ScoJo's Grammy Preview 

With the Grammy Awards coming up Sunday, I felt it appropriate to go ahead and let everyone in on who will be winning in each of the major categories.  This way I can take the drama out of the night and you can sit back and just enjoy the performances.  Let's get right into it:
  

Record of the Year

Adele, "Rolling in the Deep"
Bon Iver, ''Holocene''
Bruno Mars, ''Grenade''
Mumford & Sons, ''The Cave''
Katy Perry, ''Firework''

Is there any doubt here?  While Perry dominated the summer airwaves, and Bon Iver dominated the "lock  yourself in a cabin and mope" / "depressed people who need an indie artist to support" / "artists who hate awards" categories, Adele's "Deep" is vocal and recording perfection.  Let's hope she takes the award and sticks it somewhere Karl Lagerfeld can feel it, but can't see it. 

Album of the Year
Adele, 21

Foo Fighters, Wasting Light
Lady Gaga, Born This Way
Bruno Mars, Doo-Wops & Hooligans
Rihanna, Loud

19 non-consecutive weeks as the #1 album on the Billboard charts (most since The Bodygard, let's hope Adele doesn't meet the same cocaine abuse fate as Whitney) should help propel 21 to a well deserved Grammy.  Gaga might seem like a worthy competitor, but her latest album failed to achieve the success of her earlier work.  Interesting to note that the Grammy voters seemed to give the MIA middle finger to Kanye in this category. 

Song of the Year

Kanye West, ''All of the Lights''
Mumford & Sons, ''The Cave''
Bruno Mars, ''Grenade''
Bon Iver, ''Holocene''
Adele, ''Rolling in the Deep''

This battle really comes down to Iver vs. Adele.  Song of the Year recognizes the writer of the song (Record of the Year is for recording and performance), and Justin Vernon is definitely a great songwriter.  The difference here is that Vernon dropped an f-bomb and those old Grammy members usually don't go for the songs with the dirty dirty (bet you never noticed that).

Best New Artist

The Band Perry
Bon Iver
J. Cole
Nicki Minaj
Skrillex

While I personally would love to see Skrillex win this, I highly doubt any of the committee members even know who he is...and we can rule out J. Cole (how did J. Cole even get nominated?)...I think Bon Iver's reluctance to perform at the show and anti-awards stance, combined with the fact that his most popular album came out FOUR years ago (new artist?) will keep him off the stage Sunday night...and while Nicki Minaj really should be the winner, she's much more likable when guesting on other artist's tracks, plus rap artists usually struggle in all of the categories...so...we'll get to see country upstarts The Band Perry lay claim to the Best New Artist.

Best Pop Solo Performance

Adele, ''Someone Like You''
Lady Gaga, ''Yoü and I''
Bruno Mars, ''Grenade''
Katy Perry, ''Firework''
Pink, ''F---in' Perfect''

Oh how I would love to see Pink win.  She's such a great vocalist and is well deserving of the nomination...but I just don't see how you can give this to anyone other than Adele.  This is her year to shine...so I'll just anxiously await that post-baby ground breaking grown up record that Pink will undoubtedly put out within the next couple of years and have her Adele-like night in the spotlight.

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse, ''Body and Soul''
The Black Keys, ''Dearest''
Coldplay, ''Paradise''
Foster the People, ''Pumped Up Kicks''
Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera, ''Moves Like Jagger''

Interesting category here...you have the critically acclaimed Black Keys, the college loving one hit wonders Foster the People, the commercial appeal of Adam and Xtina, the tour de force that is Coldplay, and Grammy loving Tony Bennett's duet with a bag of cocaine and prescription pills.  Sorry, I know Amy was loved by many, including tons of artists, but I feel she is way more popular now than she was when she was making music (her 1st album sold just over 300,000 in the US...her 2nd went double platinum, but took a few years to do so)...which will be proved Sunday when unfortunately Tony and Amy get the win, allowing the show to have it's Winehouse rememberance moment (to which I might crack open a bottle of wine).

Best Pop Vocal Album

Adele, 21
Cee Lo Green, The Lady Killer
Lady Gaga, Born This Way
Bruno Mars, Doo-Wops & Hooligans
Rihanna, Loud

It's no doubt that Gaga has an amazing voice, but it seems like it gets shown off either through live performances or YouTube clips of stripped down performances, and kind of gets overlooked when combined with the glossy production of her albums.  Adele once again stomps the competition and adds to her near perfect night.

Best Rock Song

Mumford & Sons, ''The Cave''
The Decemberists, ''Down by the Water''
Coldplay, ''Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall''
Radiohead, ''Lotus Flower''
Foo Fighters, ''Walk''

I know, I know, the stupid Foo Fighters are going to win.  Why?  Because it's the only band the stupid voters ever recognize.  Radiohead sucks, the Decemberists are another one of those Arcade Fire type bands that could pull a huge upset, Mumford was an early hit with the critics but boy they lost steam quicky and maybe, just maybe Coldplay will get recognized with an outstanding song.  It's one of those few classic tunes that put you in a good mood and maybe even gets you out of your seat to dance up your own Chris Martinesque swirl.  Viva la Coldplay.

Best Rock Album

Jeff Beck, Rock 'n' Roll Party Honoring Les Paul
Foo Fighters, Wasting Light
Kings of Leon, Come Around Sundown
Red Hot Chili Peppers, I'm With You
Wilco,The Whole Love

Have I mentioned how much I dislike the Foo Fighters?  Don't even get me started.  And although I recognize that they will probably win (see last category) I cannot pick them.  I'm like the horrible Fantasy Football player here who picks people on emotion because he likes them and not who should actually do well (and yes, I use Roethlisberger on my NFL Blitz game for the PS3 even though I know Rodgers is a better QB).  Anyway, Wilco might be most deserving here but I'm going to go with a classic "WTF were they thinking?" moment and pick Jeff Beck.  Beck + Les Paul + clueless rock voters = Grammy.

Best Alternative Music Album

Bon Iver, Bon Iver
Death Cab for Cutie, Codes and Keys
Foster the People, Torches
My Morning Jacket, Circuital
Radiohead, The King of Limbs

So I guess alternative now stands for "records that aren't that good, don't sell really well, aren't rock, aren't country, aren't rap, but boy Rolling Stone likes them".  Remember the 90's when this category would have been Green Day vs. Nine Inch Nails vs. Tori Amos (see 1995)?  Anyway, Radiohead has won this one 3 times out of 4 nominations, Death Cab has been nominated 4 times and never won, see previous comments about why Bon Iver won't win and I have to go with the percentages here.  Radiohead goes 4 for 5, while Death Cab does their best Buffalo Bills Super Bowl imitation. (have I mentioned how much I dislike Radiohead?)

Best Rap Album

Jay-Z and Kanye West, Watch the Throne
Lil Wayne, Tha Carter IV
Lupe Fiasco, Lasers
Nicki Minaj, Pink Friday
Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Haha!  Haters gonna hate!!  Will they actually give Kanye some credit here?  Does pairing him with Jay-Z provide the illuminati ying to the yang?  Or will they go with the safe out of giving it to Nicki Minaj?  That's my bet...Nicki is already preforming, and won't spark any controversies with her acceptance speech...and the real drama will unfold with how Kanye will accept the news.

Best Country Album

Jason Aldean, My Kinda Party

Eric Church, Chief
Lady Antebellum, Own the Night
George Strait, Here for a Good Time
Taylor Swift, Speak Now

Not gonna lie here and pretend I know anything about this category, which should put me on an equal level with the voters.  I have a feeling that Jason Aldean is going to win (isn't it true that usually the people who perform on the show end up winning the awards?  meaning it's Swift vs. Aldean), so I'm going to go against my instinct to pick Taylor and go with Aldean.  Hey, at least I've actually heard of the dude (thanks to Kelly Clarkson).

BONUS CATEGORY!

Best Dance/Electronic Album

Cut Copy, Zonoscope

Deadmau5, 4x4=12

David Guetta, Nothing but the Beat

Robyn, Body Talk Pt. 3

Skrillex, Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites

I'm actually really curious who is gonna take this one home.  You've got the pioneer, Deadmau5, going against the pop crossover Guetta, against the hard dropping mayhem caused by Skrillex.  Normal logic would say that since Deadmau5 is performing on the show, I should pick him...but I'm going to buck the trend and go with my emotional favorite, Skrillex.  Scary Monsters is an awesome disc with some of the craziest dubstep that I've heard.  This is a revolutionary step in music and we'll see this transcend other genres in the coming years (it's already happened in rock with the Korn/Skrillex collaboration).


Anyway, there you have it!  Should be an awesome show...just check out the list of performers:

* Adele,
* Bruno Mars,
* Nicki Minaj and
* Taylor Swift
* Paul McCartney
* Bruce Springsteen
* Tony Bennett
* Maceo Parker
* Joe Walsh
* Coldplay & Rihanna - presumably be performing “Princess Of China”
* Jason Aldean & Kelly Clarkson - singing “Don’t You Wanna Stay”
* Chris Brown, Deadmau5, Foo Fighters, David Guetta & Lil Wayne - could be epic!
* Alicia Keys & Bonnie Raitt - tribute to the late Etta James
* The Beach Boys, Foster The People & Maroon 5
* Glen Campbell, The Band Perry & Blake Shelton - one of Glen's last performances











Be sure to tune in on Sunday night!

I'm back!! And yes, that happened during the Super Bowl halftime show. So after the "wardrobe malfunction", the bowl de grande decided to only go with older, "safer" acts like the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith and this year Madonna. I can only wonder what the fallout will be from this one. Damn Justin...if you'd have only kept your hands off of Janet we could be enjoying music from current, popular and relevant acts. Who is M.I.A. anyway? Did she think that this gesture would propel her name into the mainstream and thus result in more record sales? Or was she simply emphasizing her "I just don't give a shit" line in the song. Sure we were all Madonna fans back in the day (even if we won't admit it), she wrote great pop hits and always pushed the envelope...from her groundbreaking and controversial "Like a Prayer" music video to her performance of "Like a Virgin" on the MTV Video Music Awards. Every time she performed we anticipated a spectacle, but never really knew what to expect. So when I heard that she'd be doing the halftime show, I figured she'd do a medley of hits a'la Prince, Petty or Springsteen that would have the crowd dancing down memory lane. But what we got was a lame lip synched performance that relied heavily on guest spots. Do LMFAO, CeeLo, Niki or MIA really hold a candle to Madonna? Did including them make anything relevant to the youth of today? Prince didn't need anyone else...nor did Springsteen. I really think she should have gone solo..and with more songs...she has 12 minutes, couldn't she have done a 6 song medley? Instead we get LMFAO carrying her around (ok, the mix was kind of cool)...CeeLo in a sparkly Snuggie...Nicki doing her ballistic rap thing and M.I.A. trying to be tough by flipping off the camera to let us know she doesn't give a shit. I would have much rather been talking about the outrageous outfits that Madonna wore (cones anyone? maybe a bridal gown? or how about a Lucky Star throwback?) instead of the subpar performance highlighted by a no name rapper flipping us the bird. But hey...I will say that the stage was really cool! The graphics and images were awesome..and HOLY CRAP to that dude who was on that high wire kind of thing..awesome stuff for sure!

On to the positives!


Kelly Clarkson totally nailed the National Anthem! A great rendition that included live drummers and a background chorus. She didn't go all Christina with it..or tried to mix the song up..she simply sang it how it was meant to be sung and didn't draw unnecessary attention to herself. One of the better anthem performances that I can remember. Way to go Kelly!


Additional props to Blake and Miranda! I'm definitely NOT a fan of country music, but this couple practiced and did a tremendous job with America the Beautiful. I've seen Blake Shelton on a few talk shows as well as The Voice and he seems like a really great guy. I was happy to see that they were out there holding hands and pulling off a great song amidst the pressure of a 100 million plus audience.

And of course congrats to the NY Giants!! I was not a big fan of a 9-7 team making it to the playoffs, and originally wanted the Patriots to win the game...but after watching the pre-game stories of players...I found myself liking a TON of the guys on the NY Giants. They seem like great people with a loyal and dedicated fan base. Maybe one day they will challenge my Steelers for most Super Bowl wins (6) ;)