Going into this year's Grammys, one had a feeling things might be a little different. It was the first ceremony in ages to be promoted through a large scale advertising campaign (and a pretty cool one at that), and the Recording Academy made some relatively hip nominations for major awards with artists like Lil Wayne, Radiohead, and M.I.A.
And, lo and behold, the high points did seem to come more often than usual. Still, there were few surprises hidden within the envelopes, and many performances felt forced and undercooked.
Take, for instance, the Jonas Brothers sharing the stage with Stevie Wonder. Without any insult meant to the Brothers, whose energy and audacity are commendable, maybe it wasn't the best idea to put three relatively inexperienced teenagers on stage with the most respected R&B singer on the planet. Especially when one of the them doesn't quite remember the words to Stevie's classic "Superstition," which they performed together.
And, in another head-scratcher, Paul McCartney played Beatles classic "I Saw Her Standing There" with Dave Grohl on drums, who was headbanging away like he was still on stage with Nirvana. To advertise a McCartney collaboration with nearly any modern-day rocker would already feel a little lopsided, but to hype up a performance with Grohl, and then to stick him on drums? A very odd pairing. Surely he could've at least strummed up an adequate rhythm guitar.
While these disorienting performances ran throughout the night (an off-key acoustic duet between Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift, Katy Perry arriving in a giant banana which was surely the cheesiest entrance I've ever seen, etc.), there were many enjoyable moments, too.
Radiohead's performance with the USC Marching Band was an inspired burst of creative arrangement, despite three of the five band members mysteriously missing in action.
Justin Timberlake made no attempt at hiding his excitement to sing with Reverend Al Green, and the two seemed to bring out the best in each other.
A very pregnant M.I.A. triumphantly swaggered with the boys during T.I.'s "Swagger Like Us."
The highlight of the night, though, had to be Lil Wayne's "Tie My Hands." The rapper left his ego at the door in performing his ode to post-Katrina New Orleans, choosing to focus on his hometown instead of himself for the night. The song is powerful, mixing emotion and politics, presenting lines like "My whole city under water, some people still floatin'/then they wonder why black people still votin', cause your president's still chokin'." That then segued into Allan Toussaint and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band performing a raucous number fit for any New Orleans jazz funeral. And when the performance was done and Wayne won Best Rap Album, he ran to the stage, clicked his heels, and gave the shortest acceptance speech of the night, thanking God and his family. He can be lewd, he can be mischievous, but tonight Lil Wayne was one of the most humble people on stage.
When it came to the big awards, though, there were no surprises. In the Best Album category, Alison Krauss and Robert Plant won for their collaboration Raising Sand. It's not a bad album by any means, but it's entirely predictable. Toss the two musicians in a studio with producer T. Bone Burnett for a few days, and what do you get? A hyrbid of Krauss' bluegrass and Burnett's Americana, with a slight tinge of Zeppelinesque menace. It's far sub-par to Radiohead's gorgeous and forward-thinking In Rainbows (and maybe even to Tha Carter III), but it tickled the Recording Academy in all the right places.
Krauss and Plant also won Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals for the song "Rich Woman," a category they also won last year for "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)." Both songs are off Raising Sand. Time to rework nomination eligibility rules, guys.
It wasn't a completely winning night, but there were enough inspired moments to make for worthy viewing. And, while I'd maintain that the Recording Academy is still out of touch with American music, it's evident that they're trying to change things up.
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