The nominees for the 53rd Grammy Awards were announced today, and as usual, people made fun of them. They made fun of them on Twitter, they made fun of them on blogs, they made fun of them in bars and everywhere else people mock stuff.
And just like in years past, the stalest, most commonly deployed jokes were based on the idea that the Grammys are irrelevant. But just generally speaking, we think it's telling that, as A2IM pointed out, over half the nominees were released on independent record labels (the first time that's ever happened).
And specifically, there was one very notable category whose nominees caught us off guard.The Arcade Fire album, The Suburbs, was nominated for Album of the Year. It is up against three pop juggernauts (Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster, Katy Perry's Teenage Dream, Eminem's Recovery) and a country smash (Lady Antebellum's Need You Now).
As far as we can tell, this is the first time an album released on an independent label has received such a nomination. And granted, Arcade Fire are hardly underdogs: one of their songs, “Wake Up," was featured in an ad that ran during halftime of the Super Bowl, they've sold out shows at Madison Square Garden, and partnered with American Express.
But when you consider the competition, and what an Arcade Fire win would say about how much the barrier between indie and major has eroded, it's enough to make us consider watching the awards show when it airs in February. Kind of. Maybe.
And just like in years past, the stalest, most commonly deployed jokes were based on the idea that the Grammys are irrelevant. But just generally speaking, we think it's telling that, as A2IM pointed out, over half the nominees were released on independent record labels (the first time that's ever happened).
And specifically, there was one very notable category whose nominees caught us off guard.The Arcade Fire album, The Suburbs, was nominated for Album of the Year. It is up against three pop juggernauts (Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster, Katy Perry's Teenage Dream, Eminem's Recovery) and a country smash (Lady Antebellum's Need You Now).
As far as we can tell, this is the first time an album released on an independent label has received such a nomination. And granted, Arcade Fire are hardly underdogs: one of their songs, “Wake Up," was featured in an ad that ran during halftime of the Super Bowl, they've sold out shows at Madison Square Garden, and partnered with American Express.
But when you consider the competition, and what an Arcade Fire win would say about how much the barrier between indie and major has eroded, it's enough to make us consider watching the awards show when it airs in February. Kind of. Maybe.
