And the Grammy Goes to: Fuck You
The nominees for the 2010 Grammy Awards are, ahem: Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Eminem, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Kenny G, Jay-Z, Peal Jam—wait. How do you spell the sound of an abruptly stopping turntable? Scruhriiiitch! Close enough. That's right, various 2010 Grammy Awards may go to Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Jay-Z, and the granddaddy of them all, album of the year, may be whisked away by Mr. Marshall Mathers. He's also nominated for nine others. We're in a hot tub time machine, and it's 1998.
The Seattle Times noted the impressive number of Seattle-related nominees yesterday. Seattle musicians from the 1990s are very well represented in the Grammy lineup, though most of us might have imagined (and probably hoped) that 2010 might see some new names on the list. Grunge, for whatever reason, still reigns supreme in Grammy makers' minds. Alice in Chains and Soundgarden are both nominated for best hard-rock performance, and Pearl Jam's Backspacer is nominated for best rock album. Seattle son Kenny G smoothly glided into a nomination for pop instrumental album. G previously won the 1994 Grammy for best instrumental composition. Band of Horses is an exception, being the only notable Seattle nominee (best alternative album) that debuted an album in the 21st century.
One bright spot on the list of nominees? Cee-Lo Green's infectious hit "Fuck You," nominated for record and song of the year. Fingers crossed it wins at least once.
The Grammys' number one priority is rewarding number one albums, and Eminem is this year's top seller with more than three million copies sold, according to the Times. In 2010, selling the most albums probably means having the most fans who didn't download the album for free—not that there's anything okay with that. Though we see some new names here and there (names we'll probably see over and over for years to come), it seems the Grammys have practically gone the Hollywood route, celebrating the tried and true because they're the only ones still moving units.
