Grammy Grab

By Thomas Conner World Entertainment Writer 1/18/98

Nominations Range From Wildly Unpredictable to Boring Cliches

The Grammys actually have been interesting to watch during these mid-'90s years -- maybe not the elephant-sedating award ceremonies themselves but the nominations and balloting surely. Popular music has been so wildly unpredictable and diverse lately that it's fun to watch the stodgy bunch of pundits writhe in their cloistered little shelters.

This year's nominations, which were announced last week, are similarly challenging for the nearly 9,000 members of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. The ceremony will be broadcast Feb. 25 on CBS, hosted by actor Kelsey Grammer.

Granted, in the long run (and, really, even in the short run), who wins and loses has virtually no bearing on the state or direction of popular music, the careers of those involved or one single fan. The list is long of prominent artists who went from the life of the party to the butt of jokes practically overnight after winning high-category Grammys -- Rick Springfield, Christopher Cross, Janis Ian, Anne Murray, Bobbie Gentry ... had enough? (Or how about the entire slate from 1984, groups like Toto, songs like ``Up Where We Belong'' and -- yegods -- ``Eye of the Tiger.'')

Still, an analysis of the nominations provides a fairly clear snapshot of life in America's establishment.

In the Middle of Everything

Hanson's three nominations (Record of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal) come as no surprise. The Tulsa-native cherubs -- with their smash hit single ``MMMBop'' -- were the biggest pop act of the previous year and likely have the chops to garner this type of acclaim a few more times in their long lives ahead.

These nominations should serve up a great deal of validation for the boys, not so much because of the Grammys' alleged prestige but because of the absence of certain other acts alongside them. You might have noticed in the nominations list the absence of the Spice Girls -- not a single nomination. (Yahoo!) Also shunned was the year's truly fabricated boy band, the Backstreet Boys. The fact that Hanson made it into competition with the likes of true songsmiths like Shawn Colvin, R. Kelly and Puff Daddy should help the guys shake free of those undeserved comparisons to New Kids on the Block.

Trouble is, the competition in these categories is pretty worthy this year. For Best New Artist, the only real challenge for the boys is beating Puff Daddy. He's such a blatantly obnoxious plagiarist, though, the boys' angelic nature might clinch them a gold paperweight, after all. For Record of the Year -- the top award -- they're up against Colvin's ``Sunny Came Home'' and Paula Cole's ``Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?'' (in itself, not a terribly strong song, but with seven nominations she must have some edge).

Their surest bet is the Best Duo or Group award, where Hanson is up against Fleetwood Mac's ``Silver Springs'' (a single deserving of recognition after 20 years, but no real contender), Jamiroquai's ``Virtual Insanity,'' No Doubt's ``Don't Speak'' and the Rolling Stones' ``Anybody Seen My Baby?'' When they triumph over the Stones, justice will be served.

Either way, you can pretty much rest assured that Hanson will dominate the People's Choice award-flinging still to come.

Babyface, We Love Your Way

After being nominated 12 times last year and winning three awards, Kenneth ``Babyface'' Edmonds once again scored the most nominations of any artist, with eight. He's up for Album of the Year and Best R&B Album (``The Day''), Best Male Pop Vocal Performance (``Every Time I Close My Eyes''), Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals (``How Come, How Long'' with Stevie Wonder), as well as his various production credits.

This year's competition is stiffer, though, and the Academy -- other than Roberta Flack's back-to- back awards for Record of the Year in '71 and '72 -- frowns on repeat praise too soon after lavishing it on an artist.

It's a Family Affair

Bob Dylan hasn't passed the torch of his musical legacy to his son Jakob, but Jakob bummed a light from it at some point. Both artists landed three nominations apiece -- Bob for his intriguing but grossly overrated new album ``Time Out of Mind'' (Album of the Year, Best Male Rock Performance, Best Contemporary Folk Album) and Jakob for his band, the Wallflowers (Best Rock Song, ``The Difference'' and ``One Headlight''; Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal, ``One Headlight''). They do not compete against each other in any category.

Bob's nomination for Album of the Year is his first ever -- a stand-alone commentary on just how relevant the Grannies are.

Gamblers could have fun with a couple of worthy bets: whether or not the Dylans will perform together, and whether or not they'll even attend.

Another father-son sparring: Julio Iglesias' ``Tango'' goes up against son Enrique's ``Vivir'' in the Latin pop category.

Faded Rose

Elton John's eulogy to the late Diana, Princess of Wales, is nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. The sympathy vote surely will shoo this award right into the hack's little hands. That's a pity because musically -- and these awards were designed to recognize musical merit, not mass manipulation of gooseflesh -- the song is downright awful, Bernie Taupin's harried rewrite could have been copied from the spiral notebook of a junior high misfit, and his performance is certainly one of his lengthy career's weakest. Sorry may be the hardest word, but it's easy to apply to this lame tribute. (I know, I know, all of you own a copy, but commercial success and artistic merit are not the same things.)

The deck looks stacked, too. (Seal's cover of ``Fly Like an Eagle''? Pah-leez.) Duncan Sheik's ``Barely Breathing'' is easily the better song and performance.

Girl Power

Many categories look like they were invaded by the bill of last summer's Lilith Fair. Paula Cole landed a surprising seven noms, including one in each of the four major categories. Shawn Colvin's ``Sunny Came Home'' is up for Record of the Year and Song of the Year, among others. Other female acts granted great Grammy esteem: Sheryl Crow, Fiona Apple, Gwen Stefani (No Doubt), Sarah McLachlan and Ani DiFranco.

Most deserving of her nominations is Best New Artist contender Erykah Badu. Her metaphysical breakthrough hit, ``On and On,'' landed her four Grammy nods. Still, the fact that her song was passed over for Song of the Year in favor of R. Kelly's schmaltzy ``I Believe I Can Fly'' is further proof that NARAS adds up to irrelevancy.

Dancing With Myself

Several artists will be competing against themselves this year:

Puff Daddy dominates the rap duo/group slot with three offerings: ``Can't Nobody Hold Me Down'' featuring Mase, ``I'll Be Missing You'' with Faith Evans and 112 and ``Mo Money Mo Problems,'' a Notorious B.I.G. tune featuring Puff Daddy and Mase.

Jakob Dylan's Wallflowers are up for two songs, ``One Headlight'' and ``The Distance'' for Best Rock Song.

Barbara Streisand has two duets in the pop collaboration category: ``I Finally Found Someone'' with Bryan Adams and ``Tell Him'' with Celene Dion.

Clubland

Always several years behind the times, the Grammys this year actually added a category for Best Dance Recording. The first round of contenders are Daft Punk's ``Da Funk,'' Gina G's ``Ooh Aah ... Just a Little Bit,'' Pet Shop Boys' ``To Step Aside,'' Quad City DJs' ``Space Jam'' and ``Carry On'' by Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder.

How this will come out is anybody's guess; the Academy is not exactly full of hipsters who might fairly judge great dance music, but they may surprise us and pick something worthy like Daft Punk. The Pet Shop Boys don't deserve it this time, but they have many times before and the Academy loves to give retroactive awards.

How Do I Choose In the Best Country Song category, young newcomer LeAnn Rimes and talented veteran Trisha Yearwood are competing with the same song, Dianna Warren's ``How Do I Live.'' The good money's on the youngster.

OK Voters

Radiohead's latest album ``OK Computer'' landed a nomination for Album of the Year. It's not the kind of commercial success that usually gets such a nod -- it hasn't sold a million copies or produced any hit singles or videos. Still, the disc received mountainous praise from critics.

The feat is due to a change in the nomination process. A panel of 25 industry experts (whatever that means) put together the nominations for the top four categories, not the entire NARAS voting body. That's also how Beck's ``Odelay'' and Pearl Jam's ``Vitalogy'' landed the same nomination in '96 and '97, respectively.

Granted, ``OK Computer'' doesn't stand a chance of winning Album of the Year, but the nod is promising. Plus, they have much better chances with their nomination in the Best Alternative Music category, where their competition is less fierce (Bjork and David Bowie could edge out, but Prodigy and the Chemical Brothers are immensely overrated).