The Grammy Awards Thread

Aron said:
Couple of random thoughts on the Grammys:

1) The producers need to dial back the wacky combinations of artists from clashing backgrounds that they have fallen in love with in recent years. We all know it's an effort to try and generate a special/viral moment, but most of them just end up being a mess. Just let the individual artists do their thing. That doesn't mean that they still can't do a bloated, over the top extravagant performance, it just means that maybe you don't try and force 5 different artists from decidedly different genres into one performance.

2) Bring the awards back to the show. It feels like only about 8 awards are given out during the actual broadcast these days. Cut a few of the performances, and let some of these winners get some visibility.

3) If you're going to organize a star studded tribute performance, give it some real thought. When I think of Prince, and who could do a helluva tribute performance for him, Usher is pretty far down the list. There's nothing wrong with Usher really, I just didn't feel the genuine spirit of Prince or his style in that performance. I get it, Usher is part of another Prince tribute deal that CBS is putting together, but, give Janelle Monae a call. Sheila E. was a good pick...so go and find others that Prince collaborated with that are still active in the industry. Maybe Rosie Gaines from the New Power Generation band would be interested in singing on 'Diamonds & Pearls' with Justin Timberlake or something. Text Mavis. Brittany Howard in in the house, she could probably do something interesting, and she's a great guitarist. And it isn't just this one...the Bowie tribute a few years back was pretty weak as well. As was last year's Motown tribute featuring...(checks notes)...Jennifer Lopez.

4) Let Bonnie Raitt sing John Prine's 'Angel From Montgomery' every year. Every. Damn. Year.
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#3 - was Janelle Monae in the performance? If not, huge missed opportunity.

#4 - yes. 100% to the infinity power.
 
Teeeee said:
#3 - was Janelle Monae in the performance? If not, huge missed opportunity.

#4 - yes. 100% to the infinity power.
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Janelle wasn't in the performance. It was Usher, Sheila E., and fka twigs, who, sadly, only danced during the medley. I was curious what song she was going to do, so it was disappointing that she didn't sing at all. Wonderful dancer, but, I feel like they missed the mark letting Usher take lead for the whole thing. Monae performed last year, so maybe they didn't want to have her back so soon, but, c'mon.
 
Aron said:
Janelle wasn't in the performance. It was Usher, Sheila E., and fka twigs, who, sadly, only danced during the medley. I was curious what song she was going to do, so it was disappointing that she didn't sing at all. Wonderful dancer, but, I feel like they missed the mark letting Usher take lead for the whole thing. Monae performed last year, so maybe they didn't want to have her back so soon, but, c'mon.
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Janelle should be allowed to perform every year. She is a born performer. And her style matches up so well with Prince's.

Similar to your Bonnie Raitt rule. Always have Janelle and Bonnie.
 
I read (in Pitchfork? Stereogum? Some of those) that Twigs said she wasn't offered to sing, just to dance. But then Sheila E. said Twigs didn't want to sing. So, that.

I didn't watch the Grammys; haven't done since... I don't know, '99? I still read the nominations and the winners and the pics of the red carpet. (PLEASE CAN SOMEBODY STOP INVITING THAT GIRL WITH THE RIDICULOUS PRO-TRUMP DRESSES????)

I'm happy for Billie being the biggest winner of the night, but "Bad guy" song of the year? Really? The record of the year is more than deserved, can't complain that. But song of the year is for the songwriting, and "Bad guy" doesn't even have a melody on the verses. Oh well.

Ariana Grande's dress was GORGEOUS.
 
Waitressboy said:
"Bad guy" doesn't even have a melody on the verses.
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Huh?

"White shirt now red, my bloody nose
Sleepin', you're on your tippy toes
Creepin' around like no one knows
Think you're so criminal"

Did you not read that to the rhythm of the song? There is definitely a melody there, one of the great things about "bad guy" is how pretty much every part of the song functions as it's own catchy hook... different people hear different things, I guess
 
Waitressboy said:
I read (in Pitchfork? Stereogum? Some of those) that Twigs said she wasn't offered to sing, just to dance. But then Sheila E. said Twigs didn't want to sing. So, that.

I didn't watch the Grammys; haven't done since... I don't know, '99? I still read the nominations and the winners and the pics of the red carpet. (PLEASE CAN SOMEBODY STOP INVITING THAT GIRL WITH THE RIDICULOUS PRO-TRUMP DRESSES????)

I'm happy for Billie being the biggest winner of the night, but "Bad guy" song of the year? Really? The record of the year is more than deserved, can't complain that. But song of the year is for the songwriting, and "Bad guy" doesn't even have a melody on the verses. Oh well.

Ariana Grande's dress was GORGEOUS.
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gaporter said:
Huh?

"White shirt now red, my bloody nose
Sleepin', you're on your tippy toes
Creepin' around like no one knows
Think you're so criminal"

Did you not read that to the rhythm of the song? There is definitely a melody there, one of the great things about "bad guy" is how pretty much every part of the song functions as it's own catchy hook... different people hear different things, I guess
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I think the brilliance of bad guy is that it doesn't have the usual verse chorus verse song structure most are familiar with. It turns it on its head. There are no chords played by any instrument in the song. And it changes direction midway through and becomes a totally different song.

The nuances in the spaces of her songs are what make it brilliant.
 
Teeeee said:
I think the brilliance of bad guy is that it doesn't have the usual verse chorus verse song structure most are familiar with. It turns it on its head. There are no chords played by any instrument in the song. And it changes direction midway through and becomes a totally different song.

The nuances in the spaces of her songs are what make it brilliant.
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I am worried she will be a victim of the Best New Artist curse... this much acclaim and attention this early in her career could definitely have unfortunate effects. I just hope she has a solid support circle and that pressure doesn't get to her. I'm very interested to see what she does and where she goes from here
 
gaporter said:
Huh?

"White shirt now red, my bloody nose
Sleepin', you're on your tippy toes
Creepin' around like no one knows
Think you're so criminal"

Did you not read that to the rhythm of the song? There is definitely a melody there, one of the great things about "bad guy" is how pretty much every part of the song functions as it's own catchy hook... different people hear different things, I guess
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Teeeee said:
I think the brilliance of bad guy is that it doesn't have the usual verse chorus verse song structure most are familiar with. It turns it on its head. There are no chords played by any instrument in the song. And it changes direction midway through and becomes a totally different song.

The nuances in the spaces of her songs are what make it brilliant.
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I admit my knowledge and vocabulary of musical theory is limited AF, so it's highly possible I'm not explaining myself. What I mean is that the verses of "Bad guy" are in one or two notes, repeating each syllable with the rhythm... and that's it. It's not something that "flows" as I would expect from a melody.

I also want to add that it's time to recognize that Selena Gomez's style of singing has been obviously a big influence for Billie's album. It's time to recognize Selena's importance in current pop music.
 
Waitressboy said:
I admit my knowledge and vocabulary of musical theory is limited AF, so it's highly possible I'm not explaining myself. What I mean is that the verses of "Bad guy" are in one or two notes, repeating each syllable with the rhythm... and that's it. It's not something that "flows" as I would expect from a melody.

I also want to add that it's time to recognize that Selena Gomez's style of singing has been obviously a big influence for Billie's album. It's time to recognize Selena's importance in current pop music.
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You are totally explaining yourself perfectly. :) I just feel differently. Lol

And yes, I agree. Selena is very important. I've become more convinced of that these last few months.
 
I'm really hoping that her winning those Grammys last night doesn't end up being a negative thing for Billie Eilish long term. It certainly didn't benefit Christopher Cross back in the day, and that was well before social media was even a thought in anyone's head. She's likely going to be on the receiving end of a pretty sizable backlash at some point down the road, which sucks because I think she has an interesting take on what pop music can sound like. And, like Gaga, she can impress with or without the production bells and whistles. I liked the way she handled what was a very overwhelming situation last night, but the pop culture cycle can be a vicious one.
 
i personally really dig that billie eilish album and am happy that she won her swag

amazing that billie has the scantest of credits too: billie, her brother finneas, rob kinelski as co-engineer / co-mixer, and john greenham mastered it

can't wait to heart what she does next

interesting that despite neil portnow's "women have to step up" claim it seems that the award voters actually are saying the that women are the top of the music world at the moment, with 6 of the last 11 since 2010 being female solo artists, including last two, and all so different apart from adele x2

the deborah dugan stuff is the REAL story of the grammy awards this year tho!
 
Djxfactor511 said:
I thought the nominations were going pretty well until the general field categories.

Dunno how that Haim album got nominated. I thought it was a total bore.

Happy for Phoebe and Black Pumas getting a bunch of love
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That's my exact thought. The majority of the time I was hyped but that AOTY list just left me confused lol
 
Anyways time for my very special announcment!

Welcome one and all to the first ever Needles&Grooves Grammy pool!

I am Fleetwood-Matt and I will be the host for this!



I (obviously) am a huge fan of the Grammys, no matter how questionable they tend to be, and I wanted to take this; my favorite time of the year; to have some fun and to do something nice for the forum! So lets do a Grammy Pool!



The Rules

The rules are simple to do but annoying to explain lol, take the survey and fill out each option by how likely you think each album/song is to win (first choice for most likely, second choice for second most likely, fifth/eighth choice for least likely etc). On Grammy Night, you will get points based on how likely you said they were to win (example if you had Billie as your 7th choice for aoty last year, you would get 7 points for that category). At the end of it all ill add up your points and the person with the LOWEST score wins! In the event of a tie I’ll do a drawing to decide who officially wins. You have until the day of the Grammys (March 14th, 2021 9am est) to submit the survey

I chose not to do all categories and instead did a select few from each “major” genre and all for of the general fields to make it easier on myself.



The Prize(s)

The person with the lowest score will receive a $30 Bandcamp gift card!!!! (well one $10 and one $20 card)



The Survey

Grammy Pool Form



I hope to have a good amount of people playing and if you join, I hope you have fun!
 
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