Breaking down the GRAMMY Nominations; 2008 edition

A performance from the Foo Fighters still wasn't enough to get me to watch the Grammy Nomination show last week, but now that I've bothered to take a look at who the Recording Academy's children told their out-of-touch parents should be nominated, it's time a take a look at a couple categories

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Coldplay, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III
Ne-Yo, Year of the Gentleman
Robert Plant and Allison Krauss, Raising Sand
Radiohead, In Rainbows

For the most part this category is in order. Viva La Vida was the surefire album to get nominated, and deservedly so. For no other reason than its mold-breaking publicity stunt Radiohead deserved a spot. Tha Carter III is a shout-out to the bloggers who know what they're talking about. Robert Plant and Allison Krauss are this year's Herbie Hancock, the old folks who put out an OK-but-not-great album who could steal it all because they're respected artists paying tribute to a respected (read: old) style of music.

The Ne-Yo pick still confuses me. Granted, I still need to hear Year of the Gentleman, but the singles I've heard so far were best described as bland. If they were going to nominate an R&B/Soul record, I would've gone with the better/more successful Exclusive by Chris Brown.

Who Should Win: Radiohead's gone 0-for-2 on AotY nominations, and I feel like In Rainbows is their best chance at scoring a nod. That said, I see a gunfight breaking out between Coldplay and Lil Wayne to score this one. I'm gonna say this is Radiohead's year.

RECORD OF THE YEAR
"Chasing Pavements", Adele
"Viva La Vida", Coldplay
"Bleeding Love", Leona Lewis
"Paper Planes", M.I.A.
"Please Read the Letter", Robert Plant and Allison Krauss

"Chasing Pavements" has no business sharing this category with Coldplay and Leona Lewis. Likewise, the only part of "Paper Planes" I like is the gunshots in the chorus. I like the Plant/Krauss song, but this category is already locked up. That said, where the hell is Duffy on this one? "Mercy" should have been a lock for this category. Grammy fail.

Who Should Win: Coldplay Coldplay Coldplay.

BEST NEW ARTIST
Adele
Duffy
The Jonas Brothers
Lady Antebellum
Jazmine Sullivan

Once again, Grammy's definition of "new artist" needs to be examined. According to their official website:

(For a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that artist.)

Anybody read that and think this is Grammy's way of screwing over smaller record labels? This makes me wonder how many mainstream artists are getting boned by the academy because they won't sign their souls away to the Big Four. Look for another rant on this soon.

Who Should Win: Duffy's the best in this group, but serious doubts as to her chances. Best New Artist is always the toughest one for me to call (Paramore got ROBBED last year).

BEST ROCK ALBUM
Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, Coldplay
Rock N Roll Jesus, Kid Rock
Only By The Night, Kings of Leon
Death Magnetic, Metallica
Consolers of the Lonely, The Raconteurs

Again, Coldplay has a chance to win big. But Jack White has been a Grammy darling for a few years now, so nothing's locked in. The only one here that doesn't quite make sense is Kid Rock, but I'm willing to let that slide.

Who Should Win: Tough call. I think it comes down to Coldplay and Metallica.

That's gonna be it for now, as I have other projects to work on. I'll be revisiting htese nominations over the coming weeks, and I'm expecting to do a running diary again this year. Till then, post your own thoughts here.