February 2018 – Joshua Tree Music

The Elephant in the Room – Kendrick and Bruno

At the 60th Grammy Awards, a rap / hip-hop album hailed as an instant classic once again failed to win in any of the major categories. We (and many others) believed this would be the year that the Grammys would buck that trend. At face value, this was the most diverse Grammys ever. It was the first year where none of the nominees for Album of the Year were from a white male. But in the end, the outcome was largely the same, with Bruno Mars making a clean sweep of Record, Song, and Album of the Year and Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. relegated to wins within its category. Lamar met a similar fate at the 2016 Grammys, when To Pimp A Butterfly lost Album of the Year to Taylor Swift’s 1989; and in 2014, when Good Kid M.A.A.D City lost the award to Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories. Beyoncé, Frank Ocean and Kanye West arguably were slighted by the same tendency of the Recording Academy to side with the most uncontroversial, radio-friendly or, frankly, the ”whitest” nominee for Album of the Year.

24K Magic is a ridiculously fun album; the full realization of Bruno Mars’ remarkable talent. It’s hard to fathom how many hours of work went into producing, mixing, and mastering this 33-minute record. (Serban Ghenea, mix engineer for 24K Magic, took home his third consecutive Album of the Year award— he also worked on Adele’s 25 and Taylor Swift’s 1989). 24K Magic was totally deserving of multiple Grammy wins. But if “Album of The Year” is intended to be a prestigious award, recognizing art with depth, originality and contemporary relevance, the Academy failed to uphold that image this year. And if the Grammys continue to treat hip-hop- the world’s most popular music genre– as something outside the mainstream, it’s hard to see why Kendrick and other rappers will continue to attend the ceremony– or how the awards will remain relevant.

Where are All the Women?

The Grammys was another indication of the lack of women represented in the music industry – particularly as producers, sound engineers, sound mixers, band members, and other behind-the-scenes jobs. Just one woman (Alessia Cara) won an award during the Grammys telecast. Even more striking is the fact that only 9% of the 899 nominees in the past six years were women, according to a report published by USC on January 25. In the industry, men outnumber women 3.5:1 among artists, 7:1 among songwriters, and a whopping 49:1 among producers across the 600 most popular songs since 2012.

Neil Portnow, President of the Recording Academy, made the situation worse by telling reporters that achieving gender equality in the music industry “…has to begin with women… [they need] to step up…” Contrary to Portnow’s bungled or ignorant comments, women don’t need to “step up”; as Pink mentions, women have been stepping up to make great music since the days when people listened to actual gramophones. Rather, the music industry and the Recording Academy needs to prioritize creating an environment where people of all backgrounds are encouraged and inspired to pursue all of these careers.

Powerful On-air Performances by Female Artists

Who could forget Kesha’s stunning performance of “Praying”? After being embroiled in legal battles with Dr. Luke over sexual assault, her performance not only capped a triumphant return to music with her third album, Rainbow, but also stood as a symbol of the empowerment of all women. Supported by a choir of female vocalists singing in harmony and solidarity, including Camila Cabello, Cyndi Lauper and Andra Day, Kesha delivered on of the most enduring performances of the night.

We’ve come to know Pink for her mind-blowing acrobatic stunts, but in her performance of “Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken” at this year’s Grammy Awards, she showed just how talented she is with just a mic and a stage.

Broadway legend Patti Lupone reprised her leading role in“Evita” and proved that she can still bring down the house (in this case, Madison Square Garden).

patti lupone was my favorite performance i’ve ever seen. of all performances. i’m still blown away

— jackantonoff (@jackantonoff) January 29, 2018

SZA picked an interesting song for her Grammys debut. “Broken Clocks” is a cathartic release of the artist’s anxiety, frustration, and vulnerability- showing the emotional honesty which made Ctrl one of last year’s best albums.

One performer we would have loved to see – Lorde. Multiple news outlets reported that Lorde- the only female nominee for Album of the Year- was denied a chance to perform solo during the telecast, while the other four male nominees were all reportedly offered solo spots.

A Complete Shutout for Despacito

“Despacito” was a cultural phenomenon, and a breakthrough for Latin music in the United States. It was a strong candidate for Record and Song of the Year, but ended up losing to Bruno Mars in both of those categories (and conceded Best Pop Duo/Group Performance to “Feel It Still”). While we’ll never know exactly why Grammy voters didn’t recognize “Despacito” with an award, there were multiple factors working against it:

Adding Justin Bieber may have brought it commercial success, but likely didn’t win over votes
Grammy voters with more traditional tastes likely preferred the more familiar sounds of Mars’ funk-infused throwback album to a Latin pop standalone single;
The song is almost entirely in Spanish, making it harder for some voters to judge its lyrical qualities.

Or perhaps voters’ interest in, or tolerance for “Despacito” was strained after months of constant airplay. It’s worth noting that the only other song to top the Billboard Hot 100 for 16 straight weeks – Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day” – also was shut out at the Grammys.

Grammy Recognition for Indie Rock Heroes

We thought wins by Sleep Well Beast for Best Alternative Music Album, and A Deeper Understanding for Best Rock Album were well-deserved. The National and The War on Drugs’ highly anticipated 2017 releases matched, or even surpassed the brilliance of their previous work.

Month: February 2018

Lyric of the Week – Feb 25

Lyric of the Week – Feb 18

Grammy Results: What We Liked, Didn’t Like, and Learned