Grammy Nominations

So the Grammy noms came out last night and...they weren't that bad? Yes, the Bob Dylan snub is unwarranted and the love for John Mayer, James Blunt and Stadium Arcadium is gross but I expected that, and the noms for the Dixie Chicks, Imogen Heap and Justin kinda make up for it? It's almost boring...

The noms in the big 4 categories are so:

Album of the Year
Taking the Long Way, Dixie Chicks
St. Elsewhere, Gnarls Barkley
Continuum, John Mayer
Stadium Arcadium, Red Hot Chili Peppers
FutureSex/LoveSounds, Justin Timberlake

The biggest shock here is that the supposed mortal-lock, Bob Dylan, didn't make it for Modern Times-the best reviewed album of the year. The Mary J. Blige snub is also odd, considering her great year, the album's huge success and the love she got in other categories. I cannot begin to express my happiness that FutureSex/LoveSounds made it into the lineup. As I've said before, the album is an absolute must-have. THRILLED that the Dixie Chicks received representation, not just here (where it was expected), but in all 3 of the major categories. The Chili Peppers gain their first grammy nomination in one of the major categories and, in true Grammy style, its for a boring and bloated album that no one should care about and pales in comparison to their previous LPs. The St. Elsewhere nom is nice but dull and VOMIT on the John Mayer nom. Anyways, its between him and the Chicks to grab the gold.

Record of the Year
Be Without You, Mary J. Blige
You're Beautiful, James Blunt
Not Ready to Make Nice, Dixie Chicks
Crazy, Gnarls Barkley
Put Your Records On, Corrine Bailey Rae

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....A strangely chart-free line-up. Its like they went out of their way to ignore the major hits of the year: Hips Don't Lie, Sexyback, Promiscuous, etc. 'Crazy' deserves to win this, hands down: It stands head and shoulders above the rest. The Dixie Chicks' nomination is nice to see, especially considering the way it had trouble charting because of country radio's refusal to give it airplay. The James Blunt nomination is completely predictable and disgusting. That man needs to die. I'm 'ok' with the other two- nice songs, but nothing much else, certainly not among the best of the year. Winner? They always go safe here so it's between Rae and Blunt, I guess.

Song of the Year (the songwriting award)
Be Without You, Johnta Austin, Mary J. Blige, Bryan-Michael Cox & Jason Perry (Mary J. Blige)
Jesus, Take the Wheel; Brett James, Hillary Lindsey & Gordie Sampson (Carrie Underwood)
Not Ready to Make Nice, Martie Maguire, Natalie Maines, Emily Robison & Dan Wilson (Dixie Chicks)
Put Your Records On, John Beck, Steve Chrisanthou & Corinne Bailey Rae (Corinne Bailey Rae)
You're Beautiful, James Blunt, Amanda Ghost & Sacha Skarbek (James Blunt)

'Not Ready to Make Nice' is the only one that really deserves to be here and even it is a little obvious. American Idol Carrie Underwood had a great single in 'Before He Cheats' but 'Jesus, Take the Wheel' is laughable dreck, so of course it gets nominated. Rae's song is tepid and uninspiring, while Blunt's ubiquitous hit is just asinine. Alright it wasn't a great year for songwriting but if you can honour 'Crazy' in Record of the Year, why not recognize that its the best written song of the year, by far? I couldn't give a fuck who wins (unless its the Dixie Chicks, of course).

Best New Artist
James Blunt
Chris Brown
Imogen Heap
Corrine Bailey Rae
Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood becomes the first Idol to be nominated in one of the majors, I expect she'll join Kelly and become the only two to win (but not here, her success will come in the genre categories). FUCK YEAH!! on Imogen Heap's nomination. I don't even care that she's actually been around since 1998, I'm way too happy about this out-of-the-blue nomination. The rest is crap.

Some "highlights" from the rest of the nominations:
  • Sexyback in Dance Recording is unexpected but nice. Also great to see Justin honoured in 4 categories and the Dixie Chicks in 5.
  • Good to see Madonna nominated. Also glad her Dance Recording nom is for the underrated 'Get Together' rather than 'Sorry' or 'Jump'. The snub for 'Hung Up' in Pop Female is odd though.
  • NO TIMBALAND FOR PRODUCER OF THE YEAR!?!? Bullshit.
  • WTF? Only one nom for Nelly Furtado?
  • 'Not Ready to Make Nice' makes the lineup for Song of the Year but not Best Country Song? Also, Corrine Bailey Rae is nominated in 3 major categories but they couldn't fit her in the pop categories where she was submitted?
  • Pink is nominated? WHY!!!!!!!!! That idiotic 'Stupid Girls' video coupled with the completely hypocritical video to 'U and Ur Hand' should be enough to banish her forever. On the other hand, nice to see Natasha Bedingfield get her first nom.
  • Can we go through one year without noms for Sheryl Crow and Paul McCartney?
  • Daniel Powter should die.
  • LMAO about the Pussycat Dolls being Grammy nominees! For 'Stickwitchu' as well!
  • The rock nominees are, as always, laughable. Coldplay? The Fray? U2 and Green Day? 'Dani California'? 'Chasing Cars'? VOMIT. At least the Raconteurs and Wolfmother get much deserved attention. Still, it isn't enough.
  • Yay for Thom Yorke and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs but the Alternative Music Album category is in serious need of a shakeup. Arctic Monkeys? Don't be fucking silly.
  • Can't believe I'm saying this but Beyonce didn't get nearly enough love. B'Day is a solid album and miles better than it's overrated predecessor.
  • Lionel Ritchie? You've gotta be fucking kidding me
  • Happy to see Prince copiously mentioned in the R&B categories and thrilled to see Mary J. Blige and Raphael Saadiq's 'I Found My Everything' get nominated.
  • Glad to see noms for the criminally underrated Lupe Fiasco and, also for, T.I. and Chamillionaire.
  • Eminem getting two nominations is just plain silly
  • They had better right Oscar's wrong and give Dolly a Grammy for the wonderful 'Travelin' Thru' which, btw, is miles better than 'It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp'. Even Chuck D thought so.
  • YES!! YES!! YES!! on OK Go's Best Video nomination for the brilliant 'Here It Goes Again'. My absolute favourite nomination.
The full list can be found here.

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