And the Grammy Goes To...

It’s that time of year. Time for me to say that I’ll never again watch the Grammy Awards. I always cave. I don’t know what draws me. The live music. Or maybe the chance to watch music legends perform together. And this year a reunion of The Police. (look how well they have aged!) Or it might be the lavish eveningwear and checking out everyone’s dates. But every year I watch, and every year I end up yelling at the TV.

My views on the “big four” awards, to be awarded on Sunday, February 11 are:


One of the evening’s biggest honors is Best New Artist, for the recording artist with the most promise and (let’s hope) the most talent. So, let’s look back into the history of the Best New Artist winners: Starland Vocal Band in 1976, A Taste of Honey in 1978, and Milli Vanilli in 1989. (S)Norah Jones in 2001 over singer/songwriter John Mayer. But also Sheryl Crow in 1994 and John Legend in 2005. I’m hoping Corinne Bailey Rae is honored as the best new artist for 2006. A unique talent, an amazing voice that channels at the same time Billie Holiday and Maxine Nightingale and Stevie Wonder. I promise to yell at my TV if any of the other noms get it. Corinne is so very deserving of this award and became a star the old-fashioned way—by writing great music and getting airplay. Not by winning “American Idol.” Enough Said. And, please, don’t give it to James Blunt just becuase he served. Because he was allowed to.

Record of the Year award is easy this year. This one goes to the producer and the performer of the record that defines the year by being the ubiquitous song that everyone plays and all the cool artists cover. For 2006, this award should go to “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley. No question. I think they have this one nailed. No yelling at the TV required. Unless that self-esteem love fest “You’re Beautiful” wins. Then, I think I’ll turn off the TV. Or That Carrie Underwood. Heavy sigh.

Song of the Year is a songwriter’s award. Achievement in songwriting. Mary J. Blige should get this one for “Be Without You.” MJB has been baring her soul to us since 1994 and it’s her time for a Grammy for her songwriting. Just the chance to see her perform this one live on the awards show will be a treat and will most certainly be a highlight. I could also go for “Not Ready to Make Nice” by the Dixie Chicks. A song that tells the chilling and real tale of the blacklisting of the Dixie Chicks because they didn’t “shut up and sing.” It’s just that I want to share the wealth and want for MJB to win an award. Again, if “You’re Beautiful” or that Carrie Underwood wins, the TV goes off.

Now, Album of the Year is a big one for me. I’m an album guy. I’m old school. I love buying albums and reading the liner notes. Checking out the pictures and art design. For me, an album is a sensory experience. A great memory of my youth is walking nearly every Saturday to Jack’s Music Shop in Red Bank, NJ and spending my hard earned paperboy money on vinyl. I always felt oh so cool shopping there. I’d then walk home, head to my bedroom, carefully open the LP, smell the fresh vinyl, and sit with the headphones on 11 as I listened to the work of art as the artist intended: from start to finish.

The album of the year should go to the powerful and beautiful “Taking the Long Way” by America’s own Dixie Chicks. The Dixie Chicks so deserve this award and the music industry owes it to them for letting FEAR program our radio stations and video channels. For letting FEAR get in the way of the first amendment. Forget everything you think you know about country music- this is the story of a band reinvented. If there were a second place, it would go to John Mayer’s brilliant and so easy to love “Continuum.” Other noms of note here include Justin Timberlake’s “FutureSex/LoveSounds” music catchier than almost anything released this year. While I love the sound here, this is a producer’s album, not an artist’s album. Gnarls Barkley’s “St. Elsewhere” is also here. Some have compared this one to the trend-setting album of the year from 2003 “Speakerboxx/The Love Below.” Outkast’s work was so deep with amazing music. “St. Elsewhere” comes up short.

I’ll be watching the awards, hopefully with little yelling at the TV, on Sunday. What are your picks?