glee).
ReplyDeleteAndrews would have won a Tony basically for being Julie Andrews for Victor/Victoria, but she declined the nomination because she was the only thing nominated in the production and she felt that was unfair.
ReplyDeleteI loved that album as a kid, raiding his father's abandoned comedy vinyl collection -- I had no idea he won a Grammy for it!
ReplyDeleteJanelle Monáe!
ReplyDeleteInteresting Matt, thanks.
ReplyDeleteBenner, WXRT here in Chicago (kind of our long-standing corporate college rock station) has been playing that Mavis Staples album a bit, due to XRT's obsession with Wilco, and I might have to break down and buy it.
ReplyDeleteAs the article points out, the eligibility rules and year result in all sorts of bizareness. While "Just The Way You Are" is nominated for Male Pop Vocal (and arguably should have been on the list for Record/Song of the Year) and Bruno Mars is part of one of the production teams for Producer of the Year, he's not eligible for Best New Artist until next year (when he'll probably win).
ReplyDeleteNext year is going to be interesting, since it's all-but-certain already that "Speak Now" and "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" will both be nominees in Album of the Year, and that's a nice narrative for them.
Emma Thompson is the main one I'm watching, because how else is she getting a Grammy but for a Spoken Word (Children's) like win.
ReplyDeleteShe opened for Prince when I saw him. Impressive.
ReplyDeleteIt's a terrific album and my favorite of last year. Highly recommended, whether you're a Wilco fan or not.
ReplyDelete(But I also bought the Cash and Plant, and like them both also.)
The ArchAndroid is an outstanding album. Her debut EP is even better; both are worth picking up.
ReplyDeleteTom and Lorenzo have gotten to me. The only thing I care about anymore is what everyone's wearing. Matchy-matchy accessories? Women in pants? I'll be on the edge of my seat.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely will be rooting for Emma, then.
ReplyDeleteRooting for Rosanne Cash just because she's awesome - her tweets from the Super Bowl as Jane Austen (#JaneAustenAtTheSuperBowl) were the funniest thing I've seen in a long time.
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