Grammy Preview
HEAVE breaks down one of the most important nights in music.
Even with wholesale attempts at modernization in the past few years, the Grammys are usually a blip on the pop culture radar. While the Emmy Awards and the Oscars can bestow upon a television show or film a certain sense of legitimacy, the Grammys fail to do the same for albums. Whatever the reason, we still rely on five-star reviews, word of mouth, and year end “Best Of” lists to help us separate cream from the crap within the music world.
But this year’s Grammys stand a chance to be different. With the writer’s strike pushing four months, there has been a palpable lack of red carpet glamour and celebrity sycophantism going on. But as the with Screen Actors Guild awards, the Writer’s Guild vowed not to picket the Grammys, meaning that unless the strike ends in time for the Oscars to go off without a hitch, this may be our last chance in 2008 to have a star-studded award show. More than that, Amy Winehouse is planning to perform on the broadcast via satellite after being denied a visa into the country, giving U.S. audiences the opportunity to see some intravenous drug use in high definition. Couple that with the ever-present possibility that Kanye West will freak out and punch someone upside the head, and you have the makings of some quality entertainment.
But lest we forget that, in addition to being a catalogue of celebrity shortcomings, the Grammys are also an awards show, we better go ahead and predict some winners in the major categories. Take this stuff to the bank, kids, its got the HEAVE stamp of approval.
Album of the Year
The Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience, & Grace
Vince Gill - These Days
Kanye West - Graduation
Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
Herbie Hancock - River: The Joni Letters
Who Should Win: In a slow year for hip-hop and music in general, Kanye West delivered an album that was almost sublime. He deserves it more than anyone else in the category.
Who Will Win: Kanye West. Amy Winehouse’s public persona has yet to completely eclipse to critical ground swelling around Back to Black, but I really think that this is finally Kanye’s year. Graduation didn’t reinvent the wheel like The College Dropout or Late Registration, but it was more complete than either of his first two albums.
Record of the Year
Beyonce - "Irreplaceable"
Foo Fighters - "The Pretender"
Rihanna featuring Jay-Z - "Umbrella"
Justin Timberlake - "What Goes Around...Comes Around"
Amy Winehouse - "Rehab"
Who Should Win: Most people get confused by this category because the terms “album” and “record” have become interchangeable in everyday conversation, but the “Record of the Year” award goes to the whole team behind a song—the performer, sound engineer, producer, etc. Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab” didn’t just nail the retro R&B vibe, it completely inhabited it. No other song this year came close.
Who Will Win: Winehouse may face a push from the mellow groove of Timberlake’s “What Goes Around…Comes Around,” but she is still the front-runner. What other song grabbed people this year like “Rehab?"
Best New Artist
Amy Winehouse
Taylor Swift
Paramore
Ledisi
Feist
Who Should Win: Feist. Even after playing in numerous critically-acclaimed indie outfits for years, no one on earth knew who Feist was. That is, until she dropped one of the best solo albums of the year and completely stole my heart in the process. What’s that, you’re looking for a husband? Right damn here, baby.
Who Will Win: Winehouse. No doubt about it, she has already run away with this one.
Best Rock Album
Daughtry - Daughtry
The Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience, & Grace
Bruce Springsteen - Magic
John Fogerty - Revival
Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
Who Should Win: First off, I loved Sky Blue Sky, but the last thing I would classify Wilco’s latest offering as would be a rock album. How the hell did it end up in this category? Oh well. Even if he were going against four legitimate contenders, Bruce Springsteen would still run away with this award.
Who Will Win: Springsteen. Lousy competition notwithstanding, Magic is the Boss’ best album since Reagan was in office. Throw it on your iPod and remember that rock music can be realistic and idealistic in the same breath.
Best Alternative Music Album
The White Stripes - Icky Thump
Lily Allen - Alright, Still
The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Bjork - Volta
The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
Who Should Win: This is one of the toughest categories to predict, since The Arcade Fire and The White Stripes both put out phenomenal albums this year. In the end, I like Neon Bible just a little more than Icky Thump, so I’ll say that it should be the winner.
Who Will Win: The Arcade Fire. Again, this is more of a toss-up, but my sense of things still says that the Arcade Fire have the advantage.
Best Rap Album
Common - Finding Forever
Kanye West - Graduation
Jay-Z - Kingdom Come
Nas - Hip Hop is Dead
T.I. - T.I. vs. T.I.P.
Who Should Win: Common. Kanye and Jay-Z get all the press, but Common is a better pure MC. His rhymes have more personality, intelligence and social awareness than those of anyone else in the category.
Who Will Win: Kanye. This is the safety award that Grammy voters will give to 'Ye to make sure that he doesn’t burn the building down and punch Tina Turner in the breasts if he loses album of the year to Amy Winehouse.
Song of the Year
Carrie Underwood - "Before He Cheats"
Rihanna - "Umbrella"
Corrine Bailey Rae - "Like a Star"
Amy Winehouse - "Rehab"
Plain White T's - "Hey There Delilah"
Who Should Win: “Umbrella” may be the catchiest song written this millennium. “Rehab” is going to be stiff competition, but if the voters know anything they will give Rihanna her due propers.
Who Will Win: Rihanna. I just don’t see anyone else making a legitimate claim to having a bigger or better song. “Umbrella” was the cross-genre jam of 2007, hands down.
Best Pop Album
Bon Jovi - Lost Highway
Maroon 5 - It Won't Be Soon Before Long
Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full
Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
Feist - The Reminder
Who Should Win: Grammy voters and critics in general have a man-crush on Paul McCartney, and Bon Jovi’s hair always looks perfectly feathered, but Maroon 5 really deserve this one. “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long” not only made people who read the title aloud dyslexic, but also proved that “Songs About Jane” was no fluke. These guys know how to write an engaging pop song. Indeed, they know how to write an entire album full of them.
Who Will Win: McCartney. Don’t ask me why, it’s just a feeling, and my intuition is rarely wrong. Like the time I defused that bomb in my apartment complex by cutting the green wire, even though the bomb squad technician clearly told me to cut the yellow wire. You know what I’m talking about.
Best Rock Song
Lucinda Williams - "Come On"
The White Stripes - "Icky Thump"
Daughtry - "It's Not Over"
The Foo Fighters - "The Pretender"
Bruce Springsteen - "Radio Nowhere"
Who Should Win: Hey, remember a few years ago when the White Stripes released an album that got a lot of love from critics, but in reality sounded like a series of outtakes and demos? Yeah, that didn’t happen this year. "Icky Thump" was just about perfect in every way.
Who Will Win: The White Stripes. “Icky Thump” is so front-loaded with riffs that it’s a miracle they had anything left for the rest of the album. “Radio Nowhere” may be a dark horse, but the Stripes would be a shoo-in in a perfect world.
Best Female Pop Vocal
Feist - "1234"
Amy Winehouse - "Rehab"
Fergie - "Big Girls Don't Cry"
Nelly Furtado - "Say It Right"
Christina Aguilera - "Candyman"
Who Should Win: Feist. Amy Winehouse is going to get every other award on the planet, so can we give Feist at least a little bit of compensation?
Who Will Win: Amy Winehouse. Sure, the music was perfect; but everyone and their mother knows that it is Winehouse’s voice that catapulted her to stardom. You know what they say: if it’s baroque, don’t fix it.
Posted by Ryan Peters on Feb 09, 2008 @ 12:00 am