they tried to make her go to rehab, but she ardently refused
The Grammy nominations were announced today, and as always, they're kind of ridiculous.
For some reason, I never got drawn into the Grammys. This is somewhat illogical, I guess, given my line of work, and my obsessive love of the Oscars. I think it stems from the fact that when I was young enough to think that these awards meant anything, my whole life was about movies, so I formed an early allegiance to the Academy Awards before I got completely engulfed in music. Further, the Grammys are without the pageantry that makes the Oscars so much fun to watch. The Grammys seem to take themselves less seriously, which in the grand scheme is perhaps the better position, but the Oscars exude an overwhelming sense of self-importance: you should be watching, because this matters.
Leading the altogether irrelevant charge are goldenchild of mainstream hip-hop Kanye West and chanteuse Amy Winehouse, for whom, I should mention, the adjective "troubled" is turning into a sort of prefix. Seriously, start looking for it. How did everyone settle on this one word?
What I've heard of Kanye's album reveals that, once again, he deserves the attention. It's a little hard to admit, since he holds this Oscar-like contention himself, but it's true. Though I never get all that excited about his stuff (except "Jesus Walks," which is damn near perfect), I have to concede that he is probably the most creatively adventurous producer in the commercial world at least, and one of the best in all of hip-hop. As Schubin mused upon the release of Graduation, the quality of the record really defies any logical explanation. "This really should have been the strikeout," he said. "The next one will have to be terrible."
The most important task set before us this Grammy season, as responsible citizens, is to reevaluate our feelings about Amy Winehouse. Tabloid exploits? Put them aside. Radio saturation? Try to forget it. Market ubiquity? I'm sorry, simply not at issue presently. What's important is this: Back to Black is a genius recording, top to bottom front to back.
As is so often the case with overplayed singles, it's easy to just see "Rehab" as some pop song; perhaps a novel one, but on the whole dismissable. This is horribly misguided. The level of complexity in its arrangement is unmatched certainly by anything on pop radio, and the same is true pretty much of the whole album. When you look at songs like "Tears Dry On Their Own," "He Can Only Hold Her," and "Back To Black," this record is beyond undeniable. For my money, this is the best produced album of the year easily.
Stuff I was glad to see nominated: Wilco, Arcade Fire, The Shins, Lily Allen, The White Stripes. Stuff I was truly shocked to see nominated: Ozzy Osbourne. What? Ozzy Osbourne released an album this year? I'm dead serious.
