Monday, 2/24/97
New, improved Grammys still play same tired chord
1997 nominations reflect more diversity of genres, artists but
don’t herald cutting edge
Thank God for the Grammys. The new year rolls around, complete
with its dire or embarrassing predictions ("creativity is dead!" or
"Tony Bennett is back, kids!"). We have a month to stew and whine
about the usual — the state of commercial radio, greedy labels and
blatant knock-off bands.
Then come the Grammys to remind us that things could be sooooo
much worse.
Ever hungry for nostalgia — Frank Sinatra, the Beatles, Rod
Stewart and Journey are all nominated … Journey, folks — the
stagnant Grammys take us back to the ’80s when there was REALLY
nothing on any successful radio station. Those of us who stood by
our less-enlightened high school friends remember names like
Chicago, Poison, Paula Abdul, MC Hammer and Debbie Gibson, and
shudder in fear.
The Grammys may prove to embarrass themselves a bit less this
year, but it is not due to any prowess of their own. As stilted and
unadventurous as it is, the music business is much more open-minded
than it was 10 years ago, and the Grammys reflect this relative
diversity. Instead of nominating the top-selling pop and arena-rock
albums, they’ve nominated the top-selling "alternative" album, the
top-selling pop album, the top-selling R&B album, etc., thereby
opening themselves up to 4 percent, rather than 2 percent, of
what’s going on outside that ivory tower.
Album of the Year, for example, covers off-kilter rock (his
highness, Beck), R&B (the Fugees), female wuss pop (the Mariah
Carey contingent — this year’s substitute: Celine Dion), hard rock
(the Smashing Pumpkins), and more female wuss pop ("Waiting to
Exhale" soundtrack). I think the female wuss factor is popular with
the mostly male judges, who love to see these luscious ladies (who
are always picture perfect) in their revealing gowns.
While this newfound diversity is marginally commendable, anyone
who uses the Grammys to determine their musical taste would only
have about 12 CDs in their collection. I’m a fan of the Smashing
Pumpkins and Neil Young, but come on, people. Young has had his
cake, and the Pumpkins aren’t the only rock band that released an
album this year. "Yes, we know," the Grammy folks retaliate.
"Alanis did too."
Speaking of the Pumpkins, the amusement that began in ’91
continues this year — again, the top award will go to the person
who can define and differentiate the following categories:
alternative, metal, rock and hard rock. Since no one has won this
award yet, the prizes are mounting like the lottery. This time,
however, Soundgarden isn’t nominated in all four categories, though
Rage Against the Machine and the Pumpkins are each up for two.
Apparently, at least the Grammy people are getting better at
telling them apart.
The only old-time rockers appear in the Best Rock Instrumental
Performance category, which includes Eric Clapton, Eddie and Alex
Van Halen, Joe Satriani and Booker T and the MGs (for the classic
"Green Onions"). What passes for "classic rock" has surely changed,
as Pearl Jam and friends have stolen the scepters and relegated
Eddie and Alex Van Halen to wheelchairs (the Rolling Stones have
since sued to get the wheelchairs back).
On the brighter side, the Best New Artist category illustrates
the power of the woman in ’95 and ’96. Four of its five nominees
are female or female-fronted — Jewel, No Doubt, LeAnn Rimes and
Garbage. This category has often spelled doom for its winners (who
can forget Milli Vanilli, and who remembers the other winners?),
but Garbage shows staying power. LeAnn Rimes is a remarkably young
and talented singer, and Orange County’s No Doubt has been around
long enough to earn their keep. This leaves Jewel, who earns
brownie points for having been homeless. Maybe the long-standing
curse will be broken this year.
Despite its usual lack of women, my favorite category has to be
Best Pop Performance, which lumps the Beatles, Gin Blossoms,
Journey, the Neville Brothers, the Presidents of the United States
and Take 6 into one gruesome category. I don’t know which one of
them should be embarrassed.
There are a few surprises. Nonplatinum Tracy Bonham beat Alanis
Morrisette to a nomination for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance,
along with the usuals — Joan Osborne, Tracy Chapman, Sheryl Crow
and Bonnie Raitt. This may be because Bonham is best known as the
next Alanis Morrisette (the Grammy people may have confused the
two), despite the fact that she had an amazing EP out before
"Jagged Little Pill" hit the stores like an asteroid. Ah well,
trivialities.
Another jagged pill appears to be the rap category. Even those
of us who know as much about rap as we do fractals know when the
intelligent voices aren’t being heard, not that it’s a surprise.
Titles like "WooHah! Got You All In Check" and "1, 2, 3, 4,
(Sumpin’ New)," complete with requisite spelling errors, don’t do
justice to a genre that has been the grating but honest voice of so
many communities shattered by racism, violence and poverty. Even
rap dullards like myself, whose collection starts and ends with the
Beastie Boys and Rob Base, know there is a lot of hard-edged,
frank, even hopeful music out there, even if we don’t get it.
But hey! That sort of thing wouldn’t sit too well with the
caviar appetizers and bottled water resting at the
expensively-shoed foot of each Grammy audience member. And the rap
artists, as well as artists from many other "edgy" categories, are
probably glad. At least, that’s what their publicists tell them to
say…
As far as predictions, we must be practical. Toni Braxton and
Celine Dion will win everything that doesn’t begin with "Best
Male," and power-producer Babyface (Braxton, Houston, Kenny G —
ouch!) and the Smashing Pumpkins will brawl for everything else. If
the Grammy folks want to be hip and earn the respect of Rolling
Stone and Spin, they could throw Beck a bone, but it’s not too
likely. Calling the Grammys is about as exciting and challenging as
shooting dead fish in a barrel.
What could make it more exciting? Maybe they could make up some
new categories: Best Performance in a Commercial or Film, Best
Cleavage or Biggest Heroin Addiction: Living and Biggest Heroin
Addiction: Dead, for example (to keep things fair, the immensely
talented but misguided Courtney Love would not be eligible for the
first three).
If anything, the Grammys remind us that there is more to music
than what is on the radio, on the magazine covers or in an artist’s
pocketbook. And for that alone, I’ll welcome their insipid return
in 1998. I can feel the "Fairweather Johnson" votes mounting
already…
Fiore is a fifth-year art history student. The Grammys will be
televised Wednesday at 8 p.m. on Channel 2. Ellen Degeneres
hosts.