Mesa Legend - ARCHIVES - Vol. 38, Issue 9


Volume 38 Issue 9. Today is .

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Volume 38 Issue 9
February 13, 2001

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2001 Grammy nominations far from typical

Jordan Currier
REVIEWS WITH ATTITUDE
MESA LEGEND
Submitted February 13, 2001

We were shocked, mystified and utterly perplexed. No, the public isn’t rallying against Eminem’s new single or wondering why Jennifer Lopez dumped Puffy "I didn’t do it" Combs.

We’re wondering if the members of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences have lost their minds, or if they’ve finally wisened up, for the 2001 crop of Grammy nominees pit Paul McCartney against Beck in the Best Alternative Album category, and Eminem and Paul Simon go head to head in the Album of the Year category.

But nay-sayers like myself should take a step back and consider what the possible motives were behind this year’s eclectic nominees.

Possibility number one: After a year of one tepid pop album after another, voting members of the NARAS had little or no candidates with artistic credibility to nominate.

Enter platinum blonde bad-boy Eminem, whose lyrical banter about slitting his wife’s throat and de-virginizing Christina Aguilera are viewed as clever and ingenious urban poetry by virtually every rock critic in the nation. Hence, Eminem’s four grammy nods. Looks like half the critics can stomach you, Mr. Mathers.

His presence at the Feb. 21 ceremony won’t hurt CBS’s ratings, either.

Hats off to the NARAS for recognizing true artistic achievements in music this year and in 2000: Radiohead’s "Kid A," a brilliant body of work, fully deserves its Album of the Year nod; Rock veterans U2 more than deserve recognition for the uplifting "Beautiful Day" in the Record of the Year category, and the always irreverent Beck is a welcomed addition to the Album of the Year category as well.

The Grammys are a sloppy and biased organization; real music is seldom recgonized, butthat’s slowly changing – no one shall continue to accuse the Grammys of being stuffy.

All the Grammys need is a "Best Mosh Pit Metal/Rap Headbanging Album of the Year" category. For now, we’ll have to settle for the politically correct "Best Alternative Album.