Missy Elliott, Eminem, Evanescence, 50 Cent, Chad Hugo, Ricky Skaggs, Justin Timberlake, the ailing Luther Vandross and the late Warren Zevon received five nominations each at a press conference for the 46th annual Grammy Awards.
Zevon got a Song of the Year nomination for "Keep Me In Your Heart," and Karin rightly pegged this as the "Obligatory Nod to the Honored Dead Guy." The voters' hands are clean now, however, so they're free to give the award to Avril Lavigne.
What a wonderful posthumous middle finger this is to Zevon, who got no love from Grammy voters for the first 34 years of his career. Like all the other vultures who descended on his dying carcass for one last story, the Grammys are angling for a little popular karma by giving the man 5 nominations.
Flavor Flav said it best (it's the seventh line).
Denny, you name-dropping poseur...you and your buddy Vanilla Ice need to go back to the oh-so-mean ghettoes of Dallas with your heads hung in shame.
Every self-respecting scholar of Funky Phresh Rhymes recognizes, with a fervor bordering on the religious, that rap/hip-hop reached its apex in 1987 upon the release of "Crushin'" by the Fat Boys.
The world owes Prince Markie Dee, Kool Rock-Ski, and Buff Luv--the Human Beat Box (we'll mourn him 'til we join him) a collective debt of gratitude for touching our minds, our hearts, and--dare I say?--our very souls.
The Fat Boys were "Rock Ruling"(1) the airwaves and "Making Noise"(2) so as to make all other artists, before or since, "Wipeout"(3) before the might of their topical, no-holds-barred, socio-political screeds.
Say "hi" to Gerardo for me while you're gone.
*: 1, 2, 3 (Tracks 4, 5, and 11, respectively.)
(Via Cromulent) The soul-less and guilty often overcompensate when attempting to cover up their crimes against their fellow man. Case-in-point: HOUSTON CHRONICLE: Rap, R&B dominate Grammy nominations Fuck Rap. That's a crime against music in and of its......
| --Posted to Amish Tech Support on Dec 5, 2003 12:59 PM:. |
It must be a comfort for Zevon's family to know that, even though Warren has passed on, he's going to the grave with one of the best-polished peckers in history.
I'll just come out and say it: Warren Zevon's final album, _The_Wind_, sucks. It took a great deal of hand-wringing and soul-searching for me to find the strength to write that, and I can't let that go to waste, so I'll say it again:
Warren Zevon, artist and entertainer, learned he was going to die. He decided he'd have one last fling with creating music, so he poured his last shreds of energy into his final album. His many friends gathered around him, contributing to his album as best they could and lending their support. It was a heroic effort, but before passing on Warren Zevon managed to complete his final opus,_The_Wind_.
It sucks.
It's a really bad album, especially in comparison to his earlier stuff. It should never have been nominated. Granted, "Keep Me in your Heart" has value as Warren's self-written epitaph, but otherwise the thing is loaded with pap. C'mon, do we really need another cover of 'Knockin on Heaven's Door'? a song that was never that great to begin with? The rest of the album is mindless -- not what I've come to expect from the Excitable Boy. In comparison, 2000's Life'll Kill Ya got no credit, nada, zero, and there isn't a bad track on the thing.
C'mon, music critics, it's too late to worship Warren Zevon. He's dead now. If you didn't like him when he was alive, you can't go rubbing his rhubarb now -- any more than you can go wearing Ramones teeshirts if you slagged 'em for 25 years or whatever. You can't borrow cool.
Let Zevon retain his legacy: a music that was frequently unappreciated, sometimes because it deserved to be unappreciated, but more often because the people who write for Rolling Stone just didn't get it. Don't go building up something as great when it's not.
I don't care what music snobs have to say, Eminem, Evanescence, and 50 Cent have made decent music. Not every track is great, or even good. But each artist, in their own way, has contributed to the community of music.
Sure; through the art of payolla and the likes of Clear Channel, these particular artists get more radio play and media attention than other, more talented artists. Thus, I'll concede others are certainly more deserving of a Grammy award. (Assuming, of course, that a Grammy is supposed to be awarded based on the merits of ones music, and is something more than a "record sales" award or popularity contest).
While Eminem and 50 Cent may be meatheads as human beings go, they write some pretty damn good lyrics. And they can rap. And they've got access to world class production. It don't think its valid to be upset about that, though I certainly believe other (and better) artists are far more deserving of the music industry's attention.
And hip-hip certainly can't be judged soley by the likes of 50 Cent alone. If you haven't checked out Jurasic 5, Dr. Dre, Tribe Called Quest, Beatnuts, Del the Funky Homosapian, Outkast (pre-Speakerbox), Brand Nubian, Society of Soul, Deltron 3030, Public Enemy, or the Beastie Boys, you've totally missed out. However, a little 50 cent and Eminem mixed into a such a record collection isn't a bad thing; it just should be the only thing.