I made it through the first thirty-four minutes before I turned the channel to a rerun of COPS and then enjoyed the mid-season debut of Walking Dead. I’ve promised myself not to be snarky about the Grammys this year; it’s part of my New Years’ resolution to focus on gratitude, acceptance and tolerance. If past years are any indication, there may be a few days where folks need to post blogs, critique, make fun of, argue, debate and chastise the entire concept of award shows in general, and this one in particular. Before I unleash the list, it’s important to remember something I think Kim said last year: this award show is not relevant to the music I listen to and write about. It’s about something else; the best selling, top tier of the music-media-markeing complex. The Honey Boo Boo of music, if you will.
Congratulations to all the winners, and if you find yourself outraged by something….like the two hour red carpet show on the E! Channel…or Elton John on the stage during the Levon Helm tribute…or woman-beater Chris Brown welcomed back into the fold…just take solace that the organization does have a charity arm that helps musicians in need, and they promote music education. Maybe that’s the equivalent in saying that a slice of pizza worth 550 calories, half of which is saturated fat, has sauce on it made from a vegetable, which is good for you. But optimism is better than nothin’.
Here’s a complete list of the winners from the Associated Press.
• Album of the year: “Babel,” Mumford & Sons.
• Record of the year: “Somebody That I Used to Know,” Gotye featuring Kimbra.
• Song of the year: “We Are Young,” fun.
• New artist: fun.
• Pop solo performance: “Set Fire to the Rain (Live),” Adele.
• Pop vocal album: “Stronger,” Kelly Clarkson.
• Rock performance: “Lonely Boy,” The Black Keys.
• Urban contemporary album: “Channel Orange,” Frank Ocean.
• Rap/sung collaboration: “No Church in the Wild,” Jay-Z, Kanye West featuring Frank Ocean, The-Dream.
• Country solo performance: “Blown Away,” Carrie Underwood.
• Country album: “Uncaged,” Zac Brown Band
• Pop/duo group performance: “Somebody That I Used to Know,” Gotye featuring Kimbra.
• Traditional pop vocal album: “Kisses on the Bottom,” Paul McCartney.
• Rap performance: “N****s in Paris,” Jay-Z, Kanye West.
• Rap song: “N****s in Paris,” Shawn Carter, Mike Dean, Chauncey Hollis, Kanye West.
• Rap album: “Take Care,” Drake.
• R&B performance: “Climax,” Usher.
• Traditional R&B performance: “Love on Top,” Beyonce.
• R&B song: “Adorn,” Miguel Pimentel.
• R&B album: “Black Radio,” Robert Glasper Experiment.
• Rock song: “Lonely Boy,” The Black Keys.
• Rock album: “El Camino,” The Black Keys.
• Hard rock/metal performance: “Love Bites (So Do I),” Halestorm.
• Alternative music album: “Making Mirrors,” Gotye.
• Dance recording: “Bangarang,” Skrillex featuring Sirah.
• Dance/electronica album: “Bangarang,” Skrillex.
• Latin pop album: “MTV Unplugged Deluxe Edition,” Juanes.
• Latin rock, urban or alternative album: “Imaginares,” Quetzal.
• Latin jazz album: “Ritmo!,” The Clare Fisher Latin Jazz Big Band.
• Tropical Latin album: “Retro,” Marlow Rosado Y La Riquena.
• Country duo/group performance: “Pontoon,” Little Big Town.
• Country song: “Blown Away,” Josh Kear, Chris Tompkins.
• Gospel song: “Go Get It,” Mary Mary.
• Gospel album: “Gravity,” Leerae.
• Blues album: “Locked Down,” Dr. John.
• Folk album: “The Goat Rodeo Sessions,” Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile.
• Americana album: “Slipstream,” Bonnie Raitt.
• Bluegrass album: “Nobody Knows You,” Steep Canyon Rangers.
• Reggae album: “Rebirth,” Jimmy Cliff.
• World music album: “The Living Room Sessions Part 1,” Ravi Shankar.
• Children’s album: “Can You Canoe?,” The Okee Dokee Brothers.
• Spoken word album: “Society’s Child: My Autobiography,” Janis Ian.
• Comedy album: “Blow Your Pants Off,” Jimmy Fallon.
• New age album: “Echoes of Love,” Omar Akram.
• Jazz vocal album: “Radio Music Society,” Esperanza Spalding.
• Jazz instrumental album: “Unity Band,” Pat Metheny Unity Band.
• Large jazz ensemble album: “Dear Diz (Every Day I Think of You),” Arturo Sandoval.
• Pop instrumental album: “Impressions,” Chris Botti
• Compilation soundtrack album: “Midnight in Paris,” various artists.
• Score soundtrack album: “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross.
• Song written for visual media: “Safe & Sound” (From “The Hunger Games”), Taylor Swift, John Paul White, Joy Williams.
• Musical theater album: “Once: A New Musical,” Steve Kazee, Cristin Milioti.
• Producer of the year, classical: Blanton Alspaugh.
• Producer of the year, non-classical: Dan Auerbach.
• Instrumental composition: “Mozart Goes Dancing,” Chick Corea.
• Orchestral performance: “Adams: Harmonielehre & Short Ride in a Fast Machine,” Michael Tilson Thomas (San Francisco Symphony).
• Opera recording: “Wagner, Der Ring des Nibelungen,” James Levine and Fabio Luisi.
• Choral performance: “Life & Breath: Choral Works by Rene Clausen,” Charles Bruffy.
• Short-form music video: “We Found Love,” Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris.
• Long-form music video: “Big Easy Express,” Mumford & Sons.
• Historical album: “The Smile Sessions” (Deluxe Box Set), Alan Boyd, Mark Linett, Brian Wilson, Dennis Wolfe.
