Will this be Adele's year, or a year of big shockers?
10:30 p.m. – And that’s a wrap! Feel free to comment the hell out of the comments section if anyone reads this, and I’ll respond through the day tomorrow!
10:25 p.m. – Sir Paul McCartney got “a little help from his friends” and is finally in his proper element. These are the best pop songs of all time for a bloody reason! He should have skipped his new song and just done this, but what a way to bring the night to an end! Beats seeing the credits roll over Adele’s final acceptance speech.
10:21 p.m. – Okay, Adele sealed it … not that anyone expected anything else.
10:20 p.m. – Album of the Year — Adele and all the others. If Foos win this would it be the upset of the decade?
10:17 p.m. – Not that I hate Paul McCartney or anything, but with this show going as long as it is, he’d better own those Beatles songs and rock this show out in the next few minutes. Because his first song did nothing for me.
10:12 p.m. – Record of the Year is won by Adele, “Rolling In The Deep” as expected. She’s now tied with the Foos, and soon to beat them with Album of the Year as well, barring an act of pure Grammy Insanity.
10:10 p.m. – Record of the Year — Adele should win this hands down.
10:10 p.m. – Proof the Grammys are out of touch with women in music. 1) They skipped over Nicki Minaj in any major awards; 2) They force fed us Chris Brown all night. Nice to see they at least gave her Roman character some room to shine on the show, though I’m sure half the audience in middle America are like “what the fuck was THAT?” I like seeing someone original, crazy and willing to showcase it taking the stage.
10:05 p.m. – I LOVE THIS SONG by Nicki Minaj!
9:57 p.m. – Nicki Minaj gets to perform but not win anything. And hey, Deadmau5 was actually pretty solid, I thought. Not that I know much about his brand of music.
9:50 p.m. – My wife Aimee: “Who gives a shit about CHRIS FUCKING BROWN?” Agreed.
9:48 p.m. – This is insane! Can’t keep your gun to yourself for more than three hours, Lil Wayne? Seriously … way to overshadow your “music,” Weezy. At least maybe you’ll get another prison book contract!
9:47 p.m. – That was the best performance of the night not done by Adele.
9:43 p.m. – Jennifer Hudson knows how to sing Whitney songs, let’s just say that right out front. I like that they kept this part vocals only. The rest of the arrangement, with the piano backdrop, kept the focus where it belonged, on the timeless song.
9:36 p.m. – I think that’ll be the new standard against which acceptance speeches like Pearl Jam’s will be judged.
9:35 p.m. – Glad they played him off, after he was so iffy about whether he even wanted the award.
9:34 p.m. – With discomfort, he has gratitude, and Justin Vernon pisses on his great opportunity to thank his fans and be grateful for those of us who buy his music and think it’s solid that he won, even if he doesn’t respect it.
9:32 p.m. – The Band Perry? Sucks. Bon Iver? Good. J Cole? Eh. Nicki? Awesome. Skrillex? Fuck that! The Grammy goes to ……. BON IVER! CALLED IT! Grammy’s biggest fuck-up of the year, is what folks are going to call this, at least all the Nicki fans!
9:30 p.m. – An hour to go! Grammy for Best New Artist … could this be an upset? Nicki Minaj SHOULD win, but I’m thinking this could be a “Grammy moment.”
9:20 p.m. – There he is! He’s still got the sound down to an art, and it’s nice to see a songwriting legend up there having gotten the chance to clean up his life rather than flaming out. It’s too bad he’s soon not going to have any memories of it all left.
9:15 p.m. – Taylor Swift introduces the tribute to Glen Campbell. Out with the old, in with the new. With the help of the Band Perry and Blake Shelton, neither of whom is relevant enough to warrant not just letting Glen sing a couple of his best songs unencumbered by Grammy trappings.
9:05 p.m. – Adele’s performance: at long last! Apparently she’s won four awards so far, not the two we’ve seen on TV … her voice is still in top form, that’s for sure! “Rolling In The Deep” is definitely the song of 2011 people will still remember in 2031. It’s also proof that the best songs are the ones with the most emotion behind the writing and performance. You can tell she’s invested in this song to the core. Same goes for the entire album 21.
9:00 p.m. – Entering hour three … we’re officially halfway there. Wow. I’ll buy an album if the money goes to the Grammy Foundation for Making Grammys Shorter and Awarding More Music On Screen. Join me!
8:57 p.m. – Best Country Album — Should go to Taylor Swift. Actually goes to Lady Antebellum. Double yawn. That album sucked!
8:53 p.m. – Katy Perry, one of the many who will lose to Adele, performs … by which I mean lipsynchs the hell out of things. Glow in the dark outfits are fine, but there was nothing about this “E.T.” performance that made me disappointed when the sound cut out. Then there was more. Yawn.
8:50 p.m. – An AWARD presented by Neil Patrick Harris: Song of the Year — four nominees + Adele. The award goes to Adele, who gets her second! Who thought “Rolling In The Deep” wouldn’t win?
8:41 p.m. – Chris Brown blowback:
8:40 p.m. – Taylor Swift may never be someone with wide non-country appeal, but I like her sound. At least she keeps things interesting, and her voice is better than she gets credit for. She brings out a banjo tonight and wins extra points from me.
8:35 p.m. – Common’s presentation of Gil Scott Heron was a nice touch — Best R&B album though: Chris Brown and R Kelly are terrible … of the five I preferred Kelly Price, but they gave it to Chris Brown. Disappointing. “Look at me now … I’m getting paper for being an asshole …” Ugh. Thank God and the Grammys for letting him “do his thang” …
8:32 p.m. – Stevie Wonder introduces Macca on the show, after busting out some “Love Me Do” on his harmonica … but man, I want to see Paul McCartney rock, not listen to this standards shit. Can’t we have a few more years of him as a pop singer and Beatle, rather than as the next Tony Bennett?
8:25 p.m. – Finally the Beach Boys show up and take over the Grammys with the real deal rather than lame cookie cutters of the real deal. “Good Vibrations” actually benefited from having Maroon 5 and Foster the People to add oomph to the layered harmonies. Maybe I was too harsh on both of those acts; they did good workmanlike covers of hard to imitate songs. But I wish there’d been more with the REAL Beach Boys.
8:20 p.m. – Wouldn’t it be nice if we didn’t have to hear Foster the People pretend to be relevant? We want the Beach Boys!
8:18 p.m. — Grammys take credit for the Beach Boys reunion. Lovely … by bringing in Ryan Secrest to then introduce Maroon 5, doing a surprisingly decent version of “Surfer Girl” which still doesn’t introduce the Beach Boys we want to hear from.
8:16 p.m. – The award goes to a garage and a tape machine! Long live rock … “the human element is most important!” DO YOUR CRAFT!
8:15 p.m. – Best Rock Performance: 1.) Coldplay isn’t rock. 2) The Decemberists aren’t rock. 3) Radiohead’s “Lotus Flower” isn’t rock. 4) Mumford isn’t rock. Give a fifth to the Foos!
8:07 p.m. – As the Grammys enter their second hour, as much as I’m enjoying it, I have to wonder why they booked three and a half hours for this, when they are only giving a handful of actual awards. So far we’re two awards in, and the score’s tied Kanye 1, Adele 1.
8:02 p.m. – No medley is complete without “Paradise,” the flat-out strongest pop song on the entire album! Hard not to do this song justice.
8:00 p.m. – Rihanna is proving why she’s the one who America wants to continue to hear more from (not that particular ex of hers who will not be named anymore on here.) And Coldplay’s not bad either … this is one of the better songs off their Mylo Xyloto album. So far the Grammy performances are definitely doing it for me for the most part!
7:46 p.m. – At least I can hear the Foos … so far, despite Adele’s best efforts, they’ll remain Grammy’s biggest winner for at least another couple hours.
7:45 p.m. – Shut up idiots! I can’t hear Jack Black talk!
7:38 p.m. – She’s a guilty pleasure, but damn it, I like Kelly Clarkson! And her new album’s nothing to sneeze at either. This performance is solid, but a bit odd coming right after Best Rap Performance gets handed out.
7:35 p.m. – The Grammy for Best Rap Performance goes to Jay Z and Kanye, so Kanye can … not show up! SUCK IT, GRAMMYS!
7:30 p.m. – I just got retweeted by Bruce VanWyngarden!
7:28 p.m. – I’m fine with turning up the music, if I can turn down Chris Brown. Weakest performance of the night so far.
7:25 p.m. — “Someone Like You” gives Adele her first award. No surprises there, it was definitely the best pop vocal performance.
7:20 p.m. – Alicia Keys is among the few today who can still do Etta James real justice. I love this performance!
7:12 p.m. – Bruno Mars’ Doo-Wops and Hooligans is better as an album than the sum of its parts, and he’s a great performer. This one gets the feet pumping and does a lot to lead credence to the idea this is going to be a celebratory night, not a mournful one.
7:05 p.m. – I had no idea the Grammys needed a host. Let the music speak for itself, do we really need a voiceover? At least in the case of Whitney’s death, I think so.
7:00 p.m. – Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band opened the Grammys with their new single, and I stand by my opinion that the Boss could sing from the phone book and still draw a crowd into a frenzy. But “We Take Care Of Our Own” does a good job of introducing an album I suspect will be more varied than the song’s detractors would expect. Seemed a good way to get the show started.
6:54 p.m. – Should Chris Brown get a pass on his past re: Rihanna and being a spousal abuser?
6:50 p.m. – Spin’s spin on Adele’s 60 Minutes interview just went up here. My favorite quote: “I don’t want to be some skinny mini with my tits out. And I don’t want people confusing what it is that I’m about. I just stand there and sing. And I don’t do stunts or anything. if I wanted to do all that, I don’t think I’d get away with it.”
6:10 p.m. – We’re still an hour out from the broadcast, but just keeping an eye on Twitter and Grammy.com, there’s a great deal going on that won’t make the broadcast but which is still worth noting — among the leaders being, as Jian Ghomeshi, co-creator of Q on Radio & CBC TV, notes:
Nice to see the Foos getting noticed for White Limo, which was a leader among the notable lack of solid rock albums from 2011. Too bad none of their glory is going to make it into the live broadcast.
As expected, Whitney Houston is also dominating pre-Grammy conversation. I particularly liked Eric Alper‘s take on comments by Tony Bennett, who for once was spot on:
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I tend to badmouth the Grammys a great deal, but was thinking about it today and realized I actually haven’t “watched” the live ceremony in several years. So my wife and I are going to “take one for the team” and give this year’s proceedings a live viewing, and we’ll be posting our commentary on this page throughout! That way those of you reading here can view vicariously through us.
Early questions:
1. What will the tribute to Whitney Houston be?
2. Will this be the year of Adele, or a year of typical Grammy “surprises”?
3. Will Bon Iver translate into a “good winter” evening for Nicki Minaj in the “Best New Artist category, or will indie rock rule the day?
Drop me your thoughts in the comments section. I’ll be updating this page throughout the night, starting at 7 p.m. Central!
