After surveying the list of nominees for 2012, the strangeness of the 55th annual GRAMMYs’ selections were instantly striking. Were the nominations inspired by critical consensus, Billboard popularity, or merely personal voter taste? And why did it seem, as in years past, that the judges were unaware of the actual year the music they selected was from? Why, again, were the options for Best New Artist comprised of artists who had already released records years before? Just what are the GRAMMYs out to celebrate and who are they hoping to appeal to?
Mystery #1: The Case of the Same Sound, Different Genre
El Camino by the Black Keys is a groovy joyride of an album. It’s more than licensed to drive on the GRAMMYs’ highways. The Album of the Year nominee was released, however, in December of 2011. Furthermore, the Black Keys previously were categorized by the GRAMMYs as an alternative act, winning Best Alternative Music Album for Brothers (bafflingly beating out Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs for the award although The Suburbs were handed Album of the Year). They are now in the running for Best Rock Album and were not considered for Best Alternative Music Album, though Tom Waits, rarely classified as “alternative,” was. Additionally, Jack White’s White Stripes-sounding solo release was labeled as a Rock Album, despite the White Stripes’ consistent placement in the Alternative Music category. Has the alternative genre been reconsidered by the Recording Academy for sociological reasons or do the changes reflect some other form of enigmatic politicking that subtly serves record sales?
Mystery #2: The Case of the Rapidly Aging Definition of “New”
Last year, Bon Iver was notably given the award for Best New Artist. In the year prior, Esperanza Spalding beat out Justin Bieber for the same commendation. In both cases though, Bon Iver and Spalding had popular careers and followings established long before being declared “new.” For Emma, Forever Ago by Bon Iver was a massive hit in 2008. Bon Iver received his Best New Artist award for Bon Iver, Bon Iver in 2011. This year, fun. are up for Best New Artist, in spite of debuting an LP in 2009, while most of their fellow nominees are blatant 2011 acts. Is “new” now defined by when members of the Recording Academy have heard of a band? And if so, how had they not heard of these bands if they are touted as industry experts?
Mystery #3: The Case of the Hat-Picked Nominees
According to besteveralbums.com’s calculations, based on critical lists the most acclaimed albums of 2012 were Bloom by Beach House, Blunderbuss by Jack White, Channel Orange by Frank Ocean, good kid, m.A.A.d city by Kendrick Lamar, and Shields by Grizzly Bear. The best-selling albums of 2012 released in 2012 were Red by Taylor Swift, Babel by Mumford & Sons, Tuskegee by Lionel Richie, Believe by Justin Bieber, and Blown Away by Carrie Underwood. Of the aforementioned albums, three were considered for Album of the Year (Blunderbuss, Channel Orange, and Babel). The other two selections, Some Nights and El Camino, were both highly successful chart-topping records. Acts like Beach House, Kendrick Lamar, and Grizzly Bear, however, were uniformly snubbed. None of this was unexpected.
More unexpected and quite confusing are the nominee selections for nearly every other category. Critical darlings like Kendrick Lamar and Killer Mike were omitted from Best Rap Album nominations. Mumford & Sons received a nomination for Best Americana Album despite being very very British and did not receive a nomination for Best Folk Album. Films like Midnight in Paris from early in 2011 were nominated for Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media alongside movies from midway through 2012. Music videos from albums nominated for GRAMMYs last year (such as Foster the People’s Torches) were given recognition. The Recording Academy appeared absolutely obsessed with “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” by Kelly Clarkson for no identifiably justified reasons, showering the track with three nominations. The difference between Song of the Year and Record of Year came across as puzzling as ever, apparently with the former focusing on quality lyrics. Which clearly explains why “Call Me Maybe” is nominated for Song of the Year but not Record of the Year, and “Thinkin Bout You” is nominated for Record of the Year but not Song of the Year.
But who can unpack and unfurl the logic of the GRAMMY nominations? Who can penetrate the haze of their incoherent mysteries? Can the Recording Academy even explain them? Can you?
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