I don't have the album yet, but we've had it on in the store so I've at least been able to go through it if not sit down with it the way I like to with new music; so my opinion is a passing one, but one of approval. I'm also fairly familiar with all the other nominees through their singles. Whether I love The Suburbs or not, there's not a shred of doubt in my mind that the right album won that award. I don't think that's a controversial stance for me to take on this blog, considering what I believe my audience to be.
I mean, on the one hand, you've got Katy Perry, who I like least out of all the pop divas to emerge in the last few years, and Lady Antebellum, whose song "'Murkin Honey" should be firebombed straight to hell -- the ghosts of Johnny Cash and Hank Williams should beat the shit out of it for what's become of the Country racks. On the other hand is Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster, which would have stood a better chance if it had been more of a complete album, rather than an expansion of her previous one, which if nothing else provides much confusion to my customers. Lastly is Eminem, which is... I mean, I've said before that I haven't got a critical ear for rap, so people tell me it's good and I believe them, but at the same time it doesn't sound like a return to form as much as it does a safe bet. I could've seen it winning, but it would've been like Scorsese winning the Oscar for The Departed. Nobody seems to believe that was on its own merits.
That leaves Arcade Fire, the band the fans of these artists never heard of, who recorded a work on a level far removed from the others. I mean not in terms of quality, but in terms of effort, creativity and spirit. The very fact that they were nominated seems like an award in and of itself. Them winning is just a little mind-blowing.
But adding to this complexity is the fact that this award more often than not seems to be given to something nobody heard, even though the pop-music fans are the ones most invested. This gives the award, in a way, a measure of legitimacy, of being above popularity. You probably don't know many people who bought Raising Sand by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, or River: The Joni Letters by Herbie Hancock, but they won out over Radiohead, Coldplay, Lil Wayne, Kanye, Amy Winehouse and the Foo Fighters in their respective years. a glance at the history of the award reveals this is often the case, although there will never be a justification for giving it to Blood Sweat & Tears over Abbey Road. Occasionally, what's popular and what's award-worthy does line up, as in the case of Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, or Fearless by Taylor Swift, which won last year by being the least of five evils (the fucking Black Eyed Peas were nominated.)
Anyway. Too often the popular and the artistic are separated in music and held to wildly different standards. I'm also worried that holding them to the same standards is even more dangerous, since considering an album like The Suburbs requires entirely different brand of critical thought from an album like The Fame Monster. There's actually no way to compare them, and the lack of winning this award doesn't invalidate anyone's feelings about their music. Consider the "Best Alternative Album" category, where Brothers by the Black Keys beat out The Suburbs. Maybe it was just more alternative.
If I do end up reviewing the album, there is one thing I want to do: not fall prey to the hype. It's so easy to listen to an album billed as awesome and go in attempting to hear what others have said is there. It's also too easy to go in trying to find what's wrong with it and try to point it out to people. Either way, a review of an album like this, especially so far after the fact, is tricky because it's not going to change anybody's mind either way. But I like to write reviews not to argue with people, but to figure out what I like for myself. So it's still on my to-do list.
And I hope, Grammy or no Grammy, you're true to your own tastes too.
Keep on rockin
-Scotto
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