Steely Dan’s gone back into hibernation (sorry, old-timers) and Eminem didn’t come out with an album. Last year, the many nominations for the cantankerous white rapper made the Grammys seem “with it,” and even added a bit of controversy to the mix (someone so mean can’t win for best album!). Steely Dan’s win fulfilled the Grammy promise of staying unflappably irrelevant–no one knew the 1970s group had even made an album in 2000. But with today’s announcement of the 2001 Grammy nominees, the tune has clearly changed.
Simply put, five good records actually made it into the album-of-the-year category. New releases by U2 and Bob Dylan were shoo-ins, but underdog albums by the bizarre rap outfit Outkast, the rural soundtrack from “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” and newcomer India.Arie proved that the academy actually listened to the new releases out there and chose wisely.
India.Arie’s “Acoustic Soul” might have been the biggest surprise. It’s an incredibly strong record–organic, empowering and even funny–but it wasn’t a massive seller and she is a fairly new artist. Though the acoustic soul singer was eclipsed by the heavily hyped Alicia Keys throughout the year, India.Arie was nominated in seven categories today, including record of the year and best new artist.
Another pleasant shake-up was Outkast’s nomination in five categories, including best record. It’s still rare for rap groups to score nominations outside of hip-hop categories–unless they’re rude white boys from Detroit.
It’s also unusual for a soundtrack to be nominated for the prestigious slot of album of the year. With its bluegrass and blues numbers, “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” has proven to be more popular than the film it accompanied.
There were the predictable moments, of course–U2 picked up eight nominations. Disposable performers like Nelly Furtado and Linkin Park nabbed nominations for best new artist, a category whose nominees always seem as randomly chosen as candy from a Halloween grab bag. And Aerosmith was once again nominated for best rock album.
But there are signs that the old guard is dying out. PJ Harvey’s record “Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea” was nominated for best rock album. A new category, best rap/song collaboration, includes a nomination for Eve and Gwen Stefani’s “Let Me Blow Ya Mind” off Eve’s “Scorpion.” The young female rapper was also nominated for best rap album, a category that represents the genre very well this year (perhaps it’s because Will Smith hasn’t come out with a “rap” album in awhile). Other rap nods went to Ja Rule’s “Pain is Love,” Outkast’s “Stankonia” and Jay-Z’s “The Blueprint.”
There may not be any obvious controversial or shocking draws to the Grammys this year, but there’s finally a nod toward new and unlikely talent. It may not sound like much, but in Grammy terms, that’s a major leap forward.
