pop culture, reviewed

I will not rehash last year’s post about how terrible the Grammy nominations were this year, except to say, I think that this year might even be worse that last. That said, if I were in charge, and could make up categories, etc, this is what I’d do.

Album of the Year:

Okkervil River — The Stage Names

I agree with Emilie that this is, hands down, the album of the year. A rare record where every single track is well-crafted and worth listening to.

Pop

Song of the Year (Pop) - “15” by Rilo Kiley, from Under the Blacklight

Record of the Year (Pop) - “Oh My God” by Mark Ronson (feat. Lily Allen) from Version

Album of the Year (Pop) - Mark Ronson - Version

Americana (totally making this one up, because I can)

Song of the Year (Americana) - “The Temptation of Adam” by Josh Ritter, from the The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter

Record of the Year (Americana) - “If the Brakeman Turns My Way” by Bright Eyes, from Cassadaga

Album of the Year (Americana) - The Avett Brothers - Emotionalism, honorable mention to Brandi Carlisle’s The Story

Alternative/Rock (because, while I appreciate that Alternative, in Grammy parlance, seems to denote something different than ‘Rock’, if you just nominated good Rock albums in the first place, they’d pretty much overlap)

Song of the Year (Alternative/Rock) - “Myriad Harbour” by The New Pornographers from Challengers
Record of the Year (Alternative/Rock) - “A Girl In Port” by Okkervil River from The Stage Names

Album of the Year (Alternative/Rock) - The Good, the Bad, and The Queen by tGtB,&tQ.

Electronica/Dance

Song of the Year (Electronica/Dance) - “D.A.N.C.E.” by Justice, from Cross
Record of the Year (Electronica/Dance) - “Archangel” by Burial, from Untrue

Country

Song of the Year (Country) - “Famous in a Small Town” by Miranda Lambert, from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Just assume all country awards go to Miranda.

Cover of the Year - “Devil Town” by Tony Lucca, from the Friday Night Lights Soundtrack

Performance

Vocal Performance (Female) - “How Come You Don’t Hold Me No More” by the Hot Puppies
Vocal Performance (Male) - “John Allyn Smith Sails” by Okkervil River, from The Stage Names

Live Act (Solo) – Brandi Carlisle (Her originals were good, and “Madman Across the Water” and “Hallelujah” covers were fantastic)

Live Act (Group) – The New Pornographers

Songs that totally would have been nominees (but now will win in categories I made up):

• “Tonight I Have To Leave It” by The Shout Out Louds from Our Ill Wills (Best Cure Song)
• “Country Caravan” by Blitzen Trapper from Wild Mountain Nation (Best Front Porch Drunk on Beer Sing Along)
• “History Song” by the Good, the Bad, and the Queen (Best Use Of One Repeated Riff; Best Song Sung By a Badass in a Top Hat)
• “Challengers” by the New Pornographers from Challengers (Best Neko Song)
• “The Story” by Brandi Carlile from The Story (Best Song By the Person Who Really Should Replace Freddie Mercury in Queen.  I would totally go see that show.)
• “1 2 3 4” by Feist from the Reminder (Best Song Not Quite Yet Ruined By Commercial Use)
• “Wonderlust King” by Gogol Bordello from Super Taranta! (Ukranian Gypsy-Punk Song of the Year)
• “Friday Night at the Drive-In Bingo” by Jens Lekman from Night Falls Over Kortedala (Best Unclassifiable Song)
• “Blue Honey” by Pop Levi (Best Psychedelic Song of 2007)
• “The Sun Also Sets” by Ryan Adams from Easy Tiger (Best Hemingway Nod in a Song Title Song)
• “Don’t Make Me a Target” by Spoon from Ga ga ga ga ga ga (Best Wilco Song Not Recorded by Wilco)
• “All My Stars Aligned” by St. Vincent from Marry Me (Best Female Vocal Not Sung By the Hot Puppies, Best Female Vocal Performance for a Candle Lit Room)
• “Effect & Cause” by The White Stripes from Icky Thump (Best Little Acoustic Blues Tune)
• “All Kinds” by Dan Wilson from Free Life (Best Schmaltzy Pop Ballad)
• “Falling Slowly” Glen & Marketa from the Once Soundtrack (Best Almost-Creepily Cute Looks at Your Maybe a Little Too Young Crush Song; Also best song from a movie soundtrack. It’s a shame it wasn’t written specifically FOR the movie, or we’d all get to hear Emilie go crazy at Oscar time.)
• “100 Days, 100 Nights” Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, (Best Soul Song of 1967 Made in 2007)
• “High Society” by The Silver Seas from High Society (Best Song the Eagles Wish They Wrote For Their 2007 Release; see also the rest of High Society)
• The Whole Vieux Farka Toure album (Sweeps the World Music categories)
• “No Bad News” Patty Griffin from Children Running Through (Best Americana Song I Sort of Forgot About Earlier)
• “My Dove, My Lamb” by Phosphorescent from Pride (Best Really Long Song)
• “Under the Folding Branches” by the Veils from Nux Vomica (Best Song for a Candle Lit Room)
• “Is There a Ghost” by Band Of Horses from Cease to Begin (Best Song From South Carolina)