There was a time I might have actually cared who got nominated for award shows like the Grammys, as if it mattered to anyone but the corporations who hustle the music to unsuspecting young minds. I even had a hand in producing a Grammy-award winning single one year, a version of Roy Orbison's "Crying" done as a duet between him and kd lang. Thinking back on it now, not a bad record — it deserved some kind of notice I suppose.
Now I scan the list of nominees and am frankly shocked by the lack of originality among the top categories. Rapper Kanye West, whom I personally can't stand or figure out, was excluded from Album of the Year consideration, as was Paul Simon, whose So Beautiful or So What was arguably among the more realized and ambitious projects of the past year.
Instead, Best Album nominees include the Foo Fighters, who as far as I can tell, have never written a memorable melody in all of their years of music-making. Leader Dave Grohl was a member of Kurt Cobain's Nirvana, and should have retired with his fat money when that poor soul pulled the trigger on himself. The innocuous soul-crooner Bruno Mars made an album of utter inconsequence (Doo Wops & Hooligans) that will vie for the trophy, as will the inimitable Lady Gaga's Born This Way. Then there's Rihanna's Loud and Adele's 21.
If you watched the Grammy nomination show the other night on CBS you may have caught Gaga in a shout-off with the lead singer from Nashville-based Sugarland. I give the mascara'd wonder points for being an able pianist and more than capable singer, but wonder watching her where Madonna ends and the Lady herself begins. It's almost like someone cloned her from Madonna's fingernail. Crazier outfits, yes; more outlandish makeup, to be sure. But she sure has Madge's heart beating where she should have one of her own.
At risk of sounding like a true old fogey, is there anything new or even newish under the sun in pop music these days? Everything is a retread of a retread, a post-modern "take" on an existing genre. Back in the genre's dynamic infancy, you had exploration going on all over the musical spectrum. LA-guys like CSN&Y could echo the best of country tradition while bringing a fresh spin to vocal harmonies; Jimi Hendrix was redefining the sonic and psychic limits of electric guitar playing; and Bob Dylan was rewriting the rules on vocalizing and songcraft from the top down.
Now substitute the names Lady Gaga where you might find Joni Mitchell; the near-illiterate, non-singing narcissist Kanye West next to that of Ray Charles; or put a group like the Foo Fighters up against any dozen bands from the 60s — Buffalo Springfield, The Beach Boys, The Kinks, The Beatles, for crying out loud! Can anyone even pretend the modern crew has anything new or innovative to contribute? Nonetheless, I wish the current crop well come February and warn Kanye West not to steal anyone else's gold. Enough is enough…..