Longtime readers may remember our terrible, boring liveblog of last year's Oscars. Our dear friend and faithful reader KG is hosting her annual Oscar party, and we're there.
So many questions this year! Will John Stewart be funny? Will this thing end before 12:30???
Find out with us, after the jump...
8:33 PM: The long death march begins.
8:37 PM: John Stewart gets off a great line about Hilary Clinton that I wasn't quick enough to record.
8:39 PM: And now, a great line about "staying the course" with Iraq war films, and not letting "the audience" win.
The verdict is in -- John Stewart is funny. This may be somewhat watchable.
8:42 PM: Wow!!! They're mixing it up this year. The first award is for Costume Design!!!
The whole room faints!
Jennifer Garner looks smashing in her own costume.
And the Oscar goes to...
"Elizabeth: The Golden Age"
8:47 PM: George Clooney!
He's funny too! He makes a joke about how long the ceremony always is!!!
And, we have our first -- trust me, not our only -- "let's look back at the last 80 years!!!" montage...
It's gonna be a long nite...
8:51 PM: John Stewart: "Our next presenter is one of the funniest people I know. And I think she's presenting with Steve Carrell."
Anne Hathaway and Steve Carrell appear. The writers have a funny setup about the two of them awarding the "documentary" Oscar, except they're really presenting the "animated feature" award.
And the award goes to...
"Ratatouille"...SHOCKING!!!
8:55 PM: A very nervous Katherine Heigl is the appropriate choice to present the award for Makeup, as she typically wears more than was used in all of the nominated films.
ZING!
And the award goes to...
"La Vie En Rose"
"NORBIT" WAS ROBBED!!!
8:59 PM: Our first nominated song..."Working Song"...time for me to take a breakzzzzzzzzzzzz...
9:06 PM: Finally back from what seems like the world's longest commercial break, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson appears to present the award for "Visual Effects".
And the award goes to...
"The Golden Compass" FTW!!!
Everyone here seems to think that's an upset.
9:09 PM: Bang! Bang! Bang! If they keep giving out awards at this rate, they'll never make it to 12:30!!!
Cate Blanchett presents the award for Art Direction.
And the award goes to...
"Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street".
Everyone here is doing equally poorly in our pools. Maybe I have a chance this year!!!
9:15 PM: The appearance of J-Hud must mean we're getting the "Supporting Actor" category now.
And the award goes to...
Javier Bardem, "No Country For Old Men".
No one here is surprised. I think we all got that right.
9:20 PM: "Oscar's salute to binoculars and periscopes"! FTW!!!
9:24 PM: That one actress fom "Felicity" introduces another nominated song. Everyone gets up to go to the bar.
9:29 PM: I missed the presentation, but the award for "Short Film -- Live Action" goes to...
"Le Mozart Des Pickpockets (The Mozart Of Pickpockets)".
9:31 PM: Jerry Seinfeld in bee character presents the award for "Short Film -- Animated" to...
"Peter & The Wolf".
I have no idea who I picked in these categories. A "short film" to me is a music video.
Uh...SNOOP DOGG WUZ ROBBED!!!
9:34 PM: Alan Arkin's appearance must mean it's time for "Best Supporting Actress".
And the award goes to...
Tilda Swinton!
Only one of us got that right. And it wasn't me!
9:44 PM: See, this is just mean. This is as close as Jessica Alba will ever get to an Oscar, and they don't even let her present anything. She's just announcing some of the "technical" awards given earlier in the evening.
9:46 PM: Josh Brolin and James McAvoy present the award for "Best Adapted Screenplay". No one here doubts the outcome.
The Coen brothers FTW!!! "No Country For Old Men".
9:50 PM: The Academy Dude introduces a video about "how the nominees are determined and the ballots are counted". Even THIS is funny.
Well done, Oscar. Well done.
9:53 PM: ZOMG!!! HANNAH MONTANA IS ON THE OSCARS!!!
Miley Cyrus, looking beautiful but talking like a 15-year-old ("awesome"), introduces another nominated song.
Don't be surprised if you see her on this stage many more times.
10:00 PM: Two of our party guests have gotten 8 categories correct out of 10.
I have 4 correct. I feel pretty good about that.
10:01: John Stewart announces Dame Judy Dench and Halle Berry. But out come Seth Rogan and some other dude I don't know who proceed to do a "I get to be Dame Judy. No I do." routine that's somehow less funny than my description.
And the award for "Sound Editing" goes to...
"The Bourne Ultimatum".
10:04 PM: The pair stick around for "Sound Editing".
WHY ARE THEY STILL DOING THIS UNFUNNY SHTICK???
And the winner is...
"The Bourne Ultimatum".
10:10 PM: Wait, what's Forrest Whitaker doing on the stage? It's only 10PM -- it's not time for Best Actress!
What??? BEST ACTRESS???
And the award goes to...
Marion Cotillard FTW!!!
Only one guest at the party called that.
10:18 PM: Colin Farell presents another nominated song. We all agree it's not entertaining.
10:22 PM: Jack Nicholson appears to introduce a montage about all of the "Best Picture" winners in Oscar's 80-year history.
We get to see every one of the 79.
EVERY SINGLE FREAKIN' ONE!!!
10:28 PM: Renee Zellweger in a beautiful dress and a short new bob presents the award for "Film Editing".
And the award goes to...
"The Bourne Ultimatum".
I'm "grading" the ballot of AC, wonderful husband of my dear friend KG. "The Bourne Ultimatum" seems to have been his favorite film this year, or maybe the only film he saw this year. Anyway, he's cleaning up over the last hour or so.
10:31 PM: Nicole Kidman presents the Lifetime Achievement Award to Robert Boyle, a famed Art Director.
This is the point in the evening when we play "The R. Bradley Koerner Memorial Trivia Contest".
CONTROVERSY!!! I am called upon to determine the source of the line "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy". It is, in fact, originally from "The Bridge On The River Kwai".
10:42 PM: Penelope Cruz presents the award for "Foreign Language Film". Shockingly, I haven't seen any of the nominees.
And the award goes to...
"The Counterfeiters".
10:45 PM: Our last nominated song. Man, these songs are terrible. Didn't Beyonce perform a song in a movie this year???
10:50 PM: John Travolta presents the award for "Original Song".
FINALLY!!! NO MORE OF THESE "NOMINATED" SONGS!!! I CAN"T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!
And the award goes to...
"Falling Slowly", from "Once".
10:56 PM: One of the winners in the Original Song category didn't get to speak before the orchestra played them off. John Stewart called her back on stage and let her give her acceptance speech. Very classy.
10:59 PM: Cameron Diaz looks outstanding in that dress, and she presents the award for "Cinematography".
And the award goes to...
"There Will Be Blood".
Oddly, it's the first award of the night for the 8-time nominee.
11:03 PM: The "folks who left us this year" tribute. I missed the introduction, but KG was right about this -- the room was silent when Heath Ledger was shown at the end.
11:09 PM: Someone whose name I missed comes out to present the award for "Original Score".
And the award goes to...
"Atonement".
My man AC is cleaning up! He might win this thing.
11:11 PM: Tom Hanks comes out to introduce a group of soldiers in Iraq, who present the award for "Documentary Short".
This is really cool.
And the award goes to...
"Freeheld".
AND AC HAS TIED FOR THE LEAD!!!
Tom Hanks sticks around to present the award for "Documentary Feature".
And the award goes to...
"Taxi To The Dark Side".
No one here got that right.
11:24 PM: Harrison Ford presents the award for "Original Screenplay".
And the award goes to...
Diablo Cody for "Juno". Is this an upset???
11:30 PM: Helen Mirren walks onstage after a montage of Best Actor winners plays. I wonder what's happening now???
And the award goes to...
Daniel Day Lewis for "There Will Be Blood".
I'm hearing rumblings of a possible tie in the pool.
11:36 PM: ZOMG!!! ONLY TWO AWARDS LEFT! THEY MIGHT ACTUALLY FINISH UP ON TIME THIS YEAR!!!
11:42 PM: Martin Scorsese presents the award for "Best Director" after a nice "guys who won this earlier" montage.
And the award goes to...
The Coen brothers. No surprise there...
Stay on stage, guys. "Best Picture" is coming up.
11:44 PM: Denzel Washington presents the award for "Best Picture".
What, is Oscar renting the Kodak by the minute or something???
And the award goes to...
"No Country For Old Men". Again, no surprise there...
11:47 PM: ZOMG!!! IT'S OVER!!!!
What am I gonna do for the next 30+ minutes???
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Oscars 2008: DHMBIB's Liveblog
2008 Grammy Awards: Wrapup
[image courtesy AP; H/T Idolator -- Ed.]
So, I haven't posted a post-Grammy writeup because I'm still in shock-and-awe about a particular Academy choice. Can you guess what that choice is???
Longtime readers -- all three of them -- know that I had called an Amy Winehouse sweep on Grammy nite. Many scoffed at me -- how could "Umbrella" lose for Record Of The Year??? -- but I called it because I felt it.
The evening sure seemed to be shaping up to support my prediction.
Which is why Herbie Hancock's win for Album Of The Year was so shocking to me.
Think about it like this...
There are about 180K members of the National Academy Of Recording Arts And Sciences (NARAS). AOTY is one of the categories in which all members can vote. To win AOTY -- or any category -- a nominee must have more than 20% of the total vote, and usually has [we suspect; we obviously don't know -- Ed.] between 25-30% of the vote.
Amy Winehouse won ROTY, SOTY and "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" for the song "Rehab", taking down "Umbrella" in the 2 "big" categories, "Best Pop Vocal Album" for Back To Black, and BNA. Amy also helped Mark Ronson win for "Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical", mostly for his work on Back To Black.
Herbie Hancock won, of course, the award for "Best Contemporary Jazz Album", although he lost in his only other non-AOTY nominated category, "Best Jazz Instrumental Solo", where Michael Brecker's "Anagram" took the award over Herbie's "Both Sides Now".
After giving Amy all those awards -- and "slighting" "Umbrella" in the process -- after going 1000 extra miles to ensure that Amy would be able to "be a part of" the ceremony even though visa problems kept her out of the US, and after putting Amy in a position to do something -- sweep "The Big Four" -- that had only been done once, and had not been done in 27 years -- more than "half" of "Grammy's life" ago -- the Academy spurned the best record of the decade in favor of awarding a "lifetime achievement award" to an artist three decades past his prime for his career-capping album of Starbucks background music???
Seriously???
Herbie's album had sold only 40,000 copies going in to the ceremony. Amy's record had sold nearly 40 times that number.
Do the math on this one. Somewhere between 25-30% of the Academy members voted for River even though, obviously, not all of them had heard it.
And that's assuming there were no shenanigans involved.
But, kudos to Herbie Hancock! You have joined such legendary music biz luminaries as Ray Charles (2005), Steely Dan (2001), Carlos Santana (2000), Bob Dylan (1998), and Tony Bennett (1995) in the category of "legends who recently have won AOTY when they shouldn't have because the Academy wanted to honor a lifetime of work".
And congratulations to Amy Winehouse, who became the sixth female artist to take home five Grammys in one night. Amy joins The Dixie Chicks (2007), Beyonce (2004), Norah Jones (2003), Alicia Keys (2002), and Lauryn Hill (1998) in this prestigious category.
* * * * *
I made some predictions, pre-Grammy. How did I do?
I'll score myself this way: 1 point for a correct prediction for "will win" or in the comments; 0.5 points for picking the winner as a "should win"; and 0.25 points for picking the winner as a "darkhorse".
[category -- winner -- score]
1) Record Of The Year -- Amy Winehouse, "Rehab" -- 1 point
2) Album Of The Year -- Herbie Hancock, River: The Joni Letters -- 0 points [don't even get us started -- Ed.]
3) Song Of The Year -- Amy Winehouse, "Rehab" -- 1 point
4) Best New Artist -- Amy Winehouse -- 1 point
5) Best Female Pop Vocal Performance -- Amy Winehouse, "Rehab" -- 1 point
6) Best Male Pop Vocal Performance -- Justin Timberlake, "What Goes Around, Comes Around" -- 0 points
7) Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals -- Maroon 5, "Makes Me Wonder -- 0.25 points ("For a possible upset, I'd look at Maroon 5, who famously got the Best New Artist nod over Kanye West 3 years ago. Grammy might like the chance to say, 'Hey, see that wasn't THAT bad a call!'")
8) Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals -- Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)" -- 1 point
9) Best Pop Vocal Album -- Amy Winehouse, Back To Black -- 1 point
10) Best Dance Recording -- Justin Timberlake, "LoveStoned/I Think She Knows" -- 0 points
11) Best Electronic/Dance Album -- The Chemical Brothers, We Are The Night -- 0 points
12) Best Rock Album -- Foo Fighters, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace -- 1 point
13) Best Alternative Music Album -- The White Stripes, Icky Thump -- 0 points (although I did think The Stripes could take this)
14) Best R&B Song -- Alicia Keys, "No One" -- 0 points
15) Best Rap Solo Performance -- Kanye West, "Stronger" -- 1 point
16) Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group -- Common Featuring Kanye West, "Southside" -- 0 points
17) Best Rap/Sung Collaboration -- Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z, "Umbrella" -- 1 point
18) Best Rap Song -- Kanye West, "Good Life" -- 0 points
19) Best Rap Album -- Kanye West, Graduation -- 1 point
20) Best Female Country Vocal Performance -- Carrie Underwood, "Before He Cheats" -- 1 point
21) Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media -- The Beatles, Love -- 0 points
22) Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical -- Mark Ronson -- 1 point
I count 12.25 points, which is terrible. But in my defense, for timing reasons, I left some low-hanging-fruit on the table (e.g., Best Country Song -- "Before He Cheats"), and I also forgot to pick a winner in the "Best Short Form Music Video" category, and I woulda picked Johnny Cash for sure.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
The 2008 Grammys: Some Predictions
Some time ago, faithful reader KG took me to task for not having written anything about the Grammys, set to air tonite at 8PM Eastern. I got busy with some other stuff over the winter, but I did want to throw out a few predictions for the record, and I'm getting in just under the line...
Meta prediction: Amy Winehouse will sweep. History will be made.
Amy Winehouse is nominated for six Grammys tonite, including for all four of "The Big Four". No female artist has ever won more than 5 Grammys on a single nite, although that's happened 4 times in the last 6 years. And only once has someone swept "The Big Four" categories, and it's been 27 years since that happened.
I'm predicting that Grammy wants to make a statement tonite in support of the artistry of Amy Winehouse, like they made a statement last year in support of the free speech rights of the Dixie Chicks. I'm predicting Amy will sweep tonite. That means there will be "upsets", and some pretty big ones, too.
[nominee info courtesy grammy.com -- Ed.]
1) Record Of The Year
(Award to the Artist and to the Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s) and/or Mixer(s), if other than the artist.)
* Irreplaceable
Beyoncé
Beyoncé Knowles, S. Smith & Stargate, producers; Jim Caruana, Jason Goldstein & Geoff Rice, engineers/mixers
Track from: B'Day
[Sony Urban Music/Columbia/Music World Productions]
* The Pretender
Foo Fighters
Gil Norton, producer; Adrian Bushby & Rich Costey, engineers/mixers
[Roswell/RCA Records]
* Umbrella
Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z
Kuk Harrell, Terius "The Dream" Nash & C. "Tricky" Stewart, producers; Kuk Harrell & Manny Marroquin, engineers/mixers
Track from: Good Girl Gone Bad
[Def Jam]
* What Goes Around…Comes Around
Justin Timberlake
Nate (Danja) Hills, Timbaland & Justin Timberlake, producers; Jimmy Douglass & Timbaland, engineers/mixers
[Jive/Zomba]
* Rehab
Amy Winehouse
Mark Ronson, producer; Tom Elmhirst, Vaughan Merrick, Dom Morley, Mark Ronson & Gabriel Roth, engineers/mixers
Track from: Back To Black
[Universal Republic Records]
Will win: "Rehab", Amy Winehouse
Should win: "Umbrella", Rihanna feat. Jay-Z
Seriously, "Umbrella" was the biggest record of the year. We all know that. But "Crazy" was the biggest record of 2006, and it lost to "Not Ready To Make Nice". I'm just sayin'...
2) Album Of The Year
(Award to the Artist(s) and to the Album Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s)/Mixer(s) & Mastering Engineer(s), if other than the artist.)
* Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
Foo Fighters
Gil Norton, producer; Adrian Bushby & Rich Costey, engineers/mixers; Brian Gardner, mastering engineer
[Roswell/RCA Records]
* These Days
Vince Gill
John Anderson, Guy Clark, Rodney Crowell, Diana Krall & The Del McCoury Band, featured artists; Vince Gill, John Hobbs & Justin Niebank, producers; Neal Cappellino & Justin Niebank, engineers/mixers; Adam Ayan, mastering engineer
[MCA Nashville]
* River: The Joni Letters
Herbie Hancock
Leonard Cohen, Norah Jones, Joni Mitchell, Corinne Bailey Rae, Luciana Souza & Tina Turner, featured artists; Herbie Hancock & Larry Klein, producers; Helik Hadar, engineer/mixer; Bernie Grundman, mastering engineer
[Verve]
* Graduation
Kanye West
Dwele, Lil Wayne, Mos Def & T-Pain, featured artists; Warryn "Baby Dubb" Campbell, Mike Dean, Eric Hudson, Brian "Allday" Miller, Nottz, Patrick "Plain Pat" Reynolds, Gee Roberson, Toomp & Kanye West, producers; Craig Bauer, Bruce Buechner, Andrew Dawson, Mike Dean, Anthony Kilhoffer, Greg Koller, Manny Marroquin, Nottz Raw, Tony Rey, Seiji Sekine, Paul Sheehy & D. Sloan, engineers/mixers; Vlado Meller, mastering engineer
[Roc-A-Fella Records]
* Back To Black
Amy Winehouse
Mark Ronson & Salaam Remi, producers; Tom Elmhirst, Vaughan Merrick, Dom Morley, Gary Noble, Derek Pacuk, Matt Paul, Mark Ronson, Gabriel Roth & Franklin Socorro, engineers/mixers; Stuart Hawkes, mastering engineer
[Universal Republic Records]
Will win: Back To Black, Amy Winehouse
I think Amy's a lock here, but if you're looking for a possible "upset", I'd go with Kanye West's Graduation.
3) Song Of The Year
(A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.)
* Before He Cheats
Josh Kear & Chris Tompkins, songwriters (Carrie Underwood)
Track from: Some Hearts
[19 Recordings/Arista Nashville; Publishers: Big Loud Shirt Industries, Mighty Underdog Music/Sony/ATV Cross Keys]
* Hey There Delilah
Tom Higgenson, songwriter (Plain White T's)
Track from: Every Second Counts
[Hollywood Records/Fearless Records; Publisher: So Happy Publishing]
* Like A Star
Corinne Bailey Rae, songwriter (Corinne Bailey Rae)
Track from: Corinne Bailey Rae
[Capitol Records; Publisher: Global Talent Publishing]
* Rehab
Amy Winehouse, songwriter (Amy Winehouse)
Track from: Back To Black
[Universal Republic Records; Publisher: EMI Music Publishing]
* Umbrella
Shawn Carter, Kuk Harrell, Terius "Dream" Nash & Christopher Stewart,
songwriters (Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z)
Track from: Good Girl Gone Bad
[Def Jam; Publisher: Peer Music]
Will win: "Rehab", Amy Winehouse
Should win: "Umbrella", Shawn Carter, Kuk Harrell, Terius "Dream" Nash & Christopher Stewart
Don't make me repeat myself...
4) Best New Artist
(For a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that artist.)
* Feist
* Ledisi
* Paramore
* Taylor Swift
* Amy Winehouse
Will win: Amy Winehouse
I think Amy's a lock here, but if you're looking for a possible "upset", I'd go with Feist.
5) Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
(For a solo vocal performance. Singles or Tracks only.)
* Candyman
Christina Aguilera
[RCA Records]
* 1234
Feist
Track from: The Reminder
[Cherry Tree / Interscope Records]
* Big Girls Don't Cry
Fergie
Track from: The Dutchess
[A&M Records]
* Say It Right
Nelly Furtado
Track from: Loose
[Geffen]
* Rehab
Amy Winehouse
Track from: Back To Black
[Universal Republic Records]
Will win: Amy Winehouse
I think Amy's a lock here, but if you're looking for a possible "upset", I'd go with Feist or Xtina as a dark horse.
6) Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
(For a solo vocal performance. Singles or Tracks only.)
* Everything
Michael Bublé
Track from: Call Me Irresponsible
[143 Records/Reprise]
* Belief
John Mayer
Track from: The Village Sessions
[Columbia/Aware]
* Dance Tonight
Paul McCartney
Track from: Memory Almost Full
[MPL/Hear Music]
* Amazing
Seal
[Warner Bros.]
* What Goes Around...Comes Around
Justin Timberlake
[Jive]
Will win: I have no clue, honestly. For my prediction, I think I'll guess Michael Buble.
7) Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
(For established duos or groups, with vocals. Singles or Tracks only.)
* (You Want To) Make A Memory
Bon Jovi
Track from: Lost Highway
[Island/Mercury]
* Home
Daughtry
[RCA Records/19 Recordings]
* Makes Me Wonder
Maroon 5
Track from: It Won't Be Soon Before Long
[Octone/A&M Records]
* Hey There Delilah
Plain White T's
Track from: Every Second Counts
[Hollywood Records]
* Window In The Skies
U2
Track from: U218 - Singles
[Interscope Records]
Will win: I think Daughtry is the favorite here in a tough category. For a possible upset, I'd look at Maroon 5, who famously got the Best New Artist nod over Kanye West 3 years ago. Grammy might like the chance to say, "Hey, see that wasn't THAT bad a call!"
8) Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals
(For a collaborative performance, with vocals, by artists who do not normally perform together. Singles or Tracks only.)
* Steppin' Out
Tony Bennett & Christina Aguilera
Track from: Duets: An American Classic
[Columbia]
* Beautiful Liar
Beyoncé & Shakira
Track from: B'Day (Deluxe Edition)
[Columbia/Sony Urban]
* Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
[Rounder Records]
* The Sweet Escape
Gwen Stefani & Akon
Track from: The Sweet Escape
[Interscope Records]
* Give It To Me
Timbaland Featuring Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake
Track from: Timbaland Presents: Shock Value
[Mosley/Blackground/Interscope Records]
Will win: "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)", Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
This is another extremely competitive category. Picking a winner here is hard. I'm going with Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, for a couple of reasons. This was a collaboration that didn't sound so good in theory but produced one of the year's best and most acclaimed albums. Also, Alison Krauss has more Grammys than any female artist in history, so they obviously like her. A good pick also would be Tony Bennett & Xtina (two more Grammy favorites).
9) Best Pop Vocal Album
(For albums containing 51% or more playing time of VOCAL tracks.)
* Lost Highway
Bon Jovi
[Island/Mercury]
* The Reminder
Feist
[Cherry Tree/Interscope Records]
* It Won't Be Soon Before Long
Maroon 5
[Octone/A&M Records]
* Memory Almost Full
Paul McCartney
[MPL/Hear Music]
* Back To Black
Amy Winehouse
[Universal Republic Records]
Will win: Back To Black, Amy Winehouse
I think Amy's a lock here. A good pick for an upset is Feist or Paul McCartney
10) Best Dance Recording
(For solo, duo, group or collaborative performances. Vocal or Instrumental. Singles or tracks only.)
* Do It Again
The Chemical Brothers
Tom Rowlands & Ed Simons, producers
Track from: We Are The Night
[Astralwerks]
* D.A.N.C.E.
Justice
Gaspard Auge & Xavier de Rosnay, producers; Gaspard Auge & Xavier de Rosnay, mixers
Track from: †
[Downtown/Vice/Ed Banger]
* Love Today
Mika
Jodi Marr, John Merchant, Mika & Greg Wells, producers; Greg Wells, mixer
Track from: Life In Cartoon Motion
[Casablanca/Universal Republic Records]
* Don't Stop The Music
Rihanna
Stargate, producer; Phil Tan, mixer
Track from: Good Girl Gone Bad
[Def Jam]
* LoveStoned/I Think She Knows
Justin Timberlake
Nate (Danja) Hills, Timbaland & Justin Timberlake, producers; Jimmy Douglass & Timbaland, mixers
Track from: FutureSex/LoveSounds
[Jive/Zomba]
Will win: "D.A.N.C.E.", Justice
"D.A.N.C.E." is the one song from this genre that people who don't listen to "dance" music knew this year. But I'll give Rihanna close to even odds for an upset. "Don't Stop The Music" was big in clubs over the summer but fizzled then at radio. It's being pushed now again, and it has recently exploded on radio. A lot of that boost came after the ballots were filled out, but she may have converted enough voters at the end for the upset.
11) Best Electronic/Dance Album
(For vocal or instrumental albums. Albums only.)
* We Are The Night
The Chemical Brothers
[Astralwerks]
* †
Justice
[Downtown/Vice/Ed Banger]
* Sound Of Silver
LCD Soundsystem
[Capitol Records/DFA]
* We Are Pilots
Shiny Toy Guns
[Universal Motown]
* Elements Of Life
Tiësto
[Ultra Records]
Will win: Sound Of Silver, LCD Soundsystem
Sound Of Silver was not just a good record, it was on every pop critic's "Best Of '07" list, taking more than a few 3d-or-highers.
12) Best Rock Album
(Vocal or Instrumental. Includes Hard Rock and Metal.)
* Daughtry
Daughtry
[RCA Records]
* Revival
John Fogerty
[Fantasy]
* Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
Foo Fighters
[Roswell/RCA Records]
* Magic
Bruce Springsteen
[Columbia]
* Sky Blue Sky
Wilco
[Nonesuch Records]
Will win: Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, Foo Fighters
The Foos pretty much have to win this one. This was the only "Rock" album that made the cut for AOTY.
13) Best Alternative Music Album
(Vocal or Instrumental.)
* Alright, Still...
Lily Allen
[Capitol Records]
* Neon Bible
Arcade Fire
[Merge Records]
* Volta
Bjork
[Elektra/Atlantic]
* Wincing The Night Away
The Shins
[Sub Pop]
* Icky Thump
The White Stripes
[Third Man/Warner Bros.]
Will win: Neon Bible, Arcade Fire
Should win: Alright, Still, Lily Allen
This is the category that always infuriates me, because this is where Grammy dumps all the albums that they can't figure out where else to put them. Lily Allen, Arcade Fire and the White Stripes should not be in the same category.
But, there they are. So my pick is based on the fact that Neon Bible was the most critically-acclaimed album of the spring, and although its stock fell by the end of the year -- it really is overrated folks, it's okay to say that -- I think it will hold on FTW. I don't think I would call Lily Allen a "good" pick if you're looking for an upset, because I think she'll still be behind the White Stripes. But I want Lily Allen to win, so that's why I picked her.
14) Best R&B Song
(A Songwriter(s) Award. For Song Eligibility Guidelines see Category #3. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.)
* Beautiful Flower
India.Arie & Joyce Simpson, songwriters (India.Arie)
[Universal Republic Records; Publishers: Gold & Iron Music Publishing, WB Music Corp.]
* Hate That I Love You
Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen & Shaffer Smith, songwriters (Rihanna Featuring Ne-Yo)
Track from: Good Girl Gone Bad
[Def Jam Recordings; Publishers: EMI April Music, Sony/ATV Tunes]
* No One
Dirty Harry, Kerry Brothers & Alicia Keys, songwriters (Alicia Keys)
[J Records/MBK Entertainment; Publishers: Lellow Productions/EMI April Music, Book Of Daniel Music/EMI Music Publishing, D. Harry Productions]
* Teachme
Ivan Barias, Adam W. Blackstone, Randall C. Bowland, Carvin Haggins, Johnnie Smith II & Corey Latif Williams, songwriters (Musiq Soulchild)
Track from: Luvanmusiq
[Atlantic; Publishers: Nivrac Tyke/Universal Publishing, Latif Music/Universal Publishing, Tetra Grammaton/Universal Music Publishing, Melodic Piano Productions, HC 1030 Publishing]
* When I See U
Louis Biancaniello, Waynne Nugent, Erika Nuri, Kevin Risto, Janet Sewel & Sam Watters, songwriters (Fantasia)
Track from: Fantasia
[J Records/19 Records/S Records; Publishers: Breakthrough Creations/EMI April Music, S.M.Y. Publishing/Sony/ATV Tunes, Break North Music/Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Wayne Writers/Sony/ATV Tunes, J. Sewell Publishing, Golden The Super Kid Music]
Will win: I have no idea
Should win: "Hate That I Love You"
At first glance, this looks like a way for Grammy to compensate for snubbing "Umbrella". But Rihanna didn't get a songwriting credit on either song, so she's not "up" for a Grammy here or for "Umbrella"-the-song. So, I have no idea what that means.
15) Best Rap Solo Performance
(For a solo Rap performance. Singles or Tracks only.)
* The People
Common
Track from: Finding Forever
[Geffen]
* I Get Money
50 Cent
Track from: Curtis
[Shady/Aftermath/Interscope Records]
* Show Me What You Got
Jay-Z
Track from: Kingdom Come
[Roc-A-Fella Records]
* Big Things Poppin' (Do It)
T.I.
[Grand Hustle/Atlantic]
* Stronger
Kanye West
Track from: Graduation
[Roc-A-Fella Records]
Will win: "Stronger", Kanye West
I think Kanye's a lock here.
16) Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group
(For duo, group or collaborative performances of Rap only. Singles or Tracks only.)
* Southside
Common Featuring Kanye West
Track from: Finding Forever
[Geffen]
* Make It Rain
Fat Joe Featuring Lil Wayne
Track from: Me, Myself & I
[Terror Squad Entertainment]
* Party Like A Rockstar
Shop Boyz
Track from: Rockstar Mentality
[OnDeck/Universal Republic Records]
* Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)
UGK Featuring OutKast
[Jive]
* Better Than I've Ever Been
Kanye West, Nas & KRS-One
[Nike]
Will win: "Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)", UGK feat. Outkast
Kanye squaring off against himself is not good for his chances. Also, the death of UGK's Pimp C in December was somewhat shocking to the biz. I'm sure they got lots of sympathy votes for that.
17) Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
(For a Rap/Sung collaborative performance by artists who do not normally perform together. Singles or Tracks only.)
* I Wanna Love You
Akon Featuring Snoop Dogg
Track from: Konvicted
[SRC/Universal Motown]
* Kiss, Kiss
Chris Brown & T-Pain
[Jive]
* Let It Go
Keyshia Cole Featuring Missy Elliott & Lil' Kim
Track from: Just Like You
[Confidential Records/Geffen]
* Umbrella
Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z
Track from: Good Girl Gone Bad
[Def Jam Recordings]
* Good Life
Kanye West Featuring T-Pain
Track from: Graduation
[Roc-A-Fella]
Will win: SERIOUSLY???
Okay, so you're Grammy. And you want to give 6 awards to Amy Winehouse. But the hardest part of that is you have to snub "Umbrella" for ROTY and SOTY. What to do?
Oh, look -- here's a category where we can get awards to Rihanna & Jay-Z without foiling our master plan!!!
Rihanna & Jay-Z FTW!
18) Best Rap Song
(A Songwriter(s) Award. For Song Eligibility Guidelines see Category #3. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.)
* Ayo Technology
Nate (Danja) Hills, Curtis Jackson, Timothy Mosley & Justin Timberlake,
songwriters (50 Cent Featuring Justin Timberlake & Timbaland)
Track from: Curtis
[Shady/Aftermath/Interscope Records; Publishers: 50 Cent Music Publishing/Virginia Beach Music/Danjahandz Music/WB Music Corp./Tenman Tunes]
* Big Things Poppin' (Do It)
Clifford Harris & Byron Thomas, songwriters (T.I.)
[Grand Hustle/Atlantic; Publishers: Crown Club Publishing/Warner Chappell Music, Fresh Is The Word]
* Can't Tell Me Nothing
Aldrin Davis & Kanye West, songwriters (Kanye West)
Track from: Graduation
[Roc-A-Fella; Publishers: Very Good Beats/Hip Hop Since 1978]
* Crank That (Soulja Boy)
Soulja Boy Tell'Em, songwriter (Soulja Boy Tell'Em)
[Collipark/Interscope Records; Publisher: Element 9 Recordings]
* Good Life
Aldrin Davis, Mike Dean, Faheem Najm & Kanye West, songwriters (J. Ingram & Q. Jones, songwriters)(Kanye West Featuring T-Pain)
Track from: Graduation
[Roc-A-Fella; Publishers: Yellow Brick Road Music/Eiseman Music/EMI Blackwood Music/Please Gimme My Publishing/Careers BMG Music Publishing, Warner-Tamerlane Publishing]
Will win: I have no idea.
Should win: "Can't Tell Me Nothing", Aldrin Davis & Kanye West
Here's the second time Kanye is nominated against himself, meaning that he can only take home 6 awards tonite, unless there's some "tie" shenanigans going on. I like "Can't Tell Me Nothing" better than the also-good "Good Life", so I cast my vote there. As for the other nominees, "Ayo Technology" is an awful song, even though it's got some big names attached to it. And I can't see Grammy giving the nod to a teenage one-hit-MySpace-wonder, so "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" should be outta luck. Maybe T.I. would have a chance at an upset over Kanye if it weren't for those pesky weapons charges that threaten to put him away for a long time.
19) Best Rap Album
(For albums containing 51% or more playing time of VOCAL tracks.)
* Finding Forever
Common
[Geffen]
* Kingdom Come
Jay-Z
[Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam Recordings]
* Hip Hop Is Dead
Nas
[Def Jam/Columbia/The Jones Experience]
* T.I. vs T.I.P.
T.I.
[Grand Hustle/Atlantic]
* Graduation
Kanye West
[Roc-A-Fella Records]
Will win: Graduation, Kanye West
Here's another chance for Grammy to hand out a "consolation" prize for its "award-up Amy and screw everyone else" plan.
And also, how often do you see five rap albums on a list of nominations and the weakest comes from Jay-Z???
20) Best Female Country Vocal Performance
(For a solo vocal performance. Singles or Tracks only.)
* Simple Love
Alison Krauss
Track from: A Hundred Miles Or More: A Collection
[Rounder]
* Famous In A Small Town
Miranda Lambert
Track from: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
[Columbia Nashville]
* Nothin' Better To Do
LeAnn Rimes
[Curb Records]
* Before He Cheats
Carrie Underwood
Track from: Some Hearts
[19 Recordings/Arista Nashville]
* Heaven, Heartache And The Power Of Love
Trisha Yearwood
[Big Machine Records]
Will win: "Before He Cheats", Carrie Underwood
Should win: "Famous In A Small Town", Miranda Lambert
Back in December, "Before He Cheats" moved into 3d place on Billboard's most-weeks-on-the-Hot-100-all-time list. This is incredibly difficult to accomplish, but it also means that it was on the radio for over a year. It's the one song that every voter in this category will have heard about 10,000 times. And it's certainly not bad.
I gave Miranda Lambert my "should win" vote because I like her and I want her to win. Plus, this is actually her "biggest" radio hit to date, which I was surprised to learn today.
21) Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media
(Award to the Artist(s) and/or Producer(s) of a majority of the tracks on the album, or to the individual(s) actively responsible for the concept and musical direction and for the selection of artists, songs and producers, as applicable.)
* Across The Universe
(Various Artists)
T Bone Burnett, Elliot Goldenthal & Teese Gohl, producers
[Interscope Records]
* Dreamgirls
(Beyoncé Knowles, Jennifer Hudson & Anika Noni Rose)
Harvey Mason, Jr., Randy Spendlove, Matt Sullivan & Damon Thomas, producers
[Music World Music/Sony Urban Music/Columbia/Sony Music Soundtrax]
* Hairspray
(Various Artists)
Marc Shaiman, producer
[New Line Records]
* Love
(The Beatles)
George Martin & Giles Martin, producers
[Apple Records/Capitol Records]
* Once
Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova
Glen Hansard, producer
[Canvasback/Columbia/Sony Music Soundtrax]
Will win: I have no idea
Good luck handicapping this one! I'll throw my vote out there for Across The Universe.
22) Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical
(A Producer's Award. (Artists names appear in parentheses.))
* Howard Benson
• Daughtry (Daughtry) (A)
• Devils & Angels (Mêlée) (A)
• Direction (The Starting Line) (A)
• Five Score And Seven Years Ago (Relient K) (A)
• Stay Inside (Sound The Alarm) (A)
* Joe Chiccarelli
• Mercy (Burden Brothers) (A)
• The Narcotic Story (Oxbow) (A)
• Nightmoves (Kurt Elling) (A)
• Wincing The Night Away (The Shins) (A)
* Mike Elizondo
• It Won't Be Soon Before Long (Maroon 5) (A)
• Under The Blacklight (Rilo Kiley) (A)
* Mark Ronson
• Back To Black (Amy Winehouse) (T)
• Littlest Things (Lily Allen) (T)
• Rehab (Amy Winehouse) (T)
• Version (Mark Ronson) (A)
• You Know I'm No Good (Amy Winehouse) (T)
* Timbaland
• Come Around (M.I.A. Featuring Timbaland) (T)
• Give It To Me (Timbaland Featuring Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake) (T)
• Make Me Better (Fabolous Featuring Ne-Yo) (S)
• Timbaland Presents: Shock Value (Timbaland) (A)
• The Way I Are (Timbaland Featuring Keri Hilson & D.O.E.) (S)
Will win: Mark Ronson
This category -- way down at #93 on Grammy's official list -- is actually a Leading Indicator tonite for my "Grammy wants to award-up Amy" theory. If Mark Ronson wins this award, look for a big nite for Amy Winehouse. If Timbaland or possibly Howard Benson win this award, look for big nites for Kanye West and Rihanna.
* * * * *
I probably won't be "liveblogging" this year's telecast -- or maybe I'll change my mind, who knows??? Anyway, Idolator's Maura Johnston will be liveblogging, so if you're looking for that kind of thing, I suggest you head over there -- you might even see me there, too!!!
The Year In Music, 2007: The Best CD's Of The Year
As expected, DHMBIB is a little bit late with our "Best CD's of '07" post. But here it is. And for those of you have been regular readers of our posts here -- or elsewhere across the tubes -- this list should come as no surprise.
Read on for the full list...
The ranking is in the ever-popular "1-to-10" style, with a caveat. Read on.
1) Amy Winehouse, Back To Black
DHMBIB's Album Of The Year [well, obvs...it is "number 1", after all -- Ed.]
Grammy Nominations: 6+1
* Album Of The Year
* Record Of The Year -- "Rehab"
* Song Of The Year -- "Rehab"
* Best New Artist
* Best Female Pop Vocal Performance -- "Rehab"
* Best Pop Vocal Album
* Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical -- Mark Ronson ("Back To Black", "Rehab", "You Know I'm No Good" [Amy Winehouse]; "Littlest Things" [Lily Allen]; Version [Mark Ronson])
2007 Nationwide Mercury Prize Short List
Put quite simply, Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson have created a masterpiece of popular music. Ronson replaced the retro-jazz-diva-meets-hip-hop sound of Amy's first album, the Salaam Remi-produced Frank, with a retro-jazz-diva-meets-Motown-and-Brill-building-and-classic-soul motif. [Remi also contributed knob-twiddling assistance on the new album]. For the band, Ronson brought in The Dap-Kings, the band that together with Sharon Jones has single-handedly revived the classic soul sound of the 60's and 70's. Married to the sound are Amy's heart-wrenching, poetic lyrics about love, loss, betrayal, anger, depression, and addictions of all kinds. Singing those vulnerable-yet-defiant lyrics is a one-in-a-million voice. It was a big gamble for all involved, working outside their normal comfort zones, but Amy and Ronson have pulled it off here and produced an album that will be in the upper ranges of critics' "Best Of ..." lists for years to come.
Were it not for Amy's tabloid-captured troubles, she would probably be considered a lock to sweep her 6 Grammy nominations. Even considering the stiff competition Amy faces from Kanye West and Rihanna, among others, Back To Black is that good. However, in the real world, Amy's behavior has turned off many a fan and critic, and her upset loss of the prestigious Nationwide Mercury Prize in September 2007 was widely seen as both a plea and a warning. It remains to be seen how Grammy voters will react to developments in Amy's life over the last year.
If Amy does well with her 6 nominations, she has history within her sights. No female artist has ever won more than 5 Grammys on the same nite, although that's happened 5 times now, including 4 times in the last 6 years. And only once has an artist swept "the Big Four". The main reason for the latter is that it is rare that a "new artist" [BNA] comes along with the chops to write [SOTY] one of the best records [ROTY] on one of the best albums of the year [AOTY]. Amy Winehouse is that artist. In spite of Amy's tabloid adventures, you would not be making a bad bet to put your money on Amy to sweep her categories.
READ MORE [wikipedia]:
Amy Winehouse
Back To Black
Mark Ronson
* * * * *
2) Kanye West, Graduation
DHMBIB's Hip-Hop/Rap Album Of The Year
Grammy Nominations: 6
* Album Of The Year
* Best Rap Solo Performance -- "Stronger"
* Best Rap/Sung Collaboration -- "Good Life" (feat. T-Pain)
* Best Rap Song -- "Can't Tell Me Nothing"
* Best Rap Song -- "Good Life" (feat. T-Pain)
* Best Rap Album
[Kanye also is nominated for 2 Grammys for work he did outside of Graduation.]
It's hard to overstate the accomplishments of Kanye West in the last seven years. After spending about three years as one of hip-hop's most original and unorthodox producers -- Kanye loved to build songs around samples from artists who were obscure or outside the realm of most hip-hop fans and performers -- Kanye finally convinced his friend -- and production client -- Jay-Z to give Kanye a shot with a record deal. Kanye did not blow his shot. In barely 3 1/2 years, Kanye West as a performer has produced 3 of the 50-or-so best hip-hop albums of all time.
Graduation picks up exactly where 2004's The College Dropout and 2006's Late Registration left off, and is surely at least the equal of either of those excellent records. Sonically, Kanye is still making us all say "whaaaaa???" at some of his samples -- Daft Punk in "Stronger"; Steely Dan in "Champion" -- but it is this willingness to consciously appeal to non-traditional hip-hop fans with samples that they recognize and enjoy that has made Kanye perhaps the most popular hip-hopper across multiple demographic groups.
Graduation would appear to be the strongest competitor to Back To Black in the AOTY race, and although we're pulling for Amy around here, an AOTY win for Graduation would not be undeserved.
READ MORE [wikipedia]:
Kanye West
Graduation
* * * * *
3) Rihanna, Good Girl Gone Bad
DHMBIB's Pop/R&B/Dance Album Of The Year
Grammy Nominations: 6
* Record Of The Year -- "Umbrella" (feat. Jay-Z)
* Song Of The Year -- "Umbrella" (feat. Jay-Z)
* Best Dance Recording -- "Don't Stop The Music"
* Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals -- "Hate That I Love You" (feat. Ne-Yo)
* Best R&B Song -- "Hate That I Love You" (feat. Ne-Yo)
* Best Rap/Sung Collaboration -- "Unmbrella" (feat. Jay-Z)
[Rihanna is personally eligible to win 4 Grammys -- she is not credited as a songwriter on the 2 nominated songs and thus is not eligible to win those awards.]
Since first appearing on the scene in 2005, Rihanna has had trouble shaking a perception as a nasally Beyonce knockoff whose albums were little more than filler to surround her handful of minor pop hits. Though popular among international club-goers for her Carribean-influenced sound, the Barbados native was not catching on with fickle pop fans in the US, and she looked to be about to blow her chance.
Even though she had put out 2 albums a mere eight months apart in 2005 and 2006, the still only 18-year-old Rihanna raced back to the studio in early 2007 to record her third album. Label head Jay-Z, for whom Rihanna's failure to catch fire was very much a reflection on his decision-making as well, decided that a new formula and new personnel were needed. Added to Rihanna's long-time production team were superproducer Timbaland, Tim's male muse Justin Timberlake, Ne-Yo, the Swedish superproducer team Stargate, and the team of Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Terius "The-Dream" Nash.
Whatever the cost of assembling this near "dream team" of high-wattage talent, the result was certainly a smashing success. Stewart and Nash brought along the song "Umbrella", which Nash had actually written for Britney Spears (she never responded to his offer) and was also offered to Mary J. Blige (who didn't say "yes" fast enough). "Umbrella", released as a single in March, quickly became a ubiquitous world-wide phenomenon, hitting #1 in 27 different countries and propelling Rihanna to international pop superstardom.
Even though many critics feared the "too many cooks" aspect of the ensuing album Good Girl Gone Bad would render it a sonic mess, it's actually responsible for the album being so accessible and listenable. In short, there's something here for everyone -- "Shut Up And Drive" rocks more than any song on any other "Pop/R&B/Dance" record this year, and also is, 25 years later, "Little Red Corvette" from the female's perspective; longtime fans of Rihanna's euro-club bangers will love "Don't Stop The Music" and "Push Up On Me"; fans of Rihanna's balladry will love her collaboration with Ne-Yo, "Hate That I Love You"; fans of Timbaland's style will eat up "Sell Me Candy"; fans of Rihanna's R&B contemporaries can get behind "Say It", and so on. Probably because there is so much that is so different, Good Girl Gone Bad also stands out as Rihanna's first album that truly needs to be heard all the way through, again and again.
2007 admittedly was very weak in the "Pop/R&B/Dance" genre, with most of the genres biggest names (Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani, Beyonce, Fergie, etc.) having released new material in 2006. But Good Girl Gone Bad does not stand out simply for a lack of competition. Rihanna and her team have produced a record that most pop starlets only dream about. Rihanna's new-found international superstardom is well deserved. We hope she can maintain it for a while.
READ MORE [wikipedia]:
Rihanna
Good Girl Gone Bad
* * * * *
[Notice anything about the top 3? That they all generated 6 Grammy nominations? Notice anything about the next 7? That not one generated more than 1 Grammy nomination? See any significance in that? No, we don't either -- Ed.]
[DHMBIB's numbers 4 through 10 albums of the year all could share the number 4 honor. They are all different records, with different intended audiences, and different ways in which they challenge the listener. Consider these rankings fluid -- on any other list-making day, we might have ordered them differently -- Ed.]
4) Fall Out Boy, Infinity On High
DHMBIB's Modern Rock Album Of The Year
Grammy Nominations: 0
Rihanna is not the only artist on this list to breakthrough to superstardom with help from Jay-Z in 2007. Jay-Z had long been an ardent proponent of Fall Out Boy -- he did have financial incentives of course -- but his appearance on Infinity On High's leadoff track, the outstanding "Thriller", gave FOB some valuable street-cred to go along with adoration they had cultivated among teens and "emo kids".
Of all the albums on this list, Infinity On High made by far the fewest "Best Of '07" lists I saw. Much of that is undoubtedly due to the rock critics' scorn of "emo", or to their image of Fall Out Boy as a band with far too much appeal to teenage girls. Much of it is also undoubtedly due to FOB's polarizing lead figure, bassist Pete Wentz, and his Hollywood associates. But it's too bad the critics didn't give this record its due, because Infinity On High was, in our opinion of course, the best Modern Rock album of the year.
Wentz's songwriting, and Patrick Stump's vocals, show the positive effects of their rise to stardom in 2005 and 2006. The songs are more mature and less quirky, and Stump's singing has definitely gotten stronger. It may sound hyperbolic to some, but Fall Out Boy right now remind us a lot of the artistic and critical growth of The Who around the beginning of the 1970's. We hope they continue to grow stronger, and we hope the critics start sacking up and giving FOB their critical due.
READ MORE [wikipedia]:
Fall Out Boy
Infinity On High
* * * * *
5) Miranda Lambert, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
DHMBIB's Country Album Of The Year
Grammy Nominations: 1
* Best Female Country Vocal Performance -- "Famous In A Small Town"
Miranda Lambert first achieved national attention when she finished 3d in the inaugural season of Nashville Star, an American Idol-like competition focusing entirely on country music performers. Her debut album, Kerosene, was released in 2004 to critical acclaim but initially modest sales. Then, her barn-burner of a performance of the title track at the 2005 CMA Awards added, well, kerosene to the sales of the record, and eventually it went platinum.
Miranda spent much of 2005 and 2006 touring, and in 2007 released her 2d album, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. But even with a command performance of "Gunpowder And Lead" at the 2007 CMA Awards, Crazy appears to have stalled out in the US with barely 300,000 scans, and that's too bad, because this is one hell of a record.
As every review written about Crazy has noted, this is not just an album of 2 or 3 surefire hit songs surrounded by sound-alike filler. This is an album that top to bottom sounds like an interwoven fabric of material -- probably as close as you can come to a fully-realized "concept album" in modern country music. Miranda is not just a talented singer with a gift for expressing complex emotions with her voice, she is also one of Nashville's best songrwiters -- from the anger of the abused lover in "Gunpowder And Lead" to the way she stands genre cliches on their head in "Famous In A Small Town", Miranda shows here that she is a once-in-a-generation talent, akin to Loretta Lynn or Kris Kristofferson.
Which of course means her label will probably drop her next year. Sigh.
READ MORE [wikipedia]:
Miranda Lambert
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
* * * * *
6) Lily Allen, Alright, Still
DHMBIB's Brit-Pop Album Of The Year
Grammy Nominations: 1+1
* Best Alternative Music Album
* Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical -- Mark Ronson ("Back To Black", "Rehab", "You Know I'm No Good" [Amy Winehouse]; "Littlest Things" [Lily Allen]; Version [Mark Ronson])
The earliest US-released album on this list, Alright, Still has gotten lost on a lot of critics' year-end lists, likely to due the large number of critically-acclaimed albums released later in the year. Also, some critics' attempts to lump her in with Amy Winehouse in their "British ladies invade the U.S." motifs, combined with the tabloid-headline-grabbing year Amy had, have left Lily Allen little room to grab critical mindshare.
It's too bad that so many people have already forgotten this year-old CD, which was far and away the most fun listen of the year. Lily has an incredible knack for writing subversively humorous -- or is it humorously subversive? -- songs that are sweet and funny, catchy and familiar, and instantly likeable. Throw in another perfect production performance from superstar producer Mark Ronson, and this album is a perfect pop album.
Lily has an engaging personality and is adorable in interviews and on her own blog. She also avoided some of the high-profile tabloid-headline-grabbing activity to which so many of her contemporaries were attracted in 2007. She has already expressed that she may retire after delivering her next record, in order to start a family and spend time with them. We hope she changes her mind, but even if she doesn't, we'll always have Alright, Still, the "fun" album of the year.
READ MORE [wikipedia]:
Lily Allen
Alright, Still
* * * * *
7) Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Raising Sand
DHMBIB's Americana Album Of The Year
DHMBIB's Collaboration Album Of The Year
Grammy Nominations: 1
* Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals -- "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)"
DHMBIB is a HUUUUUGE fan of Alison Krauss. But when we first heard about this project, we were skeptical. We are not fans of most of Krauss' collaborative work outside her work with her modern Blue Grass / Americana band, Union Station. Perhaps it's been her choice of projects, or just the difficulty of meeting high expectations, but these collaborations have largely disappointed.
So it was with trepidation that we approached this project. We have great respect for Robert Plant, of course, but his best days seemingly were long ago. But upon hearing Raising Sand, we realized that not only were our fears unfounded, but that we were amazed at the depth of soul and emotion on this project. The two vocal legends teamed with legendary producer-and-artist T-Bone Burnett to create a truly unique listening experience. Burnett was able to persuade Plant and Krauss to step way outside some of their normal comfort zones, and the result is an inspired creation that came from out of nowhere onto many critics Best-of-'07 lists.
Robert Plant famously played a one-off show with his old mates from Led Zeppelin back in November. This, naturally, led to speculation that Led Zeppelin would embark on a reunion tour. Robert Plant could earn upwards of a gazillion dollars on that tour. But instead, Robert Plant announced that he wanted to tour with Alison Krauss in support of Raising Sand.
Yeah, this record is that good.
READ MORE [wikipedia]:
Robert Plant
Alison Krauss
Raising Sand
T-Bone Burnett
* * * * *
8) M.I.A., Kala
DHMBIB's What-Do-You-Call-This-Style? Album Of The Year
Grammy Nominations: 0
Maya Arulpragasam -- the artist known as M.I.A. [section 13(d)(3)(K)(iv) of the Music Blogger Style code requires all music bloggers who write about M.I.A. to write out in full, at a minimum, her last name -- Ed.] -- has always been a challenging artist in many ways. Most challenging has been "categorizing" her music. Is it "dance" music? Is it "world" music? Is it "club" music? Is it it "indie"? Is it "pop"?
However you choose to categorize Kala, one thing you can say about it is that it is easily the most political album on this or most other year-end lists. M.I.A. does not shy away from using her work to promote her causes, be those causes third-world poverty, immigrant rights, sexism, racism, or classism. But unlike most artists who make "political" music, M.I.A. never clubs you over the head with her beliefs. And you can bet your ass that you will be snapping and bopping along the whole time.
M.I.A. intended to record a significant part of Kala with superproducer Timbaland, which sounds like a good match in theory. Both are known for using unusual sonic elements to produce something completely unexpected. But visa problems (which provided the inspiration for "Paper Planes") kept M.I.A. out of the United States for most of Tim's free time, so the two only produced one track together, "Come Around". Oddly, it stands out as the weakest track on the album, so I'd say the visa problems actually worked out in her favor.
READ MORE [wikipedia]:
M.I.A.
Kala
* * * * *
9) LCD Soundsystem, Sound Of Silver
DHMBIB's Dance DJ Album Of The Year
Grammy Nominations: 1
* Best Electronic/Dance Album
If you were to synthesize the hundreds of "music critic's best albums of '07" year-end lists in search of some sort of "consensus No. 1" -- to gather some sort of BCS ranking for CDs, as it were -- Sound Of Silver would probably come out on top. I think I saw this CD in the top 3 of more lists this season than every other CD on this list combined.
I agree that it was one of the best of the year. And -- my earlier "coulda pulled them outta my hat" caveat aside -- it would probably be higher on my list if the final track, "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down", weren't such a downer. Yes, that's stupid, but it's also true, and it needed to be said.
Seriously, from every album I heard "almost" all the way through this year -- and this list plus about ten others is THE LIST of such albums -- "New York..." was the one track I most often skipped over [iTunes tells us that we heard "North American Scum" 3 times as often as we heard "New York..." -- Ed.]. And it doesn't help that the track is not only a downer, but it also clocks in at 5:35, which is waaaaaaay too long for me to be listening to a downer track.
So, James Murphy, kudos to you! You took 9th "this week".
READ MORE [wikipedia]:
LCD Soundsystem
Sound Of Silver
James Murphy
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10) Arctic Monkeys, Favourite Worst Nightmare
Grammy Nominations: 0
2007 Nationwide Mercury Prize Short List
In 2006, Britain's Arctic Monkeys became the first act to achieve superstar status largely as a result of an online community of fans reaching critical mass. Their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, debuted to critical acclaim and strong sales. After the Monkeys were awarded the prestigious Nationwide Mercury Prize later in the year, the Monkeys' status as Britain's premier rock-and-roll group was cemented.
Many critics worried that the Monkeys would fall victim to the dreaded "sophomore slump", both due to the expectations placed on them after taking the NMP, and because they were so young -- leader Alex Turner was only 20 years old when Whatever... dropped. But seeking to capture the momentum of their solid 2006, the Monkeys raced back into the studio to record Favourite Worst Nightmare.
The critics needn't have been concerned. The Monkeys have managed not only to not slump, but Favourite... actually betters their debut, and demonstrates artistic growth and teases a promising future for the band. The critics largely agreed, and honored the Monkeys in 2007 by again placing them on the Short List for the Nationwide Mercury Prize, making the Monkeys the first artist to be on the Short List in 2 consecutive years (alas, they did not win the 2007 award).
READ MORE [wikipedia]:
Arctic Monkeys
Favourite Worst Nightmare
Alex Turner
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READ MORE:
Idolator's Idolator Pop '07 Music Critics' Poll
Idolator's round-up of other critics' lists
Village Voice's 2007 Pazz & Jop Poll
