Grammy Highlights: There Were a Few

There really are very few highlights to this show now. There was Dave Grohl on drums with Sir Paul. And Thom and Johnny performing "15 Step" with the USC marching band. The best moment of all, however, was seeing my sister on live television for the first time. Looking good MESK.

I'm updating this post with my dad's first and likely last live blogging attempt.  Some names have been deleted to protect the innocent.

8:02 Is U-2 singing a song or making noise? Way below their best.
8:06: Our neighbor, Dwayne Johnson ... alias the Rock, seeking to clarify his manhood, something about kissing a girl on the lips... he may regret replays of the tape
8:09  Pardon my age, but Al Green does not need Justin Timberlake as accompaniment
8:16 commercial bloc... 
8:23 Cold Play.  I suggest a diet of  beef & BBQ... way too tremulous for my taste
8:26  OK, I'm out of it. Who are these guys?
8:29: Carrie Underwood.. now I understand why she has a following. There are gazelles grazing in the African savannah on the nature channel, one step down on your Direct TV dial
8:29  OK, another commercial break.  I'm psyched. Target. Drats.  Bertoni takeout Italian. Olay. Mute, mute. Lincoln.. heart rate up... no, it's the major tom version.  Got to hand it to them.. it's very cool.  would be better with the original David Bowie sound track.  Then baby formula. Cholesterol.  Strange demographics here.
8:43 Best song of the year: I AM TOTALLY IGNORANT. Is Cold Play making a statement with their colors? Is there something left to chance with these guys?
8:45: Justin T, now Kid Rock is shiney black... How great is it to be oblivious about fashion trends? For the first time ever, I can't wait for the next commercial block... ooohhh, here it comes
8:47  Damn.  Rheumetoid arthritis. Are they watching, too? Chewing gum.  Now I'm totally confused. More Olay & Target. WHO CARES? Vitamin supplements.  Home buying. On-line degrees. Toyotas-- pathetic. They need Noah.
8:53  M. Cyrus (distant relation to Cyrus the Great?) is embarrassing herself
8:55  Yuck.. Robert Plant does a succubus cling to Alison Kraus  Ready for next commercial break.
9:03  Exfoliating body was. A Lincoln commercial.  Splashy, but I've seen better.
9:10  Stevie Wonder with the Jonas Bros?  Imagine what happens with internet dating services.
9:15  Cold Play get a rock album award.  The definition of rock must have changed
9:17 AT LAST! BINGO! Our daughter on national television. I'm going out to buy a Lincoln.
9:20  OK, now I'm switching to the Nature Channel.

Grammy Highlight

The Grammy Awards are a joke. Music fans know this. However, the Kanye West and Daft Punk performance killed. Many were shocked by their appearance but Daft and Punk both apparently live in LA so I don't see this as being a stretch. It was reportedly their first ever t.v. appearance.

Kanye West Feat Daft Punk - Stronger (Live @ 50th Grammy)
by PeteRock

Sports Guy @ The Grammys

I know why I don't live-blog. Because the Sports Guy is better. Funnier. Fitter. Happier. Last night he watched the Grammys and had more fun than I did.

ALIVE!

This was not on last night. Nothing remotely close to this caliber of performance aired last night. It aired three years ago, the Grammys, 2004. I was somewhere else. Not watching. Wherever I was, I was probably spinning Elephant wishing I could see Jack White, in all of his badness, rip through it live. What little residue of displeasure that may have remained in my mind regarding Jack White's Coca-Cola ad has kindly left my body, and the building.

Grammy Nods

As always, you gotta take this with a grain of salt. The full list of Grammy nominations is available here. They didn't do half bad in some of the categories, and by that I mean there isn't a notable fuck-up like, say, oh, Jethro Tull getting nominated for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance. I was interested to see Wolfmother catch a nod and it seems like the Arctic Monkeys buzz definitely got to the Grammy folks.

While I like Petty's album and I love Tom Petty, I don't know how well it stacks up against some of the others that are out there. It just seems like anything U2/Bono, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and the like do, it is going to catch Grammy recognition (Petty's received 16 Grammy noms since 1981). I was surprised to see Pearl Jam absent from the Rock categories, but not shocked. Their relationship with the Grammys has been a rocky one beginning with Eddie's strange acceptance speech for "Spin the Black Circle".

Death Cab for Cutie caught a couple of nods and snuck into the Best Pop Performance. They are up against the likes of Pussycat Dolls, Keane, The Fray and The Black Eyed Peas to form one of the stranger collections of artists in a category. Weird. Mary J. Blige led the pack with 8 nominations, while the Red Hot Chili Peppers brought in 6. Metro D's awardees/categories of note follow...

Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal
(For established duos or groups, with vocals. Singles or Tracks only.)
"My Humps" The Black Eyed Peas
"I Will Follow You Into The Dark" Death Cab For Cutie
"Over My Head (Cable Car)" The Fray
"Is It Any Wonder?" Keane
"Stickwitu" The Pussycat Dolls

Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance
(For a solo vocal performance. Singles or Tracks only.)
"Nausea" Beck
"Someday Baby" Bob Dylan
"Route 66" John Mayer
"Saving Grace" Tom Petty
"Lookin' For A Leader" Neil Young

Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal
(For duo, group or collaborative performances, with vocals. Singles or Tracks only.)
"Talk" Coldplay
"How To Save A Life" The Fray
"Steady, As She Goes" The Raconteurs
"Dani California" Red Hot Chili Peppers
"The Saints Are Coming" U2 & Green Day

Best Hard Rock Performance
(For solo, duo, group or collaborative performances, with vocals. Singles or Tracks only.)
"Crazy Bitch" Buckcherry
"Every Day Is Exactly The Same" Nine Inch Nails
"Lonely Day" System Of A Down
"Vicarious" Tool
"Woman" Wolfmother

Best Metal Performance
(For solo, duo, group or collaborative performances, with vocals. Singles or Tracks only.)
"Redneck" Lamb Of God
"Colony Of Birchmen" Mastodon
"Lies, Lies, Lies" Ministry
"Eyes Of The Insane" Slayer
"30/30-150" Stone Sour

Best Rock Instrumental Performance
(For solo, duo, group or collaborative performances, without vocals. Includes Rock, Hard Rock and Metal. Singles or Tracks only.)
"Chun Li's Flying Bird Kick" Arctic Monkeys
"The Wizard Turns On..." The Flaming Lips
"Black Hole Sun" Peter Frampton
"Catsellorizon" David Gilmour
"Super Colossal" Joe Satriani

Best Rock Song
(A Songwriter(s) Award. Includes Rock, Hard Rock & Metal songs. For Song Eligibility Guidelines see Category #3. (Artist names appear in parenthesis.) Singles or Tracks only.)
"Chasing Cars" Nathan Connolly, Gary Lightbody, Jonny Quinn, Tom Simpson & Paul Wilson, songwriters (Snow Patrol)
"Dani California" Flea, John Frusciante, Anthony Kiedis & Chad Smith, songwriters (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
"Lookin' For A Leader" Neil Young, songwriter (Neil Young)
"Someday Baby" Bob Dylan, songwriter (Bob Dylan)
"When You Were Young" Brandon Flowers, Dave Keuning, Mark Stoermer & Ronnie Vannucci, songwriters (The Killers)

Best Rock Album
(Vocal or Instrumental. Includes Hard Rock and Metal.)
TRY! John Mayer Trio
HIGHWAY COMPANION Tom Petty
BROKEN BOY SOLDIERS The Raconteurs
STADIUM ARCADIUM Red Hot Chili Peppers
LIVING WITH WAR Neil Young

Best Alternative Music Album
(Vocal or Instrumental.)
WHATEVER PEOPLE SAY I AM, THAT'S WHAT I'M NOT Arctic Monkeys
AT WAR WITH THE MYSTICS The Flaming Lips
ST. ELSEWHERE Gnarls Barkley
SHOW YOUR BONES Yeah Yeah Yeahs
THE ERASER Thom Yorke

Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album
(Vocal or Instrumental.)
SOLO ACOUSTICS VOL. 1 Jackson Browne
BLACK CADILLAC Rosanne Cash
WORKBENCH SONGS Guy Clark
MODERN TIMES Bob Dylan
ALL THE ROADRUNNING Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris

Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media
(Award to the Artist(s) and/or Producer(s) of a majority of the tracks on the album, or to the individual(s) actively responsible for the concept and musical direction and for the selection of artists, songs and producers, as applicable.)
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN Various Artists
CARS Various Artists
GREY'S ANATOMY — VOLUME 2 Various Artists
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE Various Artists
WALK THE LINE Joaquin Phoenix & Various Artists

Best Recording Package
THE BEST WORST-CASE SCENARIO Ryan Clark, art director (Fair)
PERSONAL FILE Randall Martin, art director (Johnny Cash)
REPRIEVE Ani DiFranco & Brian Grunert, art directors (Ani DiFranco)
10,000 DAYS Adam Jones, art director (Tool)
VERSIONS Neal Ashby & Matthew Curry, art directors (Thievery Corporation)

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
*Howard Benson [EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF (Hoobastank); FLY LEAF (Flyleaf); IN WITH THE CROWD (Less Than Jake); ONE-X (Three Days Grace); THE PARAMOUR SESSIONS (Papa Roach); POPAGANDA (Head Automatica); SAOSIN (Saosin)]
*T Bone Burnett [THUNDERBIRD (Cassandra Wilson); THE TRUE FALSE IDENTITY (T Bone Burnett); WALK THE LINE SOUNDTRACK (Joaquin Phoenix & Various Artists)]
*Danger Mouse ["Pieces Of The People We Love" (The Rapture); ST. ELSEWHERE (Gnarls Barkley)]
*Rick Rubin [AMERICAN V: A HUNDRED HIGHWAYS (Johnny Cash); "God's Gonna Cut You Down" (Johnny Cash); STADIUM ARCADIUM (Red Hot Chili Peppers); TAKING THE LONG WAY (Dixie Chicks); 12 SONGS (Neil Diamond)]
*Will.i.am ["About You" (Mary J. Blige Featuring Will.i.am); "Big Girls Don't Cry" (Fergie); "Damn Girl" (Justin Timberlake Featuring Will.i.am); "I Am Somebody" (Santana Featuring Will.i.am); "I Love My B****" (Busta Rhymes Featuring Kelis & Will.i.am); "Mas Que Nada" (Sergio Mendes Featuring The Black Eyed Peas); TIMELESS (Sergio Mendes)]

Best Short Form Musical Video
(For an individual track or single promotional clip. Award to the Artist and to the Video Director/Producer.)
*"8th Of November" Big & Rich; Robert Deaton, George Flanigen & Marc Oswald, video directors; Robert Deaton, George Flanigen, Steve Lamar & Marc Oswald, video producers
*"When You Were Young" The Killers; Anthony Mandler, video director; Gina Leonard, video producer
*"Here It Goes Again" OK Go; Dan Konopka, Damian Kulash, Jr, Timothy Nordwind, Andy Ross & Trish Sie, video directors; Dan Konopka, Damien Kulash, Jr., Timothy Nordwind, Andy Ross & Trish Sie, video producers
*"Dani California" Red Hot Chili Peppers; Tony Kaye, video director; Rachel Curl, video producer
*"Writing On The Walls" Underoath

Best Long Form Music Video
(For video album packages consisting of more than one song or track. Award to the Artist and to the Video Director/Producer of at least 51% of the total playing time.)
*FLOW: IN THE STREAM OF MUSIC, Terence Blanchard; Jim Gabour, video director; Robin Burgess & Jim Gabour, video producers
*DIRECTIONS, Death Cab For Cutie; Noah Gelb, video producer
*DEMON DAYS - LIVE IN MANCHESTER, Gorillaz; J.C. Hewlett, video director
*I'M GOING TO TELL YOU A SECRET, Madonna; Jonas Akerlund, video director; Susan Applegate, Angela Becker, Keeley Gould, Shelli Jury & David May, video producers
*WINGS FOR WHEELS: THE MAKING OF BORN TO RUN, Bruce Springsteen; Thom Zimny, video director; Thom Zimny, video producer