Find an event
Arcade Fire, Esperanza Spalding stun with Grammy wins
"What the hell?"
That was Arcade Fire singer Win Butler's reaction after the Album of the Year Grammy trophy was put into his hand. The sentiment was echoed around the internet—from Rosie O'Donnell's confused tweet ("ummm never heard of them ever") to indie websites celebrating a revolution of the underdogs. But was the victory honestly that much of a surprise of that big of a deal?
The band was slotted to close the broadcast. As the night wore on, and the announcer kept teasing the Arcade Fire again and again, it became clear the band was being held back for a reason. The larger surprise was CBS shooting their wad early by putting Lady Gaga up front.
That aside, look, it's not like Sonic Youth, Merzbow or MF DOOM won. With The Suburbs the Arcade Fire made what is essentially the Oscar Movie of records. In years to come, this award will likely be seen as the Grammy's Crash. It is a safe, predictable, pedestrian record that talks about Big Themes in simplistic terms. It announces its intent in capital letters: WE ARE GOING TO SING ABOUT NOSTALGIA AND THE SUBURBS. Naturally, to group that includes a songwriter with a poetry degree, the suburbs are a monotone, stereotyped wasteland.
More after the jump.
Someone in my Twitter feed commented that "Arcade Fire won for making an album about the place where people listen to Lady Antebellum." What a snide, smart-alecky thing to say. But, hey, that's par for the course on Twitter.
The most fascinating thing about watching last night's broadcast was observing the real-time talk as it swung from LOLing the ceremony to suddenly backpedaling and trying to spin Arcade Fire as a moral victory. When Arcade Fire came out to play their silly "punk" song, "The Month of May," BMX bikers circled the stage. Someone quickly spat, "You know the Grammys made them do this."
Wait, why? Why do Arcade Fire deserve the benefit of the doubt over, say, Muse? That seems exactly like something Arcade Fire would do, considering their connection to Spike Jonze and his connections in the extreme sports scene. And the song selection wasn't a smart move on Arcade Fire's part. Why play the noisiest song from the record? I am not impressed by your rebelliousness. Had the band played "The Suburbs," the morning-after sales jump would have been larger. (It's rather telling that Mumford & Sons are at No. 1 on iTunes right now, not Arcade Fire.) You're on the Grammys. Just suck it up and try to make people like you. You're Coldplay without the interesting melodies and producers. For a band that was handed credibility on a silver platter from day one in 2004, and who were immediately playing alongside David Bowie and the Boss, this win was simply not a major shock.
The other major "surprise" of the evening was Esperanza Spalding. Grammy loves to give a jazzy female artist the Best New Artist award. See: Norah Jones. Spalding has played for Obama and wowed at Austin City Limits. It ticked me off to see people immediately lash out at her getting the award, as if it were another result of stodgy old people voting. What we like to call the Steely Dan Principle. Well, it might be, but Spalding is a cool, ridiculously talented performer. She has played with free jazz and post-bop luminaries in her many performances in town. She's collaborated with M. Ward and shared stages with the Roots. Would you really have rather seen Bieber or a kid from Degrassi win?
Here are some other random thoughts on the event:
- Mick Jagger owned the evening. Bob Dylan stumbled on stage and croaked with a voice that made the old Bob Dylan sound like Rene Fleming. Laugh at Mick Jagger's age all you want, but there was as shocking amount of life left in his lips, hips and limbs. I really need the Stones to make another record with Jack White.
- Christina Aguilera is the Steve Vai of throats. She is all technique, no soul. Her pyrotechnic yodeling shifts gears like a rookie motorcycle rider. She's so freaking melismatic. Tone it down. Jennifer Hudson, who runs a little sharp, still put her to shame by injecting some humanity.
- Was Muse exploiting Egypt's revolution to sell a cheap song about revolution? Perhaps. Regardless, I don't mess with a band that plays fret-less or head-less basses.
- That Cee-Lo Green song needs to go away now.
- Katy Perry is just the Vivid Video version of Zooey Deschanel.
- As much as she tries to make the dull look weird, Lady Gaga only manages to make the weird look dull. Judging by her 60 Minutes interview, she's an intelligent, savvy pop artist. Which makes her music disappointing more than terrible. I just want something as smart as her talk and her fashion designer.
- Oh, it was not aired, but here's how Chicago fared: Mavis Staples nabbed the Best Americana Album award. The Numero Group lost best packaging to the White Stripes, who were not going to be denied their (likely) last-ever Grammy.
