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Grammy Awards are Predictable Popularity Contest
Photo courtesy of The Grammys
Written by Justin Rosepapa- Staff Writer
The 2010 Grammy Nominees were announced recently, and with each passing year, I begin to question the integrity of the awards. One thing the Grammys lack is controversy and shock effect. At this point who really cares whether Taylor Swift or the Black Eyed Peas win the record of the year? The majority of music enthusiasts believe Pop-Rock has very little innovation, and at this point, Grammy awards could be the most boring thing in the world, as Pop music is monopolizing the nominations. What I find to be the most unappealing aspect of the awards is that there is absolutely no competition, apart from the Pop/ Hip-Hop genre dominating the awards, all the nominees who deserve the award are overshadowed by bigger acts.
I was hopeful for the Hard Rock nominees up until I saw that Metallica was nominated for best Hard Rock performance for the “Unforgiven 3” (which was utterly horrendous.) Metallica proves that only the biggest sellouts in Rock and Roll deserve to win a Grammy, Why not award Alice in Chains with the best Hard Rock performance, wouldn’t that stir up a bit of controversy and make things interesting by giving the Grammy to a band with unique, original ideas? One thing that did impress me is the Best Metal performance field: Metallica is too commercial, seeing not one Metallica nominee in the category pleased me to no end (which was the first time Metallica wasn’t nominated in the field in what? Ten to twenty years?) What we can expect fierce competition from the Metal bands, as Judas Priest, Lamb of God, Ministry, Slayer and Metal underdogs Megadeth were all nominated.
Even though the Grammys reflect how the music industry is stealing the integrity and talent of more skilled musicians we can still be hopeful for Rock and Roll veterans (Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, U2, and AC/DC, who all proved their dominance and talent by rightfully earning a nomination,) who prove that Rock and Roll needs to make a major comeback. Rap fans can also be hopeful (Eminem and Mos Def were both nominated for best Rap performance.) But for the rest of us, we can only be hopeful that the music industry and the youth of America will recognize that the largest award ceremony in the music industry needs to focus on integrity instead of a popularity. America needs a new hero, much like John Lennon in the 60’s and 70’s, and Kurt Cobain in the 90’s. Until then, loyal Rock fans will need to hold on until we pass up this age of commercial, beat-driven music.
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