Also why I joked about why me doing a vastly larger project than I envisioned with this and it being completely and utterly pointless is that normal people can’t vote at all on the Grammys. So no People’s Choice Awards or Voice finale live voting or whatever- there are super important guidelines in how the whole process is ran. (Note: I am condensing information from https://www.thebalance.com/who-votes-for-the-grammy-awards-2460684 and therefore in the case that I will quote directly from it I will provide quotation marks around the important quotes from said article.) You pretty much have to be a music industry professional in some way, pay 100 dollars in yearly dues and “have creative or technical credits on at least six commercially released tracks on a physical music release or 12 on a digital album.” Which look at that, the music industry still prefers physical releases even though I know people that primarily use streaming services and MP3s and all that to have their files and now barely buy CDs.
How many people can vote? Well that depends on yearly fluctuations in the lists and work schedules and all that but it seems to have been quoted in the article I found that “According to Billboard.com, 12,000 of the Academy's total 21,000 members are eligible to cast ballots.” There’s also a later clause talking about how if you don’t qualify to vote, you can still vote if you get two voters to vouch for you. But let’s stick with the nice round number of 12 thousand flat people who vote every year from a total pool of 21 thousand which would in effect be around a 57.1 percent voter turnout which is not great but when you have such a small voter pool, every vote would, in effect, count more.
There are around five steps to the whole process- Submission, which is understandable, Screening- by a panel of 150 magical super music wizards who suck at categorizing things puts the submissions in each category. If there’s a place something shouldn’t be in- blame this one area for that mess. The there’s the nomination stage which is the most lauded and super important stage ever known to man. Which I’m joking cause it’s just the voters voting in their own fields (which can be up to twenty times- or at max, 2/3s of the genre fields since there are around thirty different genres here) plus the entire General field that every normal and not slightly obsessive person cares about.
Oh and I also have to come in and explain that there’s the a second, final vote where the special categories that don’t fall in those sections- i.e. the ones that involve some sort of craft or production or packaging, et cetera. Gets put in by special advisory committees put there suggestions in which I don’t know about past they exist and that’s about it. Repeat the amount of times that people can vote from the step above and an independent vote counting firm counts the votes and whoever wins wins the award. I mean as long as there isn’t some envelope mixup or some kind of miscount by the independent firm but that’s never happened ever in the history of the world. And for the 70 percent of categories that don’t matter to the Grammys enough to televise, they get those awards before the show. Otherwise you have to wait and see who wins the most uncontroversial and unimportant awards ever known to man.
Also slight formatting note: If there is a Spanish or other foreign language word, I’m doing this with the English alphabet, so no N’s with the tilde mark signifying the “ny-” sound. That also goes for other Spanish or French, etc. markers- this saves me a lot of time formatting it perfectly.
Without further ado let’s get into the nominations cause my snark at how long this took me to compile and listen to and comment on and pick out the best songs in my personal opinion on each record and seeing how completely meaningless that is when looking up the voting process, the amount of voters, and how messed up the categories are is disheartening. But let’s put on a sheen of jaunty excitement and start getting into what took me two months to research and listen to.
Record of the Year
A surprisingly solid category this time since every single one of these songs I would like to see win in some way or another
"Redbone" – Childish Gambino.
While I have not been the largest fan of Childish Gambino aka Donald Glover through the years since he just does so many projects in acting that I could never get into his music since I thought he preferred being on 30 Rock or Community or directing an episode or two. Also it doesn’t help he’s really only done three albums since 2011, which isn’t bad because he’s done a fair bit of mixtapes in the past couple years, but this almost neo soul hip hop gospel album that Childish Gambino released, and which Redbone is probably the biggest hit and accidental meme from it- is kind of different than his last stuff. Which is nice, I like that this is so different and the instrumental is just a slow jam that almost reminds me of Marvin Gaye so that can never be a bad time.
"Despacito" – Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber.
The Latin smash hit that came out of nowhere that had the probably largest influence in culture this year since La Macarena from the 90s? And also the original version that doesn’t have Bieber in it being the biggest video on Youtube? Well it's a song that is overplayed- I mean I bet I’ve heard Despacito on the radio on certain stations at least once an hour if not more but it's a fun tune that gets a party going.
"The Story of O.J." – Jay-Z.
I always love when rap songs sample old school songs and here we have an instrumental here cribbed from Four Women by Nina Simone in the mixed up and cut up sections that use the lyrics “my skin is black” and “my skin is yellow” to layer that over this beat that sounds like something out of a jazz club from the 1940’s at points. And since this isn’t the best music video section, I’ll skip over that for now because its a real video that makes you think at points through the imagery. But back to the song itself, Jay lays out this chorus that while its reliance on the N word makes it one that is hard to transcribe here but pretty much it's this simple list of the people- light, dark, fake, real, etc. and saying pretty much why are you separating yourselves like this Black America? Also having the title being “The Story of OJ” is directly important to the message here because for some bars Jay-Z is trying to impart basic knowledge of how to save and leave his kids money for the future and calling out rappers who have this weird obsession of taking pictures of themselves holding fat stacks of money saying pretty much that that isn’t truly important- the thing that holds black culture together is their experiences. I could dissect the imagery in the music video and the song line by line but that is for another time maybe. The one distraction I have to say is when Jay-Z uses how “Jews own all the buildings in America- this how they did it.” as a way to possibly say how black people could pool their hard earned wealth, buy property, and leave that to future generations so they can rise up from where they are now is good in theory- but like that’s a line that could be equally construed as a conspiracy theory and a stereotype so that isn’t super well thought out.
"Humble" – Kendrick Lamar.
Kendrick Lamar brings out another good album. Sure I don’t like this as much as Good Kid m.A.A.d City or To Pimp A Butterfly. But even when Kendrick is stripping back his poetic lyricism and going towards the songs that seem to be the bread and butter of current rap- the bangers that have good hooks and that you can just enjoy or something akin to that nature, it’s probably the most accessible of his albums. And Humble’s beat and hook here makes me come back to it enough that I could probably rap this thing with enough effort mainly because its so catchy.
"24K Magic" – Bruno Mars.
Bruno Mars, or who I like to call “the Second Coming of Michael Jackson” mainly because I could easily imagine Michael Jackson creating some 80s throwbacks and running with this style Bruno Mars has been running with for a few years. But this song right here is like peak current Bruno Mars, this song where he’s showing all this bravado of being super cool and getting women and enjoying life. Pretty much when he’s released a song, it's been super catchy and fun which is good for a summer jam. This has one of the more fun instrumentals of the bunch since its 80s throwback vibe contrast with Redbone’s 70s neo gospel soul vibe, Despacito’s latin dance party, Story of OJ’s extremely old school vibe and Humble’s banging instrumental track.
Verdict: I would expect all of them have chances to win- Kendrick’s been this almost zeitgeist figure in the rap game where every time he releases an album. It’s a certified “classic”, Bruno Mars has had a great year with three singles doing really well: 24k Magic, That’s What I Like. and Versace on the Floor being all breakout hits from his current album. Jay-Z is the legend that has had a storied career and is in the third act of his career, or at least second act, where he could be expected to release disappointing music but he releases an album like 4:44, which is a good album. Despacito is a track you can’t escape from, and I’ve heard so many meme remixes of what if X or Y was Redbone that the instrumental is burned into my brain. But I would expect either Despacito or 24k Magic to win most likely. I love to listen to rap music but here’s the thing: it seems like the best chance for the Grammys to give a nod to either the biggest latin hit since the 90s or the most all around acceptable choice in Bruno Mars. They tend to go for the most acceptable hit that the largest amount of people would like.
Album of the Year
"Awaken, My Love!" – Childish Gambino
This album here is pretty great. Not perfect since I think the two minute song “Riot” could have easily been taken out of the album without much lost, while the change between “Zombies” and “Redbone” could segue better into one another. But otherwise this album is like a 70’s and 80’s throwback album done pretty well. Sure it wears its influences hard on its sleeve with the album cover itself looking like a futuristic version of the iconic Maggot Brain album from Parliament Funkadelic and the whole album sounds pretty much like 70s Funkadelic meets Prince and a bit of Marvin Gaye to me, but the first two or so songs were just a fun time. Which while I do like pushing boundaries in music and developing the outer edges of what each genre could be- I do love a throwback album but updated for the modern era. Sure there’s like weird synth lines and guitar solos and all that but this weird high falsetto Childish Gambino has here is making me think of current R&B where if you can sing your heart out and do whatever register you want as long as it sounds good. Particular standouts for me in this album are “Me and Your Mama”, “Boogieman”. “Baby Boy” and “Stand Tall” but I still do like “Redbone” even though it's probably one of the more accessible tracks on the album.
4:44 – Jay-Z
I can’t really comment much on this album because unlike most of the others on this list, it’s not easy to find because it's pretty much exclusive to Tidal but the short films Jay-Z has released to Youtube, while not always focusing on the songs themselves are truly creative. Out of the snippets I have been able to glean from these unfortunate sources I think the standouts for me are the title track 4:44, Bam and The Story of OJ. But the strange thing about this album is that it's a response in some respects to last years Beyonce album Lemonade, which was pretty fire. But that album hit Jay-Z hard where it put a lot of relationship drama out in the open between Beyonce and Jay-Z and in some tracks- especially for example 4:44, it sounds like he’s a different Jay-Z from twenty or thirty years ago where that version had bravado and youth and was angry at women; this Jay-Z in his 13th album sounds defeated and disappointed in himself that he didn’t respect Beyonce enough or his daughter and all that. It’s an older, maybe not wiser, Jay-Z.
Damn – Kendrick Lamar
Not my favorite Kendrick album sure, but its the most accessible and I can usually jump around and not have to worry about a narrative arc all that much unlike some of his other more conceptual albums. Which is kind of funny because even this album has a vague concept- there’s two or so sound clips of Fox News anchors I believe talking about Kendrick’s continued antagonism and lyrical attacks on the police among other things and later there’s a another sound clip where they say that “hip hop has done more damage than racism in recent years” which is one of the few times in recent memory Fox News clips have been sampled for a message. He’s angry and with how his songs switch into some depressive ideas about failure and losing all his money and being judged by God, its a different side of Kendrick here. Sure he’s always been introspective, but here he’s worried about something he just lets hang there unresolved. There’s some strange phone recordings of his cousin who says that “Blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans are the true tribe of Israel” barring vague mistranscription or misremembering the exact line- Kendrick just lets that and other religious lines hang there in the mix not really commenting on them but by including them- there has to be some kind of message either positive or negative about them. Kendrick’s always been one for deliberate actions in his music making a concept rap album like some of his last efforts actually viable in a genre and overall landscape where concept albums still exist but they are rare. But this concept here is that he’s mad and it seems like people react badly to his high concept albums and still treat him like a bad influence so why not act like they expect him to- the album cover is an intimidating Kendrick staring at you directly in front of a red brick wall with dark red letter spelling out DAMN- its probably his most minimalist designed cover in a while. The songs aren’t entirely that memorable besides FEAR. where the long digressions of his cousin’s phone calls push the track into the seven minute mark, or DNA. which is my second favorite song here for the lyricism here almost a conversation between two different people with a shared culture- the video is pretty great to highlight that idea. LOYALTY- while getting a Grammy nod is one of my least favorite tracks here though that may be because I’ve never truly enjoyed Kendrick having guests and while Rihanna can rap a little I don’t think she fits well. XXX is a standout I would have skipped but man Kendrick samples a U2 song from their newest album- which is weird since I believe this came out before that new album of theirs. But yeah this overall impression here is that it’s a very accessible Kendrick album. Maybe not to the conceptual highs as his earlier albums but this shows that he has a fire that some people probably guessed he lacked and that yes, he can act like the current trend of braggadocious mumble rap and trap rap rappers and make good attempts at this style. He’s versatile.
Melodrama – Lorde
The album I worried about the most on this Album of the Year section because well sophomore albums can have issues in trying to deliver what fans want and also with Lorde being so young when she came onto the stage, since she has been doing musical things since she was 14 and is only now like 21, it worried me. I thought her debut album Pure Heroine was just okay. But I guess taking four years to release an album worked for her because I like this album. Sure it's an almost stereotypical album concept- the break up or failing relationship album what with Taylor Swift creating a songwriting career out of mainly just that topic alone. So its not breaking new ground and it sounds similar to Lorde’s last album- the artpop that has R&B and hip hop influence that she’s been doing since Royals blew up as a single in 2013-2014. And I guess she is a contender since I thought while the stripped down minimalism and layering of vocal melodies and pianos sounded great with a hip hop drum beat that a lot of songs sound like. But this sounds like both a more confident and more vulnerable Lorde because it lays in that breakup and remembrance mood that these types of albums thrive off of. This is also the only category Lorde is in so I don’t know if she might get the Album of the Year, this is a random chance. Standout tracks are “Green Light”, “Hard Feelings/ Loveless” and my favorite song on the album “Supercut”
24K Magic – Bruno Mars
It seems like Bruno Mars just exists and people pick up on the singles and not realize while he seems really focused on romance and sex songs, he has a sense of humor like in the song “Perm” or some of his earlier albums- which while I like this album it's very similar sounding that his last albums that had some different sounds in an album. This just sounds like a soul, funk, hip hop mix with his great vocal range. So while he hasn’t released an album in awhile I do like having some songs that sound well put together and while it seems like he may have done a bit too much emotional slow jams for my taste, I get why they chose this album.
Verdict: Well this continues to be difficult. I thought I could outright write off Lorde besides the fact she could be the choice for this Album of the Year- while she’s no Adele sweeping the Grammys when she releases music, the album is competent and makes me want to actually pay attention to Lorde’s future releases. I liked 4:44 but its not probably going to win here- I mean even if it doesn’t there’s like so many other times that record pops up on this list it's not even funny. It’s kind of tiring when an album or artist gets multiple nominations to me cause there’s only so much to say about this without constantly saying either “I liked said album” or “It’s good”. So that could win though I hope it doesn’t because it's the one album I’m least familiar with with the whole “Streaming on Tidal” thing so this is just a it could win to placate rap fans. Awaken My Love is probably the best overall album- less than an hour and all fantastic sounding funky music jams sounding like they went back to the 70’s. Still think Redbone’s one of the weakest songs on the album but it's still a great song. And DAMN? Well I seem to have spent a lot of time talking about it but I’d have to edge out it for Awaken My Love. And I love listening to Kendrick Lamar’s music but I think some of his songs were kind of weak and if there’s a phone conversation on a rap album, I almost always take off enjoyment points just because you are listening to a recorded conversation- the audio quality sounds tinny and weird to my ears. So I really wish Childish Gambino wins Best Album of the Year, it would be nice to recognize a nice direction in his music and he kills it on the high notes here.
Song of the Year
"Despacito"
Ramón Ayala, Justin Bieber, Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd, Erika Ender, Luis Fonsi & Marty James Garton, songwriters (Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber)
I prefer the non Justin Bieber track though I get why they did it- pop crossover appeal and I bet it made it easier to have a Spanish song get radio airtime here in the U.S. cause maybe I’m cynical about the use of Justin Bieber as a recognizable name but really the song itself now songs weird to me when I listen to this version,
"4:44"
Shawn Carter & Dion Wilson, songwriters (Jay-Z)
It’s a good track. Can’t say much more besides the instrumental is fantastic with the almost soul gospel feel to it. It’s like Jay-Z went to couple’s therapy after Lemonade dropped and realized he’s not perfect and let down his wife and kid.
"Issues"
Benjamin Levin, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Julia Michaels & Justin Drew Tranter, songwriters (Julia Michaels)
Well this is a pretty song and I do love the lyrics- I have no clue why I don’t like the way she sings the song itself. Sure the artist herself is a decent lyricist and I do have to say I have been enjoying this song but through constant replaying, her voice is weird. Maybe its unique and by this point out of the songs here that continually pop up in this list over and over I guess this is fresh air. It just doesn’t really stand out to me that much. It’s just a pop song. I guess this makes it a light “meh, this exists” and yet that doesn’t hurt my enjoyment of playing it and listening to it. I just don’t know why this song gets a Grammy nod.
"1-800-273-8255"
Alessia Caracciolo, Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, Arjun Ivatury Khalid Robinson & Andrew Taggart, songwriters (Logic featuring Alessia Cara & Khalid)
Yes, that title is the National Suicide Prevention Hotline. Yes, it’s a rap song but man that is pretty powerful to have a song written through the perspective of someone who might call that hotline. Which with the high profile suicides of even famous musicians this year- it isn’t like it doesn’t have an important message. I mean sure it's just a song but I had to check if Logic had the permission to use the number as a title and yes it looks like it was. Also since I haven’t really been listening to Logic’s music, and didn’t know who he was- dude’s like Eminem or the Beastie Boys, he’s pretty white. But that doesn’t matter in regards to the song cause this song is pretty great sure I wouldn’t want to listen to this at a party since it would probably destroy an upbeat mood but man is this a song that seems more memorable to me than any of these other tracks. Does the song do it well? Kind of? The problem is that big who can relate woo in the middle of the track that throws me out of pure enjoyment.
"That's What I Like"
Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus & Jonathan Yip, songwriters (Bruno Mars)
This song is a nice little song about spending money for a girl and he can afford it and live the high life because he likes all the things she does. This reminds me a little bit of P.Y.T. by Michael Jackson or that era Michael Jackson- maybe it's the 80s flavored backing track that sounds like it fell out of the 80’s.
Verdict: I really want 1-800-273-8255 to win. I mean it is just a good track and since it has two of the five Best New Artists of this year in some way on the track, it stuck out to me. I mean I like every other song but man when there’s a song with an important message like this in rap, I take notice. Do I have issues with it? Sure. But out of these, I liked this one the best.
Best New Artist or Best ‘Sort of New’ Artist Award
Alessia Cara
Her major debut album was in 2015. She doesn’t have an album out for 2017 so I guess she has a lot of singles “Stay” is a good song. Also “Here” is a good song. From the stuff that plays all over pop radio, I like her as an artist. Just not really new and with no real staying power without an album, I have no clue why she’s on here.
Khalid
This guy is nineteen and already sounds like he has a great soulful voice.And he’s one of the newest artists on this list in terms of just getting into the industry. Plus his album is probably the best one, if I discount my enjoyment of SZA’s music. It’s far more accessible and for current music at least he can actually sing. Standout tracks are “Location”, “Another Sad Love Song”, and “8Teen” my personal favorite song of his that got me noticing his music.
Lil Uzi Vert
The trap rap/emo rap/ mumble rap movements I don’t follow all that closely. Sure the instrumentals are at least okay but there usually isn’t a lot of lyrical wordplay- more towards a feeling of electronic music with highly repetitive bars but its not completely a wash. And in the nature of “new” Lil Uzi Vert’s been releasing music since at least 2014/2015. So he’s not new per se but he really blew up last year with being on Bad and Boujee the Migos track featuring him. That’s when I really got him on the periphery of my musical radar. I guess “Neon Guts” isn’t a bad song but this aesthetic isn’t my favorite. I mean I don’t mind it but I haven’t had a big reaction to his music. Maybe because he’s channeling mumble rap cause he’s like he’s on downers in every single on his songs.Also “UnFazed” is a good song though I think the Weeknd’s vocals help this one. “How To Talk” seems like the closest I can like him without somebody with a better voice taking the hook.
Julia Michaels
Boy is this a great “New Artist” She’s been active since 2010 writing hits for different singers and all this. Sure her solo career is pretty much starting this year but her Nervous System EP is like okay. 7 songs long so it’s real short but its fine. I guess this award is either completely meaningless in “newness” or an actual curse if you believe the curse of the Best New Artist Grammy and if this ruins her solo career, she still has songwriting skills to fall back on. I guess “Pink” could be my favorite non-Issues or Worst in Me track cause haha its a sex song in a similar vein of Aerosmith’s “Pink” so this is a weird little find. Guess I can see why it wouldn’t get radio play. Seriously though I don;t care if this person has an EP- if she’s the least new person here, she shouldn’t get the nod.
SZA
Another artist that wow, isn't new. She made an album in 2014. By this point it's like this award category is teasing me with how not “new” these people are. Maybe it’s the internet age giving me false hope-It’s not like a completely fresh faced person just entering music. But at least I know she can have an album under her belt and at least unlike Julia Michaels, her album I can listen to most readily and is getting Grammy nods is, you know, not 22 minutes long. But yeah her R&B lyrics are much closer in tone to rap with how many chill times she swears on this thing. Some of these tracks sound like weird 90s slow jams. Also I didn’t know Kendrick Lamar would appear on “Doves in the Wind” completely sex focused song since the amount of times the nicer slang term of female anatomy is used on this is the most I’ve ever heard. Like it's the main word in the song. I feel like someone took the feel from Destiny’s Child and TLC and turned it up to twelve.Yeah the album she’s released is a weird little R&B record with major hip hop influences and sure I’m not going to listen to most of her discography past a few decent songs in this album but at least it's interesting to know she exists and she has a great enough voice.
Verdict: I really want Khalid to win this because for someone so young, he seems like he has the most potential to have a lot of crossover hits and also I could see him pop up in songs singing the hooks. He’s versatile and out of these “New Artists” he’s the best one since only a few of them have albums- he has one. And also between Khalid and SZA, I would put him just above her- mainly because it doesn’t rely so heavily on hip hop bravado and swearing every few lines. It's far more listenable since I only had to do one sit through of American Teen, while Ctrl’s demeanor and cool instrumentals took awhile for me to warm up to. So yeah I hope Khalid wins. If not that the I hope Julia Michaels doesn’t win- she’s the least new of all of them and also I think her EP was just okay to boring pop songs.
Pop
Best Pop Solo Performance
"Love So Soft" – Kelly Clarkson
A song I didn’t think Kelly Clarkson sang. I like this song but it's not my pick for what I want to win. Nice soul tinged track though. I’m just bored with this. Sure I liked the track but it’s been so overplayed it’s the least surprising track here.
"Praying" – Kesha
A less common side of Kesha, this piano ballad thing sounds vastly different than the dance tracks she released in the early 2010’s and after four years and a messed up legal battle with her music producer, this could be interpreted as a response to that struggle. This is probably the song that shows off Kesha’s vocal range with that ending note she pulls off and I replay this song a lot because it's just a great song.
"Million Reasons" – Lady Gaga
A folky track from Lady Gaga- since I knew she liked doing stripped down versions of her artpop tracks and that she liked focusing on piano melodies from the beginning I knew she would kill this song. And I could see Lady Gaga bring back folky country pop back into style. I have been playing this since it’s come out and if you are wondering on the album itself, it’s a solid record as well.
"What About Us" – Pink
Whenever Pink drops a song, I love it but I feel after so many times I’ve heard this, it's lost some luster. Thanks radio.It’s a good Pink track. I just like other Pink tracks better. I just think the instrumental is a bit much in my opinion.
"Shape of You" – Ed Sheeran
It’s Ed Sheeran doing his British acoustic melody hip hop instrumental and doing a rap like feel. It’s fun but I’ve heard remixes by Major Lazer and others that do something with this track so this seems like it's missing something now. Also where I am, the pop radio station plays Ed Sheeran songs incessantly so this is so okay it hurts.
Verdict: I want either Lady Gaga or Kesha to win this. I hope Lady Gaga wins though cause her album was fantastic. And the rest of the pop songs here have been overplayed and lost their luster.
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
"Something Just like This" – The Chainsmokers and Coldplay
I haven’t been liking all of The Chainsmokers hits ever since they got more into pop hits. But I like Coldplay even if one passage’s melody sounds exactly like it was lifted directly from Coldplay’s “Hymn for the Weekend” chorus. But the Chainsmokers choices for chords makes me confused since their songs now all sound too similar to me.
"Despacito" – Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber
In this category just by the other songs listed here, I already hope that this doesn’t win. I liked every track in this list better than Despacito. Also Despacito gets nominated for a lot so I don’t care too much for this.
"Thunder" – Imagine Dragons
I still think most Imagine Dragons songs sound the same so at least this one sounds a bit different. It’s Imagine Dragons, it's the closest thing a crossover rock group can do to get on the pop charts. Even if I feel like the rock bands or indie rock bands that came up the last decade have all been trying to either get on eletropop trains or get rap influenced stuff and it doesn’t work. I also hate the repetition of high pitched “thunder” over and over in the chorus/ outro.
"Feel It Still" – Portugal. The Man
I really like this song’s feel. Sure maybe the first time I thought this was a female singing parts of the song and was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t. Also it sounds like a throwback to a weird 60’s song that never existed. For pop rock, it's a fun little track with weird lyrics. This one is the song out of this list that I’m most disposed to just putting on and listening to.
"Stay" – Zedd and Alessia Cara
I like this song, for a pop song it sounds interesting- though that has to be Zedd’s work as a DJ to make the instrumental something fun. But it’s a pop song- there isn’t a lot of stuff to say about this. It just works fine.
I really want Portugal the Man to win this one. I’ve played that song the most out of all of these and still find enjoyment from listening to it. And it’s an okay rock track that is really short and to the point which seems like a throwback in the sound and the length is impressive.
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
Nobody but Me (deluxe version) – Michael Bublé
I like Michael Buble albums because he seems to be one of the few “pop” singers that can still pull off that Frank Sinatra vibe and jazzy feel, while still having enough name recognition that he could be put on the radio. Sure I think he’s done enough Christmas albums to always be on the radio but this album is split between 50s throwback jazzy pop and more modern pop. He tends to make safe music since a lot of his albums sound like this but I guess as a formula it works. Standout tracks are “Nobody But Me”, “On An Evening in Roma (Sott’er Celo de Roma)” for him singing parts of the song in Italian. Also “I Wanna Be Around” is a good old timey jazz track. And for a cover I didn’t expect- “God Only Knows” is a nice song to see done in a different style.
Triplicate – Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan’s last album of original music was in 2012. But that just means like his previous two albums this is just him covering songs he likes. Also since its a 3 disc series, there’s thirty songs on this thing so I can’t really provide songs that I like from this besides maybe one song from each disc, since they are short and sweet. I knew this had to be the reason why he split his time in concert between his music and jazz covers cause he’s in this period where he can do whatever he wants and I get it. I mean he’s been performing since 1962 so I can give him some slack. But if you thought his voice was going to be awful, it actually works just fine. Standout track from Disc One- “Once Upon A Time”, Disc Two- “The Best Is Yet To Come” , Disc Three “It’s Funny To Everyone But Me”
In Full Swing – Seth MacFarlane While I tend to not like the Seth McFarlane that makes Family Guy and all of his other shows and most of the time I don’t like him in movies or tv- I do like his weird obsession of being Frank Sinatra. Cause he knows how to sing jazzy show tunes and all that. Stand out tracks “For Me, For You, For Evermore”, “I Like Myself”, “But Beautiful”
Wonderland – Sarah McLachlan
This is a Christmas album. The level of how much I care about Christmas albums is nonexistent. I mean you could just listen to the first song on the album “Christmas Song” and get all the cliches of Christmas in one song. Also “Huron Carol” on here is interesting. I mean while I do like certain Christmas songs all year, they are few and far between and once Christmas happens, I pretty much don’t listen to Christmas songs until November. At least her voice is nice to listen to. The one thing I hate here is that the melodies are different enough, so every time a Christmas song that I know well happens I have the melody I know best in my head and the one that’s actually playing clashing in my head. Thanks, new age jazz or whatever this is. Standout tracks: “Christmas Song” and “Huron Carol”
Tony Bennett Celebrates 90 – Dae Bennett, producer (various artists)
Well at least Tony Bennett is currently still alive and well. Otherwise I’d expect this to win cause the Grammys love posthumous records. Oh and Kevin Spacey appears on this- he can sing but boy does this make the album a bit awkward to listen to now. Also don’t listen to this on Spotify, cause for some reason I can’t listen to four or five songs. I’d say listen to the Lady Gaga songs and that’s probably it. It’s a live album and I tend to find the crowd a tad bit confining and distracting to my ears. Also it can ruin the mix in my eyes when the live audience gets too loud. Also Elton John singing “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” is always a thing that gets me excited cause I tend to like Elton John.But seriously I thought Tony Bennett was dead.
Verdict: While I barely wrote anything for the album, I’d prefer Seth McFarlane to win this. He didn’t release a 3 album CD which dragged a bit by the end, or a Christmas album, or a live album, and unlike Michael Buble, he stuck with one sound and killed the Frank Sinatra 50s lounge singer vibe. And that doesn’t mean I didn’t like Michael Buble’s attempt- he just was kind of inconsistent at times.
Best Pop Vocal Album
Kaleidoscope EP – Coldplay
I guess the Grammys are now counting EPs as albums now. Maybe they always did and I never noticed but this isn’t a Coldplay album and also its mostly boring. I also like five song mixtapes or things that shouldn’t be called an album when I feel like it but a Grammy nod?. Sure if you want to listen to a “remix” of “Something Just Like This” that’s just a live version instead of a real remix or “Aliens” which just sounds like uninteresting or bad Radiohead, sure go ahead. Standout track “Hypnotised EP Mix”
Lust for Life – Lana Del Rey.
Boy have I skipped out on Lana Del Rey since she appeared on the scene around 2012. I listened to her once or twice but sad Southern California feeling pop can be boring if you just do that. But I guess she’s got better or I like the feel of this album better because I don’t mind her voice and the instrumentals are definitely influenced by hip hop and electronica so I can’t outright hate them. Standout tracks “Lust For Life” for that Weeknd feature, Though there’s like two A$ap Rocky features, and a Weeknd feature I guess those are chances for crossover hits cause it doesn’t make it an outright rap song. “While The World Was At War We Kept Dancing”. “Beautiful People, Beautiful Problems” has Stevie Nicks on it and it works. “Tomorrow Never Came” has to be my favorite though because it features Sean Lennon (and yes, John Lennon’s kids tend to do neo psychedelia) and the instrumental sounds like a Beatles tune.
Evolve – Imagine Dragons
Electronic pop rock band Imagine Dragons sound a little different from their last few albums, but boy do I still think they sound a bit samey. Turned on this album and even though I was listening closely it ended before any time had passed and I felt like I had listened to four songs.The songs that stood out were “Thunder”, “Whatever It Takes”, and “Yesterday”
Rainbow – Kesha
I have no idea if this year in pop is a folk rock flavored revival but this and Lady Gaga’s Joanne have a singer songwriter vibe to them with modern sensibilities. But this is a side that I don’t see often from Kesha- it's almost a country album at points, and then the Eagles of Death Metal and the Dap King Horns pop in and make it a rock album and a soul flavored track respectively.. I can’t find an easy genre for this to just put here besides pop I guess. Stand out tracks are “Bastards”, “Woman” and “Old Flames (Can’t Hold A Candle To You)” cause well there’s Dolly Parton in it and it’s pretty much a country song.
Joanne – Lady Gaga
This may now be my favorite Lady Gaga album- it's not entirely like her other albums- sure “John Wayne” and a few other songs here, if you added synths and heavier bass and bit of electopop instrumentals and all that, could easily appear on one of her earlier albums. But I think each of these songs are solid and like how enjoyable I found Awaken My Love- this makes me think I would want this to win. It’s her attempt to do a folk album in her style and its nice. Standout tracks is difficult but if I had to choose just a few “Angel Down”, “Grigio Girls”, and “Sinner’s Prayer” but each of these tracks are stellar.
÷ – Ed Sheeran
I’ve liked Ed Sheeran for a few years- well besides that one time “A Team” and “Lego House” was on the radio and I knew people who sang those songs way too much. But I have followed his career into this weird math period he’s had where he names all his albums for math symbols. This isn’t a consistent album. I turned it on and besides a few songs I knew from the radio and a few others, I didn’t like most of them. They are competently well made and not bad, just not really my type of songs and a few of them blended together. It’s fine. Standout tracks: “Galway Girl”. “Bibia Be Ye Ye”, and “Save Myself” cause a lot of the not completely downtempo sad songs tend to be at the middle or back of the album.
Verdict: I’d be happy with either Kesha or Lady Gaga winning this. But I think Lady Gaga put out the far more consistently enjoyable album. At least I can look back on both and remember standout tracks I would want to listen to again.
Dance/Electronic Music
Best Dance Recording
"Bambro Koyo Ganda" – Bonobo featuring Innov Gnawa
Bonobo, producer; Bonobo, mixer
It’s an electronic music track that’s this slow burner with African chanting. I guessed that could be the case with the title alone, or at least it could have sampled African drum beats but this is just a calming track. Not a barn burning party track, but the chanting does put you into a mindset that you could use this in one of those as a calmer track.
"Cola" – Camelphat & Elderbrook
Camelphat & Elderbrook, producers; Camelphat & Elderbrook, mixers
In a slightly related aside, don’t watch the music video of this song because its garbage. This dark and repetitive track gets a light and weird music video. Which both bored me and confused me about who exactly thought that tone was a good idea. Also everyone is wearing the Adidas logo so that’s blatantly annoying. But the song itself is what I want in a club focused track. Lyrics focused into the hook and the melody being similar to a techno feel- repetitive and droning. It’s a club track, it doesn’t have to be lyrically masterful or entirely musical- two melodies one for the hook and the rest for the breakdowns or whatever else the musicians want to do. I could see myself putting this on as a background noise and enjoying myself just fine.
"Andromeda" – Gorillaz featuring DRAM
Damon Albarn, Jamie Hewlett, Remi Kabaka & Anthony Khan, producers; Stephen Sedgwick, mixer
A standout track from a Gorillaz album I just found to be okay. This weird 1980’s synth pop feel track is the most like old time Gorillaz to me. It’s a decent song. Not my favorite Gorillaz track and I wished the album itself didn’t have so many featured artists- it lessens the idea of the band to me. But sure this is a song I’ve been playing and think it holds up fine.
"Tonite" – LCD Soundsystem
James Murphy, producer; James Murphy, mixer
I also like the Pet Shop Boys. Don’t know why electronic music loves sounding like they exist in the 80s but okay this is a thing. I mean for a five year comeback album, LCD Soundsystem is a okay electronic pop band. But like can’t they move on a little from a throwback jam? Maybe it’s me liking noise albums more but this is so so and okay we already have Justice, and Daft Punk, and all these other electronica bands and I remember that LCD Soundsystem exists. Just exists in this little area I go to when I remember I like a few of their songs. It’s fine, I’d just listen to a number of different and more interesting songs than this one.
"Line of Sight" – Odesza featuring WYNNE & Mansionair
Clayton Knight & Harrison Mills, producers; Eric J Dubowsky, mixer
More lyrical hopeful sounding electronic music. Pretty chill track and the instrumental sounds fun. Though there is one issue I have sometimes with these electronic tracks is that they use things on their voice or have enough of an accent that the words can be difficult to understand. Though this is far more intelligible to me than that “Cola” track above.
Verdict: For sheer enjoyability and different feel than the other tracks, I’d have to choose Bonobo’s track. I like the aesthetic of african chanting and electronic beats- it stands out of the crowd of music here and has a personality though I do like music that has chants as a theme.
Best Dance/Electronic Album
Migration – Bonobo
Easily one of the calmest and most consistently pretty listens I’ve heard in awhile for electronic music. I mean I can easily see throwing this on to drift someone off to sleep through electronic lo fi jazz or whatever this is because it’s great. This will be a good and fun album to come back to and listen to again. Standout tracks: “Outlier”, Bambro Koyo Ganda”, and “No Reason” but this is a solid album overall.
3-D The Catalogue – Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk has spent at least four or five years making this album and that’s because this is around five full hours of electronic music-for a live album that’s insane. Even for a normal really long electronic album that’s crazy. And also I know it’s quality because it’s only their second live album ever and also The Catalogue was one of my favorite ways to listen to Kraftwerk’s music because their albums up to 2003 or so were all contained within. Kraftwerk is one of my favorite electronic bands. Personal standout tracks from their discography are “Autobahn”, “Trans Europe Express”, “The Robots”, and “Computer Love” Also Disc 7 has no crowd noises so if you don’t like live albums due to crowd noises ruining the mix, that’s for you and it's so rare to have a live album be live but have no crowd noises.
Mura Masa – Mura Masa
For never hearing this guy’s music, I could see this easily be playing in a club somewhere while being one of the slower and quieter tracks in the party. Not my favorite electronic music but that’s hard this year when you have known quality in Kraftwerk and the most fun I’ve had here in this category in Bonobo’s album.Stand out tracks: “Nuggets”“Love$ick”, “Second 2 None”
A Moment Apart – Odesza
This has to be top three so far cause like Bonobo’s album it's much more my style of calming electronic music I tend to go towards. Plus its very consistent with its sound so I don’t have to worry about a loud track followed by a soothing track every once in awhile. Plus the things this guy can do with instrumental tracks make me hype. Standout tracks: “Across The Room”, “Meridian”, “Just A Memory”.
What Now – Sylvan Esso
It’s a folk album but done with electronic music. It’s got my bobbing head award for being catchy. Cause this is definitely my aesthetic cause I tend to like folky music. So this is a find I like the most and I loved Bonobo’s and Odesza’s albums. But this is just more my speed. Stand out tracks: “Radio”, “Song”, “Slack Jaw”
Verdict: I’d want either Bonobo or Sylvan Esso to win because they put out the albums I liked the most here and both did vastly different feeling albums. I liked Sylvan Esso’s sound more but that’s just me.
Contemporary Instrumental Music
Best Contemporary Instrumental Album
What If – The Jerry Douglas Band
It’s bluegrass jazz. Didn't think that was a possible combination of genres but sure it works. Probably the easiest jazz influenced album I’ve listened to on here since it went by really fast- note that I guess the Grammys idea of “instrumental album” is weird since this album does have a few songs with lyrics. Standout tracks: “Cavebop”. “2:19”, and a weird cover of “Hey Joe”
Spirit – Alex Han
It’s a jazz album almost jazz fusion at times but I’ve heard a lot of jazz like this. Not my speed, but there’s a lot of jazz out there and if you like jazz it's a fine album. Stand out tracks: “The Spectre” and “Osasia”
Mount Royal – Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge
Primarily no vocals on here besides a few songs but this is far closer to country or bluegrass than The Jerry Douglas Band since there seems to be only two guys playing music instead of a full band. Something I’d put on to zone out and that’s okay. Standout tracks: “Bone Collector” “Sleeping By Myself”, and “Greener Grass”
Prototype – Jeff Lorber Fusion
Jazz rock fusion at its most fun here. This is the stuff I look for in jazz- sure I like Miles Davis and the old school greats but add a guitar in and some keyboard synth solos and I have a good time. Sure it’s just a middling attempt here but it’s not bad. Just I’ve heard the sounds before. Standout tracks: “Hyperdrive”, “What's The Deal”, and “The Badness”
Bad Hombre – Antonio Sanchez
Can’t find an easy way to stream this album currently- sometimes streaming sites take a long time to upload jazz stuff, but this is the guy that composed the film score for Birdman so if you liked that movie score, he’s right up your alley. Stand Out (and in this case) only track I got to listen to was “Momentum” and that was a nice jazz drum track with some faint electronic things going on. Unfortunately, since I hold back from forming a complete opinion here if I haven’t listened to the track or album in particular in full- this gets taken out of the running but man- Antonio Sanchez is a fantastic drummer.
Verdict: Out of sheer enjoyment, I’d say “What If” was the most fun I had in the albums cause bluegrass jazz sounds fun and out of a primarily jazzy section such as this, having a thing you can come back to and remember good standout tracks its useful.
Rock
Best Rock Performance
"You Want It Darker" – Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen’s death makes this song really hit home. Though since he had a form of cancer, I guess he prepared himself for it and wrote a song about his feelings. But this isn’t what I would term “rock” it's kind of chilled out for rock nowadays and with how old he was I would expect most people to not care about Leonard Cohen. I mean I never did. Even his song “Hallelujah” was done better by other artists and this song is good with biblical sounding references and feelings but man I hope this doesn’t win though it has a chance to. The Grammys love giving dead people posthumous awards to award their genius and probably just so people don’t say they skipped over an artist. But at least this one has unfortunate competition. This is still a great track that makes me rethink my complete indifference or distaste for Leonard Cohen, but this shouldn’t really be in this category. Not the sound I think of when thinking about rock tracks.
"The Promise" – Chris Cornell
So having said that Leonard Cohen could lose the Grammy nod, here’s why. This may be a sort of sappy emotional song vaguely about the Armenian Genocide (it was written when Cornell was asked to write a song for the film The Promise, hence the title, which was a box office bomb- but I looked up if the director or production team disliked that it bombed. They seemed fine and also not worried about money- the point was to get more people to know about the Armenian genocide. Good for them.) but with it being the last solo single before Chris Cornell’s death due to suicide, it hits a bit harder. And with Chris Cornell being my favorite rock singer from the nineties and beyond due to both his solo career and being in bands such as Temple of the Dog, Soundgarden, and Audioslave, hearing that he died hit me harder than the equally sad news of Chester Bennington’s death a few months later. I mean I fell out of liking Linkin Park which Chester lead, but a Chris Cornell project? I’d buy any of those albums. That was the 90s feel that spoke to me the most. So having Chris Cornell die felt like there was now this feeling that there would be no more music from him. So while I hate the idea of the Grammys giving dead people the award like they did with David Bowie’s Blackstar, I hope they give it to The Promise.
"Run" – Foo Fighters
This is a good track, also looking at the new logo for Foo Fighters looks like they went the simple and minimalistic route. But the Foo Fighters releasing new music? Well I’ll like it but that’s cause I like Dave Grohl. The instrumental track is what stands out to me so out of sheer actual rock so far, this should win. Edit: I listened to the whole album since it’s listed in the Producer section and I hated it. This probably is the best track on the album in my opinion.
"No Good" – Kaleo
It’s a throwback blues rock track. Well this is now a difficult choice cause I far more like the aesthetic and sounds in blues rock with the soul feel of the vocals here. It’s like the seventies came back and cleaned house cause the guitar work is pretty fantastic for a current day track.
"Go to War" – Nothing More
More modern emo sounding rock track here with possible electronic instrumental at points but I preferred the feel of Kaleo’s track but this is actually much closer to what I think of when I think of the very vague idea of “rock” The vocals and lyrics at points remind me sometimes of early 2000’s emo rock bands but this is a band I might have to look at closer like Kaleo.Edit: Looked closer. Was uninterested in the rest of their music.
Verdict: I want Kaleo to win, but because the Grammys are a mess I’d think either Leonard Cohen if they go by sheer old school songwriting or Chris Cornell for people knowing who in the world that is cause he’s far more relevant with people my age.
Best Metal Performance
"Sultan's Curse" – Mastodon
Sure Mastodon is not my favorite metal band (that would probably be Lamb of God) but I do like when they release music. I love Mastodon and that crunchy feel the guitars have and their lyrics on here remind me of a Black Sabbath song or two so that is always a good bonus. Modern metal is perfectly fine and beyond what the Big Four did in the 80s which is a good thing in my eyes.
"Invisible Enemy" – August Burns Red
I knew it had to be metalcore or mathcore from the weird and impressively done syncopated guitar work here. The problem I have with this track isn’t the song itself, it's the mix, the vocals are too soft and it's not a problem for me in other bands with weird vocals- since I outright love Electric Wizard’s Dopethrone but this just sounds a bit too messy and hard in the vocals. You’d need either the lyrics in front of you the first few times or need a few repeat listenings. If you don’t like people screaming at you get out of this one.
"Black Hoodie" – Body Count
Oh I know what metal band I’m looking into later. Metal band with Ice-T as vocalist and lyric writer. It’s rap songs done metal with an actual rap artist. This is actually a fantastic song and seems like its a song commenting on the amount of times black people have been shot by police. Political hip hop song with metal. Count me interested and I can easily understand the lyrics without the mix being overpowered by guitars and drums.
"Forever" – Code Orange Heaviest track I’ve heard in awhile. Have no idea what the vocals are even saying but the guitars are loud and remind me of Electric Wizard in their stoner metal phase. Not entirely my jam cause there’s a point where I like sort of knowing what is being said here but this is almost industrial metal level of grime on this track.
"Clockworks" – Meshuggah
In the continuing fun saga of songs that are progressive metal in the lyrics in the track and the weird guitar rhythms and sounds they could put on the track- this band may not be Mastodon who I like a bit more but they fall in the sort of Tool camp where they try to tell stories or have meaning beyond unintelligible mouth screaming. Though this one does definitely need a lyric sheet to understand so if you come in hoping for a more polished classic rock sound in the vocals I have bad news for you.
Verdict: I really want either Meshuggah or Body Count to win- though if I judged this based entirely off my enjoyment Body Count would win by a landslide. The sheer enjoyment I get from listening to rap mixed with the melodic sound of heavy metal here is my jam. And Ice T fronting a metal band is genius.
Best Rock Song
"Atlas, Rise!"
James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, songwriters (Metallica)
Feels like old school Metallica which after Lulu with Lou Reed (which I thought was weird but fun) and Death Magnetic and St. Anger’s disappointments I actually like this song. So like since the 90s albums, I haven’t liked Metallica but this is okay. Bit repetitive and sounds similar to some of their older material in a mediocre way with the solos and all that but it's at least something. Please don’t win this Metallica while this is a step in the right direction it's still not good Metallica.
"Blood in the Cut"
Kristine Flaherty and Justin Daly, songwriters (K.Flay)
It’s a blues rock flavored metal track here and it's the first time I’ve been impressed with female vocals in a metal song since not a lot of people are doing power metal ballads with females but this isn’t that type of music. It’s just some hard rock and almost sounds like it could work as a hip hop song- but the I looked her up and found out that she did hip hop joke tracks and also was raised in Wilmette, Illinois and was brought up in New Trier Township Highschool- sorry for the random trivia but that’s just like okay I thought she was from Oklahoma or something not the suburbs of Chicago. Also that’s for the one person I thought would be interested in that random fact and mostly as a “well you are getting sort of closer to the end and it helps me keep my sanity a bit since after a while all these songs sound either really good to my ears, okay, or how did this get a Grammy nod to me. This is a good one though.
"Go to War"
Nothing More, songwriters (Nothing More)
I already commented on this song. I actually like this one and probably will put it on one of my playlists one of these days because it’s a rock/metal song that is understandable and kind of catchy. Also it sounds like a song from the early 2000s and highschool me can’t hate that.
"Run"
Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett, songwriters (Foo Fighters)
Well okay, another song from before, its good. Not my favorite Foo Fighters track with the screaming vocals but the guitars and drums sound good. Even if the vocals are at points unintelligible to me.
"The Stage"
Avenged Sevenfold, songwriters (Avenged Sevenfold)
My highschool self adored this band. Sure that sounds absolutely cringe worthy when I put it like that since their music tends to be on the overly dramatic and, at points, kind of gory goofy imagery going on in their early albums but this was probably one of the bands at the time I picked up the guitar that I really wanted to try and sound like or be influenced by and sure this is a vast tangent but man, this sounds like old school A7X and the guitars are on point. And it sounding like oldschool A7X is a major compliment because their original drummer passed in 2009 and well it's been a rocky time ever since with me just appreciating or hating their music since the drums are such an important and sometimes distinctive part of the groove that you can kind of tell when it's not the same person. I like this track and grooved to it but man I don’t know.
Verdict: By sheer enjoyment, K Flay’s “Blood in the Cut” I want to win. By heartfelt nostalgia and love for the band, I would want A7X’s “The Stage” to win since I love their longer more story like tracks. Either way I’d be content here.
Best Rock Album
Emperor of Sand – Mastodon
I like Mastodon. But this isn’t the quality I like from them- this album isn’t “The Hunter” or “Blood Mountain”. This is still a heavy album but it isn’t destroying me while also having lyrics that are interesting. Sad that I prefer albums from years ago, but at least they aren’t Metallica. Stand Out tracks: “Sultan’s Curse”, “Steambreather”, and “Jaguar God”
Hardwired... to Self-Destruct – Metallica
In albums that didn’t need a 2 disc regular version and a 3 disc deluxe version. Well I guess this a return to not entirely bad form to Metallica but this is no old school Metallica. At least it's not “Death Magnetic” Though when the vocals come on this album, it makes me lose hope for the album cause it just sounds weird to me. And I’m sorry but after thirty years, Metallica hasn’t changed enough so this sounds like a bad throwback. When I think I’d rather listen to their Garage Inc. album from 1998 that’s not great because that was their covers album. Standout tracks: “Hardwired” and “Confusion”. Unfortunately those are the first tracks on each disc.
The Stories We Tell Ourselves – Nothing More
It’s the early 2000’s again here. And at points the singer’s voice is like a parody of that time. This isn’t whetting my fix of 30 Seconds to Mars or Killswitch Engage. I don’t know what’s been up with rock this year but it’s definitely weird when I prefer folk music or hip hop or R&B more than the genre I loved so much only a few years ago. Also doesn’t help that the album is split up with really short songs and there might be a point but you could have taken those out and saved me time wondering if there’s a point. Stand Out tracks: “Do You Really Want It”, “Go To War”, “Fade In/Fade Out”
Villains – Queens of the Stone Age
Not my favorite QotSA album (that was 2013’s ...Like Clockwork) but after Metallica sounding like a okay rehash of the 80s and Mastodon’s attempt here sounding passable- this has the feel that I expect from this band while sounding new. Stand Out tracks: “The Way You Used To Do”, “Head Like A Haunted House”, and “Un-Reborn Again”
A Deeper Understanding – The War on Drugs
Probably second favorite in this category. It’s just good songwriting with a rock sound with some synths and stuff like that. It’s like a singer songwriter went through the 80s. It’s kind of a pretty album. Won’t be on my top ten list but it’s solid. Stand Out tracks: “Knocked Down” and “In Chains” Also with the hour and six minutes here- it's only eleven minutes shorter than the Metallica album and this didn’t need two discs. I never even listened to The War on Drugs, but maybe I should now.
Verdict: I really want Queens of the Stone Age to win cause that was the one I had the most fun with. A decent second choice would be The War on Drugs’ new album.
Alternative
Best Alternative Music Album
Everything Now – Arcade Fire
I absolutely hate how the songs are named on this album. There’s two songs named Infinite Content with barely a difference and three songs named some variation of Everything Now. I don’t like Arcade Fire all that much so outside of a few tracks, I don’t get that oomph that I need to like it. It’s a fun and jazzy album for an alternative rock album but it’s not really for me. I do have to say that it’s need to see the songs bleed into one another so well. Stand Out tracks: “Everything Now”, “Creature Comfort”, and “We Don’t Deserve Love”.
Humanz – Gorillaz
A Gorillaz album that barely features the Gorillaz voices or sounds I wanted to hear. Glorified feature album where other artists get the hooks and songs. I’m most disappointed in this album cause when I heard a new one was coming out I was super ready. But the this came out and it’s pretty and catchy but this isn’t what I signed up for as a fan of the band. I listened to the Deluxe version since that was the only one on Spotify and the seven interludes in a set of 26 tracks weren’t needed. Still decent album just weirdly different Gorillaz album here. I still liked it, but this isn’t a true Gorillaz album. Stand Out tracks: “Strobelite”, “Submission”, “Busted And Blue”, and “Let Me Out”.
American Dream – LCD Soundsystem
Yeah if LCD Soundsystem’s hour and twenty two minute album could fit on one CD- Metallica didn’t need two discs. Also the last two songs in total are 25 minutes long so this album tends to long songs. Don’t know why that is cause the band used to do shorter radio friendly length songs. Stand Out tracks”: “tonite”, “emotional haircut”, and “pulse (v.1)”
Pure Comedy – Father John Misty
One of the more consistently lyrical albums in 2017 with slight political commentary- it’s 2017’s worries condensed into an album. Also helps it’s about an hour shorter than the new Sunkilmoon record that was released this year- both influenced by recent events and commenting on them. Between this album and that one, I think this wins out because I’ve been replaying certain tracks on this album since most are condensed to the longest they have to be. Though “Leaving LA” on this record for being 13 minutes might have needed a second melody or chord change cause while the lyrics are good and are the main focus here, it drags a bit in the middle of the album. Or maybe just a shortened version or sped up version could have kept the enjoyment going. It’s still a great record but there’s points that bring me out of liking every song on the record. This might be dated in a few years but its still an album I enjoyed a lot. Hard to find records like this nowadays. Stand Out tracks: “Pure Comedy”, “Ballad of the Dying Man”, “When The God of Love Returns There’ll Be Hell to Pay” and “The Memo”
Sleep Well Beast – The National
I don’t like this one at all. The singing actually bored me. More like Sleep Well Me cause I almost fell asleep listening to it. Stand Out track: “Walk It Back” Other people can check out this band cause tastes do differ so see if you like the new album. I wouldn’t put my seal of recommendation on this album though.
Verdict: I’d either want Father John Misty or the Gorillaz to win. Weak Gorillaz album that loses some of the point of the band in my opinion but it's still a fun record. Pure Comedy would beat it out if I had my way though. Though each album probably has a contended spot for top ten albums.
R&B
Best R&B Performance
"Get You" – Daniel Caesar featuring Kali Uchis
Gosh, this is a pretty song I could see replaying all the time and it's a good 90s feel slow jam. This is like sexy and touching at the same time- I want to play this all the time in a mixtape I’d send to someone I felt something towards cause boy is this just a good time.
"Distraction" – Kehlani
This sounds like a Destiny’s Child track. It took a while to grow on me but the vocal melodies here got me interested. Sure I’d probably not check out much from her other songs, but this is a good 90s early 2000s jam with a woman focus in the lyrics, because she isn’t the distraction- her lover is. But yeah her voice is good stuff.
"High" – Ledisi
Hello there neo soul R&B, it sure is nice to here some modern music with that feel in a song- random fact, even though I have never heard of her she’s now been nominated for 12 Grammys in her career and has been making music since the 90s. I guess I’d call that niche quality cause this song is great but I never knew she existed.
"That's What I Like" – Bruno Mars
Well it's Bruno Mars and this song is really overplayed plus I’m out of witty ways of explaining Bruno Mars and his music.
"The Weekend" – SZA
I think this song is actually kind of pretty. Seems like yes another song about sex but man this seems like a 90s song. But it’s a sex song where the person singing the side chick in the relationship which has to be a thing in hip hop but I haven’t really heard it before really. Maybe the instrumental is helping cause this seems like a chill track I could easily see me replaying and, to me, that can be all a track needs to edge out the others.
Verdict: Ugh, this category having good quality tracks makes this so hard. I’d say if I was the cynical Grammys, I would choose Bruno Mars but I think that’s the weakest song here. I’d say that if I had to force myself to choose- Ledisi’s “High” was my favorite track. But check out the rest of the R&B stuff here besides Bruno Mar’s radio hit here cause it's some good quality modern music.
Best Traditional R&B Performance
"Laugh and Move On" – The Baylor Project
Now this is a simple jazzy R&B love and heartbreak song right here. Doesn’t mean it's bad, it's the opposite- it knows the fundamentals and just hits the good stuff. This is some old time soul music right here. It’s a beautiful track.
"Redbone" – Childish Gambino
This spot is warranted because its a huge song and old school influenced R&B is kind of rare nowadays what with hip hop heavily influencing all types of modern music. Also I didn’t have to look up what song this is because it gets a lot of airtime.
"What I'm Feelin'" – Anthony Hamilton featuring The Hamiltones
This is a 70s soul love jam. What I’m feeling right now is this got plucked out of the sixties or seventies with one of those quartet groups so popular that time. This is going to be a real hard decision.
"All the Way" – Ledisi
Well darn it. This is actually a great love song. Well looks like the R&B sections are the absolute worst for me to choose cause for some reason I keep going and finding good music where I expected a few of these to outright bomb and be just “meh” but nope this is almost like one of those stereotypical songs in romantic movies from the 90s but I like this. Guess I’m going to have to check out Ledisi’s 20 years of music at some point.
"Still" – Mali Music
Well shoot. Dude has a singing voice here and sure it sounds like a bit of a throwback. But this is a nice love song here and i didn’t expect this cause sure every single one of these songs have been in some way like a love song or whatever but each of them sound different.
Verdict: R&B continues to be the bane of my existence here cause each track was great. So take this with a “listen to all of these songs” recommendation cause these songs while in the “traditional” side of R&B has good parts to them.So I have to go by my gut reaction of pure enjoyment here and say that Ledisi’s “All The Way” is fantastic but I don’t want her to sweep the R&B section if I can help it so second choice would go to “Still” by Mali Music. Seriously though this choice isn’t like the Rock category where I could outright cross out artists by either radio overplay or bad mixing. This is just me pointing at a track and coming up with four other reasons why all the other tracks are equally as good in different emotional ways and technical ability.
Best R&B Song
"First Began"
PJ Morton, songwriter (PJ Morton)
Okay for a moment I thought I was listening to Stevie Wonder cause his voice reminds me a little bit of his and the funky piano really doesn’t help that comparison. This is a soothing track and it sounds like a song Stevie Wonder would have done on one of his 70s albums as a ballad which isn’t bad.
"Location"
Alfredo Gonzalez, Olatunji Ige, Samuel David Jiminez, Christopher McClenney, Khalid Robinson & Joshua Scruggs, songwriters (Khalid)
It’s a good song from a great album. For a debut single, it could be so much worse. Want to see what he puts out in the future cause his voice is great and I am really thinking its one of the better projects I’ve heard from 2017.
"Redbone"
Donald Glover & Ludwig Goransson, songwriters (Childish Gambino)
See other times I mention how much fun a slow jam like Redbone is because after the third or fourth time this one song has appeared here, I have nothing more to say besides its catchy and a well put together song. Well besides my opinion that its probably one of the weakest songs on an album of great stuff. But that tends to happen with music. The hits can be the most accessible ones and so the whole album gets missed out on for a decent to meh single.
"Supermodel"
Tyran Donaldson, Terrence Henderson, Greg Landfair Jr., Solana Rowe & Pharrell Williams, songwriters (SZA)
Well this is a fun little find. I like when I find weird R&B tracks like this cause I went into this thinking it would be something of a throwback but it started up and it almost sounded like it was this mix of hip hop and R&B- sure she’s not rapping but it's got a nice rhythm to it. Like maybe it’s not the best track here yet but I can see why she might have got a Best New Artist nod.
"That's What I Like"
Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus & Jonathan Yip, songwriters (Bruno Mars)
I guess this is R&B, it's a good song I just don’t know how the three other songs I haven’t heard before this weird idea I had sound like and match up with “R&B”
Verdict: I really liked that PJ Morton track, I can see me replay that until I get bored of that song- which may never happen. R&B, one of the few categories where each track nominated sounds vastly different. Second favorite track of this has to be “Location” by Khalid. Though check out all of these tracks cause R&B sounds like its having its own little mixup here in sounds and each of these artists sound different. Be careful about SZA’s songs though- I’d classify her as a heavily hip hop influenced R&B artist so be warned, oh ye who listen here.
Best Urban Contemporary Album
Free 6lack - 6lack
The instrumentals in this are so chill and blissful that it gets you in the mood and 6lack’s R&B hip hop is actually nice. Cause he is tending towards the top of best rap singing hybrids. I mean he does have a surprisingly soulful voice though I have to say he is tending towards just okay in this category with the sheer talent dumped here. Stand Out tracks: “PRBLMS”, “”Alone/ EA6”
"Awaken, My Love!" - Childish Gambino
Urban Contemporary is the weirdest “genre” I can think of in the Grammys, sure there’s the Americana section and the Regional section or whatever random thing else (Edit after six weeks: Urban Contemporary is the least weird genre here out of the weird ones) but then there’s this section where I think the Grammys just put all the new music by black people in here and let them compete for this one award. Like this is a neo soul album and I don’t know about Free 6lack or Ctrl or American Teen much but Starboy is definitely a rap album- sure a rap album with a similar feel to Awaken My Love but this is almost meaningless. What does Urban Contemporary even mean as a concept for an award? But this is a solid album, and a chance for more Grammys for a solid album is nice. Boy do I wish Childish Gambino would have released this album in 2017, instead of December 2016 cause man this would have gone on Best Albums list in a heartbeat.
American Teen - Khalid
This is a great debut for someone as young as Khalid. I liked this one more than SZA’s Ctrl for different reasons I liked the vocal performance and little to no reliance on swearing to make a sexy or important point on this I want him to continue making music and not be cursed by Best New Artist or whatever he could get and be a singer that hip hop artists use.
Ctrl - SZA
Favorite songs from this are “Drew Barrymore”, for sheer ridiculousness “Doves in the Wind” and for actual good music I wouldn’t mind replaying- “Weekend” Maybe not my favorite album here but its not bad and it's a weird little record. It’s like she’s translating rap songs into R&B jams and its kind of throwing me off a little bit in a good way. Definitely not for everyone but she’s probably one of the most creative R&B type artists in these lists for sound alone.
Starboy - The Weeknd
It’s like if Michael Jackson sang about being in the club doing every drug that’s hip and popular. Probably my favorite hip hop singer but be warned cause seriously there’s a ton of drug references. And well Daft Punk helped with the album and I do love Daft Punk. Stand Out tracks: “Starboy”, “Ordinary Life”, and “I Feel It Coming”.
Verdict: Difficult choice cause I liked these albums for different reasons but I could see either The Weeknd win this or Khalid. Cause those are the ones I liked the most.
Best R&B Album
Freudian - Daniel Caesar
Jazzy hip hop electronic thing. Dude’s got a good voice for what he’s singing and it’s a decent effort. I think this fits a whole lot better in this category than 24k Magic does and it sounds unique. Stand Out tracks: “Get You”, “We Find Love” and “Neu Roses (Transgressor’s Song)”.
Let Love Rule - Ledisi
She can sing and I think I may have already explaining how I liked her voice already in one of these other sections so without much fanfare- it's a great album. Still I listen to this album since I found it. Isn’t as impressive as some of the other albums here but the album’s still great. Stand Out tracks: “Shot Down”, “Forgiveness”, “All The Way”.
24K Magic - Bruno Mars
Fun little album of only 9 tracks which is I guess a normal amount for Bruno Mars but okay so we have his few singles that keep playing on the stations I listen to- all three major singles so I won’t really comment on how they sound like Michael Jackson B sides to me. The standout tracks that I would have probably never found out about are “Perm” and “Too Good To Say Goodbye” but my favorite track is “Perm” because it sounds like he’s channeling James Brown. Also it has the fun nature I liked from his earlier albums.
Gumbo - PJ Morton
28 minutes of pure soul right here and it’s as if Stevie Wonder from the seventies came back. Also there’s a weird cover of “How Deep Is Your Love?” by The Bee Gees on this album and that is great. Stand Out tracks: “First Began” and “How Deep Is Your Love?” Still sounds like a lost Stevie Wonder album but this is fine. Still probably the shortest album here that isn’t an EP, but it’s solid though it would have to be for it’s length.
Feel the Real - Musiq Soulchild
2 albums and 1 hour and 37 minutes of good R&B for today’s tastes. I thought that it was pretty solid enough to have a spot on my top ten albums of 2017 for good reason (Edit: didn’t get the top ten but it’s still on the extended list)- even if that reason boiled down to hey this album is pretty good and you all should check it out. I don’t know why but seemingly I’ve been gelling much more with the R&B and rap side of music this year- maybe rock’s been having a rough couple years or the barriers between genre fusion has been lowered enough so the sounds I want in rock tend to now be seen in electronic and hip hop music. Back to the album though since it’s a 2 disc project I’ll continue the single track from each that I’ve tried to do so far. So Disc One highlight “My Bad” and Disc Two highlight “Like The Weather” but this project is good stuff.
Verdict: Well that’s four great projects and 24k Magic. I’d say the ones I had the most fun with were either PJ Morton’s album or Musiq Soulchild’s 2 disc album but I’d say check out this category cause I tend to enjoy R&B projects and these were all decent.
Rap
Best Rap Performance
"Bounce Back" – Big Sean
I have to say the chorus in this is outright so catchy I started getting into it outright once it started. And while its not as lyrically fun as Kendrick’s “Humble” I really think this is fun and actually has a message because the rhymes aren’t always bragging about how rich he is. Why do I have to like catchy hooks so much.
"Bodak Yellow" – Cardi B
She is the first female rapper to hit the top spot on the Hot 100 chart since Lauryn Hill did it in 1998. She’s Lauryn Hill level important. Which is either a diss to Lauryn Hill or a boon to Cardi B. Oh damn it, it's like Rihanna and Nicki Minaj fused into one rapper with the weird accent and also the feel of Nicki’s rap except worse in all points. I like the hook but the melody she’s sing rapping sounds like “Bad and Boujee” and man I liked that song better. I get the accomplishment of what she did but I only like the hook.
"4:44" – Jay-Z
Introspective rap and Jay-Z is a legend in rap being one of the older statesmen still releasing music on a consistent basis. He’s the oldest one here in the category and that brings some experience here. Still mad that this whole project is on Tidal and so the music videos on youtube are barely focused on music. But this is great still. I’m more annoyed that I’d have to get a Tidal subscription to listen to Beyonce’s and his new albums. If there’s a way, people will find it to listen to music that they can’t or can’t fit in their budget if they liked the artist enough.
"Humble" – Kendrick Lamar
Probably the song on this section of the list I’ve listened to the most. Its short and sweet and is a good party track. But also has some lyrical flow and message beyond the stereotypical bass banging this would liven up a party feel it's bringing to the table. Weak Kendrick Lamar is still great rap music.
"Bad and Boujee" – Migos featuring Lil Uzi Vert
The hook is catchy and any rap song that uses a shortened form of bourgeois as part of the title is kind of fun. It’s a party song and I can find a lot of different rap party songs with lyrics full of drug references it's not difficult. At least I enjoy this Lil Uzi Vert feature since I was so cool on his big debut album. This song has actually grown on me on repeat listens. That hook is too catchy.
Verdict: By sheer number of replays- “Humble” By annoyingly catchy hook “Bad and Boujee” cause when you start dreaming that you have that song playing in the background, it might be too catchy. Still this wasn’t a bad section except for my personally least favorite song of the year Bodak Yellow cause that is just her doing Nicki Minaj crossed with Rihanna but like a garbage mumble rap song that somehow got big.
Best Rap/Sung Performance
"Prblms" – 6lack
I keep talking about hip hop influenced R&B. Here’s what I would call R&B influenced hip hop- it's a slight difference because it reminds me of one of those rappers that do slurred mumble rap but here he is being intelligible and actually having lyrics. Sure he swears every other line it feels like- but it's not the most egregious of examples and it is talking about relationship issues even though yes, it does reference drugs and multiple women so like its a rap song but I’d listen to this again.
"Crew" – GoldLink featuring Brent Faiyaz & Shy Glizzy
Probably going to be one of those one hit or a few hit wonders but its a chill song. For a current hip hop song, it sounds like the 90s. Good jam here. I can’t really comment on the music itself but I could see a country artist make the same music video and it work okay- cause big cars and atv looking things and some money and people dancing with alcohol and all that. But back to more serious mode here, its a perfectly serviceable rap song. Literally never heard of this song before this project.
"Family Feud" – Jay-Z featuring Beyoncé
A decent song with Beyonce singing parts of the backing vocals. Since I don’t use Tidal I had to find a live version, but the live version was still nice with a call and response gospel feel with the backing vocals. Again the idea of infidelity pops up again and again in Jay-Z’s bars which can be interesting to see since rap does tend toward braggadocio- though that also seems to be changing with cloud rap and emo rap for example. But having one of the old school rap legends talk about his failings is nice to see. Also in regards to the various songs that the duo has released- I still prefer Crazy in Love just because that’s a danceable tune but this is a good release. At least when Beyonce and Jay-Z release a track together it’s not usually bad.
"Loyalty" – Kendrick Lamar featuring Rihanna
Probably my least favorite song on DAMN- it’s competently put together and I like it when the beat drops out for about thirty seconds into a weird almost acapella vocal thing Kendrick has here but I’ve never liked his team up hits since I come to Kendrick Lamar songs for his voice and I get enough songs featuring Rihanna already. It’s been done enough.Rihanna’s like that stereotypical sing the rap hook feature now since she had Love the Way You Lie with Eminem a while back. This is better than that but this is still not that great.
"Love Galore" – SZA featuring Travis Scott
I like that SZA’s weird mix of rap sensibility and rhythm while she sings is mixed with Travis Scott’s tendency to mix singing with rap. I mean his part is short but I can at least see the idea of what they were trying here. Also this is a depressing tune with lyrics pretty much being this mess of a relationship where they found each other but oh no, they both have people they are already in relationships with and they also cheat on each other already. So pretty much this “Love Galore” title is not a nice affirming title about how nice the relationship is- its almost like an addiction they can’t stop just being horrible people.
Verdict: Yeah I like Kendrick and Jay-Z but man that “Love Galore: track by SZA featuring Travis Scott. That one keeps coming up in my head and I keep going yeah that was a decent find.
Best Rap Song
"Bodak Yellow"
Dieuson Octave, Klenord Raphael, Shaftizm, Jordan Thorpe, Washpoppin & J White, songwriters (Cardi B)
No. No. No. It’s a hit- it's not the “best rap song of the year” It’s terrible and I’d rather listen to the entire Migos and other big hit mumbly rappers or terrible Soundcloud rappers before this. This shouldn’t have been a hit, I have no idea why she got a number one cause compare her to Lauryn Hill and this is complete trash.
"Chase Me"
Judah Bauer, Brian Burton, Hector Delgado, Jaime Meline, Antwan Patton, Michael Render, Russell Simins & Jon Spencer, songwriters (Danger Mouse featuring Run The Jewels & Big Boi)
Having Danger Mouse be relevant again in a hype track is great cause I remember the Gray album very fondly where he mashed together the Beatles and Jay-Z or his Danger Doom album with MF Doom. Those were fun. But this is a fantastic track that is just hype and makes me now want to see Baby Driver and listen to more Run the Jewels so that’s a good thing.
"Humble"
K. Duckworth, Asheton Hogan & M. Williams II, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar)
I’ve dissected Kendrick enough here in this list. Just saying that I’d be happy to see Kendrick sweep this- though that’d be weird and funny to me because I also think this is one of his “worst” albums not because its bad but because it’s tone is very different. Still this flits between number one and two of favorite songs on the albums so it's a confident song choice here. Decent job Grammys.
"Sassy"
M. Evans & E. Gabouer, songwriters (Rapsody)
She reminds me of Lauryn Hill and Missy Elliot and I love me some Missy Elliot. She just so confident about how awesome she is- its weird it's almost sheer class right here in this rap track. The old school throwback backing track really helps the feel here.
"The Story of O.J."
Shawn Carter & Dion Wilson, songwriters (Jay-Z)
This is a good addition to the choices here, confident and introspective about the black experience and culture through wordplay and a lot of repetition. Sure this makes the song uncomfortable to listen to in regards to white people listening to it, but the message is focusing on a message and sticks to it- maybe not without problems since still the line using a Jewish stereotype about wealth and power is super painful.
Ugh, hard choice- if Bodak Yellow doesn’t win I’ll be okay but either “Sassy” or “Chase Me” should win- and since the Baby Driver Soundtrack album has been nominated already that makes me give it to Rapsody’s “Sassy” cause its a real jam.
Best Rap Album
4:44 – Jay-Z
It's a good album and I don’t like repeating myself about its quality, its a Jay-Z album. I’ve liked all the releases Jay-Z’s been releasing for years, this isn’t an outlier. It's just an interesting album with its different tone. I mean the snippets I got to hear were good.
Damn – Kendrick Lamar
I took way too much time saying that this album is decent and since its in best album or record or whatever it is of the year, I don’t want to repeat what I said there. 4:44 and Damn are the only two albums I’ve listened to from this section before this whole idea I had and I’ve liked both. I just know I like this one more confidently because I can easily listen to Damn while 4:44 is really hard to get ahold of through streaming services.
Culture – Migos
Not my favorite rap album. Probably near the bottom honestly cause it's just not my style of rap I prefer, but I can see why people like Migos. Probably big in the club and if I was in a party, I’d be okay with listening to this but I need context and certain situations to go ‘yes, I would like to listen to Migos post haste DJ please spin the latest record of theirs cause I sure want to get some Culture in this room’ I mean at least I like Bad and Boujee and some of their stuff. I just don’t care is all. Standout track: “Bad and Boujee” cause if it's not your jam, you probably won’t like this album past that.
Laila's Wisdom – Rapsody
Good album in the vein of Lauryn Hill mixed with a bit of Missy Elliot. Not one of the top rap records of the year in my opinion but it’s pretty high up there. Stand Out tracks: “Power”, “Sassy”. “Black & Ugly”I liked this album compared to some of the other rap albums I’ve had to listen to.
Flower Boy – Tyler, the Creator
I’ve never really been a fan of Tyler the Creator. He’s always been kind of a weird dude and his lyrics and lo fi production for most of his early albums put me off his music. I mean I tried listening to his Bastard mixtape and his Goblin album and man I just didn’t care. But this album sounds cleaner in production and sort of seventies weird psychedelica at points in the instrumentals. Or acid jazz. Like this is an album I might want to replay even though I won’t put it on my best albums- didn’t have that extra connection to it. But it’s good weird rap. Note that there are points where it might seem that Tyler is coming out in his lyrics which doesn’t actually matter- if so good for him, if not well rap’s starting to get more open with LGBT rappers in the mainstream and underground. But Stand Out tracks: “Who Dat Boy”, “I Ain’t Got Time”, “911/ Mr.Lonely”
Verdict: Have to say outright that this is pretty easy. I really enjoyed Rapsody’s album so I have to give it to her- Jay-Z is good but I haven’t heard it all, Kendrick’s “worst” album is still far more listenable to like 75 percent of really mainstream rap. And Migos has a good hit and the the rest of their album. I’d say number two out of sheer surprise is Tyler the Creator’s “Flower Boy”
Country
Best Country Solo Performance
"Body Like a Back Road" – Sam Hunt
This song is everywhere and I get it, it's actually one of those modern country tracks I don’t outright hate since I prefer stuff from way old school stuff like the 1920 to the 80s. That feel of country is pretty much not in this section so finding I don’t want to change the station when listening to a stereotypical country song is a good thing.
"Losing You" – Alison Krauss
Jazzy country sad heartbreak track. It’s pretty so that’s a good thing. It seems like she’s channeling some of that Dolly Parton old school vibe here with her voice. Haven’t heard of her in a while but that’s fine. Modern country really isn’t something I’d plan on listening to.
"Tin Man" – Miranda Lambert
Songs using general imagery from the Wizard of Oz is pretty fine. I mean I like “Tin Man” by America so I can’t outright hate this song. It’s a love song or a “boy you are so heartless I wonder if you have a heart” song. I can’t get into love songs that much cause there’s usually only so much you can say would being a walking cliche but this works.
"I Could Use a Love Song" – Maren Morris
Never heard of her, I guess she might be new. Ironic that I talk about how bored I am listening to different feeling love songs in country but this is far more my feel here than at least “Tin Man” so this works.
"Either Way" – Chris Stapleton
Well I saw the Steeldrivers in concert once in the Grand Ole Opry around 2012 which blew my mind and he had left a few years previously- from 2008 to 2010. Looked into earlier records of theirs and knew he was great. So I already knew that Chris Stapleton had a style and voice that reminds me of old school country and since I’ve been following his album releases every once in awhile, it's nice to see he gets some Grammy nods.
Verdict: I want either “Losing You” or “Either Way” to win- but if I had my way Chris Stapleton would win a Grammy here at some point- maybe for his album I haven’t heard yet. Edit: It’s not that great of an album but it’s still fine. Just a different way of modern country.
Best Country Duo/Group Performance
"It Ain't My Fault" – Brothers Osborne
Well this sounds like Trace Adkins sang this song and also the country rock feel of it makes me much more interested into this band here. Also the music video is kind of funny with its political satire of four dudes robbing a pawn shop and dressing up in the most recent president masks. It’s kind of silly and probably has a message but it’s just a track that keeps coming into my head because the music video was all weird like that. This is a fun track and I would easily listen to this again.
"My Old Man" – Zac Brown Band
Touching song and far more country than this band’s last album. It’s really pretty, I just don’t have a lot of relationships with these types of songs but this is a great song. Little too smallzy for my taste but this could work for other people.
"You Look Good" – Lady Antebellum
Sounds like Lady Antebellum is taking notes from Taylor Swift cause this is a pop song with country flavor. Still good but this doesn’t sound like the Lady Antebellum I knew years ago. Modern country tends to just be pop music with country instruments.
"Better Man" – Little Big Town
Song reflecting on wishing her old lover was a better man. It is like all of these other love songs though there is one moment where the instruments fade away and it's just one voice and that’s emotionally powerful. I just like more upbeat tracks overall and this is kind of a downer.
"Drinkin' Problem" – Midland
Now this sounds like a 90s country song about having drinking problems and sad feelings and sitting in bars. I could see this fit right in with like George Strait or some other artist. This is now a difficult choice cause I really enjoyed this song.
Verdict: For country feel: “Drinking Problem” for sheer fun “It Ain't My Fault” I’d be happy with either of these winning, but I tend to go with the one I enjoyed the most and unfortunately that makes “It Ain’t My Fault” edge out the number two favorite here.
Best Country Song
"Better Man"
Taylor Swift, songwriter (Little Big Town)
Of course Taylor Swift wrote this. It’s directly in her wheelhouse of breakup country and pop. I kind of found most of the song boring besides that quiet middle section so this isn’t my favorite here.
"Body Like a Back Road"
Zach Crowell, Sam Hunt, Shane McAnally & Josh Osborne, songwriters (Sam Hunt)
See above, I think it's good. Bit overplayed but its a country crossover hit if I can believe my radio stations overplay of this song.
"Broken Halos"
Mike Henderson & Chris Stapleton, songwriters (Chris Stapleton)
Not big on current country but this guy blows my mind with his voice and tendency to write good lyrics for a classic country feel. Like this sounds like what I would expect modern country would sound like if pop wasn’t so influential in getting a crossover hit. I’ve been listening to this song since it came out.
"Drinkin' Problem"
Jess Carson, Cameron Duddy, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne & Mark Wystrach, songwriters (Midland)
90s-2000s country sad bar jam here. Number two favorite from the duo/ group performances with all that entails here.
"Tin Man"
Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert & Jon Randall, songwriters (Miranda Lambert)
It’s fine. Not my aesthetic and so I’m just that into this song. Also hilarious how this is getting another nod for something cause this is just meh to me.
Verdict: If I choose my favorite here it’s “Broken Halos” but if I go with the hopefully the Grammys are probably going to be garbage at choosing the winner, I’d choose “Drinkin’ Problem” cause I still enjoyed that one. It’s just that Chris Stapleton just kills it so hard with his country that it makes it hard not to choose him.
Best Country Album
Cosmic Hallelujah – Kenny Chesney
I haven’t been the biggest fan of Kenny Chesney since 2004 when he did “When The Sun Goes Down” with Uncle Kracker. Yeah isn’t that a decently old cut of a song now. I guess this is fine but I haven’t felt that kind of connection with an album of his since then- wither by falling out almost entirely from the glorified country pop that modern country seems to be or just he’s gotten rather one note in his songs. Either way, this is an okay album that I won’t be returning to outside of the songs I liked. Also note that the album ends with a really random cover of Foreigner’s “I Want To Know What Love Is” for some unknown reason and I liked that one. Also for some reason Pink is singing a duet with him and it’s one of the worst and most boring Pink tracks I’ve heard this year. Good thing crossover songs are so common or else I’d say they are usually garbage. But Stand Out tracks: “Trip Around The Sun”, “Jesus and Elvis”, and “I Want To Know What Love Is”.
Heart Break – Lady Antebellum
This is modern pop music but just with country feel. This is pointless and I don’t like it all that much. What happened to the Lady Antebellum I liked? Probably changed to try and get on the radio more and turned into glorified pop stars. Standout tracks: “You Look Good”, and “Think About You” I know there’s 13 tracks on here but they all mostly sound the same.
The Breaker – Little Big Town
Well in comparison to Lady Antebellum, this is far closer to country than their album. Yet it’s also less of a downer cause there are fun songs in here. I think it does help that I’ve always preferred Little Big Town’s feel over Lady Antebellum and yet they both kind of hit it big at around the same time and I sometimes confused each band for the other. But yeah, I actually kind of like this album which for country is both a good thing and a complete surprise. Stand Out tracks: “Happy People”, “Lost in California”, and “Drivin’ Around”.
Life Changes – Thomas Rhett
The son of Rhett Akins brings out a decent pop country album that I seem to like because its influenced by modern ideas of music without being try hard and forcing the sound and feel of country to be bent out of shape. I mean there’s synthesizer sounds and hip hop drums in a few tracks and it’s interesting that this is still country- it’s good that in some ways country isn’t a completely awkward genre that tries to adapt and falls on its face. Also I don’t know if Rhett Akins is launching a comeback career album or not but the song “Drink a Little Beer” has an ending almost skit hinting that maybe that could happen. Also ruins the song cause it didn’t need to be there. But sure besides that it’s a good album. Stand Out tracks: “Sixteen”, “Marry Me”, and “Life Changes”
From A Room: Volume 1 – Chris Stapleton
This and Volume 2 are decent returns to old country blues form. Sure it’s influenced by rock now, but his songwriting skills are pretty solid for an artist. His voice, yet again, is good stuff and this will probably be my choice for this category unless one of these albums wows me. Stand Out tracks: “Broken Halos” and a bluesy track about smoking the last bits of weed- “Them Stems”.
Verdict: Either the Grammys does a safe choice like the first three choices here or does a weird choice and chooses either Chris Stapleton or Thomas Rhett here. I hope they don’t choose Chris Stapleton though because then we’d have an Adele situation where every time she gets nominated, she wins- but if they had to do a nice middle ground I’d choose Thomas Rhett cause he’s modern country with pop appeal without it sticking out like a sore thumb on an album like Kenny Chesney’s duet with Pink or Lady Antebellum’s “You Look Good.” Pretty much Thomas Rhett and Chris Stapleton are consistently what you’d expect from their albums- Stapleton’s more classic country and Thomas Rhett is a modern take. Pretty much if I would choose who I’d prefer to win- it’d be Thomas Rhett. I know it’s a critical upset but Stapleton is only getting nominated for Vol 1 of a two part, at least, set of albums. It’s not the full picture and it’s only like nine tracks compared to the 14 tracks on Life Changes. Pretty much he had more tracks I liked by sheer number and sound.
New Age\
Best New Age Album
Reflection – Brian Eno
This is the weirdest “album” ever. It’s one track. I thought five track albums were short but this hour and five minute track is an album. So if you want to have my favorite tracklist, it's too bad but I did like the parts where the ambient droning got louder and softer and whooshes and tinkling bell noises happened. Sure was nice if samey. Probably be mostly okay for meditation purposes.
SongVersation: Medicine – India Arie
Oh yes India Arie, the alternative R&B singer has a stripped down and quiet vocal album. This totally fits into what seems like a primarily instrumental section with electronic instruments. Sure I don’t listen to a lot of her music but if you come up with people that came out in the 2000s and started influencing R&B in some way with their neo soul style- she’d be on it. Also this is vastly different in the amount of time I had to listen to it compared to Brain Eno’s one track album- this is only 26 minutes. Sure it could be an album but I tend to think of that more of a EP. So sure this is a glorified EP since its around the length of an EP and just short of the usually 10 or so tracks in albums- though I keep seeing short 9 track albums so that metric is now completely meaningless. So I am forced to go by the length of around 40 minutes to qualify as a true album in most cases. This still means that this album fails both on general length and song count to be an album. Also the category is a mess with this in New Age. Doesn’t mean I am not jamming to this but this should be more in R&B. Stand Out tracks: “I Am Light” and “Breathe”.
Dancing on Water – Peter Kater
Oh wow it's one of those piano albums. I guess there are 88 keys to success. I don’t like piano albums. This is no different. Sure it sounds not jazzy enough to get in the jazz categories and I guess you could interpret piano keys as moving water if you want to be pretentious but it’s piano. Stand Out tracks: “Rivers of Sunlight” and “Timeless Sojourn”.
Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai, Volume 5 – Kitarō
Every album in this series has been nominated before for Best New Age so that’s consistent. Also the album is inspired by the pilgrimage of the 88 sacred Buddhist temples of Shikoku- thanks random knowledge of Japanese stuff and knowing that Kukai was a famous and slightly influential Buddhist master for Japan. Now this is what I think of as New Age music- electronic instruments mixed with real ones and building a soundscape that surrounds you as you listen. And him sampling the bells of Buddhist temples make it sound kind of interesting- and for those who are wondering, how long has this series of albums been coming out? 14 years- sure with a gap of seven years in between the fourth and five volumes but that doesn’t matter, this artist is prolific. I’d say check him out- he’s not my favorite Japanese artist that does electronic stuff- that still stays firmly in Merzbow’s highly strange noise albums- but Kitaro’s good stuff too. Stand Out tracks: “Soul From Ocean”, “Time and Space Cry”, and “Journey for Nirvana”
Spiral Revelation – Steve Roach
Composer and multi instrumentalist Steve Roach’s attempt here is at least six songs instead of Brian Eno’s one track. Sure he also does albums that are one track, but at least the Grammys were not complete weirdos and chose two similar artists that both did one track each and called that an album. Cause a track needs to make general sense with itself and so there can be some variation and modulation, but its electronic music- they tend to prefer weird droning or trance like states over long periods of time. And at least here there’s more melodic depth than the other, very similar, project and maybe that’s cause elements of the song before bleed into the next one- the first song providing a slower start and the second picking up the groovy tempo and so on. Oh, and the last song “Spiral Revelation” is 19 minutes and 50 seconds long so be prepared if you dive deeper into the album. Stand Out track: “Unseen Hand”
Verdict: Since I do not understand why India Arie was chosen for this category- she’s out. And going by sheer enjoyment then I would have to choose Kitaro’s album just outright. Brian Eno’s album was one track and that was a bit samey- Steve Roach’s album had more variety but it was still hampered by the need to sound like a primarily electronic focused album. And the piano album was good piano but that tends to be farther off my radar and so that’s out. By process of elimination alone (and sheer enjoyment), I say Kitaro’s Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai Vol. 5 should win because he was the most ambitious and exciting out of these cause I didn’t dread the idea of ambient drone and having sea sounds and bird cries made it seem more lively than anything the others could hope to do.
Jazz
Best Improvised Jazz Solo
Or the category where I go “well the music was good” and leave it there cause this is going to be a mess. Edit: That's more the classical section now but this is my second least well known genre.
"Can't Remember Why" – Sara Caswell, soloist
Guessing the soloist is the violin? Cause its the one front and center in the mix and this is kind of fun. If this category is truly improvised jazz the some of these tracks have to be a pain to play live cause how different each time would be besides the general framework of the song. But I’d listen to the chiller sections of this track in an elevator or on hold from a telephone call. But be warned. This isn’t a short jazz track- its eleven and a half minutes long.
"Dance of Shiva" – Billy Childs, soloist
I’m just imagining this as a Meshuggah track but jazz and it works. It’s groovy and atonal at points and just this weirdly timed rhythm. This noisy thing is far more to my liking. It’s also under seven minutes so if you like long metal tracks near that length it’s right up your alley.
"Whisper Not" – Fred Hersch, soloist
Just one man and a piano. It’s impressive playing to hear and the groove here exists so it's not just a collection of piano noises that don’t fit well together for the sake of jazz. I almost fell asleep to this song though which seems like either a good or bad thing so I’ll just say it was okay.
"Miles Beyond" – John McLaughlin, soloist
You know how many times John McLaughlin has done this Miles Davis track? A lot and there’s live versions so I don’t know how comfortable I am judging this just by the title and name alone cause there’s his Mahavishnu Orchestra and just him alone with a band live so I picked the newest one I could find and for 75, he can still jazz rock fusion shred like the best of them so he’s ridiculously talented- but he’s also been doing this for decades so I already knew that. It’s a good song and hearing it either way is a fun time.And since jazz tends to be somewhat improvisational with song length or some sections being semi solos or improvisational, just pull up “Miles Beyond” and listen to a few of them.
"Ilimba" – Chris Potter, soloist
Chris Potter can play the saxophone and the live version I heard of this track was like seventeen minutes long of chilled fire going on here. Probably second favorite track here. This was kind of a fun jazz track.
Verdict: Each has good stuff in here but if I had to choose by my own personal enjoyment, “Dance of Shiva” was my favorite here.
Best Jazz Vocal Album
The Journey – The Baylor Project
This band is barely on youtube so no full album playlists found and Spotify’s got one song by them so sadly while I like the female singer’s voice, I can’t in good conscience see this as a contender cause while this is good jazz, it’s hard to find a good full tracklist and know what’s truly on the album and I’ve been looking if I could find good live versions but this is weirdly hard. Let me just suggest you all check out the “Laugh and Move On” song by them cause that was good and it's one of the few things I can find by them. Edit: There’s one song by them on Bandcamp- don’t think it’s the same album though and I have found their website that sends you to certain shop websites like Amazon. Still haven’t found a streaming service that has the album but this is a band that exists just no one cares about adding it somewhere to legally stream in full instead of short snippets. Still out of the running and partially because it’s annoying to figure out what in the world they are doing. Though if they have rabid gospel fans or whatever- good for them. Still shouldn’t have gotten a Grammy nod if it’s this difficult to get the full experience outside of full live shows on youtube or something akin to that. Double Edit: I figured out how the group at least partially funded the debut album- Indiegogo. Yeah took me awhile to figure out how to find it but they did not meet their 15 thousand dollar goal- but never fear since that was a flexible goal therefore they could take the 10 to 11 thousand they did raise and use that. Welcome to the Internet age where people with big dreams can make an album and hopefully not scam people out of money. Yeah this was the album I really wanted to listen to and I’ve been spending weeks of and on searching for ways to find the album to stream.
A Social Call – Jazzmeia Horn
Since I can find this, it’s far easier to talk about. Old school jazz feel makes me kind of interested but the length of some of the songs on here- that 13 minute medley for example- put me off almost immediately. She almost feels like she’s trying to channel Nina Simone in a way and that’s okay. It’s just that it takes a special jazz record to get past the feeling of well if they are doing something similar- why don’t I pull up and listen to the person they are reminding me as. And so this is good but not clicking with me. Maybe someone can get more out of it, it’s at least a fun and, for jazz, a medium sit. Stand Out tracks: “East of the Sun (And West of the Moon) and “The Peacocks (A Timeless Place)”
Bad Ass and Blind – Raul Midón
Weird mix of mainly jazz with a tinge of blues feel here. It’s a fun little find cause it felt like no time passed at all and also I didn’t hate any song. Maybe it was the slight funk it had going on or it’s weird choice to have a cover of “Fly Like An Eagle” by the Steve Miller Band as a final track but this was kind of fun. Stand out tracks: “Bad Ass and Blind” and “Fly Like an Eagle”.
Porter Plays Porter – Randy Porter Trio with Nancy King
Can’t find this on Spotify and while I love trawling on Youtube, it gets a bit tiring so I guess if you want the full experience here maybe order some of the jazz albums cause while I love doing this, I am not going to take the time and monetary effort that requires paying for an album I could see me go “well that was okay” and never play again. Sadly this is making this section disturbingly easy. Also good job Grammys, I thought you wanted people to not think you are some musical con or something get people some easier to find music. Or at least provide a way to say I don’t know have a way so people who are interested in finding random music a playlist or Amazon links or something to the albums so maybe you can drum up business for these artists and, in effect, you cause I like getting CDs but there’s only so much space I have and while MP3s are a bit bulky in spatial requirements for computers if you get a lot- at least I can sit down and listen to them. Addendum- the album playlist is on Youtube but my anger and annoyance stands for the Grammys- took me a bit of wrangling and even the youtube net was a saving throw. The Grammys and other music places need to see that a lot of people aren’t buying physical albums. But yeah good feel here with pretty much some jazz standards and it’s kind of fun with scat singing and all that jazz. Probably the most jazz album in this category I’ve been able to hear at this moment. Check this out. Stand Out tracks: “Night and Day” and “I Concentrate on You” I wouldn’t have been able to listen to this album if the actual artist didn’t decide to put the music onto YouTube.
Dreams and Daggers – Cécile McLorin Salvant
Color me surprised since I wasn’t expecting a two hour album but here we are. One hour and 52 minutes- two discs- or 23 total tracks. I think I have to do the stand out rule if its a multidisc project but if it is good enough I guess I could suggest for it to be a contender for a best of list Also this is a live album and until jazz appreciation claps started, I didn’t know that was the case cause the sound on this thing is fantastic. Stand Out track Disc One: “Somehow I Never Could Believe” Disc 2: “You’ve Got to Give Me Some”.
Verdict: I’d really want the Dreams and Daggers album to win. I mean a live album that doesn’t sound bad and that I actually like outright is a rare occurrence- especially in jazz. And with the competition it’s a mixed bag- one I couldn’t find so that one’s out of the running. One I could barely find except on what I expect to be the actual youtube account of the artist and nobody’s bumping to that album- some tracks haven’t even hit a hundred viewers so that’s super low key. I’d say just check out the last album here and you’re pretty good- sure it's almost two hours long but it works. Also I don’t want to say that the Grammy selection process is an outright scam because it’s not but like who heard of some of these artists- some of them don’t exist outside of physical releases it seems and with how the music industry is going I am slightly unsure sticking with the old school method of hitting it big can be tenable. But sure Baylor Project you have one song I know you do and like a few videos on youtube and a video of a live show- that does show you exist but where’s your album you are extolling so hard- you can’t find that stuff in a nice playlist on YouTube- I mean it probably does exist but I can’t get to it.
Best Jazz Instrumental Album
Uptown, Downtown – Bill Charlap Trio
Bass, piano, drums jazz. It’s at least all instrumentals and no singing so no worries there. It just sounds like so many other jazz trios that it’s like painfully fine. Standout tracks: “Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most”, “I’m All Smiles”, and “Bon ami”.
Rebirth – Billy Childs
This mostly instrumental album- mostly since outside of a few vocal additions in “Rebirth” and the song “Stay” having a female vocalist singing actual lyrics- it’s an instrumental album. And for being pretty similar in theory to the album right above it, it's far more engaging and interesting. I’d say unless there’s a random standout album in this pack now this might be a winner- though even the it’d be number two. I liked this album. Stand Out tracks: “Dance of Shiva” and “The Starry Night”.
Project Freedom – Joey DeFrancesco & The People
Fun jazz album with some decent covers of songs on here. Not as fun as that Rebirth album, but hey this works because it’s choice of songs can connect with people here and are recognizable at points. But yeah there are voices on the last song “Stand Up” so not an entirely pure voiceless album here if you want to be technical. “Imagine (Prelude), “Lift Every Voice and Sing”, and “A Change Is Gonna Come”.
Open Book – Fred Hersch
I was dreading this album since one of the songs here on this slightly less than an hour album is almost twenty minutes long. That song “Through the Forest” is weirdly long since most jazz tracks don’t almost hit rock song opera status. I mean it’s no 2112 by Rush but for an album that is just one guy at the piano, it’s surprising he had that much dedication to one song since the rest are a more manageable 5-8 minutes a piece. Since the album tracklist I’m only going to suggest one Stand Out track and that is definitely “Whisper Not”- has a manageable length and sounds nice. I’d say check out “Through The Woods” as well but you don’t have to.
The Dreamer Is the Dream – Chris Potter
Have to say finding this on Spotify was a bit of a pain- it exists on there but if you will be checking this out you do have to either put in the album title itself or go to the artist page and look in the “Appears On” section since for some reason Spotify tagged this as a “Various Artists” release and that doesn’t help anyone if you are trying to find it easily. Stand Out track cause it’s only six tracks long- “Ilimba” maybe see if there’s a live version cause that’s a good track and jazz is a weird thing where live tracks can be twice as long as recorded tracks also people really don’t tend to enjoy jazz unless they are really into the genre so this is a weird genre to recommend.
Verdict: I want to say Chris Potter's album should win- that one stayed with me far longer than I expected. But this jazz section and others showed me is that there's only so much variation in the choices for jazz.
Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album
MONK'estra Vol. 2 – John Beasley
This is fun because it’s Thelonious Monk based but updated and the first song “Brake’s Sake” has rap vocals in it. I knew jazz influenced hip hop was huge, but hip hop influenced jazz? Okay that’s a bit of a new one.I’d say check out this album. Stand out tracks: “Brake’s Safe”, “Evidence” and “Light Blue” and since this isn’t an outright instrumental jazz section, I now don’t mind a few songs with lyrics.
Jigsaw – Alan Ferber Big Band
This is not as exciting as I expected. It’s just that jazz that’s too experimental for telephone hold music and not experimental enough to push boundaries. It’s just there and perfectly capable but for seven tracks and an hour, this really just came and went. Stand Out tracks: “North Rampart” and “Get Sassy”.
Bringin' It – Christian McBride Big Band
At least I like this jazz far better than the one entry right above this. It’s got life in it and there’s eleven tracks instead of seven. It feels like there’s more to it than there should be for jazz. This isn’t the jazz record I was in tune with, but for music I could almost see as a more lively hold music- it works. This just seems safe for jazz, all things considered. Stand Out tracks: “Thermo”, “Sahara” and a jazzy version of “Mr. Bojangles”. Personally, I don’t think it worked well but there’s a big jazz subculture of jazzing up popular songs.
Homecoming – Vince Mendoza & WDR Big Band Cologne
Kind of disappointing cause I guess that awesome rendition of Choros 3 that I heard what a live version and not the actual recorded version. And I was looking forward to seeing that more but nope, no impressive vocal melody here. I guess it’s another one of the pack which is fine but I don’t feel as connected to an album when some of the best moments in certain tracks only exist in live versions. It’s like seeing a really great burger and ordering it and having it look nothing like the picture. But this album is equally fine like all the other albums. Stand Out tracks: “Choros 3”and “Amazonas”.
Whispers on the Wind – Chuck Owen and the Jazz Surge
This must be a great album if three of the seven tracks got nominated for a Grammy. Makes my day a little since i know what tracks to at least recommend. This album is solid and takes a bit from country which in this land of competent but same sounding jazz is like a breath of mostly fresh air. Also I’m not checking out the tracks I’ve reviewed before- primarily that saves me almost forty minutes of a nearly eighty minute album and if I can cut corners a bit from this wall of jazz, I want to take it. But if I didn’t automatically connect so readily to that Monkestra Vol 2 album above, this would probably be number one. Since that’s the case, it’s number two here. Stand Out tracks: “Warped Cowboy”, “All Hat, No Saddle”, and “Can’t Remember Why”.
Verdict: This is the easiest section of jazz so far- that Monkestra Vol 2 album stood out the best and modernized Thelonious Monk for the current era- and anybody that combines rap vocals and big band swing is like the weirdest and most creative person of the year. Sure that’s unimportant in the long term and hip hop was already widely influenced by jazz, but having hip hop influence jazz itself and have the first song on the album have rap verses. You have no idea how exciting that felt after a slew of talented jazz singers doing jazz on a vast array of tracks and having one album stand out and being reinterpretations of one of my favorite jazz composers it was a bonus. Note that that Chuck Owen/ Jazz Surge album is number two because like Monkestra, it stood out. Sure I would have preferred it to be a shorter record or maybe the long jazz digressions in some songs be shorter but fusing jazz and country doesn’t happen that often.
Best Latin Jazz Album
Hybrido - From Rio to Wayne Shorter – Antonio Adolfo
While I don’t really remember much of this album, that’s kind of nice feeling for jazz cause each song lasted as long as I felt it should have and there was more than six tracks. Sure it’s latin jazz and it’s not my favorite one of those but it’s perfectly serviceable and groovy enough to not make you wonder why a song is fourteen minutes long and pointless. Stand Out tracks: “Deluge” and “Prince of Darkness” I think I’m just getting to the point where this glut of jazz records is getting not fun now.
Oddara – Jane Bunnett & Maqueque
More lively album here with what I expect out of Latin music with the rhythm I want- though it’s mixed with the noisy jazz that doesn’t usually play well with other genres so it’s a mixed bag. Sure there’s good stuff in it, but this isn’t the one I’d hoped for. Stand Out tracks: “El Chivo”, “La Flamenca María”, and “Tres Golpes- Pa Eleggua”.
Outra Coisa – The Music of Moacir Santos – Anat Cohen & Marcello Gonçalves
I have no idea why Anat Cohen has two different projects with two different contributors getting Grammy nods and why I liked both of them so much, but that’s what happened. Sure I like the other album a bit better- Rosa Dos Ventos sounds more like something I’d put on but after the death of jazz in these multiple sections and how just okay the Latin jazz is, this works. Stand Out tracks: “Coisa No. 6”, “Odudua”, and “Maracatucute”.
Típico – Miguel Zenón
This just sounds like jazz like with Latin influences so if you told me it was someone entirely different and all that- I’d believe you. There’s some stand out tracks and thankfully they all sound at least a little different so good job there. At least this section tends to be different unlike some of the more boring New Age artists. I’m just exhausted since I have been going through just jazz records for like a few days and it has high points and low points. This is a meh point. Stand Out tracks: “Academia” and “Entre Las Raices”.
Jazz Tango – Pablo Ziegler Trio
This finally feels like something unique in this category which while I didn’t like it as much as that Outra Coisa album- this has to be my second favorite cause there seems to be an accordion on this album which, if true, would make it far more interesting and rare since accordions in jazz tend to be more in the gypsy jazz influenced tracks or something like that. Either way, this is a good way to end off a mediocre section cause after all this I want to go to the Gospel section and I hate most modern Gospel. Stand Out tracks: “Buenos Aires Report”, “Fuga Y Misterio”, and “La Rayuela”.
Verdict: Anat Cohen on an album keeps me interested because she tends to be on decent records. So that gets my vote for the one I'd like to win.
Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music
Best Gospel Performance/Song
"Too Hard Not To" – Tina Campbell
Tina Campbell & Warryn Campbell, songwriters
I guess there are songs that are barely gospel- this feels like an R&B track with peppered in references to the Lord and Someone so selfless and all that entails so in terms of new gospel music this isn’t bad at all for my tastes. Also she can totally sing so that helps.
"You Deserve It" – JJ Hairston & Youthful Praise featuring Bishop Cortez Vaughn
David Bloom, JJ Hairston, Phontane Demond Reed & C Vaughnortez Vaughn, songwriters
Well this is my kind of modern gospel song man they get into this music and kill it. The message is simple but I do like this song because when I get into a song like this it is kind of impressive cause it's got that feel that I like. And looking back at this I said absolutely nothing- pretty much this is a track I’d go back to and listen.
"Better Days" – Le'Andria
Le'Andria, songwriter
Well damn this song is some powerful stuff here. And she can sing the heck out of this song. Yep this might be my favorite and this is a gospel song but it's so R&B this could be a crossover hit.
"My Life" – The Walls Group
Warryn Campbell, Eric Dawkins, Damien Farmer, Damon Thomas, Ahjah Walls & Darrel Walls, songwriters
What is this gospel song? Hip hop influenced drum track and also sounds like an R&B happy day track with instrumental breakdowns? Okay. This is a catchy song here. And while the idea of a banging track about how awesome God is makes my head spin with the implication that there is a whole new generation of gospel music, like this is pretty neat.
"Never Have to Be Alone" – CeCe Winans
Dwan Hill & Alvin Love III, songwriters
Now this is some 80s throwback gospel because it sounds like it came out of the 80s and that’s fine by me cause while it's probably the most outright God is great lyrics out of all of these, I do like some heartfelt sounding stuff. Not the one I’d jam to if I had to choose, but it’s quality.
Verdict: Can I choose an easier category cause each of these songs were good stuff. I feel that unlike the award below- this might actually be difficult because these are all good stuff. Outright most fun here was “My Life” by the Walls Group but each of these songs I’d say at least check out cause everyone can sing and it's so hard to choose just one when they are all good.
Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song
"Oh My Soul" – Casting Crowns
Mark Hall & Bernie Herms, songwriters
Why I feel this is easier- I don’t like Christian rock music and while this is a good song, I haven’t had the sheer fun that the well, African American side of gospel can get to. I’m ready for white people getting weirdly too into God with rock music which is fine I guess.
"Clean" – Natalie Grant
Natalie Grant, songwriter
Can I find love songs to God like this a bit creepy? Cause this could easily be a country song if you change the lyrics just a bit and make it about the nicest most understanding boyfriend ever that’s fine but it bugs me so much. Whatever if this works for people that’s great I just don’t get this weird obsession with God cause it just doesn’t make sense to me. Do what you do and don’t impose upon others your beliefs and I think that works out fine. Sorry for the tangent but this song bored me.
"What a Beautiful Name" – Hillsong Worship
Ben Fielding & Brooke Ligertwood, songwriters
This works I guess. Perfectly serviceable gospel song. But then I remember that Hillsong is so weirdly important to gospel, the band has a documentary and I disliked how boring it was. Thanks Australia. But cool I guess this is the least interesting gospel song that sounds like a lot of other gospel songs in church. How meh to me.
"Even If" – MercyMe
David Garcia, Ben Glover, Crystal Lewis, MercyMe & Tim Timmons, songwriters
I guess something a bit more interesting than just saying how cool God is, is a more realistic song where the artist is talking about a lack or doubt in their faith. Also it may not be my favorite type of music but this seems at least more interesting than half of the songs here.
"Hills and Valleys" – Tauren Wells
Chuck Butler, Jonathan Smith & Tauren Wells, songwriters
Impressive voice and if he’s not doing R&B stuff right now, he could with those pipes. But nice stripped back song where it kept my attention throughout which with how samey and boring some of these tracks were to me, finding something that doesn’t suck out the fun of this challenge here is nice.
Verdict: I’ll just say the easy choice was “Hills and Valleys” cause the rest were either interesting or just okay to outright bad to me (I’m looking at you “Clean”) and this one was something that didn’t suck. Still not the fun the traditional gospel section was but this works.
Best Gospel Album
Crossover: Live From Music City – Travis Greene
After the jazz section dying out into a blaze of meh- anything would be better but this album was pretty decent. Sure I won’t binge the whole thing again since I don’t tend to like most live albums and this one is still about 80 minutes so it took some time getting through. But it’s not bad which for me who tends to only like gospel tunes from super long ago or Catholic church music or even Gregorian chants- this R&B gospel has got it going on. Stand Out tracks: “Have Your Way (Great Jehovah)”, “While I’m Waiting”, and “Instrument”.
Bigger Than Me – Le'Andria Johnson
Shortish album here- 39 minutes- but it’s solid and has a bit of soul tinged R&B gospel here which I like and it has a quality that a lot of the bands in the Contemporary Christian section doesn’t- I think it just feels like it could fit into a radio playlist without being completely either corny or hokey. It sounds like an R&B record that God is a focus of but it isn’t hiding its message like a band in the Contemporary Christian section that sounds like a rock band. This sounds like music and it doesn’t have that sad whiny feeling I don’t like in the section below. Stand Out tracks: “Bigger Than Me”, “Holy Ghost”, and “Whatever It Is”.
Close – Marvin Sapp
Wasn’t expecting 90’s R&B gospel here but that’s kind of the feel I have from this album. Also I think this was recorded live cause I keep hearing small crowd noises- which if it was and it was recorded in a big megachurch or something, good job cause the crowd noise doesn’t ruin the album. It’s just not the crispest or quietest crowd I’ve heard in a record this year. Though with how it was probably in one of those fun churches then the crowd getting into the songs makes sense. Overall, I didn’t like this as much as the Le’Andria Johnson record but it’s still a solid and understandably good choice for a Grammy nod. Stand Out tracks: “He Is”, “Kind God”, and “Light The Way”.
Sunday Song – Anita Wilson
I hope this is the longest record in this section cause this is nearly an hour and a half of her doing almost love songs to God and belting out high notes and at points going Aretha Franklin with her intensity. Rather impressive and for a live album- yes that makes about three live albums in this section alone- this is kind of okay. She does reference that she’s in a Baptist church in one of the songs and until the very end and a few other songs I didn’t really get the Baptist intensity I wanted. Sure it was still good, just mildly disappointing. I’d still probably choose the first live album in this section (the first album listed) if I wanted a live album. Still fine and you might like it better than I, but this is just serviceable to me. Stand Out tracks: “All I Need”, “The New Church Medley”, and “I Give You Praise”.
Let Them Fall in Love – CeCe Winans
Well this is awkward. I liked this one better than the Le’Andria Johnson one. Well just by a slight bit of course, but this is weird cause it seems like this person is channeling like 60’s girl groups and Motown in this album. It’s a throwback and it’s some good stuff. I’m just short of words cause now I am going to the gospel sections that suck and it will be painful. Stand Out tracks: “Hey Devil”, “Lowly”, and “Dancing In The Spirit”.
Verdict: I liked the CeCe Winans album the best but all these albums were better than I expected and were all better than the CCM albums below. They are all good choices to listen to.
Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
Rise – Danny Gokey
This is a listenable gospel album. Mainly because it doesn’t sound like Contemporary Christian music. It sounds like a pop album with electronic beats and everything. I’m glad at least one album didn’t go the white dude in guitar route cause then I’d feel like I was stuck in a Sunday school singing about Jesus, which unfortunately is on the list of situations I would prefer not to be in. I’d probably check this album out cause it’s not bad and if you liked American Idol, I guess this is related cause he’s been on the show and won? Or something like that and there’s two features of American Idols who also won? I don’t know/ don’t really care all that much but here’s the album for those people who liked the show that made song competitions super big and obnoxious again. Stand Out tracks: “Stronger Than We Think” and that has to be particularly the stand out track bar none since the album starts with the song and ends with a remix of it as well. Strange choice. Also “Masterpiece” and “Symptoms” were particularly good.
Echoes (deluxe edition) – Matt Maher
Well this isn’t that terrible. Sure it’s not the exciting highs that the Best Gospel Album section was but for slightly depressing lyrics about how bad life is and the finding your religion and all that this at least sounds pretty. And while I don’t like Contemporary Christian music because it’s usually glorified rock music or a giant downer this at least sounds more natural and more fitting to the themes of the music. And since he tends to use a piano a lot on this record it fits the mood instead of always using bombastic guitars to glorify God. This might win my favor but since it’s only two choices in- I might have an upset discovery. But I’m taking a break from the Gospel section since I need a bit more excitement in my day. Stand Out tracks: “What A Friend”, “Awake My Soul (A Thousand Tongues)”, and “”The Least of These”.
Lifer – MercyMe
White dudes with guitars and at least there’s some upbeat sounding songs so this isn’t a sadfest. I just don’t really like this band all that much but sure if you like Christian Rock and know about these guys, then you’d probably be down with this sound. I just don’t want to keep thinking I’m listening to one of those big pop rock bands with gospel lyrics. And after having another two albums before this one I listened to- i.e. the CCM albums above, then I liked those better. Stand Out tracks: “Grace Got You”, “Even If”, and “Happy Dance”.
Hills And Valleys – Tauren Wells
I think I mentioned that new Gospel albums tend to sound like glorified pop albums. This one sounds like a Jason Derulo album to me- sure you might not see it but his voice and vocal range is similar and the backing tracks tend to the bombastic electronic highs and all that entails. This one works for me. Even if there’s a weird cover of Earth, Wind, and Fire’s song “September” for some reason. This is the CCM I like cause it reminds me of the edge of the Gospel music above except it being like fully pop. Stand Out tracks: “Hills and Valleys”, “Nothing But You” and “September”.
Chain Breaker – Zach Williams
Well this is the bluesy sort of country modern gospel I was expecting. Too bad I had to wait until the very end to discover it. I knew of the Chain Breaker song since I tend to go to church every once in a blue moon and kind of liked the song. Forgot about that until now. Also for some odd reason there’s a cover of Midnight Rider by the Allman Brothers Band on this album. No clue why, but I’m not complaining. After a lot of staid and samey pop gospel or white dudes with guitars- making a fun version of that is a good thing.Stand Out tracks: “Chain Breaker”, “Midnight Rider”, and “Freedom”.
Verdict: By sheer fun I’d have to choose Chain Breaker as my favorite album because this is the modern gospel I want CCM to be instead of the glut of pop tracks that they seem to be rocking with or slightly depressing rock going on. Bring life to the lyrics and I might not feel like this section was a chore. Second choice would either be the RIse album or Echoes (Deluxe Edition) since if I’m getting poppy gospel I at least want to feel like it has fun and excitement or brings something to the table I like. Those three albums were my favorites but they didn’t reach the fun I had in the Best Of Section but some of them got close.
Best Roots Gospel Album
The Best of The Collingsworth Family - Volume 1 – The Collingsworth Family
I’m so angry writing this. I came into this album thinking oh so it’s an album influenced by the Carter Family if its a roots gospel album with possible country influences and the band having Family in their name. Nope, I played myself cause while there were a few country tracks this turned into a weird compilation album that had three pretty much instrumentals- “Joshua Fit ‘de Battle”, “Until Then” and besides the last thirty seconds I think “How Great Thou Art” is an instrumental track. Also the chorus of both “God Is Faithful” and “The Blood of Jesus” sound so eerily similar I thought it was a redone version at first. I’m disappointed in this album- partially cause I was like sure let’s end off my day with a possibly decent gospel album, I mean it is in the Roots Gospel section. How bad can it be? When I prefer gospel music from the twenties and thirties more than this I think the entire gospel section has lost me. Even though I don’t really want to say Stand Out tracks sure whatever: “I Know”, “Show A Little Bit of Love and Kindness”, and “God Is In The Shadows” were more my speed though I know I don’t fit the intended audience when I try and logic a gospel album.
Give Me Jesus – Larry Cordle
This is what I expected when I listened to that other contender for this section above. Country tinged gospel- not jazz or weird country stuff with instrumentals. This is a decent album, not something I might come back to since I prefer older forms of gospel but at least I didn’t have that moment where I was either questioning why the music was doing what it was doing or thinking that gospel lyrics tend to be a sad bunch when you hear them, This is good and a solid sit with songs that are short and to the point. Stand Out tracks: “Two Coats”, “I’ll Meet You In The Morning”, and “Lost as a Ball in High Weeds”.
Resurrection – Joseph Habedank
This is still pop music gospel in a way, but there are enough banjos and twangy guitars that it’s older country gospel pop or something like that. Pretty much this is only in this category cause the lyrics are far more old time gospel flavor and with the crop of CCM music above- this album does not fit nicely into the electro pop crooning R&B that section mostly contains. Still I’d probably go back to this album the most readily since this is the modern gospel for the more boring church services I expect instead of losing sight of the message and covering it up in a pop or rock sheen. Stand Out tracks: “Jailbreak”, “”Middle Man”, and “Dead Things”.
Sing It Now: Songs of Faith & Hope – Reba McEntire
I definitely prefer this album halfway since the first half are like outright covers and medleys of spirituals. The it turns into a modern country gospel thing with new music and I don’t like the second half as much. Still solid and since surprisingly there’s 20 tracks on this thing and not that I liked four tracks enough like some albums on this long and confusing list- here’s my favorites- Stand Out tracks: “When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder”, my personal favorite “Swing Low Sweet Chariot/ Swing Down Chariot (Medley)”, “Angel On My Shoulder”, and “Say A Prayer”. But yeah I have to say the first nine tracks were my personal best section of the album.
Hope for All Nations – Karen Peck & New River
Well this is just country music with gospel. Guess the country gospel section died cause this sounds like a Lady Antebellum project just with more gospel. Went by quick, but there’s nothing really to say. It is inoffensive and completely accessible that is like a compliment. Just after that Reba album, this just is fine.Stand Out tracks: :The Reason”, “All You Need”, and “I’m Gonna Love My Neighbor”.
Verdict: This genre took longer to do than jazz and that took forever. I blame that in part with starting on that Collingsworth Family or whatever album- which has to be a compilation or why else would it have a “Best of” title? That made the section like become this horrible black hole of disappointment and I kept skipping it. I would have to say though after that mess- which made the entire Gospel section be nearly impossible to complete to be completely frank- the rest weren’t bad. Sure I preferred the country feel and in effect “Roots Gospel” or however they put it is pretty much a grab bag of rejected country that’s too holy for most radio stuff. Sure it now sounds like a mix of sort of modern country and old school stuff but it still works. Bt if I had to pick my favorite two- it would be that “Resurrection” album and that Reba album- whose title is too long for me to want to rewrite. But while I liked her album- the switch between traditional and new gospel songs was a hard cut and if some of the older stuff was just longer by a little bit, it could have been an EP or mini album. Here it’s competing with more modern tunes and that’s just weird. So by sheer fun and consistency, I’d have to choose Joseph Habedank as my preferred winner.
Latin
Best Latin Pop Album
Lo Único Constante – Alex Cuba
Dude playing spanish guitar and singing sure fits in this section weird when you have a Shakira album, but this went by super quick which for spanish guitar pop probably is good for me cause it’s a nice feeling that I’m surprised an album is at its end. Sure I don’t know enough Spanish to get what he’s singing besides a few snippets or hooks but it’s soothing and nice. Probably would go back to this album before that mostly disappointing Shakira album. Stand Out tracks: Me Queda Este Grito”, “Eco”, and “Lágrimas Del Que Llora”.
Mis Planes Son Amarte – Juanes
More like pop rock but I can see why it didn’t go in that weird section- cause it’s very accessible and Juanes is like a Latin superstar. Still this went quick cause it wasn’t that hard to listen to and all the other stuff I said above. Still know only basic Spanish so I don’t get the full picture, but I see why Juanes is still going on strong. His songs were catchy on here and he barely spoke English on a track or two so the ability to still have a following in non Spanish speaking countries is impressive. Stand Out tracks: “Perro Viejo”, “El Ratico”, and “Actitud”.
Amar y Vivir (En Vivo Desde La Ciudad de México, 2017) – La Santa Cecilia
Live album from a U.S Latin band I’ve never heard of. Probably want to check out more of their music cause it was a good time. But I don’t usually like live albums because there’s still a faint existence of technical issues when I can tell who is far closer to the mike or if there’s an echo due to how acoustics tend to work. This is a live album that you at least know is live cause it outright tells you, instead of the few live albums I’ve listened to on this flight of fancy and well those took me a while to know they were live. So I put this one in the middle of live albums here- at least it’s honest about being live so you know what you are getting into, and the music’s good so you don’t have to worry there. I just think live albums are sometimes not a good place to start with bands because most sound worse when recorded live. Stand Out tracks: “Mexico Americano”, “”Ingrata”, and “You Really Got A Hold On Me”.
Musas (Un Homenaje al Folclore Latinoamericano en Manos de Los Macorinos) – Natalia Lafourcade
Latin pop is weird cause this almost sounds like it isn’t what I would call pop- more Latin folk or something. Sure there’s some possibly electronic sounds but it’s very faint. I mean it’s not like this is the Latin version of Lady Gaga or something, it’s just guitars and voices and some other instruments. It’s nice and I’ll probably come back to this album every once in a while but it’s nothing like a Shakira album. Oh and of those who are interested in song covers- there’s a version of “That’s Amore” sung in Spanish. Stand Out tracks: “Que He Sacado Con Quererte”, “Son Amores (That’s Amore”, and “Tu Me Acostumbraste”.
El Dorado – Shakira
Used to be a really big fan of Shakira around like 2007. I mean sure still I know every word of “Hips Don’t Lie” when that pops up and her first few albums are great but either I got out of it at the right time or she changed enough with the times so I don’t like her new stuff as much. Maybe it was when she had Pitbull in one of her songs in the 2010s. That sounds about right but back to the album, I thought it was better than I expected. Sure there’s a bit more hip hop trap feel drums- or I have been so overloaded on trap music this year every drum loop sounds like a trap rhythm. And her voice is still truly Shakira’s very own, very weird voice. But it’s not bad. Not as good in my opinion as her earlier stuff but she’s kind of out of that weird change over slump she had when tastes started changing late 2000s- early 2010’s. Stand Out tracks: “Nada”, “Bicicleta”, and both versions of “Comme Moi”- or “What We Said” in English.
Verdict: With listening to each album, that Shakira album stands out as like the most weirdly placed album here- sure Juanes did have a similar feel, but I felt like he fit a bit better with the other three albums being pretty calm or more traditional latin affairs. But if I had to pick my favorite two- I wouldn’t pick the live album, it sounded a bit weird to me. Still was a better time than the Shakira album but it takes a lot for me to like live recordings. I’m going to have to go with the Alex Cuba or Natalia Lafourcade album- but her album edges just ahead cause I liked the sound a bit better and female pop is more of my speed. So listen to that one. It was solid. But since this is the Grammys, I could easily see Shakira or Juanes winning it cause they are the bigger names here. If I had to pick my favorite safe choice I’d choose that Juanes album in a heartbeat.
Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album
Ayo – Bomba Estéreo
I listened to the Los Amigos Invisibles album first and the I went to this one thinking well of course like any sane Grammy list at least they will have some similar beats. Nope, this is not Latin Rock. This is a maybe alternative or urban album though those labels are equally meaningless when just saying Alternative- alternative to what. The norm, but that could change with the decades and all that. Urban is just like a city or town so like what towns listen to, but what does that mean actually. In short the labels the Grammys like giving their categories are either stupid or complete nonsense. But back to Bomba Estereo or “Stereo Bomb”. Cool name and all but this is an electronic cumbia outfit so it’s dance oriented. Pretty much it’s weird Latin pop so there’s all this weird instrumentals and I guess some kind of hip hop influence in some of the lyrical rhythms they tend to- or maybe it's just the style of Cumbia. I have no clue. But it’s a solid and danceable album. Standout tracks: “Duele”, “Money, Money, Money. . .”, “Internacionales”.
Pa' Fuera – C4 Trío & Desorden Público
Finding this on Spotify took some wrangling cause their spacing in the names was different. And now this is the Latin version of a ska band. Hello there 90s alternative to 90s alternative. Not bad just really weird to imagine if Reel Big Fish spoke Spanish and kept a little bit of their wit, I could them be this band. It’s ska like if you know what 90s ska sounds like you’d probably be happy here. Stand Out tracks: “Donde Esta El Futuro?”, “Merengue Rucaleo de los Esqueletos”, and “Esto no es Ska”.
Salvavidas de Hielo – Jorge Drexler
And this guy’s a singer songwriter. Now sure, he’s probably influenced by electronica and rock if the soundscapes he creates in his music are anything to go by- but still out of the four bands I’ve seen, he’s just out here being a Latin American bard. Seriously I looked at his discography and he’s been doing that for about two decades now. But this has to be one of the consistently prettiest albums and my small grasp of Spanish makes it better because I mostly understand bits and pieces of it and when I do I just go well that’s a nice image or line right there. Top tier good feelings right here. Stand out tracks: “Silencia”, “Pongamos que hablo de Martinez”, and “Quimera”.
El Paradise – Los Amigos Invisibles
This is one of the two latin rock bands here- besides Bomba Estereo- that I know. And I love this band for their Arepa 3000 album they released so I knew they could pull off quality. And this one was consistently great with its weird mix of jazz and latin rock which kept the enjoyment factor up and brought it into my ten favorite albums of the year mainly to show that not every Spanish song is Despacito. Also Latin rock is one of those genres I like even with only a basic understanding of Spanish. Stand Out tracks: “Dame el Mambo”, “Aqui Nadie Esta Sano”, and “Ten Cuidao”.
Residente – Residente
This is the weirdest album I’ve listened to this year since listening to that new Death Grips EP- I mean the thing starts off with a track partially in English and the the rest of the album is him rapping in Spanish. Yes, for some reason this is Latin experimental rap- it's the Latin Death Grips or jazzy Kendrick Lamar for the most apt attempt at trying to classify this thing. I mean one song’s intro to the mood has Siberian throat singing and then the rapper continues rapping in Spanish while a Mandarin or some Chinese dialect backing track is going and the next song the uses a group of African dancers as the creation of a hype dance beat and the there’s string instruments in some tracks and electronic music and flutes and I don’t even know. This is the most global album that makes sense I’ve seen in awhile. I’m kind of taken aback at how listenable and weird it gets at points and with his delivery, he has to be saying important stuff so I might have to look up the lyrics but boy is this super weird. Stand Out tracks: “Una Leyenda China”, “Dagombas en Tamale”, and “La Sombre”.
Verdict: Well I can outright take out the random Latin Ska band so sorry but the album “Pa’ Fuera” is out of the running. It’s fun but it’s the album I had the least fun with and with the other four albums either ending up on my year end best list or just below the top ten- this is the section that is the absolute worst and partially that’s cause it’s literally the weird Latin section cause we have Residente- a weird experimental rapper, Los Amigos Invisibles- a jazz influenced Latin rock band, Bomba Estereo doing psychedelic cumbia pop music, and Jorge Drexler doing really great singer songwriter music. Do you see anything connecting any of these guys together besides that they are Hispanic/ Latin? I sure as heck don’t. Thanks Grammys. If I had to choose by how each album fared on my lists- Bomba Estereo is great danceable pop music that sounds interesting but that didn’t get into my top ten. Residente would go into my top ten if it wasn’t so weird and outside most people’s idea of good music- I have to say the backing tracks are really interesting and I’ve been listening to this album a lot but it’s too out there so it lost a top ten spot. Jorge Drexler got into the “number ten” spot of the list so he’s good but he beat out the new Gorillaz album so that’s a just barely in the top ten spot there. That leaves Amigos Invisibles as the winner since they got higher in my arbitrary and slightly meaningless list of albums since each album besides a few are pretty much interchangeable on where they’d be on that list. But this is a roundabout way that I’d either want Jorge Drexler or Los Amigos Invisibles to win though if at least that “Pa’ Fuera” album does not win I’d be happy cause this section resonated with me strong.
Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano)
Ni Diablo, Ni Santo – Julión Álvarez y Su Norteño Banda
Not on Spotify, but you can find it on Youtube by putting in the title of the album so I blame Spotify being really hard to get into or something for artists. At least I can find the album somewhere. More Spanish music related to polka- I’m not complaining. And putting the word album behind the title of the album on youtube, as of writing this, you can find a video containing the full album. Stand Out tracks: “Decide Tu”, “Esta Noche Se Me Olvida”, and “El Tonto”.
Ayer y Hoy – Banda el Recodo de Cruz Lizárraga This “album” is ten songs so by the arbitrary number of songs it’s an album. But it’s length is more of an EP with it only being 25 minutes long. And it’s more of that Spanish polka music. By this point, the sound has blended into one really similar band that doesn’t exist but like each band sounded pretty similar besides the vocals. Stand Out tracks: “Ayer Y Hoy”, “Copa De Vino”, and “Intimamente”.
Momentos – Alex Campos
Say hello to Latin gospel music. Well at least it has a good beat but seriously this guy’s whole singing career is Latin gospel music. And it’s more like mariachi music with an accordion instead of purely norteno music. And either Spanish can make anything sound great or maybe it’s the switch between not having to listen to yet another norteno band, but I liked this one far more than I was expecting. Stand Out tracks: “Soy Valiente”, “Mi Valiente Guerrero”, and “Viejo Mio”. If you have to listen to one album so far in this section- listen to this one cause it’s so far the most different and longest thing here currently at 45 minutes. If I didn’t read that he’s a gospel artist, I wouldn’t have noticed much besides the talk of God and the soul and all that.
Arriero Somos Versiones Acústicas – Aida Cuevas
Ranchera music or you know mariachi music done by a lady that has done this for literal decades. I guess 40 years of this is nice and her voice is great and after three different norteno bands playing Spanish polka, I needed the sound I expected when it said “Regional” instead of a polka fest. This section went super quick though because of that but yeah. This might be good enough to win. Stand Out tracks: “Que Manera De Perder”, “Que Me Lleve El Diablo”, and “Te Parto El Alma”.
Zapateando en el Norte – (various artists)
Well I was wondering where polka music was. I didn’t expect there to be Spanish Polka though. Also I can’t talk much about this album besides the fact that it’s only 30 minutes long and has 10 tracks- which by the arbitrary track number of “albums” makes this super short release more of an album than most of the Jazz section. It’s good party music.Stand Out tracks: “El Macho de Granjenal”, “Pero Que Poca”, and “Las Parcelas”.
Verdict: This was one of the shortest five album sections I’ve had to do, but seriously too much polka. So those bands are out here because I can’t be confident enough that the things I liked in one band wasn’t actually a different moment from another similar band. Cause three albums worth of that stuff and even if it was like two hours, if that, of music- it was a bit much. And I like norteno music but not in super quick succession like that. So I’d have to either give it to Aida Cuevas or Alex Campos- due primarily because of two factors- they had the best voices and also they sounded the least like norteno regional music cause they were actually doing something entirely different. I could easily see Aida Cuevas win this due to her forty year career and I think she might have won some awards before- but I preferred Alex Campos. Yes, that does mean that I enjoyed a gospel album in a different language after spending like three days complaining about how not fun modern gospel is. I guess just sing Spanish and make it sound like a love song and I don’t care what the message is.
Best Tropical Latin Album
Albita – Albita
Salsa? Merengue? I don’t exactly know. It’s a much more danceable Latin jazz and that’s all I care about. It’s fun, so if you like this kind of stuff check this out. Also there’s a cover of L-O-V-E by Nat King Cole in English on this album for some reason and I have no clue why. It’s like the only song in English here. Still good, even if she has an accent which for some people matters but like she has a good voice and can sing so that’s what truly matters and after spending years trying to learn Spanish, speaking or singing in a different language can be difficult. Stand Out tracks: "Pais Tropical", "Angelitos Negros", and "Boleros".
Art of the Arrangement – Doug Beavers
I really tried to find this one cause it sounds cool and well I can’t. Sure there’s one song on Youtube and yes “Estoy Como Nunca” as a song is good latin jazz. But then you look further into a different video and find that it’s on a site called Artistshare- which I had never heard of in my life. So I spent a few moments looking at the site and typing in the project and I found the page and the project does exist. It’s just on a Kickstarter like site where you can either pay 12.95 for a direct download or 18.95 for a physical copy. And no, I looked on Amazon- no direct link to stream and the price for the physical copy is the same price as above and this dude has one literal song on Spotify. So I can’t comment on the album itself but the song is good. This is just super weird and like a good idea for a musician to fund a project if they have a dedicated following but how does this get a Grammy? It’s a project you can’t check out easily at all and you have to jump through hoops to even find out that it truly exists and all that. Still weird to find a site that runs like Kickstarter or Patreon for artists.
Salsa Big Band – Rubén Blades con Roberto Delgado & Orquesta
Couldn’t find it on Spotify again but a quick youtube search of the thing found this album playlist and yeah it’s salsa. After one good album and a lot of Latin influenced jazz in the other sections of this long list, I can’t get behind an okay salsa album. Like it’s good so if you like that type of music check it out but it feels slower than I expected. Stand Out tracks:”Claro Oscuro”, “La Marea”, and “Como Un Huracan”.
Gente Valiente – Silvestre Dangond
No idea what this genre of Latin music is but it’s not a polka and et there’s accordions. It was pretty good and after this long while of Latin jazz, having Caribbean niche genres like this seems to be possibly- it’s something else. I mean sure I didn’t know I was listening to a different album when this one ended and only realized when I was wondering how long it was but I didn’t skip through songs or zone out from this. So while I’ve seen Latin things in this list that I like more, this is more towards the top than the bottom. Stand Out tracks: “Ya No Me Duele Mas”. “Alucinaciones”, and “Por un Beso de Tu Boca”.
Indestructible – Diego el Cigala
This is much more the small Latin genre here I care about. This is some sort of Flamenco guy doing a latin jazz album. I think it’s just a flamenco album the, but I’m being safe and calling it flamenco influenced cause this sounds similar to the flamenco albums in the World Music section but there’s more jazz instruments and a backing band so it’s not what I imagine when thinking of flamenco. Stand Out tracks: “Periodico de Ayer”, “El Raton”, and “Como Fue”.
Verdict: Since I wasn’t able to get that Art of the Arrangement album- that will not count towards this section as a contender to win here. It might win, but since I was unable to listen to it and therefore can barely write about it- it doesn’t exist as a contender. So if I had to choose the two I liked the most and go from there- it would start with the Albita album cause that was just pure fun and truly fit the Tropical Latin feel I sort of expected. The other choice would be the Silvestre Dangond album because it was the most unique of the bunch here and I kept coming back to it- not enough to actually put it on my best of list- but it wasn’t annoying to come back and figure out truly which songs I enjoyed the most in this album because a lot of the songs in some albums bled together in my mind. So if I had to choose the winner, I’d choose “Gente Valiente” in a heartbeat, after like fifteen similar albums (I’m not counting the grab bag of the Latin Rock et al. category due to it having many different styles of bands) that one is a good one that ends up near the top of similar albums here.
American Roots
Best American Roots Performance
"Killer Diller Blues" – Alabama Shakes
Cover of a Memphis Minnie track from 1946, and recorded off some original electric sound recording equipment from like eighty or so years ago- so the mix sounds all old timey and weird. But man this is like original blues here but done in 2017 and the Alabama Shakes continue to be a good band to me. I just hate that this had to be done with the help of Jack White who I continue to think has made blues rock be stuck in this blues rock White Stripes rip off sound.
"Let My Mother Live" – Blind Boys of Alabama
This band has staying power since it has been going strong in some form or another since 1939, and no that isn’t a typo. I guess this is American roots but they rock those gospel harmonies in so many tracks that I wonder what the Grammys do with bands like this. This is a great track even live since I checked how it sounded live just in case. But why are they in this section anyway cause they do a lot of gospel and they might fit better in the Roots Gospel section but nope I guess they are here.
"Arkansas Farmboy" – Glen Campbell
Glen Campbell’s last album since he died this year from Alzheimer's. Seems like music was one of the last things he could do with that diagnosis in 2011. This is a song about his early life and this brings something deeper to it with this being one of his last few songs he released and this is just good.
"Steer Your Way" – Leonard Cohen
Now this is a place I could see Leonard Cohen compete and this song is actually good as well- guess I might have to check out his discs cause his voice in this track sounds like Bob Dylan at points. Lyrics are top notch in my opinion and this just works better than shoving him into the Rock category for a strange reason.
"I Never Cared for You" – Alison Krauss
Willie Nelson cover that does it a good rendition but I care more for the Willie Nelson track. It’s good but it seems like maybe some people are divided on how good the song is because they have a similar feeling to me. Competent song here but not to my taste is all.
Verdict: This is hard cause I love three of these songs- I like the Alabama Shakes but their song is probably not going to win the Grammy. I didn’t care for the Alison Krauss track- ironic, I know. And between the Blind Boys of Alabama- I’d say check them out because they are some good artists. But between the cynical part of my brain I’d say either Glen Campbell or Leonard Cohen are most likely of winning it cause they are no longer able to make music and each ends their time with a good album. So fifty fifty I could see “Steer Your Way” or “Arkansas Farmboy” win- and since I liked that song just a bit better I hope Glen Campbell wins it.
Best American Roots Song
"Cumberland Gap"
David Rawlings & Gillian Welch, songwriters (Robbie Fulks)
In the level of annoyance of spending an hour of not finding this song through pages of Youtube links and Spotify and even Dailymotion which was kind of garbage, I found I liked Robbie Fulks’ music but there was no “Cumberland Gap” so I had to do a David Rawlings and Gillian Welch live version to see what they were bringing to this staple of a song. It was pretty great. But unfortunately since I can’t find at least a live or audio version of Robbie Fulks doing Cumberland Gap, I have to count this one out. But that doesn’t mean sleep on his music. Seems like he’s been putting out stuff since the nineties so if you like modern folk check this guy out. I checked him out and liked him. A Month Later Edit: I didn’t mess up- either the Grammy list I got from Wikipedia had an issue a month ago or the original Grammy list of nominations was wrong. Cause I looked again as I’m writing this addendum- almost New Years- and the artist now shown as nominated is David Rawlings. I still didn’t like the song as much as others so I don’t have to fix my verdict- but me spending a hour or two finding a song that didn’t exist was nice. At least I discovered Robbie Fulks out of this and I’ve been spinning some of his records so I’m not mad- just disappointed that someone didn’t proofread the list of nominations as they transferred it to a digital medium.
"I Wish You Well"
Raul Malo & Alan Miller, songwriters (The Mavericks)
Nice little waltz sounding tune that sounds really pretty here. I am also guessing one of the instruments is an accordion maybe so if that’s true that’s rare. It wasn’t going into a weird polka but I could see the band try one at some point.
"If We Were Vampires"
Jason Isbell, songwriter (Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit)
Folk songs doing the idea of living as a vampire and being immortal being better than losing your partner? Well count me surprised at a new way to do a love song. That’s a pretty track and hits me in all the right ways.
"It Ain't Over Yet"
Rodney Crowell, songwriter (Rodney Crowell featuring Rosanne Cash & John Paul White)
So we have Rodney Crowell who really knows how to write a song and sings pretty well; John Paul White, one half of the now defunct country band The Civil Wars which I liked, and Rosanne Cash, daughter of Johnny Cash and his first wife so I like this one. It’s just simple and was a good time for a country song that sounded like a throwback and because of that is stuck here in this weird American Roots section.
"My Only True Friend"
Greg Allman & Scott Sharrard, songwriters (Greg Allman)
Okay this sound is definitely about death cause the lyrics are haunting since this was his last album and one of his last songs before dying from liver cancer this year. It’s also something I could see the Allman Brothers could have recorded during their heyday which is nice- some artists can’t go out on a good song or album.
Verdict: This is good quality tracks so don’t be discouraged to try out a few of these. Also since American Roots Song for a category is vague the choices here are decently different enough that like pick one and they sound like from different genres at points. If I had to choose who might have the highest chance of winning I’m going Gregg Allman, but if I go by my metric of sheer enjoyment I hope Jason Isbell wins it cause I liked “If We Were Vampires”
Best Americana Album
Southern Blood – Gregg Allman
A decent final record from Gregg Allman. If you want bluesy southern rock, this works fine. Weird that it could almost fit into the blues category and yet it’s here in Americana which still is a weird category. Either way, it’s not going on my best of list because it doesn’t really stand out beyond a few tracks but it’s a nice album that comments on the closeness of death and how that is kind of a scary and sad thought. Stand Out tracks: “My Only True Friend”, “I Love The Life I Live” and “Blind Bats and Swamp Rats”
Shine on Rainy Day – Brent Cobb
This reminds me of Kris Kristofferson somehow with the feel of the lyrics. This is definitely country singer songwriter territory and with the poppy way Country’s been morphing into these past few decades- this got pushed into Americana cause it definitely fits here better- and that’s with realizing that Chris Stapleton is big right now in country and he doesn’t fit super well there- this just feels like a country style that hasn’t been focused on in a while. Stand Out tracks: “Country Bound”, “Shine On Rainy Day”, and “Down In The Gulley”.
Beast Epic – Iron & Wine
This is more like alternative folk music so I can see why it’s in this section. I haven’t really listened much to Iron & Wine but this was a decent album. Sure I had some points where I wondered when the next song or the end of the album would come and a few of the tracks started bleeding together but it wasn’t that long and so it’s fine. Not really my kind of alternative folk but you can easily check it out. And maybe this will grow on me on repeat listens. At least this makes me want to check out older Iron and Wine projects. Stand Out tracks: “Thomas County Law”, “About A Bruise”, and “Last Night”.
The Nashville Sound – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
This one was consistently solid. This is the sound I would have preferred on the first listen to the Iron and Wine album above cause I do like weird folk, but this isn’t really folk or country or blues or all that. Sure I can see thread of each genre in the songwriting and the sound but this seems more like the alternative sound I want. More punchy and less abrasive and semi experimental. This makes me really want to keep an eye on anything Jason Isbell does in the future cause after hearing like song after song where I wondered if this next song would be top three best on the album- and the the next song started. It’s probably going to be my favorite album on this section cause while each so far have been extremely well made and understandable as to why they got nominated- this one had that sort of indefinable feeling of this is the sound I wanted and felt like having if it was pulling the Americana genre label. Stand Out tracks: “White Man’s World”, “Anxiety”, and “Something To Love”.
Brand New Day – The Mavericks
This is a weird Americana band cause they are from Miami and also they draw heavily from Latin music. Like this is country and maybe a bit of that norteno feel or at least a slow polka feel swing here. Never heard of these guys ever but they’ve been doing things off and on since the 80s, so I really was surprised at that and they’ve had a reunion in the last few years. If you want a bit of that Tex Mex norteno feel in an album long enough to be called an album while being entirely in English- this might be for you. To be honest, if I hadn’t looked up where they were from, I would have expected some random Midwestern band trying to bring back a polka and liking that Latin sound or something- with how eclectic music genre mashups are becoming and how there are areas with a big Hispanic population, I could see it happening. Stand Out tracks: “Easy As It Seems”, “Goodnight Waltz”, and “I Will Be Yours”.
Verdict: Solid section but I have to go with Jason Isbell or Brent Cobb's records because that's the sound I like when thinking of such a vague genre as Americana. Jason Isbell though, in my opinion, was the most consistent in sound and feel. If Iron and Wine doesn't win I'll be okay cause that was my least favorite one.
Best Bluegrass Album
Fiddler's Dream – Michael Cleveland
This could have almost been in the instrumental album section cause there’s a few songs with lyrics on here, but a few of the albums way up there also had lyrics at points. Had a few years where I was really into the roots of American music and bluegrass- while I can’t reach the speed on this record, is a major love of mine. It’s speed almost makes it country metal in a way and this section is one I’ve been putting off- not due to disliking binging it, but because I have a high chance of liking it and ending on a high note this Americana section. This was pretty good, sure no Earl Scruggs or something like that but modern bluegrass is doing fine, Stand Out tracks:”Fiddler’s Dream”, “”Unwanted Love” one of the few songs here with lyrics, and “Nashville Storms”.
Laws of Gravity – Infamous Stringdusters There’s also a live album version of this one but it doesn’t say live and I just did that other live album so I’m doing the regular version. This is an accessible more modern take on bluegrass- sure it sounds like bluegrass but the lyrics are more pop focused and I like the sound here. And no there’s no electronic stuff, it’s just a bluegrass band. Kind of remind me in that feel of Mumford and Sons except these are more bluegrass focused. Stand Out tracks: “Gravity”, “Black Elk”, and “1901: A Canyon Odyssey”.
Original – Bobby Osborne
34 minute record of closer to original bluegrass feel here. If you want a solid. Short release of bluegrass tunes- here you go. He does have mandolin skills and yet there isn’t much in terms of solos or anything. Each song is boiled down to the shortest it can be and be essential for the record. Sure I may have preferred certain songs over others but it’s not like I thought there were tunes that shouldn’t be on here. So far this is the closest idea of bluegrass I grew fond of on this list. Stand Out tracks: “Goodbye Wheeling”, “Kentucky Morning”, and “I've Gotta Get A Message To You”.
Universal Favorite – Noam Pikelny
Just a guy and his banjo and the weirdest song on here is the cover of “Folk Bloodbath” by John Ritter a mix of three different old blues standards- “Delia” by Blind Willie McTell, “Louis Collins (Angels Laid Him Away)” by Mississippi John Hurt, and “Stagolee or Stack O’Lee/ etc.” also by Mississippi John Hurt as the most definitive version since it’s an unknown writer who wrote that in the 1890’s. Sure this seems like the weirdest tangent, but I like this version better than the original version of the mashed up song and having a song mixing up things from a few of my favorite blues songs is a nice touch. If I had to choose between the two mainly instrumental albums on this section- I’d choose this one. Just had more fun with it. Stand Out tracks: “Old Banjo”, “Folk Bloodbath”, and “I’ve Been A Long Time Leavin’ (But I’ll Be A Long Time Gone)”.
All the Rage: In Concert Volume One [Live] – Rhonda Vincent and the Rage
Note that this album is not on Spotify and so doing my trick of searching through Youtube, I did find a playlist of the album. Still took me a few minutes to find it but at least it exists somewhere to be listened to as I am writing this. Stand Out tracks: “You Don’t Love God If You Don’t Love Your Neighbor”, “Freeborn Man”, and “The Old Rugged Cross”. It’s a live album I like for once and I’d put it on the list of good albums- but this was released in 2016 and I have strict dates I follow here. Fun bluegrass album though.
Verdict: This one’s difficult cause I liked each of these albums but if I had to choose the top two- it’d be the Bobby Osborne and Noam Pikelny albums cause they were the ones that aren’t live and also they were the closest to what I thought of the sound of bluegrass should be if it’s in this award ghetto area. But if I had to choose my favorite- it’s a “Universal Favorite”. Yes, I just made a joke about that album title, but it’s a solid album even if his voice takes awhile to get used to because it’s deeper than I expected. But here we go. Noam Pikelny did my favorite album here.
Best Traditional Blues Album
Migration Blues – Eric Bibb
Decent take on modern blues trying to get the feel of old blues songs. Sure I still like the actual old blues songs and for some reason this album has a cover of “Masters of War” by Bob Dylan and “This Land is Your Land” by Woody Guthrie. Still good stuff but besides a few tracks, I might not come back to this much since there’s still a lot of blues music out there. Stand Out tracks: “Diego’s Blues”, “Prayin’ For Shore”, and “We Had To Move”.
Elvin Bishop's Big Fun Trio – Elvin Bishop's Big Fun Trio
It’s an album where one of the original members of the Paul Butterfield Blues band- who also had a decent solo career in his own right- does rather inoffensive and okay blues rock with some country feel. I liked this a bit better than the Rolling Stones album to be perfectly frank, but I don’t know after the last two albums I listened to being so good, having an album be just okay and not very “traditional blues” is disappointing. Sounds like a 60s rock band but more swinging and lively. Which is fine but why does it feel like it should be sung or played faster in the grooves or just that the actual volume of the vocals needs to be turned up. Maybe it’s just my computer- if not this album is too quiet. Might just be picky but I like blues albums a lot and having a run of the mill sort of just existing blues rock album- this and the Rolling Stones- in a category like this makes me wonder if the Grammy selection process is a joke. Cause while there’s some more bluesy tracks- it reminds me in some tracks like a harder bluesier Beach Boys with the weird feel of 60’s glitz and glamour here. Stand Out tracks:”Ace in the Hole”, “It’s All Over Now”, and “Can’t Take No More”.
Roll and Tumble – R.L. Boyce
I think this is a live album- sure outside of a few times I can’t hear a crowd so I think that may not exist and the back and forth between this dude and his band might mean that, yes, he is playing it in a live setting- or like some old blues artists maybe there’s a bit of camaraderie going on. The grooves are that kind of Bo Diddley feel going on and sure it doesn’t really deviate from that sort of simplistic blues groove but if you want the more stripped back electric blues when compared to the Rolling Stones more rock like effort, here’s a decent one. Stand out tracks: “Child of God”, “Don’t Worry My Mind”, and “Which RL Do You Want”.
Sonny & Brownie's Last Train – Guy Davis & Fabrizio Poggi
A throwback in blues that I didn’t expect nowadays- country blues. That’s some Son House or Leadbelly stuff right here. Sure not to the emotional intensity of some of those recordings but this would fit pretty well in that time outside of the far better recording quality. I mean this is a blues covers album not like the Rolling Stones effort. That one was electrified blues- sure a throwback itself with the covers but that was more 1940’s-1960’s blues where the electric guitar was starting to jazz up clubs with the new sound. This album is two dudes using a harmonica and guitar/ guitars and their voices. Sure maybe there’s a resonator guitar for added oomph but that’s it. This is what tends to be the blues I like the most, maybe it’s the scratchy recording of old blues or just the weird intensity and haunting quality of the voices but this kind of blues I definitely didn’t expect in 2017. And unlike the Stones cover album, there is one original tune- the title track and first song on the album and while it isn’t one of the more stand out tracks, it’s nice. Stand Out tracks: “Louise, Louise”, “Baby Please Don’t Go To New Orleans”, and “Midnight Special”.
Blue & Lonesome – The Rolling Stones
It’s a covers album. The whole thing is electrified blues covers of old stuff- sure I give them props for doing it and Mick Jagger’s voice is particularly bluesy and like how Bob Dylan’s doing his American Songbook albums and covers of Sinatra nowadays, like I can give them slack for doing whatever they want. People still buy their albums and enjoy them and they’ve been consistently putting out music since the 60’s- they still have it even if their contemporaries are either mostly slowing down or dead. This totally works for a more accessible way to get the old time blues to people of today. Stand Out tracks: “Commit A Crime”, “Everybody Knows About My Good Thing”, and “I Can’t Quit You Baby”.
Verdict: R. L. Boyce’s album was my favorite here and that’s surprising because it’s a live album. That’s kind of impressive but he had the feel I wanted out of these. It’s just a great time. At least it sounds like an album that could have been made during that rediscovery of old blues artists. Just an old guy getting into the songs and having a fun time on stage.
Best Contemporary Blues Album
Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm – Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm
A competent blues album of today- nothing really stood out to me that made it stand out to the pack of blues players that exist today but sometimes a basic and decent album is all you need. There is one really strange moment on the album though- “Just How Low” uses the Hail to the Chief presidential entrance music and it’s a Anti-Trump blues song. Which I guessed could happen in the farthest recesses of possible song ideas but it surprisingly works for me. If you don’t swing that political stance sure skip it, but the year has been full of these songs. Otherwise I’d say check this out if you like blues, but no pressure cause there’s a bit more interesting and more modern takes than this. Stand Out tracks: “I Don’t Care”, “Just How Low”, and “Honey Bad”.
Recorded Live In Lafayette – Sonny Landreth
One fo the more impressive blues artists today- Louisianian Sonny Landreth with his impressive slide guitar skills makes him stand out of this pack and for a live album, it’s well recorded and it brings the fire that blues tends to have live. And some of the songs barely have any, if any, lyrics so some of the guitar groove here is really on display. I’d say he’s one of those blues artists I tend to forget about until I remember him- not that he’s forgettable, he’s just doing his own thing and that works for me. And since he’s from Louisiana, his grooves tend to have more of a zydeco blues feel- though for those that can’t understand French, don’t worry there is none. It’s just the feel and drive of the music instead more of the cultural trappings- see below in the Regional Albums part of the Americana section for a deeper dive into zydeco and what that means. Stand Out tracks: Disc One: “Key to the Highway” and “The U.S.S. Zydecoldmobile” Disc Two: “Back to Bayou Teche” and “Walkin’ Blues” It’s fun enough I broke my overall rule of one standout track per disc.
TajMo – Taj Mahal & Keb' Mo'
Interesting team up between Taj Mahal and Keb Mo’- two of the more recognizable and well known blues musicians in the field. I think this works as an intro to both of them though I don’t know what Taj Mahal is doing with his voice here- it’s probably just the years catching up to him but his voice is a lot scratchier and less in tune that I remember. Keb Mo’s voice is still as soulful as ever but yeah, it’s a think that bugs me. Also there’s some weird covers here- “Squeeze Box” by the Who and “Waiting On The World To Change” by John Mayer for two of the more noticeable modern examples of songs here. Plus like “Soul” is a Reggae or African beat song. I don’t know how evenly this is in “blues” but sure this is fine. Stand Out tracks: “Don’t Leave Me Here”, “Shake Me In Your Arms”, and “Squeeze Box”.
Got Soul – Robert Randolph and the Family Band
Robert Randolph and his pedal steel guitar always make me come back and check out his albums, if even for a little while every few months. I mean there has to be pedal steel players all over the place if you had to look, but he’s the most visible and his blues albums are far more interesting to me since he uses the guitar more like a voice with how expressive he can make it and with his grounded base of tricks firmly rooted in a mix of gospel music, soul, blues, and funk- it makes it a fun time. I mean he actually sounds like he has a bit of energy in his records and live performances. Maybe it’s the backing band or maybe he just knows how to amp up the blues into a more modern take but I like this one. Weird thing about this album was that I wasn’t expecting a cover of “I Thank You” by Sam and Dean- the dudes who made that “Soul Man” song all famous that the Blues Brothers used but the cover’s funky and nice so it has life in it. Stand Out tracks: “She Got Soul”, “I Thank You”, and “Find A Way”. This is a blues album I might come back to.
Live from the Fox Oakland – Tedeschi Trucks Band
Decent two hour long performance- it's not as good in my opinion as the Sonny Landreth album above but it is fine if you don’t mind a bit of an echo in the mix. It bugs me a bit but if you want a more rocking and modern take on the blues, this is a decent start. Stand Out tracks: “Bird On The Wire”, a cover of the Beatles “Within You, Without You”, and a cover of the Taj Mahal tune, but better known now as a Black Keys song- “Leavin’ Trunk.”
Verdict: I’d have to say the Robert Randolph and the Family Band album was my favorite shorter take here cause there was life in it for a bluesy record now- second favorite and the almost equally impressive album of Live in Lafayette by Sonny Landreth, is a great sounding live album. If I have to outright choose something though it would be Got Soul, if only by the slimmest of margins cause I may have listened to two boring non live albums and the this one, but it's consistently got a drive that is able to be heard.
Best Folk Album
Mental Illness – Aimee Mann
Beautiful and sad folk influenced songs are some of my favorite types of albums and while I think this is more of a modern folk tinged album, I think her songwriting skills are pretty solid with some weird turns of phrase in certain songs and the melodies in this accentuate the feel of the lyrics- piano and guitar playing off each other in this stripped down mix that caused me to focus in on the melodies that she does. Guess I might have to check out her other albums cause I liked this one. Stand Out tracks: “Rollercoasters”, “Patient Zero”, and “Philly Sinks”.
Semper Femina – Laura Marling
Introduced to the world through MySpace- yeah now I can say that the internet continues to be relevant in the internet age even if MySpace isn’t super relevant now. She sounds much older than her 27 years- maybe that’s the lyrics that she pulls off here or her voice which sounds more classic folk oriented than Aimee Mann’s- though each has things I like here- the emotional side of folk is better represented here. The lyrical wordsmith kind of folk is better represented in the Mental Illness album above. But I feel like this entire section will turn into a free for all recommendation if the quality keeps up. This is also good stuff though if you want a less word heavy, more emotionally connected folk. Stand Out tracks: “The Valley”, “Always This Way” and “Nouel”.
The Queen of Hearts – Offa Rex
If you have never heard of this band, don’t worry. It’s literally just a collaboration between English folk singer Olivia Chaney and the Decemberists. So if you want to hear a weird mix of rock and folk- this might be for you. I mean it’s pretty much a cover album with them covering old English folk songs and for some reason “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” yeah that song that was a super big hit with Roberta Flack in the Seventies. Strange choice of song there- but it fits and the few times the Decemberists provide backing vocals- the voices mix together well. This sort of reminds me of that British folk band Pentangle- similar feel in a way though I prefer the weird time signature shifts and sound of Pentangle. But if I get a whiff of good folk rock here this is nice- hard to find a record with this feel. Stand Out tracks: “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”, “The Old Churchyard” and “Willie o’ Winsbury”.
You Don't Own Me Anymore – The Secret Sisters
Family duo The Secret Sisters is this mix of country and folk and this is probably the most old sounding record since there hasn’t really been a banjo on the records until this one so this is nice. Also some of the songs have a bit of ragtime feel piano so the instrumentation here is pretty old school. Also the harmonies on this record just work- kind of reminds me of some of those girl groups in the fifties and sixties with the harmonies they play off each other with. Yep, this section is going to be a right pain for my enjoyment factor cause so far I’ve liked each of this category. And next is Cat Stevens/ Yusuf, like I know I like Cat Stevens. This sucks. Stand Out tracks: “King Cotton” and “He’s Fine”.
The Laughing Apple – Yusuf / Cat Stevens
It’s a good Yusuf/ Cat Stevens album. His voice still sounds great but it reminds me a bit too much of the past in some of the songs. Sure work with what got you famous and what you know but it’s literally the sound and feel that I expected. It’s almost disappointing if it wasn’t so nice sounding. I’d say check this out if you want more of his music cause at least it’s perfectly in line with the other classic albums. Stand Out tracks: “Grandsons”, a weird sort of cover in “Mary and the Little Lamb”, and “Northern Wind (Death of Billy the Kid)”.
Verdict: While I liked Cat Stevens/ Yusuf’s newest album, I weirdly think it’s the weakest one here in my opinion. Doesn’t mean it’s not competently made, but if I had to choose between “Father and Son” era Cat Stevens and “Grandsons” era Yusuf- I’d choose the former for having more consistently good songs. Good to see that he’s back and all but I don’t think this needs a Grammy just for being a recognizable name and being okay. I’d say the Secret Sisters had some good music as well and having a country folk aesthetic is great today and some of the harmonies in their songs are good- but it didn’t gel with me all the way through. At a point I grew a bit tired of the whole album. I think if you are interested in 70’s folk rock, check out Offa Rex cause I tend to be hit or miss on the Decemberists but this was pretty great- though the one thing I have to say is that I think some of the songs might have the instruments turned up a bit too loud for my taste since the first track is great but I couldn’t understand the singer at points due to the electric guitars. So that leaves Laura Marling and Aimee Mann and the comments above are still in play- the emotionally focused and harder hitting lyrics tended to be on Semper Femina. The more lyrical and wordsmith later Dylan at points appeared on Mental Illness. I’d say check them both out since both are decently short- but if I had to give one the Grammy for “Most Enjoyable Sit”, I’d choose Mental Illness in a heartbeat. I’d have said Semper FEmina first but relisteining to it just in case- I found it to just be okay while Mental Illness by Aimee Mann sounded better and had better writing.
Best Regional Music Album
Top of the Mountain – Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers
Louisiana zydeco is a fun regional weird music genre cause it’s pretty much just in Louisiana and the cajun French blues with accordions tends to be concentrated fun. Sure I’ve said fun a lot here but it is at least to me- used to be really big into zydeco for about a year when I was in highschool and this brings back some memories. Stand Out tracks: “Everybody Talking”, a cover of “Voodoo Child”, and “Roller Coaster”.
Ho'okena 3.0 – Ho'okena
Hawaiian music is good stuff and I also have a soft spot for it since I gained an appreciation of open tunings on guitars from how Hawaiian slack key works and sounds. If this sounds like a complete tangent, it is. This is just an okay album and a lot of the songs sound pretty similar. Might not be in the running for best regional album but it's a fine intro to this type of sound.Stand Out tracks: “Ku’u Home ‘o Keaukaha”, “Behold La’ie”, and “Mohala Pono E”.
Kalenda – The Lost Bayou Ramblers
Great, now there’s two vastly different zydeco albums. And you know what while I praised the more out there Hawaiian album- I’m not going to praise this one for being out there. Cause while I can see the basics of zydeco- Cajun French blues base with similar instruments to bluegrass in effect with accordions usually as an added instrument- if used at all. Here we have something more akin to if Jack White or an alternative rock band went ‘zydeco sounds cool but also like boring garbage that hasn’t changed for a few decades.’ Or something like that cause this is progressive zydeco with electronic instruments used all over the place, a possibly amplified fiddle, and I don’t know but it sounds like there’s wants they used electronic samples in some songs. Also I’m sorry but the singer’s voice does nothing for me. I’d say check this out if you want to see weird zydeco but since this seems to be one of the more out there bands of this genre I’d say stick with the basics and go into this slowly. Stand Out tracks: “Freetown Crawl/ Fightin’ Ville Brawl”, “Si J'Aurais des Ailes”, and “Aloha Golden Meadow”.
Miyo Kekisepa, Make a Stand [Live] – Northern Cree
This probably won’t win the Grammy. The band of pow wow performers from Alberta, Canada- I checked- has been Grammy nominated a few times and I don’t believe they have won one yet. Though this is the most powerful record I’ve listened to in this section, though that seems to just be me reacting to it since I have gone to a few pow wows in my life I have seen what they tend to be like at least when white people are around and they are particularly moving to me. Got kind of awkward when I went to one for a class in college because there I was with like fifteen other people for this assignment and everyone liked it but there I was like so moved by the music and experience I got asked if I was okay by the person who brought us there and I was- I just tend to be moved by this kind of music. African chants, Tuvan/ Mongolian throat singing, Gregorian chants- yeah they tend to be vastly different in time and place and everything like that but they are emotionally moving for me and so this album is. Sure it’s probably the farthest away from “music” for the Grammys when compared to the four other entries in this section but this is really great stuff. Also seeing song titles that wouldn’t be out of place on a hip hop or electronic album sure threw me through a loop (“TreyJam”, “Str8-2 Vegas”, “#TicTac Adventures”) but the album is solid. Not on my top ten cause this hits me a different way than the outright hair raising experience they tend to be but check this out cause its a live album that doesn’t mess around. Stand Out tracks: “Old Yeller”, “Str8-2 Vegas”, “Cheezy Legs (Crow Hop)
Pua Kiele – Josh Tatofi
The sheer amount of difference between this and Ho’okena’s album is staggering. That album was a good, if sort of standard album with slack key guitar and nice if safe melodies with three dudes singing what I expect a stereotypical Hawaiian vacation would be in a movie. This album I knew had to be vastly different by the album cover alone- the artist looking like he’s going to drop the hottest Hawaiian mixtape ever with a nice black shirt and sunglasses while standing in front of a wall. I thought he was going to be something out there like he was going to rap in Hawaiian- which no that didn’t happen but I wasn’t disappointed at all. This album is Hawaiian R&B which come on it sounds genius. The melodies that the regional music can get up to would translate pretty well to a jazzy and more R&B feel which is what happens here. Also the harmonies on this are pretty great and because multi tracking vocals are a thing now I think he’s also providing the backing vocals- which if so means he has a great voice. If you told me the English tracks were from some weird R&B album I’d just say okay and enjoy them just the same. Listen to this one out of the rest- especially if you want a different Hawaiian music experience. Stand Out tracks: “Ku’u Leo Aloha”, “Shanda Jean”, “You’re the Best Thing”
Verdict: Well thanks Grammys for one of the outright stupidest music sections ever. Edit: There’s more ridiculous sections but this is a weird one for sure. Let’s see we have two vastly different zydeco albums so that’s like Louisiana covered. And two different takes on Hawaiian music, sure that’s okay I guess but comparing between those two genres is weird. And the there’s Northern Cree from Canada, a world renowned pow wow group like how do I compare that live album to the four nicely produced and, most importantly, studio albums? Or what region do they represent? I don’t want to say they represent all Native American/ First Nation peoples like there are differences plus there’s a whole subculture of singers or bands and they can do vastly different styles. So what region do they represent? Like reservations? I don’t even know by this point and I feel like the Grammys just threw all these artists in just so they could say look you four or five different regional styles can compete here for a Grammy and while we tend to be the whitest most cookie cutter award show ever like look how cool we are for having a Regional section like isn’t that adorable? Pretty much I want either Josh Tatofi’s “Pua Kiele” or Northern Cree’s “Miyo Kekisepa, Make a Stand [Live]” to win cause those are the ones I reacted most strongly in a positive direction towards.
Reggae
Best Reggae Album
Chronology – Chronixx
Haven’t been on a reggae kick in years but this is nice modern take on reggae. Even with the Jamaican patois that litters this album that makes me wonder about some of the slang that they have but the bits I can get is good stuff and there is a political bent in some of the songs that feels like old school reggae to me. I have no idea why but I’m just imagining this artist being like the Jamaican version of The Weeknd and either I’ wrong or the harmonies and range of this guy’s voice is just getting past the slang barrier and its just a nice groove here. Stand Out tracks: “Ghetto Paradise”, “Smile Jamaica”, and “Majesty” but this gets my award for consistently good grooves and songs.
Lost in Paradise – Common Kings
This definitely shows how modern pop is influenced by reggae and dancehall music now- especially since for the briefest of moments I thought I hit the wrong album and accidentally pulled up a Jason Derulo album. Sure the singer here doesn’t really have that vibe but I’m pulling out a vaguely recognizable name and thinking that a whole gamut of pop singers could see this album and think how easy it would be to take a song or two. It’s at least a short album since I didn’t really get the classic reggae vibe I was hoping for- being only 38 minutes long but it had some good stuff. Even if it just so happens to sound like it’s ripping off modern pop. Stand Out tracks: “Lost In Paradise”, “License to Smoke”, and “Wide Awake”.
Wash House Ting – J Boog
I knew of this guy’s music from the weirdest place- I got a Spotify recommendation for a completely different band once and he was featured on the song. Sure he killed it on SOJA’s (Soldiers of Jah Army) track “Easier”, but now I think he can only sing good hooks cause this was pure disappointment to me. Maybe it was a bad idea to do Chronixx’s album first cause that was straight fire and stuff I wanted out of modern reggae. This album feels like almost a parody after that- with the Jamaican patois all over this and the titles usually being some sort of patois as well this seems like he’s putting on an act. Maybe it’s just that he’s Samoan so I have a niggling idea that no he probably doesn’t talk like that, but that threw me out of the album hard and I kept noticing that the instrumentals sounded way too similar to one another and after a while, I could only really differentiate different sections of the album if there was a changeup in the backing tracks or if there was a feature. This is not anger, this is disappointment, American reggae can probably do something a bit more interesting than this. Stand Out tracks: “Good Cry”, “Blaze It For Days”, and “Brighter Days”.
Stony Hill – Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley
This is a much more experimental album than I would have expected since the Marley family has a legacy because of Bob Marley but each of them sound different when compared to one another. Plus this album has weird musical references- “Medicate” at one point changes the “What A Wonderful World” lyrics to be about weed and “Living It Up” uses some of the lyrics and melody of the “Fresh Prince of Bel Air Theme” at one point. Also helps that each song sounds different sure would have been useful in that J Boog album. Weird how the Jamaican fare sounds more modern than the American attempt, it’s like they modernized or something. Stand Out tracks: “Time Travel”, “”Upholstery”, and “Caution”.
Avrakedabra – Morgan Heritage
Reggae mixed with R&B and hip hop. Interesting mix of things that works and makes the basics of reggae still exist in a world where maybe the basis don’t always cut it. This would probably be my third favorite here- it isn’t as consistently good as Chronixx’s album or as many things going on in Damian Marley’s but this is a close third. I’m probably going to not put this on my best of albums list but it’s a good reggae album. Stand Out tracks: “Golden”, “Reggae Night”, and “We Are”.
Verdict: I still have been listening to Chronixx’s Chronology since I’ve been starting this section like two weeks ago. Yeah this short section took me the longest to listen to because I used this to relax from the Latin and Americana and Jazz sections that went on and on. But this section overall has to be one of my favorites- cause outside of the highly disappointing J Boog album and the not as good- but still more enjoyable- Common Kings album here- the other three were standout and unique sounding reggae music. If I had to choose my two favorites though, they would be Stony Hill and Chronology- with Chronixx’s album getting me into the mood more. So I’d choose Chronixx as my overall favorite artist here and hope he wins. If that isn’t the case, the I hope J Boog doesn’t win cause I actually almost fell asleep to that album.
World Music
Best World Music Album
Memoria De Los Sentidos – Vicente Amigo
This a flamenco album so I really have no clue what the Grammys are doing- this is almost closer to instrumental music than their instrumental albums and I like Flamenco, but couldn’t this go in one of the like seven different Latin categories? Seriously though, while this is no Paco de Lucia album, it's good flamenco and should be at least recognized cause Vicente Amigo’s been doing this stuff for a while so he’s well known in the flamenco circles. Stand Out tracks: “Amorali” and “Requiem”
Para Mí – Concha Buika
Well this took longer than expected to find in Spotify since he stage name is not Concha Buika but just Buika. And also this is not one of her albums since the last one of album length was in 2016- but this is an EP. But sure let me listen to 19 minutes or five songs of flamenco songs- more flamenco isn’t bad. I just don’t like being surprised when an EP gets a Grammy nod. Since it only has five songs think of this as a Stand Out track in the singular sense since any more and I’m saying listen to the EP- in this case “Dios de la nada” was my favorite track.
Rosa Dos Ventos – Anat Cohen & Trio Brasileiro
Instrumental jazz with I think some gypsy jazz and flamenco elements. Probably my easiest sit for jazz- no lyrics and nice melodies are prevalent and the playing on this thing especially in some of the guitar work sounds quick and crisp. But what do I say about an album with no lyrics? Well I’d say check this out if you want an intro to jazz stuff today cause some of the other stuff tends to be influenced by atonal polyrhythmic jazz or classical music which can grate on a normal listener. Stand Out tracks: “Balao de Esperanca”, “Flamenco”, “O Ocidente que se Oriente”.
Shaka Zulu Revisited: 30th Anniversary Celebration- Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Yeah this isn’t close to getting my recommendation for winning the Grammy- not cause it’s bad. It’s cause the original album already won a Grammy in 1987 for Best Traditional Folk recording. Sure looks like the Grammys idea of traditional folk has changed in three decades since this got shunted off to World Music. But if you want to get into this band either do Paul Simon’s Graceland album or this original album cause outside of a bonus track- it's the same album here. Stand Out tracks: “Unomathemba” and “Rain, Rain, Beautiful Rain”
Elwan – Tinariwen
Tinariwen is that band you don’t think exist- sort of blues rock folk from the African continent. Also they’ve been a collective of Tuareg musicians doing their thing since 1979 and it took a random chance in the late 90s for them to get into the world stage. Personally out of the choices here, this is the band I love the most and the album is just diluted into this pure feeling of blues that even the barrier of having them speak in a completely different language transcends. Stand Out tracks: “Tiwayyen”, “Imidiwan n-akall-in”, “Assawt”
Verdict: Outright I have to take out an EP and a rerecorded/ remastered album. So that means there won’t be Buika or Ladysmith Black Mambazo winning this award in my Grammy Awards. So I hope Tinariwen winning it here cause it was my favorite album out of the bunch- though I do have to say for a decent second would be the “Rosa Dos Ventos” album by Anat Cohen & Trio Brasilero. Its a jazz album that didn’t overstay its welcome and kept my interest throughout which usually doesn't happen since there’s usually a lull in speed or interesting melodies in the middle half of records. Check those out.
Children
Best Children's Album (or the section I’ve been putting off cause this is going to be torture)
Brighter Side – Gustafer Yellowgold
I have no clue why, but this guy’s voice annoys me. Maybe it’s the lyrics and his voice combining into a general annoyance and I know this isn’t for me even if it reminds me of an alternative rock album at times. The weird child like lyrics put me off. Hopefully this isn’t my favorite because I didn’t like it. At least it’s a short album. Stand Out tracks: “Ride A Line o’ Stars”, “Hot Nights”, and “King of the Sun”. I’d much rather listen to the Barenaked Ladies or They Might Be Giants kid like tracks and albums, At least those ones I actually enjoy.
Feel What U Feel – Lisa Loeb
Not on Spotify, I found a playlist on Youtube and it’s an Amazon Music record. What a beautiful world we are in when I have to figure out why an artist who is on Spotify and has most of her albums on there and also had two other children music albums released on Spotify in 2017 alone doesn’t have this album there- it is annoying. Also Craig Robinson a.k.a Darryl Philbin from The Office (U.S.) has featured artist credits here and it’s so weird to see him on a Children Album. Stand Out tracks: “It’s Alright To Cry” and “Feel What U Feel”. Also since it’s 8 tracks long and a short album, two songs works fine here.
Lemonade – Justin Roberts
Not the Lemonade album I wanted on Spotify- but Spotify doesn’t have that Beyonce album. This is fine if you want knockoff They Might Be Giants vocals and childish lyrics. I have no idea why Children’s albums sound like a mix of Jack Johnson, They Might Be Giants, and Barenaked Ladies but seriously this is the second album in this section that sounds similar. At least I think this guy’s voice is better overall even if he can’t carry much of a tune. Stand Out tracks: “Must Be This Tall”, “Valentine (I Don’t Wanna Be Yours)”, and “Eight Legged Octopus”.
Rise Shine #Woke – Alphabet Rockers
If you want club music and rap music for your children with a social message here you go. I really hate that there’s hashtags in lyrics like that doesn’t need to happen and it seems tacky, but sure whatever. It’s like if the Black Eyed Peas made music for children. Also “Rise” has a Barack Obama sample and “Walls” is about the wall some people want at the border and how it’s a bad thing. It’s like the strangest thing to see rap songs about being allies and all this stuff for kids. Also the use of woke as a socially conscious word to show how much you want to do in order to change the system now just makes me laugh. Not because of this album cause it’s left leaning political message has its heart on its sleeve- it’s just that everyone makes fun of how stupid “woke” is as a term. But yeah this might win just for the sheer fact of how insane the premise of the album is and how urban contemporary it feels compared to the rest of the albums in this section. That or me having a goofy smile and laughing at how weird this album is makes it stand out in a crowd of boring kids stuff. Stand Out tracks: “Turn On The Lights”, “My Light”, “Walls”.
Songs Of Peace & Love For Kids & Parents Around The World –Ladysmith Black Mambazo A twelve track album that really is ten tracks if the introduction and ending message of thanks is taken out. Also each track is narrated to get the message understood, which is not needed and also just adds time. Haven’t had an album like this- even with the Gospel albums, the introduction was like twenty seconds to welcome the live congregation and the artist- this album takes seven minutes of it’s time to tell you about each song at the beginning of each. It’s a waste of time for me since I already know about the band and where they come from and the basic way they formed. Stand Out tracks: “Different Colors Mean Nothing To Me (Unkulunkul Wethu)”, “Sit Down And Make Peace (Ayhlalephansi)” and “Homeless” which that song is on so many of their albums it's almost annoying.
Verdict: This one’s easy. By sheer fun and ridiculous factor alone, I want the Alphabet Rockers to win. Definitely not Ladysmith Black Mambazo cause while I thought a 30th Year Rerecording of their most well known album was lazy- at least it wasn’t annoying me since it was talking down to me like I was a child and spending a minute about how much they loved finding the song Old MacDonald and recording a Zulu version.
Spoken Word
Best Spoken Word Album (includes Poetry, Audio Books and Storytelling)
The Princess Diarist – Carrie Fisher
Confessions of a Serial Songwriter – Shelly Peiken
Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In – Bernie Sanders and Mark Ruffalo
Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry – Neil deGrasse Tyson
Note this is the only section I’ll do this to so this is a rare one. But I have only so much time in the day and this is the least Grammy related thing I think exists in the list of genres so I don’t have a clue why this is a section.
But wow look at all the books I didn’t read. Okay so this category, probably like the Grammys, I’ll just pick out of a hat here cause if these are all books and since even the Grammys barely care about this thing let’s do this by relevance. Neil deGrasse Tyson is that one scientist man on a similar level as Bill Nye the Science Guy, Bruce Springsteen is a good choice cause he’s a recognizable singer and songwriter, the Bernie Sanders and Mark Ruffalo book is political and also since Mark Ruffalo is currently the Hulk, I could say it’s an Avengers team up, I’ve never even heard of Shelly Peiken so I probably want this to win cause this could be interesting to me, and Carrie Fisher was Princess Leia so that’s that and she died recently. And with that I probably dissected the award more than the Grammys do.
Verdict: I’d want Shelly Peiken to win cause her book title sounds interesting, but I could see Carrie Fisher win this cause nostalgia factor and recognizable dead celebrity. But I bet a lot of these have a chance to win cause the voting members probably just put what sounds cool to them on their ballot and cast that vote. And I only did this cause while I don’t doubt my reading comprehension and speed, that’s five books and no I’m not spending possibly one hundred dollars to read that legally- if I don’t want to listen to hard to find albums or documentaries by paying- I really don’t want to spend hours reading books I might not like.
Comedy
Best Comedy Album
The Age of Spin & Deep in the Heart of Texas – Dave Chappelle
Netflix specials- two of them but hey at least Dave Chappelle is back and as funny as ever. I have problems with some of his jokes but it’s Dave Chappelle, he kind of pushes the edge of humor and outrage a bit without completely derailing the joke.
Cinco – Jim Gaffigan
Good relatable jokes. Wasn’t always funny but it was nice.
Jerry Before Seinfeld – Jerry Seinfeld
Not a big fan of Jerry Seinfeld and yet another Netflix special. It’s almost like if you want comedy nowadays, you need Netflix with like so many Netflix Original Comedy specials it’s no longer funny.
A Speck of Dust – Sarah Silverman
Another Netflix special. More risque than most of the others but I had a few laughs. Not the biggest fan of hers, but it worked well enough. Even if every like two minutes she went off on another tangent which had to be a bit of a hassle for the audience.
What Now? – Kevin Hart
Not a big fan of Kevin Hart so this wasn’t all that funny to me. At least I think this actually was released to theaters unlike the other four specials that only went to Netflix so this is at least more impressive due to the fact people went out of their way to go to the theater to watch a comedy special that could have just went to Hulu or some other streaming service just so comedy continues to not be all that funny or important. Comedy specials are things people either get offended by or downvote to death because they think it’s trash.
Verdict: Since comedy is subjective, I can’t explain the jokes I found funny cause I would ruin the specials so my favorite one was Cinco by Jim Gaffigan. There this section is now over cause that’s the joke here. Spend all that time watching comedy specials and barely talk about them. Seriously these things all together were like six hours. I’d say most likely Netflix will inadvertently get a Grammy with how four contenders- besides Kevin Hart have their comedy specials on that platform.
Musical Theatre
Best Musical Theater Album
Come from Away – Ian Eisendrath, August Eriksmoen, David Hein, David Lai & Irene Sankoff, producers; David Hein & Irene Sankoff, composers and lyricists (Original Broadway Cast)
Going by the album cover I thought this was about immigrants since it’s a cartoon picture of the Americas. You know what it’s about? 9/11. Well it’s more about the aftermath of needing to land 38 planes somewhere and they chose some small town in Newfoundland. Sure sounds like they are pulling off a Minnesotan accent for the Canadians or I’m just so used to the Midwest accent, it sounds like a parody. This is a nice musical from a weird point related to 9/11 without literally making a September 11th musical which sounds awful- but movies use that event for a plot or Oscar bait. This is no Avenue Q- but I like the music here. Probably not going to check out more than the songs I recommend cause a lot of the songs are a minute or so long. I mean 23 tracks and barely more than an hour of music is weird. Not complaining because I was expecting this was going to be 2 and a half hours. Stand Out tracks: “Welcome To The Rock”, “28 Hours/ Wherever We Are”, and “Something’s Missing”.
Dear Evan Hansen – Ben Platt, principal soloist; Alex Lacamoire, Stacey Mindich, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, producers; Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, composers and lyricists (Original Broadway Cast)
Kid has social anxiety disorder and gets all depressed, another person he didn’t know in high school commits suicide, he lies that he was that kid’s best friend and gets recognition for a Project he created to help keep this kids memory alive. We find out that Evan Hansen- the main character who’s kind of a major jerk tried to commit suicide because his year sucked, tries to pass off his therapy assignment as a suicide note from this other kid and well I guess saves that kid’s family cause of the backlash. I have no want to see this musical and while the songs remind me of Rent- I like Rent better- surprisingly a retelling of La Boheme but with AIDS sounds happier and less forcing a feel good moral onto a kid who’s kind of a manipulative person who’s getting all he wanted sby lying about being friends with a dead kid. Good music- I just don’t like the story once I looked it up. Stand Out tracks: “Waving Through A Window”, “You Will Be Found”, and “To Break In A Glove” I’d say check out the music but I’m not into this kind of sad jerk musical.
Hello, Dolly! – Bette Midler, principal soloist; Steven Epstein, producer; (Jerry Herman, composer and lyricist) (2017 Broadway Cast)
This was one of my favorite movies ever when I was growing up and it still is the only thing I don’t hate Barbra Streisand in cause I hate her songs so very much and her extreme diva nature. But this one is the 2017 version so no movie only numbers (“Just Leave Everything To Me” and “Love Is Only Love” for example) and therefore “I Put My Hand In” doesn’t just exist as a brief instrumental passage in the film’s dancing scenes. And this version stars Bette Midler as Dolly so the feel of the songs goes from Streisand’s bravado and charm to Midler’s cool and more experienced tone. Though that is mainly because that was 1960s Streisand- this is 2017 Bette Midler. Age plays a factor there. But I just prefer Bette Midler as a singer far more. I just think Streisand’s voice tends to grate on me. “Hello Dolly!” here doesn’t have the deep and scratchy soulful voice of Louis Armstrong, but it’s still good. Stand Out tracks: “Put On Your Sunday Clothes”, “Penny in My Pocket”, and “Hello Dolly!”. It isn’t the musical film- tends towards a straighter adaptation of the 1964 musical with the movie only songs missing- but this is up there with that film as good enough to match it if judging by the music alone.
Verdict: Going my enjoyment here, I loved Hello Dolly but that’s to be expected. This could win since it’s a legacy recording of an old musical that people know. But if I had to go by total enjoyment, I’d have to pick Come From Away. Weird premise and still a bit too close maybe to the times portrayed, but the music was fun. Also I liked Dear Evan Hansen- but that was hampered by the weird tonal shifts in the story and the reliance if you find the main character funny and endearing or not. I don't so this musical isn’t really for me.
Music for Visual Media
Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media
Baby Driver – (Various Artists)
It’s the Guardians of Galaxy 2 soundtrack it if got more into weird deep cuts. Since I haven’t seen the film I am guessing the songs work and Edgar Wright is a great movie maker. Stand Out original track here is “Chase Me”
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2: Awesome Mix Vol. 2 – (Various Artists)
I’ve been listening to this album since it came out and since I watched the movie. For a pretty much compilation album it's good stuff. It’s a consistently good album. Stand Out tracks for me are “Lake Shore Drive”, “My Sweet Lord” and “Father & Son”
Hidden Figures: The Album – (Various Artists)
Throwback hip hop and R&B album. Interesting especially since this isn’t the actual soundtrack which I tried for a bit and went on a rant that I deleted because it was boring and pointless. But this works for me cause its soulful. Pharrell's songs here are showcasing that he can pull off some good old school high vocals here and rap. Impressive. Stand out tracks: “Mirage” from Mary J. Blige and “Able” from Pharrell.
La La Land – (Various Artists)
Never seen the movie but I like the album. Not enough to watch the movie, but it’s okay for a movie that’s this old send up of Hollywood musicals and so like I don’t care. If I want a old send of Hollywood, I’d watch Singin’ In The Rain, Stand Out track: “Another Day of Sun”
Moana: The Songs – (Various Artists)
I have a lot of nieces. I have seen this movie a lot and besides “Shiny” which I think doesn’t fit into the movie at all and is a terrible villain song for a villain that is only in like ten minutes- sure whatever.Other songs are good but I am not the biggest fan of reusing Moana’s big song and melody a lot in this movie so it's a fine album but I tend to skip a lot of the songs here. Stand Out track: “You’re Welcome” otherwise just watch the movie and its fine. Everybody that wants to, or is forced to by circumstance, has already seen this movie.
Verdict: Going by outright emotional taste and replayability but I think Guardians has the win here. Baby Driver’s good but not consistently hype cause of song choices. La La Land just reminds me of musicals I like better. Moana has flaws that kick it right out of this in my opinion. And Hidden Figures is quality but like I just don’t see it winning. I’d say either Guardians of the Galaxy 2 wins or Moana cause well when coming up against Disney blockbusters- they have name recognition and while the rest are good movies- like I don’t see them winning when against the Disney juggernaut unless an upset happens.
Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media
Arrival – Jóhann Jóhannsson, composer
This reminds me of if Philip Glass did a soundtrack to a science fiction film. Which is great. I’ve wanted to see Arrival and this creepy and unsettling atmosphere the score gives is giving me hope. Now if only this dude had stayed with the Blade Runner sequel I’d think something special could have been made. Standout tracks: “First Encounter” and “Kangaru” thought this track list was fun all the way through.
Dunkirk – Hans Zimmer, composer
Now this is the Hans Zimmer I like. Makes me want to watch the movie while also being able to stand on its own and be intense when it has to be. Stand out tracks: “The Mole” and “Home”.
Game Of Thrones: Season 7 – Ramin Djawadi, composer
Game of Thrones music doing more Game of Thrones music. Never was one for soundtracks and to be honest I don’t really get the point of most tv soundtrack albums. Like why would you listen to the album if you could easily watch the tv show and since I need to not spend 74 minutes on a soundtrack album like here you go. It’s probably fine and this is only relevant to fans of this series. Stand Out track has to be the Game of Thrones theme. Listen to that and it whets all the non fans interest.
Hidden Figures – Benjamin Wallfisch, Pharrell Williams & Hans Zimmer, composers
Listened to it. It was bland and not fun. Surprisingly boring Hans Zimmer soundtrack in my opinion. Maybe he’s just overworked so this doesn’t have the oomph I expected.
La La Land – Justin Hurwitz, composer
It works, it's not for me. Guess check out La La Land cause I’ve heard it's decent. Just not for me.
Verdict: Out of sheer enjoyment I want Arrival’s soundtrack to win because it's weird and memorable. I’d also be fine with Dunkirk winning, if we go for traditional good soundtrack music. Rest are okay but okay to me doesn’t stand out enough. And Game of Thrones is Game of Thrones, good but its season 7 like give it to a movie.
Best Song Written for Visual Media
"City of Stars" (from La La Land) – Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, songwriters (Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone)
Not my style of music but its fine. You can like this and it’s okay it just didn’t hook me.
"How Far I'll Go" (from Moana) – Lin-Manuel Miranda, songwriter (Auli'i Cravalho)
It’s a great Disney Princess finding herself song but they overuse the melody enough that now it’s okay. The fully performance of this song at the end though is great- just rewatching the movie multiple times makes the times she almost starts singing it kind of bug me.
"I Don't Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker)" (from Fifty Shades Darker) – Jack Antonoff, Sam Dew & Taylor Swift, songwriters (ZAYN & Taylor Swift)
While I personally want to buy the books of Fifty Shades to laugh at rather than watching the movies, this song doesn’t deserve to be on a bad movie’s soundtrack. It’s the song I know in this category that I’ve been listening to often.
"Never Give Up" (from Lion) – Sia Furler & Greg Kurstin, songwriters (Sia)
I like Sia as an artist so this had some good points already and it’s a good song. Does that mean I will watch the movie it is promoting in a way? No. Good songs can stand on their own and this at least has a cool electronic East Indian beat here.
"Stand Up For Something" (from Marshall) – Common & Diane Warren, songwriters (Andra Day featuring Common)
It’s a weird mix of gospel and rap since Common’s here for a very brief moment. Also I’m sorry but either it’s my computer acting up or maybe its the song itself cause other songs haven’t sounded overpowered by the instrumental but boy this sucks.
Verdict: I can see Moana taking this cause it’s a Disney song. But I would rather want “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” or “Never Give Up” to win. Top choice would have to be the Zayn and Taylor Swift song cause its so replayable.
Composing
Best Instrumental Composition
"Alkaline", Pascal Le Boeuf, composer (Le Boeuf Brothers & JACK Quartet)
Something that sounds atonal and a complete and utter mess but this is the jazz I tend to like the most because it's so out there and you have to take time and get into the zone. It’s like something the Kronos Quartet would do in their weirder moments.
"Choros #3", Vince Mendoza, composer (Vince Mendoza & WDR Big Band Cologne)
Latin jazz piece here that is pretty impressive since there’s a vocal part in it where the vocalist has to imitate the melodies of the instruments which sounds standard issue because that is what jazz singers tend to do- but the melodies get weird and speed up and slow down it has to be decently difficult to put off without missing a note.
"Three Revolutions", Arturo O'Farrill, composer (Arturo O'Farrill & Chucho Valdés)
Afro Cuban jazz bringing together two different clans of well known musicians to celebrate the lives of their patriarchs that passed. Boy does this bring the classic feel of a latin funky jazz track with the stylings of current postmodern and weird jazz.
"Warped Cowboy", Chuck Owen, composer (Chuck Owen and the Jazz Surge)
Could see this in a really weird jazz soundtrack for a western. Except you know the track’s fourteen and a half minutes long so if you come into this one be warned.
"Home Free (For Peter Joe)", Nate Smith, composer (Nate Smith)
Real pretty sounding jazz that has a melody that doesn’t turn off people’s enjoyment.
Verdict: Hard choice cause all of these were fantastic contenders to me, but going by enjoyment I’d have to put either “Choros 3” or “Three Revolutions” a recommend and hope one of these win because they were good stuff. But this is a solid category and each one felt different so it’s comparing apples to oranges to bananas. I’d say maybe skip the “Warped Cowboy” track cause while it’s great, I know that most people don’t want to sit down and listen to a nearly fifteen minute jazz piece. And trying to explain how jazz is different and listenable is difficult when I don’t have a hook like vocals or lyrics to attach myself to.
Arranging
Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella
"Ugly Beauty"/"Pannonica", John Beasley, arranger (John Beasley)
I think they might be covering Thelonious Monk songs here but I’m not completely versed in the Monk catalogue. Good jazz track.and at only a little over five minutes you aren’t going in and listening to a long haul.
"All Hat, No Saddle", Chuck Owen, arranger (Chuck Owen and the Jazz Surge)
Third track I’ve heard from this album and also some good stuff. Guess I might have to consider looking at it deeper.
"Home Free (For Peter Joe)", Nate Smith, arranger (Nate Smith)
Good stuff and for jazz, it’s rather soothing.
"White Christmas", Chris Walden, arranger (Herb Alpert)
I literally thought Herb Alpert was dead and nope he’s just making music here at 82 years old. Jazzy instrumental version of White Christmas. For a Christmas song, it’s extra classy.
"Escapades for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra" from Catch Me If You Can, John Williams, arranger (John Williams)
Saxophones in an orchestral setting sure seem rare- and John Williams composing this seems to be the highest quality. I mean he did the Star Wars theme.
Verdict: Most enjoyable track here in my opinion? “White Christmas” So if you don’t tend to like jazz just go to that one cause Herb Alpert’s been making jazz since forever. Also its a Christmas track that I don’t hate. Sorry for the few words in this section- most were talked about already or just okay.
Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals
"I Loves You Porgy"/"There's a Boat That's Leavin' Soon for New York", Shelly Berg, Gregg Field, Gordon Goodwin & Clint Holmes, arrangers (Clint Holmes Featuring Dee Dee Bridgewater and the Count Basie Orchestra)
Well I can’t find this and I’ve spent about half an hour here guess this track is one of those that female jazz singers just pull out of their bag of tricks. Unfortunately since I haven’t heard this, I can’t say with confidence how good it is so it's probably fine but this is out of the running here.
"Every Time We Say Goodbye", Jorge Calandrelli, arranger (Clint Holmes Featuring Jane Monheit)
Not a track I like but it's a nice duet. Just it didn’t impress me all that much.
"Another Day of Sun", Justin Hurwitz, arranger (La La Land cast)
Favorite track from the La La Land album.
"I Like Myself", Joel McNeely, arranger (Seth MacFarlane)
One of the classiest tracks from Seth MacFarlane's new album. I’d say check this out because I listened to this multiple times and I didn’t have to. It’s just a great track.
"Putin", Randy Newman, arranger (Randy Newman)
In the vein of Randy Newman’s “Short People” we have a goofy song about Putin and it’s one of those meme jokes. Not the biggest fan of Randy Newman, but this is fine too- for what amounts to be political satire or one big joke, the instrumental is nicer than I expected. Also the music video is like terrible Powerpoint for kids for a laugh.
Verdict: Sheer enjoyment factor here- I liked “I Like Myself” better than the rest and if I had to choose a number two pick, it would be “Another Day of Sun” cause it's the track I wished got a best La La Land nod or whatever.
Packaging (Or The Start of The Sections That Are Almost Pointless to 99 Percent of People So Why Not Compare How I Liked Them Musically Instead?)
Best Recording Package
El Orisha de la Rosa
Claudio Roncoli & Cactus Taller, art directors (Magín Díaz)
The 94/95 year old Magin Diaz’s first and last album due to him dying late November 2017. This is Columbian folk songs and it’s something I wanted in the Latin- sure there’s some songs that have rap verses and electronic beats and all that- but the main focus is the feel of the music and his grainy voice. Surprising since I don’t think he could ever read or write- this project reminds me of the time in the 60s, people tried to bring back the 1930s and 1940s Delta Blues singers. I feel like this project is trying to bring the music in Columbia to a larger audience and, in a way, keep it alive. This album gets four favorite tracks “Rosa”, “Por El Norte, Por El Sur”, “Espiritu Maligno”, and “Mujeres Malas”. This album is super.
Mura Masa
Alex Crossan & Matt de Jong, art directors (Mura Masa)
Decent album looks like a good package from what I have seen from images of the album. Fine major label debut album. Middling release from the electronic stuff I’ve listened to this year so this is nothing super special and I’ve already talked about Mura Masa above.
Pure Comedy (Deluxe Edition)
Sasha Barr, Ed Steed & Josh Tillman, art directors (Father John Misty)
Looks like a good deluxe edition. But what I’m comparing here is if I liked the album and this one so far is the one I’d replay so I want this to win. Reminds me of early Elton John with the good and bad- lyrics that are pretty nice, while also being sort of long winded in some songs that might put off some people.
Sleep Well Beast
Elyanna Blaser-Gould, Luke Hayman & Andrea Trabucco-Campos, art directors (The National)
Looks like fine packaging, but I hated listening to this album. It was boring to me and see above in the Rock? Sections. I don’t remember this album and that’s a bad thing when it gets nominated in other things. It left no lasting impression.
Solid State
Gail Marowitz, art director (Jonathan Coulton)
Well seeing this guy on here is amazing since I’ve been following his albums for nearly a decade. I liked his challenges to write as much music as he could in a year or doing themed songs or when Glee stole his version of Baby Got Back when that show was huge. Or when he wrote “Still Alive” for the Portal series of games, or when he appeared on nerdcore albums in the late 2000s/ early 2010s. (For those not in the know, nerdcore is nerdy guys making songs about nerdy things. Usually a lot of rap music.) Yeah, I’m super knowledgeable about this guy’s music. But this album- Solid State- got my radar because he released a graphic novel to accompany or at least inform the ideas in the album. More artists should do that cause it seemed well okay to be perfectly honest- but I paid attention enough to want to check out the album. It was pretty good, though a bit too conceptual and not up to par of the quality I expected. I might just be harsh on this album because it’s still good- just I liked other albums by him better. Stand Out tracks: “Square Things”, “Don’t Feed The Trolls”, and “Pulled Down The Stars”.
Verdict: All mostly decent choices- I thought Mura Masa and The National had the weakest albums here and for sheer variety and fact that at least for this section, Pure Comedy was second here (still my second favorite album of the year but I really liked the Latin album.) That means that because I’ve wanted a Latin/ Hispanic album like this for the last few Latin sections, this one wins because it’s a breath of fresh air. I hope Magin Diaz wins because he has the recent death card for those who care about that weird Grammy tradition and he did the most fun album here- Pure Comedy’s kind of a downer and has already been nominated for something else.
Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package
Bobo Yeye: Belle Epoque In Upper Volta
Tim Breen, art director (Various Artists)
This one’s super interesting. Upper Volta is the name Burkina Faso went by for a little bit and therefore this is a collection of like 1960s West African music with electric guitars and jazz and all these weird influences. Oh, and also this is three hours long. I guess it makes sense since it’s providing a glimpse into a world that rarely, if ever, left the region of West Africa and with the 1984 shift in government regulations that made charging for concerts illegal- this era died hard. Which is sad cause hearing a mix between Afro Cuban jazz, West African rhythms and instruments, and 1950's-1960s American rock and roll is just a nice mix. Also some of these tracks almost break the seven minute mark which blows my mind cause these are pretty old songs all things considered. Stand Out track Disc 1: “Mama Soukous” Disc 2: “Si Tu M'aime” Disc 3: “Milaoba”.
Lovely Creatures: The Best of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Tom Hingston, art director (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds)
This is four hours of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds from 1984-2014. Pretty much if you want a full collection of remastered tracks by them and possibly can’t find like all their music and all that maybe start here. But this is really only for real big fans of their music. I love them and maybe four straight hours of them is a bit much but props to the people who did this.
May 1977: Get Shown the Light
Masaki Koike, art director (Grateful Dead)
This is an 11 Disc Set that isn’t really on Spotify- well besides the Cornell May 8, 1977 show that is released as its own thing. If you want a taste of Grateful Dead live shows get Cornell 5/8/77- cause that’s far cheaper than a limited edition beautiful box set of 11 Discs. Like this is only for Deadheads cause the average person would not like this much Dead. Maybe for really hardcore Deadheads that don’t already have the 8 track tapes and like 150 other versions of each song on these albums not really, but for the average Deadhead that loves the band and also wants more playable CD versions, here you go.
The Voyager Golden Record: 40th Anniversary Edition
Lawrence Azerrad, Timothy Daly & David Pescovitz, art directors (Various Artists)
Looks like this was a Kickstarter project that got funded. Good for them, it’s a pretty package but if you know what’s on the record- that’s what’s on it. Shiny cool thing for collectors- nothing much more than that.
Warfaring Strangers: Acid Nightmares
Tim Breen, Benjamin Marra & Ken Shipley, art directors (Various Artists)
This is going to be fun. Underground psychedelic bands I’ve never heard of? I mean I love the 13th Floor Elevators and the band H.P. Lovecraft so I’m down for weird 60s and 70s stuff like this. Also this sounds like psychedelic heavy metal with the depressing and weird lyrics and heavy amounts of drug references. Also I’d say check this out cause for eighteen tracks- there’s like eighteen different bands doing different things so if you like 60’s hard rock, here’s something a bit more underground. So the stand out tracks are more of a taste of the feel of the tracks here and not a complete view of everything. Stand Out tracks: “Time’s Up” “Hooked”, and “Dooms Day”
Verdict: For sheer difference- I’d choose either Bobo Yeye or Warfaring Strangers. Grateful Dead Live shows are a penny a dozen and I like Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds but it’s a lot of remastered tracks and four hours long. Then there’s the Voyager record and I wonder why that’s getting a nod. Mark my words, if that wins we are going to see more outlandishly stupid Kickstarter funded music projects. Warfaring Strangers edges out the Bobo Yeye record by just the smallest of margins cause there’s more band variety- eighteen to about four or six with two taking up most of the CD space- and also it’s nearly two hours shorter. But I was this close to breaking my only 2017 albums rule on my list to add both projects- with the rule firmly in place only Warfaring Strangers: Acid Nightmares got in. But those two records are great short looks into weird and underground music you can’t really find otherwise.
Notes
Best Album Notes
Arthur Q. Smith: The Trouble with the Truth, Wayne Bledsoe & Bradley Reeves, album notes writers (Various Artists)
Can’t get this one for some reason- no Spotify, youtube and all that. It does exist since I’ve found youtube videos showing it off and also it is being sold on Amazon but there’s no streaming yet- if ever- it’s an old country music record since it’s showing that he recorded demos of songs he wrote that other artists took and made famous. Looks nice, but I can’t get the feel of the album if I can’t listen to it.
Big Bend Killing: The Appalachian Ballad Tradition, Ted Olson, album notes writer (Various Artists)
This is American Roots music shuffled off to this weird place. If you want Appalachian folk music tunes that get that old school country feel you can now only get in weird collections of old songs and Carter Family recordings- here you go. Also for a compilation two and a half hours isn’t bad. Stand Out tracks Disc 1: “Tam Lin” Disc 2: “Wreck Of The Old 97”.
The Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin, Bryan S. Wright, album notes writer (Richard Dowling)
You want 3 hours and 20 minutes of Ragtime piano? And seems like every composition that Scott Joplin seemed to write? Here you go. Bit much for me and a lot of them sound similar enough that I won’t really provide a best of the 3 disc set. But it’s impressive for those that want like everything ever written by Joplin.
Edouard-Léon Scott De Martinville, Inventor of Sound Recording: A Bicentennial Tribute, David Giovannoni, album notes writer (Various Artists)
Interesting sounding- he invented sound recording twenty years before Edison but I can’t find this on Spotify and it does exist- put his name into Google and the like third or fourth entry is the album being sold on some website. So it exists, though its being sold with a 48 page book and a disc that’s 7 minutes long. Though that’s impressive since those recordings on that were recorded from 1857 at the earliest to 1889. So that’s neat but since I can’t hear the recordings and it’s primarily the book and liner notes being sold because of the short length of the phonoautogram record- I’m not counting this in my choices for winners.
Live at the Whisky a Go Go: The Complete Recordings, Lynell George, album notes writer (Otis Redding)
This is April 8-10, 1966 in the Whisky a Go-Go club in West Hollywood (note I had to look that up since I knew it as a name and not actually where it was) so don’t expect “Sittin’ On The Dock of The Bay” and if that was the case I’d think that’d be too macabre with how he recorded that song three days before he died in a plane crash in a Wisconsin lake. But this album and most of his repertoire makes me wonder what his music would have been like if he had 40 or 50 more years to record cause in this record here he’s 25. He had a great voice and for a live record scrounged from tapes of the time it’s well done. Stand Out track Disc 1: “Just One More Day” Disc 2: “Can’t Get No Satisfaction”.
Washington Phillips and His Manzarene Dreams, Michael Corcoran, album notes writer (Washington Phillips)
Gospel Blues album and if you are wondering what a manzarine is- it’s his own creation sort of like an autoharp. And nobody knew what the instrument was and what it was even really made of until super recently in the last few years due to digging up an old newspaper clipping about him and his music. It’s a weird autoharp box he made himself and strung with violin strings. Also he only has so much music since he only recorded five times in his life- though that’s common for blues artists of the day. So he has at least 18 songs on record and at least one lost song. Stand Out tracks: “Take Your Burden To The Lord And Leave It There”, “What Are They Doing In Heaven Today”, and “The Church Needs Good Deacons”. Note that Spotify said this was a 2017 release but actually going to the people who released it- it’s a November 2016 release. So sadly this isn’t going on the list of best albums but it’s so close. This was one of my favorite albums in this total list. This is the blues and gospel I tend to like and Washington Phillips, due to his manzarine’s special sound, stands out.
Verdict: I hope that the Washington Phillips album wins this. With the 76 page hardcover book trailing the tracks of one of the hardest to find blues singers of the pre-war blues being found again and fixed- this is a great project. I mean figuring out exactly what he used as an instrument is one thing, figuring out the actual way he died, falling down stairs and falling into a coma, instead of the popular folk tale of him ending up in a mental hospital and dying- that’s another thing. Add the interviews of people that actually knew him and we have a well researched and probably difficult journey to write the definite look at this blues singer’s life.
Historical
Best Historical Album
Bobo Yeye: Belle Epoque in Upper Volta, Jon Kirby, Florent Mazzoleni, Rob Sevier & Ken Shipley, compilation producers; Jeff Lipton & Maria Rice, mastering engineers (Various Artists)
Well looks like I don’t have to review this one again- this one is great and hearing more African music especially a weird mix of world styles like this is interesting.
The Goldberg Variations – The Complete Unreleased Recording Sessions June 1955, Robert Russ, compilation producer; Matthias Erb, Martin Kistner & Andreas K. Meyer, mastering engineers (Glenn Gould)
Can’t really find this on Spotify, sure I can find the version done in 1981 where it’s the recorded and released versions of the 1955 Goldberg Variations here, but The Complete Unreleased Recording Sessions June 1955 does not exists on Spotify and with Glenn Gould’s sheer volume of albums and work, youtube’s out of the picture. You could pick this up cause this is one of the first times he was recorded and so hearing Glenn Gould in the prime of life and youth doing Bach has to be amazing because he was known as primarily the guy who did Bach piano music for decades. But since I can’t compare how the recorded and released 1981 album compares to the now released Unreleased 1955 version is- I can’t comment on it outside of a guess. It’s probably fine, though since it’s not released until now I’d hope it’s the inferior version. So this is out of the running for Historical- sucks cause I spent nearly half an hour trying variations on that. Usually something pops up even on Spotify unless it’s a small and weird release so having that Glenn Gould album on there is strange.
Leonard Bernstein – The Composer, Robert Russ, compilation producer; Martin Kistner & Andreas K. Meyer, mastering engineers (Leonard Bernstein)
Oh I would love to see a collection of Leonard Bernstein songs- this isn’t it. Well, it is technically. But it’s versions of the songs as almost orchestra and opera pieces instead of the more fun movie songs and themes he did. My head is hurting trying to get the feel of listening to an aria of Mozart but it’s a song in a movie. This is a weird find. I did the four hours but in the rare chance you like Bernstein- like West Side Story for example- this might be for you. Otherwise it’s so different versions I love that this was an auditory headache. I’m doing the prerogative and not providing songs here cause 4 hours long- but if I had to choose the ones I liked the most it’d be the West Side Story ones cause the latter half were instrumental pieces he wrote and it’s fine but I’ve had enough longform jazz that while it’s fun, I’d rather stick with classical music versions of show tunes instead of what it does in the middle section.
Sweet as Broken Dates: Lost Somali Tapes from the Horn of Africa, Nicolas Sheikholeslami & Vik Sohonie, compilation producers; Michael Graves, mastering engineer (Various Artists)
Welcome to Somalia’s best preserved 1970s and 1980s pop music. As with the Bobo Yeye tape above, this is a snapshot of a time from before civil war and unrest hurt this section of Africa. And I say that these records here are the best preserved, cause after reading a few things about this release- the tapes among 5000 of them, were buried in the desert deep enough so airstrikes might destroy the subversive radio station if and when the president holding onto power called one, but preserve the tapes in good enough condition so they could be found and used at a later date. So yeah think of 70s and 80s music in the States and there’s ideas here- some reggae like flavor or disco or weird synths for example. Stand Out tracks: “Rag waa Nacab iyo Nasteexo (Men Are Cruel and Kind)”, “Xuduud Ma Leh Xubigaan (This Love Has No Boundaries)” and “Oktoobar Waatee? Waa Taayadii (What’s October? It’s Ours)
Washington Phillips and His Manzarene Dreams, Michael Corcoran, April G. Ledbetter & Steven Lance Ledbetter, compilation producers; Michael Graves, mastering engineer (Washington Phillips)
Beautiful album. See above for a deeper look but I can’t talk more about how much I loved this album.
Verdict: One I couldn’t find- Glenn Gould’s album, one I hated- Leonard Bernstein’s album. The rest were great but since I already gave a nod to the Washington Phillips album above and almost gave Bobo Yeye the Best Boxed Package- I’d have to give it to the Sweet As Broken Dates record- impressive that the tracks sound as good as they do and I once again find something great in the world music related fields.
Engineered Album
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
Every Where Is Some Where
Brent Arrowood, Miles Comaskey, JT Daly, Tommy English, Kristine Flaherty, Adam Hawkins, Chad Howat & Tony Maserati, engineers; Joe LaPorta, mastering engineer (K.Flay)
Hip hop electronic rock thing makes a really fun sit and the heavy instrumentals don’t drown out the lyrics. Same album that has “Blood in the Cut” from the Best Rock song or whatever category. This is a great album. Stand Out tracks: “Blood In The Cut”, “Black Wave”, “Mean It”, and “You Felt Right” This is one of the more stand out albums that seemed interesting to me.
Is This the Life We Really Want?
Nigel Godrich, Sam Petts-Davies & Darrell Thorp, engineers; Bob Ludwig, mastering engineer (Roger Waters)
I don’t like Pink Floyd all that much besides a few songs- the Dark Side of the Moon album is where I usually stop cause I like their earlier stuff- and also after it being hyped up so much coming back to it is boring- but the album with Shine on You Crazy Diamond is a good one. And I love Wearing The Inside Out- that’s a great song. But what I’m trying to say is if you want highly political Pink Floyd songs here you go. Like it sounds like a rip off of Dark Side of the Moon and yet all the weird added sounds annoy me and in “Is This The Life We Really Want?” uses a Donald Trump sample and I’m sorry but that’s not new. Rap’s been doing it to and if I wanted topical political writing in an album, I’d turn to the Father John Misty or Sunkilmoon’s new albums. Not this. Stand Out tracks: “Picture That”, “Smell The Roses”, and “Wait For Her”. Also I have no idea why Wait For Her, Oceans Apart, and Part Of Me Died aren’t one long song cause they have like the same exact backing track and bleed into one another anyway. Sure it would the be a nine or ten minute song but splitting it up made Oceans Apart barely a minute long.
Natural Conclusion
Ryan Freeland, engineer; Joao Carvalho, mastering engineer (Rose Cousins)
Beautiful folk album here with the sadness of a broken relationship and possibly some healing in the song lyrics. Either way this is a great album that I’ve put on my favorites list cause it hits all the beats I want in a modern folk record. Sure it’s a bit like Semper Femina by Laura Marling in the feel of it but this actually made me rethink if that album deserved a spot on my favorites list- one of the few times I took off a contender but this was just better in the mixing and the sound and the feel. Sure it’s maybe not as lyrically complex as the Aimee Mann record, but it gets its job done and that’s what works for me. Stand Out tracks: “Freedom”, “Lock And Key”, and “Coda”.
No Shape
Shawn Everett & Joseph Lorge, engineers; Patricia Sullivan, mastering engineer (Perfume Genius)
Definitely not for everyone, this art pop is really pretty. Sure the main singer is a guy so if you are going for the idea that it’s Lady Gaga- no. More like Mika or someone like that. And I had to look him up and he seems like he has nice music with a focus on being LGBT so if you want more of that that’s cool too, But if you don’t want loud electronic beats and orchestral backing tracks with his high pitched voice singing about what he sings about- the avoid this like the plague. But I’m just going to put this on my best of the year list maybe I’m being too generous but it’s nice to see a smaller creator being nominated and one that I’ve never heard of before. And while sometimes the instrumental can cover the vocals, it usually works out fine. Stand Out tracks: “Just Like Love”, “Die 4 You”, and “Alan”. Kind of reminds me of David Bowie in his 80s phase.
24K Magic
Serban Ghenea, John Hanes & Charles Moniz, engineers; Tom Coyne, mastering engineer (Bruno Mars)
Each song here sounds crisp and clean and while a lot of the songs sound kind of similar when doing a straight listen through, its a fun time.
Verdict: I think either K.Flay should win this or Rose Cousins- well the people who mixed those albums of course- but those two sounded the best to me. I liked the others, but I had a bit of problems in the mixing of Perfume Genius’ album because he was either too quiet or the instrumentals drowned out his lyrics a few times. 24K Magic is a safe bet for winning because it’s Bruno Mars but it was my least favorite album of his so far. And Roger Waters’ album just sounds like he’s ripping off Pink Floyd now. But if I had to choose my favorite in terms of sound and feel it would be K.Flay’s Every Where Is Some Where.
Best Engineered Album, Classical
Danielpour: Songs of Solitude & War Songs
Gary Call, engineer (Thomas Hampson, Giancarlo Guerrero & the Nashville Symphony)
I still think the Songs of Solitude section is the best part- if you want to check it out I say start there.
Kleiberg: Mass for Modern Man
Morten Lindberg, engineer (Eivind Gulliberg Jensen, Trondheim Vokalensemble & Trondheim Symphony Orchestra)
This is a nice record of updated and new songs for a mass. And in the songs like “Kyrie Eleison” I can see the original melody and the the new weirder melody with the orchestra and male and female voices. It sounds fantastic as well. Stand Out tracks: “Kyrie Eleison”, “Credo”, and “Agnus Dei”.
Schoenberg, Adam: American Symphony; Finding Rothko; Picture Studies
Keith O. Johnson & Sean Royce Martin, engineers (Michael Stern & the Kansas City Symphony)
I was worried this would be a three hour album- not a problem since it was barely an hour, which for classical music is pretty short if there are three complete works on here. I think my least favorite section was the American Symphony- was kind of a slow point in the middle of the album. But I can see why Picture Studies got a nod because that was the high point for me. Basing short music sections off of pictures, sculptures, and photographs sounds pretty neat as an idea and in practice it felt like one of the shortest 27 minutes here. Stand Out section: “Picture Studies Movements 1-10”.
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5; Barber: Adagio
Mark Donahue, engineer (Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
Pretty much a Shostakovich record since Barber’s Adagio is only the last 9 and a half minutes while the rest of the hour long record is Shostakovich’s Symphony Number 5. I didn’t expect it to be live but it is. And it sounds good enough to fool me.
Tyberg: Masses
John Newton, engineer; Jesse Brayman, mastering engineer (Brian A. Schmidt, Christopher Jacobson & South Dakota Chorale)
While I preferred the Mass For Modern Man from Kleiberg, I can always be pretty sure I like a recorded mass. Top quality music here for those who like a more traditional mass. And since there’s two versions of each track- In F and G Major respectively and besides “Kyrie in F Major” being longer than the version in G, if you want the long fancy version do G Major, if you want the shorter and quicker version do F Major. But it’s good either way even if I preferred the sound and length of the Mass in G Major.
Verdict: Out of these selections I liked half of Danielpour’s album- I didn’t like the War Songs section all that much. But that would be my second favorite choice. If I had to choose my first favorite it would be Kleiberg’s Mass For Modern Man. It just felt like I hadn’t heard an update to the mass in a while and the way he wrote it kept my attention through the more than hour run time.
Producer
Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
Calvin Harris
"Don't Quit" (DJ Khaled & Calvin Harris featuring Travis Scott & Jeremih)
I like the song, except that I absolutely despise DJ Khaled. I get that he has to do the shout out to get producer credit and his name out and everyone does that stuff in rap music but his “DJ Khaled We The Best Music” shout ruins every song it’s in in my opinion. In the rest of the track Travis Scott is covered in autotune and while people call that lazy, it’s actually kind of difficult to make autotune sound good and he makes it sound good here. But yeah this is a decent pop rap tune.
Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1 (Calvin Harris featuring Various Artists)
I like this album and now I know what album “Feels” is on. And I would like that song a bit better if I didn’t think Katy Perry was slurring the hook on purpose so it took me months to get that she was singing “catch feels with me” instead of “catch fish”. This definitely takes hints of 70s music and the instrumentals are on point so the main problem with the tracks is the people he puts on them. Like I’d love “Faking It” if Lil Yachty didn’t spend the last ten seconds saying how Kehlani killed the hook in his mumbling voice. Still decent mix of songs that get me the party feel I would want if I went to a party. Stand Out tracks: “Slide”, “Rollin” and “Holiday”.
Greg Kurstin
Concrete and Gold (Foo Fighters)
I hate this album. I checked if this producer had worked with a heavy metal or rock band like I’d call the Foo Fighters and no he hasn’t and it shows. I have no clue why “T-Shirt” is a minute and a half long and starts out the album and switches between what sounds like a finished track and a demo. And the “Run” starts and it’s my favorite track on the album and that’s where I notice the weird pop punk screaming Dave Grohl’s doing which is all over this album and then “La Dee Da” mentions the political climate which by this point I’ve seen so much politically charged or influenced music in this long search here and in the songs I’ve seen generally that I’m blase about it. Oh another track mentioning politics again how novel. This sounds like their last album but worse. And the last few tracks sound like they are either trying to be influenced by the Beatles or Pink Floyd. Pretty much this record doesn’t really sound like the Foo Fighters I have followed for years and if they go in this direction I’ll definitely stop following their releases. Stand Out tracks: “Run”, “Arrows”, and “Happy Ever After (Zero Hour)”.
"Dear Life" (Beck)
This new Beck album isn’t my favorite but this track is perfectly fine. Sounds like early-mid 2000s Beck, at least when compared to his more stripped down and more folky last release.
"Dusk Till Dawn" (ZAYN featuring Sia)
I like Sia and I sort of like this track. The chorus is kind of obnoxious though with the constantly repeated “I’ll be with you from dusk to dawn”. Seriously that’s most of the song and it’s a bit much. Though I have to say One Direction is definitely this generation’s Beatles with their bng boy band beginning and all of them having solo careers that are doing pretty well all things considered.
"LOVE." (Kendrick Lamar featuring Zacari)
Unlike Loyalty, I actually like this song- it's probably the saddest love song I’ve heard in awhile. Though that may be because the lyrics almost seem like the good guy we are rooting for in the song might be way too attached to a girl that either doesn’t notice him or he’s stalking her. Though that is just my opinion here cause it’s lyrics seem too focused on if the girl would still love him if he lost everything and if he didn’t have her he would have nothing. So even if I’m wrong on the way I interpreted the message- it’s still oddly depressing for a song that sounds like a stereotypical rap ballad.
"Strangers" (Halsey featuring Lauren Jauregui)
Love song where the lyrics are outright LGBT sad love song with both women singing about how their lover- a woman- no longer kisses them on the mouth and they are now strangers. It’s Halsey so I can only imagine a Chainsmokers beat behind this thanks to their “Closer” song and her voice is the exact same in this song and it’s just okay.
"Wall of Glass" (Liam Gallagher)
This just makes me sad that Oasis broke up cause both Liam and Noel Gallagher’s solo or band projects don’t have that spark to me like Oasis did. Maybe Liam sounds better and might have better lyrics but Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds has the sound I want. And since they seem to hate each other the sound and lyrics I want aren’t coming back together. This is fine, but I got kind of bored with the riff and his vocal line wasn’t much better.
Blake Mills
Darkness and Light (John Legend)
Good release from John Legend again killing it on the soul R&B mix that he’s been doing for a while and I actually liked the whole album. Not enough to break my only 2017 albums rule, but it’s solid and it doesn’t have his sappiest song ever known to man “All of Me” which makes me still shocked that people liked that song. It’s just okay. Stand Out tracks: “Darkness and Light”, “Love Me Now”, and “How Can I Blame You”.
Eternally Even (Jim James)
Jim James, the lead singer of My Morning Jacket had a prolific 2017 with two album releases so it confused me that one of those weren’t nominated. Then I listened to 2016’s Eternally Even and got blasted with psychedelic blissful white guy soul singing and got why this one got the nod. Stand Out tracks: “Same Old Lie”, “Here In Spirit”, and “In The Moment”.
"God Only Knows" (John Legend & Cynthia Erivo featuring yMusic)
Good stripped back version of Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows”. Not my favorite version of it since the original still exists, but Brian Wilson has to be laughing his way to the bank with the royalties.
Memories Are Now (Jesca Hoop)
Okay weird folk record done by a person I’ve never heard of. The lyrics are good and it’s a short record at 39 minutes so it’s not too bad. I just prefer the more rocking alternative folk- not this weird middle ground she’s doing here. Stand Out tracks: “Animal Kingdom Chaotic”, “Songs of Old”, and “Pegasi”.
No Shape (Perfume Genius)
I liked this album better than Semper Femina- also done by this producer. I do have problems with the mix at points and the sound levels but it’s a nice album that makes me interested in the rest of Perfume Genius’ music.
Semper Femina (Laura Marling)
This album wavered on my list of top tens- didn’t get one of the vaulted top spots and later got taken off entirely but if you kind of like folk, this is a mostly safe album at points reminding me of like Lay Lady Lay Bob Dylan. Not completely, but notes were there.
No I.D.
"America" (Logic featuring Black Thought, Chuck D, Big Lenbo & No I.D.)
Reminds me of early N.W.A (And Public Enemy since Chuck D is in this track) with the political commentary they are trying to do here and the instrumental really works with it being not some slow and uninteresting track with political lyrics, but a track where I could see this be a weird party track if the instrumental stood there alone. But yep this is a “well it’s 2017 and Donald Trump is the president track” also them referencing 2017 the year itself means this might feel dated soon. But for what this is, this isn’t bad. I mean at least the hook itself is pretty catchy.
The Autobiography (Vic Mensa)
Stand out tracks “Say I Didn’t” a soul flavored rap track, “Homewrecker” for sampling Weezer’s “The Good Life” from Pinkerton. “Heaven on Earth” is a track where Vic Mensa sets up a track between him and his big brother who died and it reminds me a bit of “Stan” by Eminem. Overall, this is the rap album I would have skipped over but this is actually a good album where he reflects on his life experiences and there’s a lot of good songs on here. If I had to recommend at least one rap album that doesn’t have a Grammy nod- here’s my recommendation.It’s a good major label debut.
4:44 (JAY-Z)
It’s a well put together album, I’ve said enough already the seven other times this popped up.
The Stereotypes
"Before I Do" (Sevyn Streeter)
Decent R&B track about a girl wanting to know if she’s being cheated on before she goes any further with him. Sounds nice but I’d probably not listen to this again, there’s better R&B tracks in the album section and I don’t think I’m the biggest fan of the Stereotypes production.
"Better" (Lil Yachty featuring Stefflon Don)
This sounds weird but this track might have changed my opinion on Lil Yachty true he’s this weird mumble rapper that looks like an idiot with his red dreads and goofy face and slightly annoying mumbling on some songs- see the mention on that Calvin Harris CD for more- but this was nice and chill and had a weirdly decent line in “don’t settle for less cause then you miss out on more”. Weirdly nice line there and the laid back island rhythm here makes the song better. I guess I have to check out more of his music and I don’t tend to like mumble rap.
"Deliver" (Fifth Harmony)
I don’t like Fifth Harmony all that much and the backing track on this is annoying with it’s weird drum beat? Or possibly that’s some weird sound effect that sounds like a ratchet wrench or something like that to me and it throws me out of the song and since The Stereotypes produced this track they had to listen to it, and it’s not good.
"Finesse" (Bruno Mars)
Not my favorite track on 24K Magic but it's fine.
"Mo Bounce" (Iggy Azalea)
Don’t know why Iggy Azalea is coming back with an electroclub rap song but sure I liked her music before and the music video is like ninety percent shots of women shaking their butts around and if you like that that’s good. I just don’t care- the track gets old and the lyrics aren’t much better.
"Sunshine" (Kyle featuring Miguel)
Track went in one ear and out the other not a painful track to listen to- just boring.
"That's What I Like" (Bruno Mars)
It’s a good song. I’ve heard it so much on the radio I can’t get much out of this.
Verdict: My three favorites here were Calvin Harris- even if he only did an album and a song; Blake Mills for his breadth of genres he produced without making a complete dud. Sure now looking back Laura Marling’s album is the weakest in that list but it’s still fine. And also No I.D for their continuously good hip hop production. Cause while I hate Jay-Z and Beyonce’s choice to make their most recent albums spin exclusively on Tidal for months if not years until Spotify gets the leftovers and the Youtube videos of 4:44 are 80 or 90 percent short film and the rest glimpses of good Jay-Z tracks- it’s still a good record. And Vic Mensa’s Autobiography made me as excited for his future projects- similar to how I heard of Kanye West and got turned onto his music. The Logic track might be the weakest one for No I.D.’s run of produced tracks but it’s more the lyrical choices of “who can relate” to being suicidal and needing someone to talk to which hurt the track- not the backing instrumental.
So if I had to choose two that I’d be okay winning- first would be No I.D. and second would be Calvin Harris. I just hope The Stereotypes don’t win cause their songs were mostly stereo-typically bad.
Producer of the Year, Classical
Blanton Alspaugh
Adamo: Becoming Santa Claus (Emmanuel Villaume, Kevin Burdette, Keith Jameson, Lucy Schaufer, Hila Plitmann, Matt Boehler, Jonathan Blalock, Jennifer Rivera & Dallas Opera Orchestra)
Can’t find this on Spotify or youtube so I’m going ahead cause this is the only time it gets referenced in the document so therefore I don’t have to search for it because it didn’t get nominated for anything else except this producer of the year award.
Aldridge: Sister Carrie (William Boggs, Keith Phares, Matt Morgan, Alisa Suzanne Jordheim, Stephen Cunningham, Adriana Zabala, Florentine Opera Chorus & Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra)
Two and a half hour opera recording of a version of the 1900 novel Sister Carrie where a young girl moves to the city to get ahead in life and becomes a mistress to rich guys and later becomes an actress. Seems fine, I’m just not the biggest fan of operas.
Copland: Symphony No. 3; Three Latin American Sketches (Leonard Slatkin & Detroit Symphony Orchestra)
Copland isn’t my favorite composer and I honestly got a little bored with his Third Symphony here so I’d say check out Three Latin American Sketches at the end of the album- it’s only ten minutes of a nearly hour long album so you experience part of his American music. But seriously I didn’t that that much either because I forgot for just a moment that this is classical and not Latin jazz so it was just okay. Sounded nice though.
Death & The Maiden (Patricia Kopatchinskaja & The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra)
Good rendition of Death and the Maiden here. At least I think so, haven’t really listened to a lot of versions of this and I think there’s some other smaller pieces- like a 27 second piece that’s like why is that there since it can’t be counted in listens due to 30 seconds needed to count for a listen usually. But yeah good stuff that kept me interested and sounded good for a live version.
Handel: Messiah (Andrew Davis, Noel Edison, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir & Toronto Symphony Orchestra)
Well I do love Handel’s Messiah. Personal favorite is “For Unto Us A Child Is Born” but the whole thing is a great composition thanks to how Handel was just a god at composing and this isn’t half bad sounding either.
Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 53, 64 & 96 (Carlos Kalmar & Oregon Symphony)
I preferred the 53rd Symphony here but with it’s relatively short running time of an hour for three full symphonies this is a decent time.
Heggie: It's A Wonderful Life (Patrick Summers, William Burden, Talise Trevigne, Andrea Carroll, Rod Gilfry & Houston Grand Opera)
This is hilarious. I know people that don’t like the 1946 original movie and yes, this is based on It’s a Wonderful Life- and now you can get the experience as an opera. Though it is weird seeing the angel so well known as Clarence in the movie as Clara and from what I can see of the sets it looks like an acid trip with all those mirrors and the music isn’t actually a traditional opera since it’s pulling from the film score and jazz and at some points actual Christmas music so it sounds more experimental than the normal opera. Also there’s a point without music so classifying it as an opera starts getting a bit hazy.It makes sense cause it’s a big downer tragedy what with attempted suicide, wishing you were never born and the also being a horrible person to children. That’s our protagonist and he’s kind of a terrible person.
Tyberg: Masses (Brian A. Schmidt, Christopher Jacobson & South Dakota Chorale)
Liked it so that’s good. I’m not talking about it here since it’s been mentioned three other times.
Manfred Eicher
Mansurian: Requiem (Alexander Liebreich, Florian Helgath, RIAS Kammerchor & Münchener Kammerorchester)
I think with this we have reached critical mass cause unless there’s even more masses we have three now- Tyberg’s Mass, Kleiberg’s Mass for Modern Mass and now Mansurian’s Requiem. I still think Kleiberg’s Mass was better but this is number two.
Monk, M.: On Behalf Of Nature (Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble)
In things I didn’t know until this- this composer and performer has been doing weird avant garde stuff like this for 50 years. And it’s built off one of of her previous works (Realm Variations) and has no actual lyrics. And her site the starts talking about the realms of Buddhism and connecting the earth to the divine and I’m like sure that sounds pretentious and I was thinking you were ripping off Native American music mixed with Japanese melodies but do what you’re doing even if you sound a bit pretentious. I do like that she’s pushed the ways voices can interact within a piece and some of my favorite classical performers tend on the extended playing technique side (see Kronos Quartet) but this really isn’t for everyone. Hey at least I found her website and all that just putting in the title of the piece and her name. Then I checked out Amazon and some of her other pieces and it kind of reminds me of the strange side of electronic music. Still a 2016 release- so no luck there but this is the kind of classical music I tend to like. But yeah if you come into this and start dying of laughter cause it’s random people making mouth noises I really get it. She calls it a “primordial utterance” or at least I keep seeing that term- to me it’s just the classical version of a noise record. Stand Out tracks: “Duet With Shifting Ground”, “Water/Sky Rant”, and “Spider Web Anthem”.
Point & Line - Debussy And Hosokawa (Momo Kodama)
Piano pieces focusing on the Etudes “Studies” of Debussy and Hosokawa. Seems like this pianist likes showcasing French and Japanese composers in her song choices which is always nice cause while I like the European song canon I also like different world music choices. This was pretty decent.
Rímur (Arve Henriksen & Trio Mediaeval)
Female group doing medieval folk songs and sacred music. This is classical music, but like cool not really talked about classical music. It’s not my exact favorite of the year but if you want some weirder cuts and a lot of Norwegian/ Swedish sounding stuff here you go. Also it’s only like 50 minutes long which for a lot of these classical albums can be either middling or short in length since I’ve been listening to three hour operas for the last few days- this is calming and a nice break from that. Stand Out tracks: “St Birgitta Hymn- Rosa Rorans Bonitatem”, “St Magnus Hymn- Nobilis Humilis”, and “Dur Ar Den Forsta”.
Silvestrov: Hieroglyphen Der Nacht (Anja Lechner)
Cello stuff with modern classical music. Not really my instrument but it reminded me a bit of Kronos Quartet without some of their more atonal works. Just after so many classical pieces, this didn’t really stand out all that much. If I had to choose a piece I liked the most out of these, I’d choose the “8. VI. 1810 zum Geburtstag R.A. Schumann” 3 piece series. It’s a short look into the composer’s use of old ideas and modernizing them- that seems to be one of the things this Ukrainian composer is somewhat known for. Something something meta narrative and use of old cliches and updating them. At least this is weird cello music.
David Frost
Alma Española (Isabel Leonard)
One of the few times I can’t find one of these records on either Spotify or Youtube- which kind of sucks cause I think it does exist since I found both the performer’s own website, which looks nice and combines the mezzo-soprano herself and also Sharon Isbin- a decent guitarist doing Spanish guitar. At least I know I could get this since her site shows a link to Amazon and therefore it’s still easier to get than some of the gospel and jazz records talked about above.
Amplified Soul (Gabriela Martinez)
Decent album and there's some good songs like the title track but a lot of the album is focusing on a Beethoven piece so go into this knowing that it's retreading some ground.
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 6 (Jonathan Biss)
Beethoven Sonatas 9, 13, and 29. I preferred Sonata 9 in E Major cause it sounded the best to me. You could get other tracks and like them better. That's just a good starting point.
Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 (Riccardo Muti & Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
3 songs or movements so I'm not going to say which one was my favorite cause by that point it's a third of the album. It sounded nice at least.
Garden Of Joys And Sorrows (Hat Trick Trio)
It's in Spotify and the title track is in German so I'm not putting the actual name for it but I liked the album and might come back to it. Helped that it's a trio of musicians instead of a orchestra or soloist since that makes them stand out more in my memory. I'd say check this one out.
Laks: Chamber Works (ARC Ensemble)
It's on Spotify as well but no one is listening to these guys so I guess for a Grammy nod they are either that sweet spot of being on Spotify and no one knows or just they aren't the biggest classical group cause I've never heard of them. I liked the Piano Sonatina works the best but I liked the whole album. It sounded well put together.
Schoenberg, Adam: American Symphony; Finding Rothko; Picture Studies (Michael Stern & Kansas City Symphony)
Good piece of new classical music. Sure I liked Picture Studies more but I can see why he might be a good modern composer.
Troika (Matt Haimovitz & Christopher O’Riley)
This is an interesting record- even if it's nearly 2 hours long I wasn't expecting a modern track that might be influenced by rock music- “Punk Prayer- Virgin Mary, Put Putin Away” or a cover of The Beatles “Back in the U.S.S.R.” mostly because that isn't the first Beatles or Lennon track I think of when thinking of easy songs for classical music to cover. Sure there's more common names in these choices of songs- Prokofiev, Shostakovich, and Rachmaninoff but this is a great record.
Verdi: Otello (Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Günther Groissböck, Željko Lu?i?, Dimitri Pittas, Aleksandrs Antonenko, Sonya Yoncheva, The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus)
This sounded fine and was pretty long. I'm just not the biggest fan of Verdi after listening to a lot of his music. I'm more a fan of either old church music or modern and postmodern composers. Also I had more fun listening to the It's a wonderful life opera so this is just perfectly fine but nothing new to me.
Morten Lindberg
Furatus (Ole Edvard Antonsen & Wolfgang Plagge)
Not my favorite album here but it's not garbage. Just didn't really grab me and reading through Morten Lindberg’s production credits here I almost wonder if he's Norwegian or something. But my favorite pieces on the album we're by a composer named Kosaku Yamada because having a bit of Japanese style pieces in the midst of northern European tracks drew my eye and interested me.
Interactions (Bård Monsen & Gunnar Flagstad)
Violin and piano duet possibly. Wasn't really my thing but these producers can't help that. There's a duo piece written by Stravinsky that takes up a large part of the record but I would have to go with the Fartein Calendar Sonate piece as the one that got me the most interested.
Kleiberg: Mass For Modern Man (Eivind Gullberg Jensen, Trondheim Vokalensemble & Trondheim Symphony Orchestra)
It’s good stuff- enough for it to be nominated twice and it’s producer to be nominated as well.
Minor Major (Oslo String Quartet)
What's the meaning of this title? Well it's focusing on Schubert String Quartet in G Major and Beethoven String Quartet in F Minor. So in effect you get what you came for and in this case I like the sound of the Schubert pieces even if I rarely listen to his compositions.
Northern Timbre (Ragnhild Hemsing & Tor Espen Aspaas)
Violin and piano pieces I believe and I'm surprised but I like the Carl Nielsen Sonata number 1 the best here and that's surprising because I like Edvard Grieg and Jean Sibelius’ compositions here but that last three songs had some good moments. Still respectable album here.
So Is My Love (Nina T. Karlsen & Ensemble 96)
I loved this album. Probably helped that my expectations were broken because I expected to have to listen to another ensemble piece with an orchestra. Color me surprised to have this be a vocal ensemble choir doing what looks like Norwegian composer songs and therefore I have never heard these before. My favorite pieces came from Torbjorn Dyrud which takes up a decent portion of this album. Have to check all these composers that are most likely modern out.
Thoresen: Sea Of Names (Trond Schau)
Piano and flute? Or maybe clarinet? Well reed instrument at least and I've never heard of these songs so I am going out on a limb and thinking it might be original classical music. Stand Out track: Interplay op 11 1981/83.
Judith Sherman'
American Nocturnes (Cecile Licad)
This pianist has been focusing on just American composer pieces for a few years and seeing more modern composers past Copland and Gershwin is nice. Well at least Gershwin isn't here but I enjoyed this one. Not enough to make it on to the list but having an American focused album in the waves of Beethoven and the like is nice. I'd say check out George Crumb’s Eine Kline Mitternachtmusic here because he's probably my favorite American composer.
The Birthday Party (Aki Takahashi)
Piano music focusing on one modern American composer- Peter Garland. I think my favorite pieces were the movements of The Amulet. Surprised to see an album focusing on one composer that isn't the big name recognizable American composers but that's always neat.
Discovering Bach (Michelle Ross)
Seems to be every one of Bach's violin music pieces so if you like Bach here's stuff I don't think gets recorded often. My favorite one full piece of music so like two or three movements was his Sonata 1 for violin.
Foss: Pieces Of Genius (New York New Music Ensemble)
German American composer that wrote weird modernist pieces and knew Leonard Bernstein. I'd have never guessed that without looking that up cause his music doesn't sound anything close to that having weird atonal almost melodies and organized chaos when compared to Bernstein who did West Side Story among other things for example. Favorite full movement series- Echoi I through IV.
Secret Alchemy - Chamber Works By Pierre Jalbert (Curtis Macomber & Michael Boriskin)
Had to find this album by looking up the title itself but I've had to do that for a lot of these classical pieces. And if you are wondering if the Canadian skier Pierre Jalbert had a double life composing music- no. This is a completely different person with a similar name. I think the four part title track Secret Alchemy was my favorite pieces here but for postmodern or at least modal atonal sort of harmonic thing he has going in these pieces is actually nice. Mainly because for all the non melodic bits, there still is an overall melody and movement between pieces.
Sevenfive - The John Corigliano Effect (Gaudette Brass)
An actual brass ensemble in a sea of mixed and orchestral music and piano pieces is a true rarity. My favorite section here is the four part Prayers of Steel so I'd say check out that and be surprised there hasn't been more brass focused music in this long list of classical pieces.
Sonic Migrations - Music Of Laurie Altman (Various Artists)
Laurie Alman a jazz pianist and composer does a mix of world music ideas, jazz, and classical music in his compositions. Stand out tracks 5 Variations on themes on Rachmaninoff, No Hay Olvido and Shirakawa River Song. Also be warned cause this is a 2 hour and nine minute record so if you are doing one long sit it's possible but kind of sucks. Also for those listening in Spotify they switched around the title so I'd say search for Laurie Altman Sonic Migrations first. It's far easier than forcing Spotify to search for the reverse.
Tribute (Dover Quartet)
Looks like this album is focusing on Mozart and some of his String Quartets or Quintets. Or at least just Mozart so of you like Mozart this one's for you. Stand out section String Quintet no 2 in C Minor.
26 (Melia Watras & Michael Jinsoo Lim)
String duet album here using music I've never heard of so I'm guessing they might be original. Pretty okay and modern sounding take on this kind of classical form. I like Sonata for Viola solo three piece of music.
Verdict: Finally after seven days of just the classical producers I have finished this section and gone back to general speed again. If I had to choose my top two, they would be Manfred Eicher and Morten Lindberg. They had the most albums I loved and by sheer number of great production credits I'll have to give it to Manfred Eicher as my preferred winner after the run of eight or so fantastic to great albums in his list of production credits. And with a fair number ending up on my best of the year list or coming close- he wins by a landslide.
Remixer
Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical
"Can't Let You Go" (Louie Vega Roots Mix)
Louie Vega, remixer (Loleatta Holloway)
11 minute remix of an 80s or 90s song by a person I’d never heard of. Pretty groovy if you like electronic remixes. Didn’t feel like 11 minutes went by cause that was fun.
"Funk O'De Funk" (SMLE Remix)
SMLE, remixer (Bobby Rush)
Shorter three and a half minute song here and it’s literally super funky. I have no clue who sang this song originally but I might have to check these random funky people out.
"Undercover" (Adventure Club Remix)
Leighton James & Christian Srigley, remixer (Kehlani)
While I like this original Kehlani track, the changes done to amp it up for the club are putting me off here. I’ve never been a super big fan of the drop in electronic music and this just sounds like Skrillex on an off day and looking back I didn’t like a lot of Skrillex songs so this gets a pass from me. Not my thing, check it out if you like that kind of style- at least it’s only three and a half minutes long.
"A Violent Noise" (Four Tet Remix)
Four Tet, remixer (The XX)
This sounds like someone got a lot of influence from 90s techno here. No vocals outside of a few muffled sounds and it’s just focused on the driving beat that envelops you for a little more than eight minutes. Which sounds like a horrible time for some but right when I felt like I should be listening to something different, the melody added another layer to itself whcih kept my interest. I don’t really like The xx and I liked this track.
"You Move" (Latroit Remix)
Dennis White, remixer (Depeche Mode)
Gothic track right here that is actually fun to listen to and in comparison to that Adventure Club remixed song, this is how I would want drops in music to be achieved- not through making a section loud and unbearable when listening but to have a chill and driving track that’s pretty quiet and use that as the sonic baseline and slightly rise up from there. It didn’t hurt my ears or annoy me and I got some head bobbing action in this one.
Verdict: Very different category here- with like five different electronic visions of a remix. I think the only one I actively disliked was that Kehlani remix and well if you like remixes they aren’t half bad. I’d be happy with any of them winning except for that one I just named. But my first and second picks have to be that XX remix cause it was surprisingly good and I usually dislike the xx. Second would have to be that SMLE remix cause that was just funky and had a nice groove to it and I’d easily go back to that when I need a pick me up.
Surround Sound
Best Surround Sound Album
Early Americans
Jim Anderson, surround mix engineer; Darcy Proper, surround mastering engineer; Jim Anderson & Jane Ira Bloom, surround producers (Jane Ira Bloom)
Jazz record so at least this section has more variety than before. I also think this is the shortest record on here so that's impressive though a two to three hour jazz record can get to be a bit much. And no this isn't reworked folk songs in jazz forms like I would expect with that title. Just original music written by the artist and done I'm. A jazz trio led by her soprano saxophone, a bass, and drums. This isn't half bad even with me listening to like forty different jazz records doing five to ten different things. No this won't go on the best of the year list due to it being a 2016 release but at least this section is solid when if Morten Lindberg's chance of winning is 40 percent and also that 60 percent of the choices here are classical music.Stand out tracks “Singing the Triangle” and “Gateway to Progress”.
Kleiberg: Mass for Modern Man
Morten Lindberg, surround mix engineer, surround mastering engineer and surround producer (Eivind Gullberg Jensen & Trondheim Symphony Orchestra & Trondheim Vokalensemble)
Fantastic sound here and a great classical album that I wouldn’t have known existed without this little look at everything.
So Is My Love
Morten Lindberg, surround mix engineer, surround mastering engineer and surround producer (Nina T. Karlsen & Ensemble 96)
Surprisingly solid album in a category of surprisingly solid albums. Another classical piece so this makes Kraftwerk’s inclusion here even more mind-blowing.
3-D The Catalogue
Fritz Hilpert, surround mix engineer and surround producer; Tom Ammermann, surround mastering engineer (Kraftwerk)
I hope Kraftwerk wins a Grammy for something. Cause this band has been going hard for decades and has influenced electronic music so heavily it’s like everyone has ripped off their sound at some point.
Tyberg: Masses
Jesse Brayman, surround mix engineer and surround mastering engineer; Blanton Alspaugh, surround producer (Brian A. Schmidt, Christopher Jacobson & the South Dakota Chorale)
Sounds good and crisp and doesn’t overstay its welcome.
Verdict: The two projects I liked the most were Kraftwerk's 3D the Catalogue which is impressive for a five hour live album of their entire catalogue. That seems like it should be pointless but it was pretty great. And Kleiberg’s Mass for Modern Man was a standout album that once I heard it I knew it would have to be top two here. I'll have to give it to the Mass for Modern Man though for two reasons. Yes I know that Kraftwerk's been mixing or creating their album for five years and that's impressive. The problem is that I can find their last album and it's just the non live version of 3D the Catalogue. So it's like they haven't release new music in over a decade and that blows. And with it being one of the longest album projects in this list outside of the boxed set madness that is an 11 album set of Grateful Dead shows or actual audiobook recordings or films- that provides almost a barrier for entry. Kleiberg's Mass for Modern Man is hours shorter and I just thought had a better overall experience. For Kraftwerk- I'd say start out slowly withem or if you can get it do the The Catalogue version (not live) they released in the late 2000s. And go through that one album at a time cause if you want one of the earliest electronic bands outside of weird classical pieces- start there and do so cause that was an impressive attempt to remaster their catalogue. So I'd say the Mass for Modern Man wins this one.
Classical
Best Orchestral Performance
Concertos for Orchestra
Louis Langrée, conductor (Cincinatti Symphony Orchestra)
Sounds great and the four pieces in each were more exciting than I expected with such a bland name as that.
Copland: Symphony No. 3; Three Latin American Sketches
Leonard Slatkin, conductor (Detroit Symphony Orchestra)
I liked the Latin American Sketches section better cause it was shorter but it was perfectly fine- not something I’d look for again cause I prefer a few other Copland works.
Debussy: Images; Jeux & La Plus Que Lente
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor (San Francisco Symphony)
Forgot that Debussy did compose some orchestral works since I see his piano pieces as more famous and well known. This was a decent album even if the Images pieces took up 5 of the 7 tracks on here. I'd say my favorite one track piece here was Jeux but be warned cause that's still a time commitment with 18 and a half minutes for this one track.
Mahler: Symphony No. 5
Osmo Vänskä, conductor (Minnesota Orchestra)
One of my favorite symphonies by one of my favorite composers. This was pretty great and I still think that the final movement of this symphony is great. Favorite movement “V. Rondo-Finale”.
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5; Barber: Adagio
Manfred Honeck, conductor Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
Sounded good though I wonder why they added Barber’s Adagio for Strings since it was only one track.
Verdict: I think my favorite one here was Mahler Symphony no. 5 in C Minor. Sure it's only that one symphony on that record but it helped cause the rest tried to get pieces that we're either by the same composer or the same mood and sometimes it worked like in the Debussy pieces and sometimes it didn't like how I was not impressed by the Copland record or the decision to add Barber’s Adagio to the end of a record primarily dedicated to Shostakovich’s Symphony no 5.
Best Opera Recording
Berg: Lulu
Lothar Koenigs, conductor; Daniel Brenna, Marlis Petersen & Johan Reuter, soloists; Jay David Saks, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra)
Can't seem to find this on Spotify after looking everywhere and in every weird permutation of Metropolitan etc. I could think of which sucks because reading a review of this more modern take and completed piece of music (since this opera was incomplete at the composer’s death, another composer completed the third act in the 70s) it sounded pretty cool. But I'm not going to listen to another rendition and say that's equal to or better than this one. So this is off the table and inadvertently saves me about three full hours. Anyway not the biggest fan of operas so this section might be a bit of a downer.
Berg: Wozzeck
Hans Graf, conductor; Anne Schwanewilms & Roman Trekel, soloists; Hans Graf, producer (Houston Symphony; Chorus Of Students And Alumni, Shepherd School of Music, Rice University & Houston Grand Opera Children's Chorus)
Pretty good rendition of Wozzeck a weird and sometimes hard to listen to opera but I like that in my classical music so that's fine by me. I'll say that a Berg musical production has the highest chance of winning due to there being two different Berg musicals so be prepared if that happens.
Bizet: Les Pêcheurs De Perles
Gianandrea Noseda, conductor; Diana Damrau, Mariusz Kwiecień, Matthew Polenzani & Nicolas Testé, soloists; Jay David Saks, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
Same issue as above too bad it's not Carmen because they have that. Guess I can listen to this lesser known opera by Bizet but a different version at some point but not today. If only that It's a Wonderful Life opera was nominated cause that one was truly enjoyable. Sure is fun being unable to listen to a nomination. At least this makes my ideal choice easier but seriously there were better choices than two different Metropolitan Opera performances. Grammys give someone else a chance.
Händel: Ottone
George Petrou, conductor; Max Emanuel Cencic & Lauren Snouffer, soloists; Jacob Händel, producer (Il Pomo D'Oro)
What's this? I can find this easily in five seconds? How novel. Also it's literally 3 and a half hours long so that's maybe a bit of a commitment here. At least castrati aren't used anymore in classical music cause this original run used three of those. You know almost a feminine sound with the breath control of a guy due to castration and musical training- now you have to have a medical reason or weird let could to get a similar high voice and sound. But at least I see the name Handel and know I'll at least like the sound of the music. But if you are wondering what language it's in due to operas often being.in foreign languages- it's in Italian due to Handle learning how to do operas in Italy. But since it's a ridiculously long opera with 70 some pieces of music I'll just say this is good and leave it there. Probably the easiest entry for an opera out of those in this section.
Rimsky-Korsakov: The Golden Cockerel
Valery Gergiev, conductor; Vladimir Feliauer, Aida Garifullina & Kira Loginova, soloists; Ilya Petrov, producer (Mariinsky Orchestra; Mariinsky Chorus)
The two performers here are on Spotify but like how the Metropolitan Opera et al. have not been updated in awhile in the albums I need to listen to- this doesn't seem to exist right now. Too bad. To be honest though I would have probably tended towards the things I listened to so oh well.
Verdict: By happenstance I have two choices- Ottone or Wozzeck. And if I would guess by percentage there's a high chance a Berg opera will win due to two of the five choices in this category being written by that composer. But if I had to go to the easiest sit- and that includes knowing how much I love Bizet’s Carmen or Rimsky-korsakov I'd say Ottone should win- it's probably one of the longer operas I know of and also it's the easiest to listen to since it's more Baroque instead of modern due to win it was written. It naturally sounds more pleasing to the ear.
Best Choral Performance
Bryars: The Fifth Century
Donald Nally, conductor; The Crossing, choir (PRISM, ensemble)
If you told me this was some old composition of a few hundred years I wouldn't be surprised. Nice sound here. Stand out tracks “We See the Heavens With Our Eyes” and “As Sure as There is a Space Infinite’.
Händel: Messiah
Andrew Davis, conductor; Noel Edison, chorus master; Toronto Mendelssohn Choir (Elizabeth DeShong, John Relyea, Andrew Staples & Erin Wall, soloists; Toronto Symphony Orchestra)
If a orchestra and singers can pull off the Messiah, they are good in my opinion because I like that piece of music.
Mansurian: Requiem
Alexander Liebreich, conductor; Florian Helgath, chorus master; RIAS Kammerchor (Anja Petersen & Andrew Redmond, soloists; Münchener Kammerorchester)
I loved this one so this gets my approval with its selection here.
Music of the Spheres
Nigel Short, conductor; Tenebrae (choir)
I guess everyone is doing the old school choir sound and I liked this one a bit though after five of these- this falls into the middle. Stand out tracks “Autumn H.24”, “The Drowned Lovers”, and “Song of June”.
Tyberg: Masses
Brian A. Schmidt, conductor; South Dakota Choir (Christopher Jacobson, soloist)
Don’t know what songs he featured in heavily but the overall performance of everyone was great. I always like a good performance of a mass.
Verdict: Hands down my favorite piece was Mansurian: Require but all of these were solid. Though that's makes sense because one of them is Handel's Messiah, which is normally good stuff. All good choices but due to this category being a bit samey in it's sound I'd say either go with Music of the Spheres or Requiem if you want something that sounds a bit different.
Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
Buxtehude: Trio Sonatas Op. 1
Arcangelo
Baroque trio Sonatas done by a Dutch German composer I've never really heard of. Rather nice sound here and since they are doing all seven of them there's a nice range of minor and major works. Stand out pieces “G Major”, “D Minor”, and “E Minor”.
Death & the Maiden
Patricia Kopatchinskaja & the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
I liked this though some of the choices past Death and the Maiden were okay but I got bored by the end of the album which kind of bummed me out.
Divine Theatre - Sacred Motets by Giaches de Wert
Stile Antico
Another strange cut here of a composer I've never heard of. Franco Flemish Giaches de Wert late Renaissance primarily madrigal composer and sacred work guy. This is the type of church music I like it at least the sound I like. Stand out tracks: “Gaudete in Domino”, “Peccavi super numerum”, and “Ascendente Jesu in naviculam”.
Franck, Kurtág, Previn & Schumann
Joyce Yang & Augustin Hadelich
Violin and piano duet here so if you want that here's one for you. I'd say my favorite pieces were the three movements of “Tango Song and Dance” and check out more of the album if you like it otherwise this is just okay.
Martha Argerich & Friends - Live From Lugano 2016
Martha Argerich & Various Artists
This is longer than that Ottone opera and this is just a live album. Three and a half hours of classical music kind of is a bit much for one album choice here.All good but it's a bit much for my taste even if it's played fantastically.
Verdict: I'd say if I had to choose my favorite it would be the album focusing on Giaches de Wert didn't know of that composer and it was the sound I wanted out of a chamber music focused record. Seriously though it sure can be difficult to compare two different records when small ensemble and chamber music can be vastly different. More like two vocal ensemble choral music albums and three mainly instrumental works here but sure they can be comparable since it’s not that messed up grab bag of Latin category what is in time of writing this- fifty or so pages ago.
Best Classical Instrumental Solo
Bach: The French Suites
Murray Perahia
Piano pieces focusing on the complete French Suites of Bach which if you want the full experience here you go. It’s a lot of Bach and I personally like certain pieces better but I’d say check out the second French suite because that one stood out to me. More a fan of Bach’s organ pieces but that’s just me.
Haydn: Cello Concertos
Steven Isserlis; Florian Donderer, conductor (The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen)
I think Spotify has an issue updating their classical works cause this does not truly exist at the moment on the search function and I’ve been trying to search through the permutations of differing ways to see if the album exists- looking through the entire list of Haydn albums that pop up when I put in the title, or looking through the related artists or seeing if there’s other artists that the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen appears on or compilation albums or anything and nope. I guessed this could be the case with Spotify or any number of streaming services cause the real money isn’t in the classical section- it’s the music that’s popular or the “cutting edge” of trends. More people want the new Jay-Z or Beyonce album than want the newest classical composition from dead people that make boring music for old, boring people. You know how many times I’ve found some of these albums I didn’t expect on Spotify and I pull up the artist’s page and spelling errors or no artist pictures or monthly average of listeners in the tens of people pop up and shock me? I’m not kidding, I’ve found artists up above- usually the ones I have to outright say that they do exist on Spotify and they have less than five hundred monthly people listening, if not far less, and less than 1000 plays for their big hit song? Like it may seem as if I’m not trying to find these albums- I really am trying, I mean if I can find some of these composers own personal websites to learn more about them and find contact information and a well documented paper trail for the existence of the album- it’s not my fault. Funny how classical music used to be the zeitgeist of the age with it’s Firebird Suites or Black Angels or any number of pieces that pushed the envelope and then electronic music started coming in and blues, jazz, rock, and hip hop- and classical is here in a category in the Grammys- taking a fair portion of awards even for how inconsequential it seems to be now and yet it still exists, Sure I’m exhausted of sixty or so different ways to have classical music try to redo certain composers and run with trends again but classical music’s been here for like ever and it’s not going away. So I’m not trying to pass through these final sections in two seconds- ironically when I can’t find an album I actually spend more time to make sure just so I don’t get called out for skipping albums. Like I still try to find that Baylor Project jazz album that I skipped over three to four weeks ago and even now can’t find it on streaming sites that are like Spotify or something without paying full price for an album I might listen to once.
Levina: The Piano Concertos
Maria Lettberg; Ariane Matiakh, conductor (Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin)
Female Soviet Jewish composer- and yes Soviet, she died in 1976 so that is a perfectly understandable way to place her in historical context. But this full thing of piano concertos that she wrote is more like one three movement concerto with the second concerto only being the last twenty minutes and only one part. So this record only has four tracks if you are counting- even if it sounds like there’s at least twice that many with how the dynamics and dramatic pauses work. If you want a taste of this I’d say do the second concerto- it’s shorter and not almost forty minutes.
Shostakovich: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Frank Peter Zimmermann; Alan Gilbert, conductor (NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester)
I could find this one pretty easily. Ironic because a few of these classical pieces have been no shows and the most stereotypical sounding title for one of these albums here exists on Spotify after some wrangling- so yes the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester has an easily searchable artist page that, wonder of wonders, is actually pretty much up to date. Complete shocker. If I had to choose a good introduction to this album though I’d say listen to the 2nd Violin Concerto first and the go to the 1st. For some reason Shostakovich’s 1st one is a bit more hard on the ears and so if you want the easiest introduction to this album and don’t want to be blasted by loud weird tonality and awkward transitions to make a point- the 2nd one’s for you.
Transcendal
Daniil Trifonov
If you are wondering what this record is about- the pianist is playing Liszt’s works. Also it’s called Transcendental on Spotify (Edit: And everywhere else as well) so I have no idea why the Grammys have this ridiculous spelling if it actively goes against what’s on the album cover. If I had to choose my favorite composer due to technical skill I would say Liszt in a heartbeat since my favorite classical piece is still Totentanz by Liszt. And the whole record’s name on Spotify includes that fact that these are the Etudes by Liszt- which unlike normal Etudes or “studies” since yes they were intended to help pianists practice important technical skills to master- Liszt’s etudes are more virtuosic than most. I guess it helps when you were known as a wild show off that knew how to mess with other composers in building the most complex and difficult pieces to show off how awesome you were at the piano. But that kind of was what Liszt was about- cult of personality rockstar aesthetic before that was a thing. I mean you know of Beatlemania and Bieber Fever- the sheer hysteria that comes with going to a concert and being surrounded by screaming fans- but Lisztomania was a similar phenomenon for the virtuoso composer. So yes insane concerts was a thing before amplified sound systems were really invented past the whole original stage model of enclosed theater settings. Went off on a bit of a tangent there but I really do love Franz Liszt. Favorite section “Grandes Etudes de Paganini no. 1-6”.
Verdict: I have to say that going by how much I wrote for some of these combined with my knowledge of how difficult Liszt is to master and record competently- I have to say that Daniil Trifonov;s album here is insanely well done and it was my favorite record on this section so that wins without a doubt as the choice I’d prefer to win. Note though if you want to listen to it- for some reason the Grammys have it listed wrong (ironic since I have seen at least one other mistake with that Cumberland Gap rendition being attributed to the wrong artist and being fixed a few weeks later- I checked. This hasn’t.) So if you want to buy it off Amazon or whatever pretty much either look for Daniil Trifonov Liszt or some rendition- I just typed in his name and found it immediately.
Best Classical Solo Vocal Album
Bach & Telemann: Sacred Cantatas
Philippe Jarousky, soloist; Petra Müllejans, conductor
Yeah if you are confused and think that they put the wrong solist because that sounds like a woman- no that’s a countertenor. Not the most common voice type around but it exists and the vocal range is getting new steam thanks to the Baroque opera craze and needing to replace the heavy use of castrato voices with actual male voices. Ironically though the Grammys messed up with the spelling of the soloist’s name- Jaroussky has two S’s- not one. I liked the Telemann works here the best and also they tended to be shorter than the Bach pieces so good trade there.
Crazy Girl Crazy - Music by Gershwin, Berg & Berio
Barbara Hannigan
Soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan has a big focus here on modern music- or at least 20th and 21st century music which after listening to all these different albums- that’s kind of been rare. I actually had to check who thought releasing an album with her singing the 5 part Berg Lulu Suite was a good idea because at the time I didn’t know she was pulling double duty as soprano soloist and conductor so there’s songs here where she isn’t singing anything and the orchestra takes hold. But if you are sitting down and listening to the album, I’d say don’t start with track one “Sequenza III” by Berio because it’s like that Meredith Monk album above- little to no actual lyrics and avant garde type solo vocal stuff. Impressive, sure, just not the type of classical music to ease yourself into. I’d personally go with the “Girl Crazy Suite (After G. Gershwin)” as the Stand Out track here since I’m a big fan of Gershwin and also it highlights the soprano high points and her conducting skills at the same time.
Gods & Monsters
Nicholas Phan, soloist; Myra Huang, accompanist
Good tenor singing, I think, all German music. Might be wrong but going by the composers I know and the sound of how the words are and the titles of some of these things- I think it’s German. Pretty good. Not really my jam and after a hour of this, it kind of bled together. Stand Out tracks: “Der Sanger”, “Der Zwerg”, and “Elfenlied”.
In War & Peace - Harmony Through Music
Joyce DiDonato, soloist; Maxim Emelyanychev, conductor
If you want an opera solo record focusing on the mezzo soprano side- here you go. I am not a big fan of opera usually and when I am, I tend to like the whole opera performed so I can get the full picture and sound of it instead of dealing with arias. So I did not really care for this record. You might but yeah, opera stuff so if you don’t like that kind of classical- probably skip this one. Stand Out tracks: “Leo: Andromaca, Act 1: “Prendi quel ferro. O barbaro!” and “Purcell: Bonduca, or the British Heroine, Z. 574: “Oh! Lead me to some peaceful gloom.”
Sviridov: Russia Cast Adrift
Dmitri Hvorostovsky, soloist; Constantine Orbelian, conductor
Probably one of the shortest, if not the shortest classical album here at 36 minutes long and also one of the shorter albums I’ve had to listen to. I would say which movements were my favorite but besides the last track- the whole album is the “Russia Cast Adrift” of Sviridov. So unlike the Shostakovich record where they decided to add in Barber’s Adagio- yes I still remember that annoyance- at least this album had the decency to stay with one composer and also be both short and have more than five tracks. If you want a weirder choice of an easy to grasp neo romantic composer here’s the record for you. Mainly because it was dealing with sounds that weren’t decidedly modern so it’s really easy to pick up and go. Sure I still didn’t have the same adoration of the album like Mansurian’s Requiem- but it’s at least in the middle of the glut of classical records.
Verdict: Out of sheer enjoyment- or at least records that stick with me in a certain case- I would have to say either the Sacred Cantatas of Bach and Telemann or Crazy Girl Crazy should win. I liked the others mostly fine but they didn’t really stick with me or chose to focus on music that I don’t really care for or in the case of the Sviridov pieces- just too short in comparison to the rest that choosing that one feels weird to me. If I had to combine interest factor with sheer listenability though- at least in this section- I’d have to go with Jaroussky’s Sacred Cantatas album. Mainly because that one stuck with me because of the sound of a countertenor. It’s not the most common voice around- almost definitely an understatement- and the sound was great. I still won’t put it on my favorites of the year list cause it wasn’t my favorite but at least it was something I thought was possible- a countertenor record- but not hoping for.
Best Classical Compendium
Barbara
Alexandre Tharaud, conductor; Cécile Lenoir, producer
One of the weirder things on this section of classical pieces since it’s a focus on a French songwriter that died 20 years ago and so this is a weird thing because it’s so French focused. Sure the music’s on point, but I’m just happy it wasn’t a Barbara Streisand compilation done in a classical style. I dislike her so much that I left this until I was almost done just because I was wither dreading that I wouldn’t find it- or it would be a Streisand focused project and that would bum me out, What’s impressive though is that Alexandre Tharaud arranged every piece to fit into the instruments he was planning to use for each song- so this had to be a passion project or else you don’t arrange almost 25 songs- even if some are short- for a two disc album. After listening to the album though I have a major problem with it. It shouldn’t have been set up the way it was- most of the songs with lyrics are on the first disc while the second one has the mainly instrumental solo pieces- which I didn’t really gel with all that much. Sure they were good but I don’t have the same reaction a French person that knew of this song writer might. It’s just French sounding melodies to me which are all nice but they start sounding similar to me by the second disc. And with the first disc starting and ending with a Prelude and Postlude? It was like the compiler or creator of the project threw the god ideas and ending point in the first disc and threw the leftovers in the rest of it. Stand Out tracks in Disc 1: “Vivant poeme” and “Say When Will You Return? (Dis, quand reviendras tu?” Disc 2 had “Nantes” but seriously disc 2 is kind of a bummer in my opinion.
Higdon: All Things Majestic, Viola Concerto & Oboe Concerto
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor; Tim Handley, producer
Pretty great collection of songs. I liked the 18 minute Oboe Concerto best, but I was never bored of this album. Check that one out if you want cause either way- you are probably going to spend 18 minutes listening to a complete shorter piece by classical composers. I guess it’s a thing.
Kurtág: Complete Works for Ensemble & Choir
Reinbert de Leeuw, conductor; Guido Tichelman, producer
Well this wasn't my favorite album here because it had that avant garde sound that puts off a lot of people. I’m guessing he’s Russian (just looked it up though- Hungarian) and he’s taking a lot of inspiration from poetry which is always neat- but this really isn’t a come one come all everyone will love kind of record here. I actually had a few moments myself where I was wondering how musical this was. So this might go in the middle or lower bottom portion of this section so far unless the other ones suck enough for me to give this a well at least it’s impressive they did most of his works kind of prize. This is just a bit too much for me. I mean when I think the song “Songs to Poems of Anna Akmatova, Op. 41 Voronezh” has an air horn siren as an instrument this isn’t a real “fun” time. Interesting sure. Fun? No. Stand Out tracks: “Grabstein fur Stephan Op.15c”, and “Colinda-Balada, Op. 46”. These two songs are the most listenable and some of the longer tracks- cause while there’s 52 tracks on the album, a lot of the songs are around a minute long.
Les Routes de l'Esclavage
Jordi Savall, conductor; Benjamin Bletton, producer
This is on Spotify- bit of a mess to find since I had to look up the title listed here and could find nothing. Didn’t look up the conductor at first but I looked through an Amazon page that had to be translated from French to find it due to how messed up translations can be. But yeah the actual English title at least for Spotify is “The Routes of Slavery” or just look up Jordi Savall and scroll down- he seems to have a well updated Spotify page. Interesting use of recitations and music but with those sections being in French- it’s not really important to get the point of the album. Seems like this guy does historically focused albums like this and that’s kind of neat. What seems to be important thought here is showing the passage of time and mixing Western European music “the masters” if you will, with the African and native rhythms almost trying to get at least a part of the picture through music. Interesting take on slavery without having songs outright saying the message- cause while some people might hate the rhythmic split between songs and lyric passages- it works in my opinion and if you don’t want to hear French recitations of passages of historical documents and speeches like skip the tracks that have “Recit” in them. Otherwise this is kind of a weird little record. Stand Out track Disc 1: “La Negrina/ Gugurumbe”. Disc 2: “Les Indios: Fuera, Fuera! Haganles Lugar!”.
Mademoiselle: Première Audience - Unknown Music of Nadia Boulanger
Lucy Mauro, pianist and producer
First ever album completely focused on Nadia Boulanger’s music. Sure there’s only 37 tracks here which is everything she’d ever written- even the now first time recorded pieces- but that’s mainly because she actually stopped writing music because she personally thought she didn’t have any talent for composing. Ironically, that made her even more important thanks to her decision to teach. So she seems to be the most prolific composer in terms of students-I checked her wikipedia page to check for a list and it’s incomplete thanks to how she didn’t really keep records but it’s still a ridiculously long list up there in the tens of students. She had a system to teach and it paid dividends. This is neat but I can kind of see why she might have thought she didn’t really have the knack for composing- it’s good but like okay. Stand Out track Disc 1: “Mon Coeur” Disc 2: “Piece sur des aires populaires flamands”.
Verdict: A surprisingly easy field to choose from in my opinion cause I really liked that Routes of Slavery album. Like I still have problems with it but it’s the best one here out of the choices. It’s consistently good, has a message it tries to deliver through music and recitations and also is probably the most easy to listen to musically here. And to choose between this and the other French album focusing on Barbara’s fans covering her french pop hits- this one wins because it varies the music a bit with a few instrumental songs throughout instead of shunting the instrumental pieces to disc 2. So yeah I really want Routes of Slavery to win this.
Best Contemporary Classical Composition
Songs of Solitude
Richard Danielpour, composer (Thomas Hampson, Giancarlo Guerrero & the Nashville Symphony)
Sounded like he was taking some feel from jazz here though without the complete anarchy it gives the Songs of Solitude which aren’t happy songs a sense of importance. This is something I’d come back to because I didn’t feel like he was ripping off another composer and also finding good new classical pieces in between the glut of rerecording the classics is always good to me. Stand Out section: “Songs of Solitude V: The Second Coming”.
Viola Concerto
Jennifer Higdon, composer (Roberto Diaz, Giancarlo Guerrero & the Nashville Symphony)
Good piece of music and at least in the middle of the pack here in my opinion. Only three parts to this and so I'll say check out the end part cause that's was pretty good and endings tend to have the most life to them. Stand out movement “Viola Concerto III”.
Requiem
Tigran Mansurian, composer (Alexander Liebreich, Florian Helgath, the RIAS Kammerchor & the Münchener Kammerorchester)
Out of the choices here I liked this one the most so far. I tend to enjoy the sound of masses and especially Latin and since this, after looking deeper into it, is dedicated to the victims of the Armenian genocide and also is a mix of Latin and Armenian feel, this doesn’t feel exactly old but also doesn’t feel exactly new- I’d say this works as a middle ground between Tyberg’s mass and Kleiberg’s if we only focus on the last hundred or so years. But then there’s Handel’s Messiah as well. So there’s a ton of sacred music here and this still hits two if only focusing on the masses, three if adding in Handel. Stand Out tracks: “Requiem Aeternam”, “Dies Irae”, and “Lacrimosa”.
Picture Studies
Adam Schoenberg, composer (Michael Stern & the Kansas City Symphony)
Favorite parts were “Olive Orchard” and “Calder’s World”. For those who like mostly quieter pieces of music and more abstract classical music here you go. Based entirely on a museum visit and the pieces that spoke to the composer.
Concerto for Orchestra
Zhou Tian, composer (Louis Langrée & the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra)
Better than I expected but in a category of good contenders this is middling at best in my opinion. Still nice that an orchestral concerto was more fun than I thought it could be but yeah it's just fine. Stand out movements the second and fourth ones.
Verdict: I have to say that top two were Songs of Solitude for it's more jazz influenced and modern take on musicality but if I had to say my personal favorite it would be Tigran Mansurian's Requiem. It was the classical piece of music I wanted and so I had the best time with it.
Music Video/Film
Best Music Video
"Up All Night" – Beck
Canada, video director; Laura Serra Estorch & Oscar Romagosa, video producers
For one of the more catchy current day Beck songs has this weird video where girl walks into a college party and turns into a knight to save her passed out drunk boyfriend? I’m guessing that’s the case though it starts getting all weird. I like weird and so this is a fun video.
"Makeba" – Jain
Lionel Hirle & Gregory Ohrel, video directors; Yodelice, video producer
Oh okay even though I have never heard of this French pop singer before now. I really like the African dance beat here. And on the video it's just this should win. Like the camerawork this had to take when compared to The Story of O.J. which is this animated thing and yet here’s Makeba having the song and video kind of match and it's just a weird thing.
"The Story of O.J." – Jay-Z
Shawn Carter & Mark Romanek, video directors; Daniel Midgley, video producer
This is the most uncomfortable Fleischer era 1930’s cartoon I’ve ever seen. It’s almost if he’s taking back the negative caricatures seen in those early era cartoons since it hits on a lot of uncomfortable things to think about. I mean it hits on a lot of things that happened since coming to America. So that does mean seeing short snippets of slaves coming off the boats in chains and being sold at a slave market in one scene. Or the last few seconds of white people standing around the cartoon version of Jay-Z being lynched and a white kid smiling happily. Which if you look hard enough, yes photos of lynchings do exist- it's not a great time. One of my favorite bits is when Jay-Z calls himself a dumbo in the song itself and the cartoon shows him for a bit as Dumbo or at least a flying elephant. It also has images of burning crosses and dancing KKK members its kind of surreal in how out there it is with its imagery. I mean in some scenes we have Jay-Z eating watermelon and whenever “faux” or fake N words come up in the chorus, the cartoon shows somebody in blackface or something very similar to it. It’s as if Jay-Z distilled the problems from the last century at least and just floats out the idea “Still?” It’s probably my favorite music video I stumbled onto this year. Old school flavor animation is rare in music videos.
"Humble" – Kendrick Lamar
The Little Homies & Dave Meyers, video directors; Jason Baum, Dave Free, Jamie Rabineau, Nathan K. Scherrer & Anthony Tiffith, video producers
Not my favorite music video here but I do like the imagery of Kendrick being sort of dressed like the pope and also there’s a scene referencing the Last Supper which is always neat. There’s some good filming with possibly some slow motion or stop motion video- I don’t know what it is but it draws my eye. So far this would be my choice for number two though the song really helps.
"1-800-273-8255" – Logic featuring Alessia Cara & Khalid
Andy Hines, video director; Andrew Lerios, video producer
Seven minute short film about bullying and being different and it's still not my favorite music video. It's a needed one, to be sure, but the idea of being gay and being bullied and wanting to die is a topic in music videos that has at least been touched on before. Still well shot and unlike Humble, there isn’t weird camera tricks that draw your eye. Still a good music video gets the point of the song across while being stylish.
Verdict: In a strange upset for me, I liked either “Makeba” or “Up All Night” better. Though that doesn’t mean the others are bad. I just liked these two better and unlike Jay-Z and Kendrick they haven’t been nominated in many categories. Also I’d give it to Logic’s seven minute short film cause that was decently powerful and I like the song but I also like fun and that trumps Logic’s very important song. Both of these choices work and each of these music videos deserve some recognition.
Best Music Film
One More Time With Feeling – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Andrew Dominik, video director; Dulcie Kellett & James Wilson, video producers
Well this was emotionally draining. Not that it’s bad- far, far from it. It’s just that The Skeleton Tree album released by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds was one of my favorite albums by the band and it came partially from a bad place- since partway through the production process, Nick Cave lost his 15 year old son after he fell off a cliff. This movie, shot almost entirely in black and white, is the response to wanting to explain their feelings about the accident and how that impacted everyone who made the album or was related to it- without having to provide multiple interviews to each and every music journalist. It’s almost haunting in a way because it wasn’t really planned to have interviews- each one is off the cuff and raw and it just throws you into the mindset of Nick Cave, his band, and his family with no real intertitle sequence explaining the tragedy that impacted them. It’s actually pretty moving and something I probably shouldn’t have watched if I wanted something that was lighthearted and fun. Also I found it on Amazon Prime video- it’s probably in other spots but boy was I glad for it to be easily accessible to me.
Long Strange Trip – The Grateful Dead
Amir Bar-Lev, video director; Alex Blavatnik, Ken Dornstein, Eric Eisner, Nick Koskoff, Justin Kreutzmann, video producers
I guess this is a music film- more of a music miniseries if it’s in five parts on Amazon Prime and about like four to five hours long. It’s a long sit and for those that want to keep the whole political and social culture of the last few months out of their music films- part 5 featuring famous Deadheads includes Al Franken so if you don’t want to deal with that skip the last bit. Also it toys with the idea that Jerry Garcia dies in the 90s a few times but it ends on a happy note which kind of sours the point of a long look at a band like this- parts 1 through 3 and part of 4 are the pre break up band. The rest is the comeback in the late 70’s to 90s. That is almost too much info front loaded into it. But if you think this is a puff piece about how great the Dead is- it really is more balanced since it takes a long time explaining that Jerry Garcia was probably the worst person to “lead” the band with the whole throng of the band and its followers turning into drug fueled crazy people that got burnt out on every drug known to man. It’s almost like they say something happy about them unlocking their mind one scene about using drugs and them the next sentence is “all my friends are dead because of getting too lost in drugs”. This might be one of the better looks into the Dead and it actually kept me interested throughout, though yeah, it’s a thing even I had to take a break from- doing the whole experience in two sittings instead of a total binge.
The Defiant Ones – (various artists)
Allen Hughes, video director; Sarah Anthony, Fritzi Horstman, Broderick Johnson, Gene Kirkwood, Andrew Kosove, Laura Lancaster, Michael Lombardo, Jerry Longarzo, Doug Pray & Steven Williams, video producers
Sorry about this but since I won’t pirate a music film cause that’s highly illegal and also that watching it requires HBO. I don’t have HBO and besides a few shows I might watch, I don’t care if I don’t have a need to get HBO. Can’t comment on this beyond that I would like watching it cause I’ve heard it’s good but I guess that saves me like four hours? So while this isn’t in the running due to me not watching it- I have heard it’s competently made. If you like rap, this might be the one for you since it’s the partnership between Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine.
Soundbreaking – (various artists)
Maro Chermayeff & Jeff Dupre, video directors; Joshua Bennett, Julia Marchesi, Sam Pollard, Sally Rosenthal, Amy Schewel & Warren Zanes, video producers
Boy do I want to see an eight part PBS series featuring a lot of big names in like all of recorded music today. I can’t. Or I could buy the Blu Ray for like 30 dollars and watch it but no. Somehow it’s probably on some other streaming service and well I would love paying twenty to thirty dollars on it and spend the time watching it but I think I’m good. Probably equally competent and good.
Two Trains Runnin' – (various artists)
Sam Pollard, video director; Benjamin Hedin, video producer
This one sounds interesting again, because it is highlighting the search for Son House and Skip James, two obscure blues singers of the 1930’s during the Freedom Summer of 1964 and because I really love blues history and music- I’d probably love this film. But can’t find it on Amazon and there are still screenings of it as told by its own site but they are nowhere near me and also unless they are selling it later, I can’t find a copy to even like buy so this is like actually impossible for me to get ahold of.
Verdict: Probably each of these are solid. But going only by the two documentaries I have seen out of the contenders, I’d have to say that the Nick Cave documentary is the easiest sit due to length, though maybe the Grateful Dead is the easiest emotionally and musically to sit through cause Nick Cave’s beautiful Skeleton Tree album is experimental and weird in a modern way and highly dark and depressing. The Grateful Dead are experimental and weird in the almost religious sense- in that everyone is super into and likes the Grateful Dead that I still hear some of their shorter songs on classic rock radio. They are the cult phenomenon that is super mainstream. Nick Cave’s just a dude doing weird folk rock music and dealing with a personal tragedy of that moment. I’d say equally watch them but if you want a sit that doesn’t take up four to five hours, by time alone and emotional impact to myself- I’d have to say One More Time With Feeling wins. Though now I want to get the other documentaries in some form- I don’t want to spend maybe 60 dollars total and wait for that really interesting blues documentary to release. Thanks Grammys for selecting stuff I can’t watch.
This took way longer than expected. Also six full weeks of listening to music. I don’t recommend doing this and most of the time this was a bit of a chore. Do you know how not fun going through the song sections were? Those little five to seven minutes songs all nominated add up quick. And then there’s the whole classical section and jazz and after a while this was a chore to get through. I got through it but like this didn’t need 60 thousand words to say the Grammys are a bit messed up and people don't pay much attention to the awards. Their ways of being super opaque and insular for their voting process is understandable since normal people’s taste in music is average and predictable but seriously the way they organized the categories and kept things viable by condensing albums into sections that no longer make sense or are too vague is baffling. Then there’s the whole "this album must have 51 percent newly recorded music" rule I kept seeing and like that’s stupid. Why not just have it be 100 percent newly recorded stuff or maybe have that one Historical section for rerecordings, cool finds and remasters. Either way the Grammys, like every critics choice award show is kind of a mess and nobody pays attention to them for good reason. Also they put albums that really should have been in other sections that makes me wonder who voted for this and went "sure this makes total sense."
No comments:
Post a Comment