2014 Grammy Nominations

On December 6, nominees for the 2014 Grammy Awards were announced. There were many exciting inclusions and I've become very pleased with the ever-increasing presence of independent music in these awards. Be sure to tune in January 26 on CBS for the show!

Below, are some of the categories that I will be keeping an eye on (and I've starred my personal favorites to win)! Keep in mind, I long ago abandoned the idea that the Grammy's are supposed to reflect either mine or popular tastes. It is an industry award, though still fun to follow!

Record of the Year
*Daft Punk - "Get Lucky"
Imagine Dragons - "Radioactive"
Lorde - "Royals"
Bruno Mars - "Locked Out of Heaven"
Robin Thicke - "Blurred Lines"

Album of the Year
Sara Bareilles - The Blessed Unrest
Daft Punk - Random Access Memories
*Kendrick Lamar - good kid, m.A.A.d City
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - The Heist
Taylor Swift - Red

Best New Artist
*James Blake
Kendrick Lamar
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Kacey Musgraves
Ed Sheeran

Best Dance/Electronica Album
Daft Punk - Random Access Memories
*Disclosure - Settle
Calvin Harris - 18 Months
Kaskade - Atmosphere
Pretty Lights - A Color Map of the Sun

Best Rock Performance
Alabama Shakes - "Always Alright"
*David Bowie - "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)"
Imagine Dragons - "Radioactive"
Led Zeppelin - "Kashmir"
Queens of the Stone Age - "My God Is the Sun"
Jack White - "I'm Shakin'"

Best Rock Album
Black Sabbath - 13
*David Bowie - The Next Day
Kings of Leon - Mechanical Bull
Queens of the Stone Age - ...Like Clockwork
Neil Young with Crazy Horse - Psychedelic Pill

Best Alternative Music Album (I'd be pretty happy regardless of who wins this one!)
*Neko Case - The Worse Things Get
*The National - Trouble Will Find Me
*Nine Inch Nails - Hesitation Marks
*Tame Impala - Lonerism
*Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City

2012 Grammy Nominations

Grammy nominations for the 2012 awards show were announced a few weeks ago. There were a few surprises and a lot of fulfilled expectations.

My first surprise was the extension of the "indie effect" on this years nominees (well, mostly just Bon Iver). The artist was nominated for a total of four awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best New Artist and Best Alternative Music Album.

The second surprise was the (relative) snubbing of Kanye West. Although he led the pack with seven nominations, for both My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Watch the Throne (with Jay Z), his solo album was conspicuously missing from the Album of the Year category. Given the praise he received for the album on last year's best of lists, one has to wonder if his past award show behavior is the reason for the snub, although he blames the release of two albums in one year.

Unsurprisingly, Adele's 21 racked up a decent number of nomination, six. While I personally preferred her first album, there's no denying this girl had a banner year and should fare well in February.

As usual, I'm more excited for the so-called "specialty" categories and what awards they may offer up this year. Always satisfying is the Best Alternative Music Album, which sees Bon Iver, My Morning Jacket, Death Cab for Cutie, Radiohead and Foster the People nominated. Fleet Foxes also saw a nomination in the Best Folk Album category and Cut Copy was recognized in the Best Dance/Electronica Album category. It's a shame that these categories won't be televised, but it's nice to see some of my favorite music get the recognition.

Oh, can't forget, The Black Keys, who took home three awards last year, were nominated again! This time for the song "Dearest" off a Buddy Holly tribute album.

The awards are on CBS on February 12 at 8:00 PM.