Grammy Time

The Grammys pretty much piss me off.

How a group of know-nothings wield such apparent power is beyond me -- although calling it "power" is relative. There's an inversely proportional weight to the Grammys, since the less one is familiar with music, the more stock one places in these awards.

The most publicized gaffe in Grammy awarding came in 1988, when Metallica's beloved (by metalheads and then some) album . . . And Justice for All was snubbed in the Grammy category of Best Hard Rock/Metal in favor of Crest of a Knave, a middling, post-crest effort by . . . Jethro Tull, natch. While the Metallicans, critics, and rock fans all over scoffed at this misstep, it was the continuation of a pattern for the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences. Here's the M.O. of the NARAS:

1. Completely overlook the musical standouts of the times.
2. Years later, attempt to rectify these grievous errors with subsequent awards for later, lesser works, thereby ensuring that you . . .
3. Completely overlook the musical standouts of the times.
4. Rinse; lather; repeat.

Jethro Tull may not suit your musical tastes at all (flutes and hard rock, two great tastes that don't go great together), but rock aficionados can't deny that their 1970's work -- which enjoyed significantly more critical and commercial success -- would've been a far more likely candidate than Crest of a Knave, which was subtitled "Is Anybody Still Listening?" So Metallica gets snubbed, the world of metalheads is outraged (though how does one tell the difference than, say, any other day?), and Metallica gets seven Grammys in the next decade -- most of them for decidedly weaker output. And the cycle continues.

Bruce Springsteen first won one in 1984, meaning everything from the opening guitar notes of "Blinded By The Light" in 1973 through the last howl of Nebraska must have been relatively subpar. That '84 win was for "Dancing in the Dark," which was a huge hit, but not wholly representative of his work, wouldn't you say? He has since won 10 more, including this year for "Code of Silence," a live cut issued on The Essential Bruce Springsteen. I'm listening to "Code of Silence" right now for probably the third time ever, and it's pretty good, but is it the Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance of all of the music of 2004? (Or 2003, when Essential actually came out?) It just feels like it's retribution for past oversights, which can only mean more of the same in the future.

There have been other egregious make-up calls in recent Grammy history, like: Steely Dan's comeback album win after the 70's drought, Ziggy and Bunny Wailer both winning where Bob could not, Tom Petty not getting over the hump until he was a Wilbury, Floyd winning a decade after Roger Waters left, Nirvana winning after Kurt was dead, Santana cleaning up 25 years after his heyday, and The Clash getting a wink for a documentary long after their records had been shelved by the Association. Check out the Stones' Grammy trophy case for an eye-opener. A time-capsule view through the Grammy lens would see 1994 as the year two one-hit wonders, Salt-N-Pepa and The Rolling Stones, made it big. This year, to wit, we see first time awards going to:

1. Brian Wilson. Pet Sounds didn't win, but a track off the new Smile does. Sounds crazy -- even to Brian Wilson.
2. Rod Stewart. Which crime is worse, that his early 70's material wasn't recognized, or that anything since the early 80's was?
3. Toots & the Maytals. Toots Hibbert never got any props from NARAS for years of fine work, so he wisely gathered -- count 'em -- ten Grammy winners in Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Willie Nelson, Jeff Beck, Bonnie Raitt, Shaggy, Bootsy Collins, The Roots, No Doubt, and yes, Bunny Wailer and re-cut his old Maytals tunes. The result: it was as lackluster as you might imagine, and it still won.
4. Motörhead. I guess I am as shocked that Lemmy is still alive as I am that "Ace of Spades" and the like is getting a generation-late pat on the back. [Momentum-sabotaging tangent: speaking of that song, has anyone heard Ween's "It's Gonna Be a Long Night" and not wondered if a Lemmy lawsuit is pending?]
5. Steve Earle. Gotta say I'm surprised he's even recognized now -- I figured he'd have to wait and get something posthumously. Earle's The Revolution Starts...Now is one of two 2004 concept albums aimed at the war in Iraq that won Grammys, the other being the Green Day album Rob mentions below. The third in the 2004 trilogy, Camper van's New Roman Times, was left out, but I'm sure David Lowery will be on-stage in 2023 to accept for Best Vocals That Sound Like Spoken Word.
6. Wilco. A Ghost Is Born is the record that finally made me question my faith in these former alt-country gods. I know Herb digs it, but I can't tell whether they tried too hard to alienate the audience or if they just didn't try at all. Whatever it is, there's an asterisk by my fervent eagerness to see them play this April at JazzFest. Yet this is the work that Grammy folks liked, or at least pretended to -- who's more off-beat (in the bad way), the NARAS or the large record company execs?

I guess I have to concede a little to the Grammys -- they must be able to put on a good show, as Rob describes. Plus, they do nail the obvious choices at times, with U2, Green Day, Gretchen Wilson, and the other multiplatinum artists getting their due. And the Association has expanded and modified their categories in attempts to mirror musical trends, even if they bungle that at times. ("Alternative Music" awards didn't appear until the 1990's, and they're still around even after that moniker has become woefully misrepresentative.)

Further, while the Grammys fall short of my hopes for them, they're certainly far closer to perfection than the other awards programs that have surfaced. (Billboard, the American Music Association, and MTV all issue flimsy knock-offs.) I'm not quite sure why that is; in the world of cinema recognition, the Academy occasionally errs and is held to task by the Golden Globes, BAFTAs, and Independent Spirit Awards, which are all worth their salt. In music, there seeming is only the Grammys, and that's why I expect more and get frustrated with less. Every year.