Crib Notes

First off, why isn’t it spelled Grammies? Why does it get to flaunt the rules of pluralization? But that’s only the most innocuous of problems with this dinosaur of the music industry. Or maybe the music industry’s the dinosaur. Did I just blow your mind, man? Either way, below is a play-by-play of the excruciatingly banal, the terrifically bizarre, and the pleasantly surprising moments of last night’s awards. Also, Georgia musicians that done done good.

The telecast opened in the gayest way possible (and I don’t mean that in a bad way), with weirdo-flavor-of-the-moment Lady Gaga sitting across a creepy hand-laden piano from onetime Atlanta resident Sir Elton John. After Gaga delivered a medley of some of her hits (what is the deal with the medley, Grammys?), she sat down with Elton and growled, “I wanna be a staaaaaar!” Then they played together. It was off-putting and a little scary. Anyway, they both looked crazy, and it was sort of enjoyable. At the least, it was the most fitting collaboration of the night.

As much as I like Stephen Colbert, his niche-y brand of comedy always fails to go over well in front of a large audience. Anyone remember the White House Correspondents’ Dinner? So it was on Grammy night, as he whipped out his brand new iPad in a weird new style of ironic product placement. Meh, meh, meh.

Sidenote: What’s up with the one Jonas Brother who looks like a hipster? Is he going to break off from the rest of the pack and go record his gritty solo album with Steve Albini? I hope so, and not.

Now it was time for the award for Song of the Year, which Beyonce won for “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It),” which was a big “duh.” If any of the others had taken it (Kings of Leon?) there would probably have been mass rioting. I guess the Great Kanye Debacle of 2009 has taught all awards shows that if Beyonce’s up for something, you’d better fucking give it to her, and how. Oh, but Beyonce was busy preparing for her big performance, and so the dudes who actually wrote the song — Atlantans Christopher “Tricky” Stewart and Terius “The Dream” Nash — went up to accept the award. I always forget that most of these folks don’t write their own songs. Music!

Green Day has a broadway musical coming out. Remember when they were a punk band? Yeah, me either.

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Seems like there was more action behind-the-scenes than onstage, despite the 20-plus performances at this year’s Grammy Awards.

Chris Brown reportedly got gangsta with his girlfriend Rihanna, causing them both to cancel their performances. The alleged reason behind the smackdown should bring a whole new meaning to their upcoming collabo, “Bad Girl,” produced by Atlantan Polow da Don for the Confessions of a Shopaholic soundtrack. Meanwhile the real “gangstas,” Lil Wayne and T.I., delivered upstanding, redemptive performances — neither of which required NARAS President Neil Portnow to excuse their inclusion in the program, the way he had to when Eminem performed to the chagrin of gay rights activists in 2001.

Of course, the Recording Academy continued this year with the ultra-lame generational mashup theme that made for some of the oddest pairings ever.

Surely, Stevie Wonder would’ve been insulted if only he could’ve seen how silly he looked on stage with the Jonas Brothers. The Al Green/Justin Timberlake pairing was quite a yawner, but perhaps we should be thankful that Timberlake didn’t attempt to rip Green’s shirt off for a grand finale. And did we really need to see B.B. King and John Mayer trade ugly guitar faces for the second year in a row?

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Janelle Monae is one of 19 Georgia-affiliated acts to get a Grammy nod

51st Annual Grammy Award Nominees Affiliated with Georgia (list courtesy The Recording Academy Atlanta Chapter)

Shaffer Smith/Ne-Yo (6)
Born in Arkansas, Raised in Las Vegas; Wikipedia

• Album of the Year: Year of the Gentleman
• Best Male Pop Vocal Performance: “Closer”
• Best Male R&B Vocal Performance: “Miss Independent”
• Best R&B Song: “Miss Independent”
• Best Contemporary R&B Album: Year of the Gentleman
• Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical: “Closer”

John Mayer (5)
From Connecticut, Resided in Atlanta; Wikipedia

• Best Male Pop Vocal Performance: “Say”
• Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals: “Lesson Learned”
• Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance: “Gravity”
• Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media: “Say” (From The Bucket List)
• Best Long Form Music Video: Where The Light Is — Live In Los Angeles

T.I./Clifford Harris (4)
Born/Raised in the Bankhead section of Atlanta; Wikipedia

• Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group: “Swagga Like Us”
• Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group: “Wish You Would”
• Best Rap Song: “Swagga Like Us”
• Best Rap Album: Paper Trail

Trisha Yearwood (3)
Born in Monticello, Ga.; Wikipedia

• Best Female Country Vocal Performance: “This Is Me You’re Talking To”
• Best Country Collaboration With Vocals: “Let The Wind Chase You”
• Best Country Album: Heaven, Heartache And The Power Of Love

T-Pain (3)
Born/Raised in Tallahassee, Fla., Resides in Atlanta; http://www.t-pain.net/biography

• Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: “Low”
• Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: “Got Money”
• Best Rap Song: “Low”

Gnarls Barkley (3)
Group’s origin is in Atlanta; Wikipedia

• Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals: “Going On”
• Best Alternative Music Album: The Odd Couple
• Best Short Form Music Video: “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul”

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THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES: Herbie Hancock wins Album of the Year at the 50th annual Grammy Awards.

(Photo by Kwaku Alston)

Every year, we get excited about the Grammys and the Oscars in the weeks before they’re held, and then complain about them the night afterward. But out of the two, I think the Grammys have it tougher. When it comes to film, people love their niches — art flicks, action movies, teen comedies, whatever — but manage to agree on a few great movies. Unfortunately, music is hobbled by generational, cultural and even racial divides. Worse, each group claims to have the best musical taste, and has little tolerance for anything else.

It’s rare when everyone agrees an album is good, which seemingly happened with Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black last year. An indicator of its vast appeal was the wide range of media that gossiped about her well-chronicled drug problems: websites and blogs, tabloid glossies such as Us Weekly, music magazines such as Rolling Stone, and even mainstream publications such as the New York Times. Black and white, young and old audiences bought Back to Black, and everyone took interest in her musical and personal life.

That’s why Winehouse dominated the 50th annual Grammy Awards last night. She won five out of the six awards she was nominated for and nearly swept the major categories, picking up Record of the Year and Song of the Year for her “Rehab” single and Best New Artist.

Winehouse’s sole loss came in the Album of the Year category. Although many observers were surprised when Herbie Hancock’s River: The Joni Letters beat Winehouse’s Back to Black and Kanye West’s Graduation, it wasn’t out of the ordinary. When it comes to the Album of the Year, the Recording Academy, which hands out the awards, tends to opt for two choices: a multiplatinum hit that draws a diverse audience or a late-period work from a legacy artist. Hancock’s win was something akin to a lifetime achievement award for a jazz legend. (My colleague Andisheh Nouraee calls this the “Steely Dan award.” Steely Dan’s Everything Must Go famously beat out West’s The College Dropout at the 2004 Grammys.)

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For those of you who like to talk big junk while you watch the Grammy Awards, tune in here — yes, here — at 8 p.m. on Sunday night.

That’s right, we’re going hi-tech, holmes.

Music writer Mosi Reeves and I will be live blogging about the show — which is chock full of Atlanta-based nominees — while it’s in full swing.

If Soulja Boy doesn’t win Best Rap Song for “Crank That,” I’m going on a writer’s strike.

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The Dream

(photo courtesy Island Def Jam)

The Recording Academy announced the nominees for the 2007 Grammy Awards Thursday. Over the past few years, the Grammy Awards have been a reflection of the Atlanta urban-music industry’s commercial dominance, both here and around the world. That was particularly true in 2004, when OutKast won Album of the Year for Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.

But in 2007, that’s not necessarily the case. In Atlanta, the big story has been the rise of the city’s underground music scene, from well-documented bands such as Deerhunter and the Black Lips to innovative soul artists such as Janelle Monae, Donnie and Anthony David. Of course, none of those artists sold enough records to get the Recording Academy’s attention.

However, the Grammy noms reflect a few important trends. Regardless of one’s thoughts on his recent legal troubles, T.I. remains a tremendously talented and compelling artist. The ringtone rap phenomenon continues to generate stars such as Soulja Boy and the Shop Boyz. And with some of the industry’s most talented songwriters, producers, musicians and engineers living here, studio veterans such as Aldrin “DJ Toomp” Davis, Christopher “Tricky ” Stewart and Terius “the Dream” Nash are making key contributions to the biggest records.

Most of the major artists on the Atlanta front, including Ludacris, Usher, India.Arie, and OutKast didn’t put out albums this year. As a result, behind-the-scenes players held down the major categories. DJ Toomp got several nominations for his assists on Kanye West’s Graduation, including Album of the Year. Tricky Stewart earned Record of the Year and Song of the Year nominations for co-producing Rihanna’s “Umbrella,” and the Dream got a Song of the Year nomination, too, for writing the “Umbrella” lyrics.

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