past the margins
Feb 11, 2012
So it's pretty obvious that I'm behind on writing about all 77 nominee categories. But just like there's no crying in baseball, there's no quitting here. So rather than look at this as an exercise in futility, I'm considering it stubborn determination. And with that, moving right along.
The Grammy nominees for Album of the Year are:
Adele
XL Recordings/Columbia Records
Foo Fighters
RCA Records/Roswell Records
Lady Gaga
Streamline/Interscope/Kon Live
Bruno Mars
Elektra
Rihanna
Def Jam
My favorite surprised me:
Doo-Wops & Hooligans
I'd been so out of touch with the bigger picture since last year's Grammys that I had no idea Grenade, Just the Way You Are, Runaway Baby, The Lazy Song, and Marry You were all on the same release. It's an incredibly solid album, with 10 tracks at only 36 minutes.
There are a lot of things I look for in a favorite album (Grammy nominations aside), including but not limited to: is it a complete thought; how many tracks were successful singles; how many tracks not released as singles could've been; track arrangement/scheduling; whether the last track is worthy of being the closer.
I don't want to make these picks comparisons, but I did start this category thinking there was no way I wouldn't pick 21, for the strength of its maturity, for its soul, for its depth. But Don't You Remember is thin for me. And Set Fire to the Rain misses with its chorus, one that doesn't quite become what it could be. It's light at the verses, careful, but it builds to something heavy, weighted, and doesn't culminate in a sound that soars like a similar-in-theme chorus from Florence + the Machine would.
But Bruno's album, track for track, is easily the most listenable album front-to-back on the list. It's a complete thought, and there's versatility in the conversation. There's thunderous pop in Grenade, reggae tones in The Lazy Song and Liquor Store Blues, R&B in Our First Time, sunkissed pop a la Jack Johnson or Colbie Caillat in Count on Me (which sounds like it could be the b-side to Just the Way You Are), and brass-and-grime and hip hop in The Other Side (which sounds like it could've been plucked from The Lady Killer). And yet it works, wonderfully, without feeling scattered. If there's an exception, it's Talking to the Moon, but with its placement, it serves its role as somewhat of a prelude to Liquor Store Blues well.
Four of this album's 10 tracks appeared on the Billboard Hot 100. It opens with one of the biggest singles of the Grammy season, and closes with great energy, with a chorus that sounds like Cee Lo's take on Chris Isaak's Wicked Game. It's near-perfect pop.