Season 1, Episode 02: “The Kingsroad”
I: Doris, I think this episode answered a few of your questions. First of all, we’re starting to figure out just how Peter Dinklage earned that Emmy: Slapping Joffrey in the face three times in a row. That foreshadows an even greater humiliation when Joffrey is at Arya’s mercy. For all of his bluster, Joffrey is pretty cowardly and weak. By the end, everyone knows that he’s getting beat up by people he should easily best. An unkind character being publicly humiliated during adolescence...who does this remind me of? Oh right, every comic book villain EVER. We also learned that Bran Muffin is alive but not exactly well. He’s survived two attempted murders, but I don’t know if his luck will hold out if (and I’m guessing when) the Lannisters try to kill him again. Between the hit man and that poor butcher boy, I’m really concerned about Arya’s safety. Will there be any mini-Starks left by the end of the season?
On the plus side, we’re seeing the women of this show assert some more power. There’s Catelyn doing her detective work and holding her own against that hitman. And let’s not forget Cersei Lannister, who terrifies the crap out of me. I’m a little less worried about Daenerys than I was last week. I don’t know why she was getting sex lessons, but I’m hoping she’s going to try to gain some power over Khal Drogo. One thing that sometimes annoys me about prestige dramas like this and Mad Men is their tendency to practically write their themes out in bold print. In this episode, we saw that with the juxtaposition of Daenerys and the former prostitute turned lady’s maid. Both are brought into sexual relationships at young ages, and they are expected to please men at all costs. It was already clear that SuperBlonde is basically the pimp of House Targaryen, and that Daenerys is sold for sex. Let’s hope that Sansa doesn’t end up in the same trap.
This episode still had some great moments. It was nice to be reminded that the Starks (including Jon!) actually love each other. Whoever plays Catelyn Stark just killed it when Jon came to say goodbye to Bran. It must be horrible to be reminded of your husband’s infidelity as you watch your own son fight for his life. Ned seems to actually care for Jon, reminding him “you are a Stark.” He may not be treated like one, but it’s nice to see that there are some genuine bonds there. I’m also loving the Tyrion-Ned bromance, so I’m sure that means something horrible will happen to at least one of them. Doris, who do you think is next on the Lannisters’ hit list?
D: For me, the strongest asset of Game of Thrones thus far has been its compelling characters as performed by a talented cast. The main drawback, however, is that there are so many characters and plotlines that I can never remember what's happening to whom or why this person is doing this or that to the other. In regards to my prior questions, these are the answers: Dany gets kinky sex lessons from her handmaid; Bran wakes up; Eddard has found naught (although his wife Catelyn is starting to get clued in on the Lannisters); no word on Sansa's cycles; and Tyrion gets to slap Joffrey and be snarky about Jon Snow's illegitimate birth!
Well, Irene, things are still not looking good for the Stark children. Bran is probably still on the Lannisters' hit list, and now that we've become aware of what a huge jerk Joffrey is, I'll add Arya and a wandering Nymeria to it as well. (I wouldn't be surprised if he still held a grudge in the next episode.) I'm also concerned about Sansa, but not so much for her safety as for her sanity: how can she like that guy?! I can't imagine her adoration will last very long, given his cruelty and arrogance. I can't believe she still wants to marry him, either, given that he threatened her sister's life! Sansa, you need to sort out your priorities. Turning to another woman of the Stark family: I understand that Catelyn Stark has a hard time dealing with Jon because he is the physical embodiment of her husband's infidelity and all that, but she should really ease up on him a bit. For one, his birth is obviously not his fault, and for another, he is clearly a loving brother to her biological children. (That bit in the beginning was a highlight for me, too.) I mean, he gave Arya a cute little sword of her own! Nothing says familial love like telling your baby sister to stick people with "the pointy end" of her new sword.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Sunday, June 23, 2013
GoT Review: 1x01
Season 1, Episode 01: "Winter is Coming"
I: Hi all! It’s Irene, aka Otter, and I’m excited to be watching a drama at the same time as one of my friends. (It’s been torture not being able to talk about what’s happening on Mad Men this season.) As an English major I’ve spent the last three years learning to structure logical arguments, so naturally I’ll begin my part of this review by talking about the episode’s ending. I knew the show was violent and sexual and everything, but that ending hit me even before I checked Wikipedia to make sure that that I was watching incest. (Anyone have a non-spoilery character map?) We had been told quite a few times that the Lannisters could pretty much do whatever they wanted, but that murder really solidified that point. Nothing shows the abuse of power quite like a man shoving a child out of a window after breaking one of society’s biggest social taboos.
Power, not emotion, seems to be driving almost all of the show’s relationships. We’ve got a thirteen-year old begging to be married off to the powerful Joffrey. Then there’s SuperBlonde who’s so desperate to regain his kingdom that tells his betrothed sister “I would let his whole tribe f*** you. All forty thousand men and his horses too, if that’s what it took.” He sticks to this goal even after he is visibly shaken by the savageness of the wedding. The cinematography highlights the couple’s mismatch, as a physically imposing man is juxtaposed with his much smaller bride, delicately dressed in pale colors. After the wedding we see some presumably non-consensual sex. Khal Drogo (the groom) can say no (and does repeatedly), but Daenerys is rendered voiceless in this transaction. There are some parallels to this scene in the whorehouse, where women are openly reduced to a commodity. There we meet Tyrion, a character who is all too aware that “All dwarves are bastards in their father’s eyes.” The bastard trope lends an interesting dimension to these power dynamics. There’s more than just those with power and those without. Jon Snow and Tyrion have a sort of influence, but this can easily be eliminated. I’m excited to see how they develop: will they be squashed by their more influential relatives or will they sneakily absorb some power?
Since I guess this is a review, I should probably talk a bit about how much I actually liked this episode. Making a good pilot is a tricky business, since you have to introduce all of the characters without sounding like the beginning of a Baby-Sitter’s Club book. (There were over a hundred of those; did they have to write each girl’s bio every single time?!) This episode works around this by structuring much of its action around the Lannisters’ visit: that way the audience meets these characters as the same time as everyone else. This episode was a little slow at times, but I think (and know, thanks to friends/the internet) that things are really going to pick up. I’m definitely excited to see where these characters are going and how the kingdoms will be developing. Doris, did you like the episode? And what’s your take on that ending?
D: Doris here. I'll admit, as a fan of light-hearted comedies and angst-driven coming-of-age stories, I didn't really want to watch Game of Thrones, much less like it. As the wonderful Troy Barnes once said, “If I wanted to know what happened in Europe a long time ago, I'd watch Game of Thrones.” (Thanks, Community.) Despite these lingering hesitations, and the extremely boring first 7-10 minutes of the pilot, I was definitely sucked in by the end of the episode. I won't say I'm a fan of the show quite yet, but I am intrigued to see future developments: how will Daenerys deal with her marriage to the intimidating, eyeliner-wearing Khal Drogo? Does Bran survive his fall from the tower window? What dirt will Boromir Eddard dig up on the Lannisters? (Then again, one does not simply dig up dirt on the Lannisters.) Will Sansa get her first period by the time she is betrothed and/or married? And most importantly, what trials and tribulations will Tyrion suffer that gave Peter Dinklage his Best Supporting Actor win at the Emmys?
Irene, you make an excellent point about power struggles. And about The Baby-Sitters Club (I always skimmed those intros- and seriously, they're 13 year-olds with a thriving local business? Come on. No way.) I couldn't agree more. I can't wait until that scumbag SuperBlonde meets his demise- I'm assuming that that happens, because no one that foul can possibly survive for long. As for the depressing end of the episode, I have to say this: after all those orgies, corpses, rapes, gratuitous boobs, and needless bloodshed, I'm surprised that you're surprised that the queen's lover/brother pushed a ten year-old out the window because of his voyeurism! Not that Peeping Toms deserve to be murdered- I'm just saying, what's an incestuous lover to do.
I: Hi all! It’s Irene, aka Otter, and I’m excited to be watching a drama at the same time as one of my friends. (It’s been torture not being able to talk about what’s happening on Mad Men this season.) As an English major I’ve spent the last three years learning to structure logical arguments, so naturally I’ll begin my part of this review by talking about the episode’s ending. I knew the show was violent and sexual and everything, but that ending hit me even before I checked Wikipedia to make sure that that I was watching incest. (Anyone have a non-spoilery character map?) We had been told quite a few times that the Lannisters could pretty much do whatever they wanted, but that murder really solidified that point. Nothing shows the abuse of power quite like a man shoving a child out of a window after breaking one of society’s biggest social taboos.
Power, not emotion, seems to be driving almost all of the show’s relationships. We’ve got a thirteen-year old begging to be married off to the powerful Joffrey. Then there’s SuperBlonde who’s so desperate to regain his kingdom that tells his betrothed sister “I would let his whole tribe f*** you. All forty thousand men and his horses too, if that’s what it took.” He sticks to this goal even after he is visibly shaken by the savageness of the wedding. The cinematography highlights the couple’s mismatch, as a physically imposing man is juxtaposed with his much smaller bride, delicately dressed in pale colors. After the wedding we see some presumably non-consensual sex. Khal Drogo (the groom) can say no (and does repeatedly), but Daenerys is rendered voiceless in this transaction. There are some parallels to this scene in the whorehouse, where women are openly reduced to a commodity. There we meet Tyrion, a character who is all too aware that “All dwarves are bastards in their father’s eyes.” The bastard trope lends an interesting dimension to these power dynamics. There’s more than just those with power and those without. Jon Snow and Tyrion have a sort of influence, but this can easily be eliminated. I’m excited to see how they develop: will they be squashed by their more influential relatives or will they sneakily absorb some power?
Since I guess this is a review, I should probably talk a bit about how much I actually liked this episode. Making a good pilot is a tricky business, since you have to introduce all of the characters without sounding like the beginning of a Baby-Sitter’s Club book. (There were over a hundred of those; did they have to write each girl’s bio every single time?!) This episode works around this by structuring much of its action around the Lannisters’ visit: that way the audience meets these characters as the same time as everyone else. This episode was a little slow at times, but I think (and know, thanks to friends/the internet) that things are really going to pick up. I’m definitely excited to see where these characters are going and how the kingdoms will be developing. Doris, did you like the episode? And what’s your take on that ending?
D: Doris here. I'll admit, as a fan of light-hearted comedies and angst-driven coming-of-age stories, I didn't really want to watch Game of Thrones, much less like it. As the wonderful Troy Barnes once said, “If I wanted to know what happened in Europe a long time ago, I'd watch Game of Thrones.” (Thanks, Community.) Despite these lingering hesitations, and the extremely boring first 7-10 minutes of the pilot, I was definitely sucked in by the end of the episode. I won't say I'm a fan of the show quite yet, but I am intrigued to see future developments: how will Daenerys deal with her marriage to the intimidating, eyeliner-wearing Khal Drogo? Does Bran survive his fall from the tower window? What dirt will Boromir Eddard dig up on the Lannisters? (Then again, one does not simply dig up dirt on the Lannisters.) Will Sansa get her first period by the time she is betrothed and/or married? And most importantly, what trials and tribulations will Tyrion suffer that gave Peter Dinklage his Best Supporting Actor win at the Emmys?
Irene, you make an excellent point about power struggles. And about The Baby-Sitters Club (I always skimmed those intros- and seriously, they're 13 year-olds with a thriving local business? Come on. No way.) I couldn't agree more. I can't wait until that scumbag SuperBlonde meets his demise- I'm assuming that that happens, because no one that foul can possibly survive for long. As for the depressing end of the episode, I have to say this: after all those orgies, corpses, rapes, gratuitous boobs, and needless bloodshed, I'm surprised that you're surprised that the queen's lover/brother pushed a ten year-old out the window because of his voyeurism! Not that Peeping Toms deserve to be murdered- I'm just saying, what's an incestuous lover to do.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Adventures of 'Game of Thrones' Virgins
Hi, people! This is Doris and Irene’s “Blog of Thrones” feature and yes, we realize we’re probably the 477,924th blog with that name.
We’re two TV nerds with a penchant for smart comedies starring SNL alumni and an awesomely soapy British period drama involving upstairs and downstairs people, but one highly hyped show that has somehow flown under our radar is HBO’s Game of Thrones. Everyone and their grandma has been telling us to watch it because apparently it is that epic, so now we finally are. Plus Irene studied abroad at Trinity College, where the guy who plays King Joffrey is a student. She never saw him, but she wants to find out why people seemed to hate him so much.
We plan to watch one episode a week and review it on this blog until we’ve finished all three seasons! (That’s 30 episodes, if you weren’t aware.) While it’s a given that we will be discussing plot points in our posts, please refrain from spoiling future episodes for *us*. We’ve heard that “everyone dies” in the show but otherwise, we know nothing. (Like Jon Snow...? Thanks, Tumblr.)
Join us as we embark on our journey of thrones -- okay I’ll stop that now.
--Doris (posting as Saurus) & Irene
We’re two TV nerds with a penchant for smart comedies starring SNL alumni and an awesomely soapy British period drama involving upstairs and downstairs people, but one highly hyped show that has somehow flown under our radar is HBO’s Game of Thrones. Everyone and their grandma has been telling us to watch it because apparently it is that epic, so now we finally are. Plus Irene studied abroad at Trinity College, where the guy who plays King Joffrey is a student. She never saw him, but she wants to find out why people seemed to hate him so much.
We plan to watch one episode a week and review it on this blog until we’ve finished all three seasons! (That’s 30 episodes, if you weren’t aware.) While it’s a given that we will be discussing plot points in our posts, please refrain from spoiling future episodes for *us*. We’ve heard that “everyone dies” in the show but otherwise, we know nothing. (Like Jon Snow...? Thanks, Tumblr.)
Join us as we embark on our journey of thrones -- okay I’ll stop that now.
--Doris (posting as Saurus) & Irene
Saturday, February 16, 2013
2013 Oscar Predictions
I really didn't have time to write this post, but I couldn't resist. The Oscars are the biggest event of the year, and I just had to weigh in...
Best Picture
Amour
Argo
Beasts of the Southern
Wild
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings
Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty
Winner: It’s been a fantastic year for film all around, but
it looks like Argo is well ahead to
take the big prize. Not my personal favorite (SLP all the way!), but a very worthy winner nevertheless. And Ben
Affleck really does give the best speeches.
Actor in a Leading
Role
Bradley Cooper, Silver
Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Hugh Jackman, Les
Miserables
Joaquin Phoenix, The
Master
Denzel Washington, Flight
Winner: His Majesty the King of Acting, Daniel Day-Lewis.
It’s just too bad that the other four guys have been nominated against him all
season, because they all probably could have had a decent shot in another year.
Actress in a Leading
Role
Jessica Chastain, Zero
Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver
Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts
of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts, The
Impossible
Winner: Mmm, tricky. Jessica Chastain and Jennifer Lawrence
were always regarded as the frontrunners here, but Emmanuelle Riva winning the
BAFTA really adds another dimension to this category. I’m still supporting my
girl J-Law all the way, and she did win the SAG award, but I wouldn’t be
shocked if Riva or Chastain pulled off an “upset”.
Actor in a Supporting
Role
Alan Arkin, Argo
Robert De Niro, Silver
Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The
Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Christoph Waltz, Django
Unchained
Winner: Man, this is such a crapshoot; I feel like everyone
except Alan Arkin has a decent chance here. (Sorry, but Arkin had very little
to do in Argo, and it’s crazy that he
got nominated over Leonardo DiCaprio in Django,
Eddie Redmayne in Les Mis, Dwight
Henry in Beasts of the Southern Wild,
Ewan McGregor and Tom Holland in The
Impossible, Ezra Miller in The Perks
of Being a Wallflower, and dozens of other fantastic male supporting roles
this year.) Hoffman gave the most substantial performance, Jones steals all of
his scenes in Lincoln, and Waltz
somehow won both the Globe and the BAFTA (despite winning for a very similar
role in Inglorious Basterds only 3
years ago). If I had to choose just one, though, I would pick Robert De Niro,
because he’s terrific in SLP and
hasn’t won an Oscar since 1981.
Actress in a
Supporting Role
Amy Adams, The Master
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les
Miserables
Helen Hunt, The
Sessions
Jackie Weaver, Silver
Linings Playbook
Winner: Anne Hathaway has been writing this acceptance speech
since December. But this is Amy Adams’ 4th Oscar nomination, and
when her 5th comes, she’ll officially be overdue to win.
Directing
Michael Haneke, Amour
Ang Lee, Life of Pi
David O. Russell, Silver
Linings Playbook
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Benh Zeitlin, Beasts
of the Southern Wild
Winner: If Ben Affleck were nominated for Argo, he’d be a lock to win. Without
him, though, it looks like it’s down to Ang Lee, Steven Spielberg, and
maaaaaaybe David O. Russell. It’s really hard to pick between Lee and
Spielberg, but I’m going to go with Lee because his movie is more technically
impressive, and he just seems like the sweetest man ever.
Writing - Original
Screenplay
Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola, Moonrise Kingdom
Mark Boal, Zero Dark
Thirty
John Gatins, Flight
Michael Haneke, Amour
Quentin Tarantino, Django
Unchained
Winner: I really really want Moonrise Kingdom to pull off an upset here, but that’s unlikely at
best. This is down to ZDT and Django, and with all the torture
controversy over ZDT, I’m going to go
with Django. “The ‘D’ is silent.”
Writing - Adapted
Screenplay
Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Tony Kushner, Lincoln
David Magee, Life of
Pi
David O. Russell, Silver
Linings Playbook
Chris Terrio, Argo
Winner: This one’s down to Argo, Lincoln, and SLP; between those three, I’ll say Argo because it’s likely to win Best
Picture. (Lincoln and SLP both had far superior dialogue, but
sadly, that’s kind of irrelevant.)
From here on out, I’m just guessing blindly, so I have no
real analysis.
Animated Feature Film
Brave
Frankenweenie
ParaNorman
The Pirates! Band of
Misfits
Wreck-It Ralph
Winner: I’ll say Brave,
but it could just as easily be Wreck-It
Ralph.
Cinematography
Anna Karenina
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall
Winner: But seriously, how stunning does Life of Pi look?
Costume Design
Anna Karenina
Les Miserables
Lincoln
Mirror Mirror
Snow White and the
Huntsman
Winner: According to fashion peeps, Anna Karenina is costume porn.
Documentary - Feature
5 Broken Cameras
The Gatekeepers
How to Survive a
Plague
The Invisible War
Searching for Sugar
Man
Winner: Searching for
Sugar Man was won pretty much everything this year.
Documentary - Short
"Inocente"
"Kings Point"
"Mondays at Racine"
"Open Heart"
"Redemption"
Winner: No idea. “Open Heart” sounds deep though.
Film Editing
Argo
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings
Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty
Winner: Argo
Foreign Language Film
Amour (Austria)
Kon-Tiki (Norway)
No (Chile)
A Royal Affair
(Denmark)
War Witch (Canada)
Winner: Amour
Makeup And
Hairstyling
Hitchcock
The Hobbit: An
Unexpected Journey
Les Miserables
Winner: Les Miserables
Music - Original
Score
Mychael Danna, Life of
Pi
Alexandre Desplat, Argo
Dario Marianelli, Anna
Karenina
Thomas Newman, Skyfall
John Williams, Lincoln
Winner: Life of Pi
Music - Original Song
"Before My Time" from Chasing Ice, music and lyrics by J. Ralph
"Everybody Needs a Best Friend" from Ted, music by Walter Murphy, lyrics by
Seth MacFarlane
"Pi's Lullaby" from Life of Pi, music by Mychael Danna, lyrics by Bombay Jayashri
"Skyfall" from Skyfall,
music and lyrics by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth
"Suddenly" from Les Miserables, music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Herbert
Kretzmer and Alain Boublil
Winner: Skyfall
Production Design
Anna Karenina
The Hobbit: An
Unexpected Journey
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Winner: Life of Pi
Short Film - Animated
"Adam and Dog"
"Fresh Guacamole"
"Head over Heels"
"Maggie Simpson in 'The Longest Daycare'"
"Paperman"
Winner: “Paperman” is cute :]
Short Film - Live
Action
"Asad"
"Buzkashi Boys"
"Curfew"
"Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)"
"Henry"
Winner: No idea. But the Internet says “Curfew”.
Sound Editing
Argo
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Skyfall
Zero Dark Thirty
Winner: Argo
Sound Mixing
Argo
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall
Winner: Les Miserables
Visual Effects
The Hobbit: An
Unexpected Journey
Life of Pi
Marvel's The Avengers
Prometheus
Snow White and the
Huntsman
Winner: Life of Pi
Monday, February 4, 2013
2013 Grammys Predictions
The 2013 Grammys are taking place live in Los
Angeles this Sunday, February 10th! The following predictions are entirely speculative
based on my personal biases and vague name recognition for some of the artists…
But I’m totally sure I’m right.
(Warning: You thought Dactyl's Golden Globes post was long? You ain't seen nothing yet.)
General Field
Record Of The Year
Lonely Boy - The Black Keys
Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) - Kelly Clarkson
We Are Young - Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe
Somebody That I Used to Know - Gotye Featuring Kimbra
Thinkin Bout You - Frank Ocean
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together - Taylor Swift
This is a toughie, which is evident in the fact that this category has an unusual six nominees. I think Gotye deserves it for his signature song, a very well-performed piece that the radios couldn’t stop playing this year. Its percussive feel and cool use of xylophone give it a unique sound, while the blending of the two lead voices make relatable lyrics even more poignant. Still, each of these contenders is strong enough to possibly win.
Album Of The Year
El Camino - The Black Keys
Some Nights - Fun.
Babel - Mumford & Sons
Channel Orange - Frank Ocean
Blunderbuss - Jack White
Babel seems like the safe choice, although I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if Channel Orange swooped in (lots of buzz) or El Camino (remember back in 2011 when Arcade Fire’s Suburbs won and everyone was like, “Who is Arcade Fire??!”)
Song Of The Year
The A Team - Ed Sheeran, songwriter (Ed Sheeran)
Adorn - Miguel Pimentel, songwriter (Miguel)
Call Me Maybe - Tavish Crowe, Carly Rae Jepsen & Josh Ramsay, songwriters (Carly Rae Jepsen)
Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) - Jörgen Elofsson, David Gamson, Greg Kurstin & Ali Tamposi, songwriters (Kelly Clarkson)
We Are Young - Jack Antonoff, Jeff Bhasker, Andrew Dost & Nate Ruess, songwriters (Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe)
It took me the longest time to understand this category is different from Record of the Year because it awards the songwriters, not the performers. While the actual song of the year has got to be Carly Rae Jepsen’s ridiculously catchy “Call Me Maybe,” we all know it doesn’t stand a chance of winning. Right now I’m leaning towards Fun for its big, showy power ballad.
Best New Artist
Alabama Shakes
Fun.
Hunter Hayes
The Lumineers
Frank Ocean
Nominees and winners of Best New Artist seem a little random at times (no Ed Sheeran?) but with six nominations each, either Frank Ocean or Fun would be the obvious choice here. I’ll say Frank Ocean for his genre-bending musical style.
Pop Field
Best Pop Solo Performance
Set Fire To The Rain [live] - Adele
Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) - Kelly Clarkson
Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen
Wide Awake - Katy Perry
Where Have You Been - Rihanna
In another year, it surely would’ve been Kelly Clarkson, but Adele is Adele.
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
Shake It Out - Florence & the Machine
We Are Young - Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe
Somebody That I Used To Know - Gotye Featuring Kimbra
Sexy And I Know It - Lmfao
Payphone - Maroon 5 & Wiz Khalifa
Hmm. I'll say Fun for a very fun, pop-py song. (Can I just point out the fact that Gotye’s album, Making Mirrors, is nominated strangely in the Alternative Music category…? o.O)
Best Pop Vocal Album
Stronger - Kelly Clarkson
Ceremonials - Florence & the Machine
Some Nights - Fun.
Overexposed - Maroon 5
The Truth About Love - Pink
Logically, you would think it would go to Some Nights, as it’s the only one nominated for Album of the Year, but the Grammys are hardly logical, are they? Against my better judgment I’ll pick Stronger instead, as Kelly Clarkson has been killing it in pop lately.
Dance / Electronica Field
Best Dance Recording
Levels - Avicii
Let's Go - Calvin Harris Featuring Ne-Yo
Bangarang - Skrillex Featuring Sirah
Don't You Worry Child - Swedish House Mafia Featuring John Martin
I Can't Live Without You - Al Walser
I’ve only ever heard "Levels" by Avicii but I’ve heard that Skrillex is good and quite popular. Maybe I should actually do a little research and listen to all these songs? …Nahhhh.
Best Dance/Electronica Album
Wonderland - Steve Aoki
Don't Think - The Chemical Brothers
Album Title Goes Here - Deadmau5
Fire & Ice - Kaskade
Bangarang - Skrillex
Again, Skrillex seems quite big, so I’ll say that it’ll win for the second year running. I don’t really know though.
Traditional Pop Field
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
Christmas - Michael Bublé
A Holiday Carole - Carole King
Kisses On The Bottom - Paul McCartney
Michael Buble! He’s won in this category thrice already (with 6 nominations total) so I think he’ll go for a fourth win.
Rock Field
Best Rock Performance
Hold On - Alabama Shakes
Lonely Boy - The Black Keys
Charlie Brown - Coldplay
I Will Wait - Mumford & Sons
We Take Care Of Our Own - Bruce Springsteen
Again, "Lonely Boy" is the only song that’s up for Record of the Year, so I think The Black Keys are the logical choice here. If not, it’ll be Mumford & Sons swooping in with their most popular single yet.
Best Rock Song
Freedom At 21 - Jack White, songwriter (Jack White)
I Will Wait - Ted Dwane, Ben Lovett, Winston Marshall & Marcus Mumford, songwriters (Mumford & Sons)
Lonely Boy - Dan Auerbach, Brian Burton & Patrick Carney, songwriters (The Black Keys)
Madness - Matthew Bellamy, songwriter (Muse)
We Take Care Of Our Own - Bruce Springsteen, songwriter (Bruce Springsteen)
The Black Keys, with the same reasoning as above, more or less.
Best Rock Album
El Camino - The Black Keys
Mylo Xyloto - Coldplay
The 2nd Law - Muse
Wrecking Ball - Bruce Springsteen
Blunderbuss - Jack White
So Babel is an Americana album but the songs on it are rock? That makes perfect sense. Good job, Grammys. At least that means I can pick El Camino with a clear conscience.
Alternative Field
Best Alternative Music Album
The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than The Driver Of The Screw And Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do - Fiona Apple
Biophilia - Björk
Making Mirrors - Gotye
Hurry Up, We're Dreaming. - M83
Bad As Me - Tom Waits
Considering the diversity of these artists, this category makes so little sense. I think that’s the running theme of this awards show. Anyway... Gotye for Making Mirrors! I wouldn’t be displeased with a M83 win either.
R&B Field
Best R&B Performance
Thank You - Estelle
Gonna Be Alright (f.t.b.) - Robert Glasper Experiment featuring Ledisi
I Want You - Luke James
Adorn - Miguel
Climax - Usher
"Adorn" is getting a bit of hype and as it’s a rather nice song, I have no problem endorsing it for President. Or predicting it to win this Grammy category, whatever it is I’m doing right now.
Best Traditional R&B Performance
Lately - Anita Baker
Love On Top - Beyoncé
Wrong Side Of A Love Song - Melanie Fiona
Real Good Hands - Gregory Porter
If Only You Knew - Swv
I haven’t heard any of these but I see Beyoncé’s name, which is like a beacon of light to all. I’ll pick Blue Ivy’s mom!
Best R&B Song
Adorn - Miguel Pimentel, songwriter (Miguel)
Beautiful Surprise - Tamia Hill, Claude Kelly & Salaam Remi, songwriters (Tamia)
Heart Attack - Benjamin Levin, Rico Love & Tremaine Neverson, songwriters (Trey Songz)
Pray For Me - Antonio Dixon, Kenny Edmonds, Anthony Hamilton & Patrick "jque" Smith, songwriters (Anthony Hamilton)
Refill - Darhyl "DJ" Camper, Elle Varner & Andrew "Pop" Wansel, songwriters (Elle Varner)
"Adorn" by Miguel again!
Best Urban Contemporary Album
Fortune - Chris Brown
Kaleidoscope Dream - Miguel
Channel Orange - Frank Ocean
Frank Ocean for Channel Orange, EASY! Next!
Best R&B Album
Black Radio - Robert Glasper Experiment
Back To Love - Anthony Hamilton
Write Me Back - R. Kelly
Beautiful Surprise - Tamia
Open Invitation - Tyrese
Derp. Um… Well, R. Kelly is one of the most successful R&B artists ever, so that’s got to be worth something, right?
Rap Field
Best Rap Performance
Hyfr (Hell Ya ... Right) - Drake Featuring Lil' Wayne
... In Paris - Jay-Z & Kanye West
Daughters - Nas
Mercy - Kanye West featuring Big Sean, Pusha T & 2 Chainz
I Do - Young Jeezy featuring Jay-z & André 3000
"… In Paris." But props to Kanye for using the term “ass quake” on his song "Mercy." It’s just, it’s just so… ugh. Kanye gets me.
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
Wild Ones - Flo Rida Featuring Sia
No Church In The Wild - Jay-Z & Kanye West featuring Frank Ocean & The-Dream
Tonight (Best You Ever Had) - John Legend featuring Ludacris
Cherry Wine - Nas Featuring Amy Winehouse
Talk That Talk - Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z
I do like the song "Wild Ones a lot" but I see that "No Church in the Wild" has three big names headlining it. Then again, Amy Winehouse is featured on "Cherry Wine", and you know she rolls! Gah. And John Legend is awesome and there’s Jay-Z again for "Talk That Talk"! Ugh. Let’s just go with "No Church in the Wild," because it was featured in the trailer for The Great Gatsby and I hear it’s “genius” or whatever.
Best Rap Song
Daughters - Nas
Lotus Flower Bomb - Wale Featuring Miguel
Mercy - Kanye West featuring Big Sean, Pusha T & 2 Chainz
The Motto - Drake Featuring Lil' Wayne
... In Paris - Jay-Z & Kanye West
Young, Wild & Free - Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa featuring Bruno Mars
(I deleted the songwriter info because it was just way too long. Who knew rap involved such a collaborative process.) "…In Paris." I was about to comment, why isn’t Jay-Z and Kanye's Watch the Throne album nominated for Best Rap Album, in the next category? Then I did a little research and found out that it was nominated, last year. Whoops.
Best Rap Album
Take Care - Drake
Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album, Pt. 1 - Lupe Fiasco
Life Is Good - Nas
Undun - The Roots
God Forgives, I Don't - Rick Ross
Based On A T.r.u. Story - 2 Chainz
As a person who is clearly a huge expert on rap, I will say that I enjoyed Drake’s album Take Care and am surprised that it didn’t get into any of the General Categories. As a person who is lying about being a huge expert on rap, I will say that I have not actually listened to any of the other albums; however, Take Care has received quite a few accolades this past year so I chose the right album to listen to, I think.
Country Field
Best Country Duo/Group Performance
Even If It Breaks Your Heart - Eli Young Band
Pontoon - Little Big Town
Safe & Sound - Taylor Swift & The Civil Wars
On The Outskirts Of Town - The Time Jumpers
I Just Come Here For The Music - Don Williams Featuring Alison Krauss
Because it’s T-Swift, I’ll pick her and The Civil Wars (also known as that band that broke up due to "internal discord and irreconcilable differences.” Hahaha! The irony! Ha! Ha! It kills me!), even though the song doesn’t sound very country.
Jazz Field
Best Improvised Jazz Solo
Cross Roads - Ravi Coltrane, soloist
Hot House - Gary Burton & Chick Corea, soloists
Alice In Wonderland - Chick Corea, soloist
J. Mac - Kenny Garrett, soloist
Ode - Brad Mehldau, soloist
I’m thinking it’ll either be Chick Corea, solo, or Chick Corea and Gary Burton. I hope the duo wins for Hot House, mostly because I heard them play live a few months ago—I’m just awesome and cultured like that! Also, for the sake of Kenny Garrett, let it be known that he is not the same person as Kenny G (Kenneth Gorelick).
Best Jazz Instrumental Album
Further Explorations - Chick Corea, Eddie Gomez & Paul Motian
Hot House - Chick Corea & Gary Burton
Seeds From The Underground - Kenny Garrett
Blue Moon - Ahmad Jamal
Unity Band - Pat Metheny Unity Band
Hot House again!! Because see above!
American Roots
Best Americana Album
The Carpenter - The Avett Brothers
From The Ground Up - John Fullbright
The Lumineers - The Lumineers
Babel - Mumford & Sons
Slipstream - Bonnie Raitt
Mumford & Sons for Babel, even though their big single “I Will Wait” is nominated as a Rock song. (Yeah, okay, Grammys.) Snaps for the Lumineers and hitting it big (-ish) with their debut album though, which was the most listened to album on Spotify for several weeks in October (so Wikipedia tells me).
World Music Field
Best World Music Album
Folila - Amadou & Mariam
On A Gentle Island Breeze - Daniel Ho
Jabulani - Hugh Masekela
Traveller - Anoushka Shankar
The Living Room Sessions Part 1 - Ravi Shankar
I don’t know much about world music other than basic name recognition but I recognize three of them! Hugh Masekela is a trumpeter, Ravi Shankar is a sitar player (and the father of Norah Jones, fun fact), and his daughter Anoushka is too. I’ll go with the recently deceased Ravi Shankar (may he RIP) because he is some sort of maestro-icon-legend, whose music inspired George freaking Harrison to immerse himself in Indian music and introduce it to the Western world! What a legacy!
Spoken Word Field
Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling)
American Grown (Michelle Obama) - (Various Artists) Scott Creswell & Dan Zitt, producers
Back To Work: Why We Need Smart Government For A Strong Economy - Bill Clinton
Drift: The Unmooring Of American Military - Rachel Maddow
Seriously... I'm Kidding - Ellen Degeneres
Society's Child: My Autobiography - Janis Ian
Lately, this award has gone to well-liked celebrities or presidential-affiliated people. Since our awesome FLOTUS’s book is not performed by her, I guess Bill Clinton stands a stronger chance to win, which would give him his second Spoken Word Grammy.
Comedy Field
Best Comedy Album
Blow Your Pants Off - Jimmy Fallon
Cho Dependent (live In Concert) - Margaret Cho
In God We Rust - Lewis Black
Kathy Griffin: Seaman 1st Class - Kathy Griffin
Mr. Universe - Jim Gaffigan
Rize Of The Fenix - Tenacious D
Although I’ve never heard of Lewis Black, he’ll probably since he’s already won this category twice, and the Comedy Field winners appear to be actually consistent over time. (cough *Cosby Cosby Cosby Cosby Cosby Cosby Cosby*)
Musical Theater Field
Musical Theater Album
Follies
The Gershwins' Porgy And Bess
Newsies
Nice Work If You Can Get
Once: A New Musical
Apparently Once swept the board at the 2012 Tony Awards, so I don’t see why it wouldn’t win here. I imagine its stiffest competition should be Porgy and Bess or Newsies, but I’m not as into Broadway as Dactyl is.
Music For Visual Media
Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media
The Descendants - (Various Artists)
Marley- (Bob Marley & The Wailers)
Midnight In Paris- (Various Artists)
The Muppets- (Various Artists)
Rock Of Ages- (Various Artists)
Haha, these soundtracks all fill very specific niches. I’ve only seen Midnight in Paris but I think Marley might take it. Bob Marley was a legend after all and he never won a single Grammy, save for his posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1991. Maybe the great and arbitrary people of the Recording Academy will rectify this now. Probably not, though.
Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media
The Adventures Of Tintin - The Secret Of The Unicorn - John Williams, Composer
The Artist - Ludovic Bource, Composer
The Dark Knight Rises - Hans Zimmer, Composer
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, Composers
Hugo - Howard Shore, Composer
Journey - Austin Wintory, Composer
The Artist won at the Oscars and the BAFTAS in equivalent categories, so let’s go with that.
Best Song Written For Visual Media
Abraham's Daughter (from The Hunger Games) - T Bone Burnett, Win Butler & Régine Chassagne, Songwriters (Arcade Fire)
Learn Me Right (from Brave) - Mumford & Sons, Songwriters (Birdy & Mumford & Sons)
Let Me Be Your Star (from Smash) - Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman, Songwriters (Katharine McPhee & Megan Hilty)
Man Or Muppet (from The Muppets) Bret McKenzie, Songwriter (Jason Segel & Walter)
Safe & Sound (from The Hunger Games) - T Bone Burnett, Taylor Swift, John Paul White & Joy Williams, Songwriters (Taylor Swift Featuring The Civil Wars)
Is it too soon for Skyfall? Must be. In that case, it’s probably down to Taylor Swift vs. the Oscar-winning Man Or Muppet. I’m thinking T-Swift.
FINITO! I’ve skipped a few categories within several of these fields and some fields altogether (e.g. New Age, Latin, Reggae, the boring production ones, etc.) I probably could’ve done the music video field if I bothered to sit down and watch them all (or read what everyone else is saying), but I’m tired. And if you think you’re going to find Gospel or Album Notes predictions here, you’re barkin' up the wrong tree, pal. Feel free to give me a thrashing in the comments or argue it out for your favorite nominated artist, song, or album!
(Warning: You thought Dactyl's Golden Globes post was long? You ain't seen nothing yet.)
General Field
Record Of The Year
Lonely Boy - The Black Keys Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) - Kelly Clarkson
We Are Young - Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe
Somebody That I Used to Know - Gotye Featuring Kimbra
Thinkin Bout You - Frank Ocean
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together - Taylor Swift
This is a toughie, which is evident in the fact that this category has an unusual six nominees. I think Gotye deserves it for his signature song, a very well-performed piece that the radios couldn’t stop playing this year. Its percussive feel and cool use of xylophone give it a unique sound, while the blending of the two lead voices make relatable lyrics even more poignant. Still, each of these contenders is strong enough to possibly win.
Album Of The Year
Some Nights - Fun.
Babel - Mumford & Sons
Channel Orange - Frank Ocean
Blunderbuss - Jack White
Babel seems like the safe choice, although I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if Channel Orange swooped in (lots of buzz) or El Camino (remember back in 2011 when Arcade Fire’s Suburbs won and everyone was like, “Who is Arcade Fire??!”)
Song Of The Year
Adorn - Miguel Pimentel, songwriter (Miguel)
Call Me Maybe - Tavish Crowe, Carly Rae Jepsen & Josh Ramsay, songwriters (Carly Rae Jepsen)
Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) - Jörgen Elofsson, David Gamson, Greg Kurstin & Ali Tamposi, songwriters (Kelly Clarkson)
We Are Young - Jack Antonoff, Jeff Bhasker, Andrew Dost & Nate Ruess, songwriters (Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe)
It took me the longest time to understand this category is different from Record of the Year because it awards the songwriters, not the performers. While the actual song of the year has got to be Carly Rae Jepsen’s ridiculously catchy “Call Me Maybe,” we all know it doesn’t stand a chance of winning. Right now I’m leaning towards Fun for its big, showy power ballad.
Best New Artist
 |
| Photo Credit |
Fun.
Hunter Hayes
The Lumineers
Frank Ocean
Nominees and winners of Best New Artist seem a little random at times (no Ed Sheeran?) but with six nominations each, either Frank Ocean or Fun would be the obvious choice here. I’ll say Frank Ocean for his genre-bending musical style.
Pop Field
Best Pop Solo Performance
Set Fire To The Rain [live] - Adele
Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) - Kelly Clarkson
Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen
Wide Awake - Katy Perry
Where Have You Been - Rihanna
In another year, it surely would’ve been Kelly Clarkson, but Adele is Adele.
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
Shake It Out - Florence & the Machine
We Are Young - Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe
Somebody That I Used To Know - Gotye Featuring Kimbra
Sexy And I Know It - Lmfao
Payphone - Maroon 5 & Wiz Khalifa
Hmm. I'll say Fun for a very fun, pop-py song. (Can I just point out the fact that Gotye’s album, Making Mirrors, is nominated strangely in the Alternative Music category…? o.O)
Best Pop Vocal Album
Stronger - Kelly Clarkson
Ceremonials - Florence & the Machine
Some Nights - Fun.
Overexposed - Maroon 5
The Truth About Love - Pink
Logically, you would think it would go to Some Nights, as it’s the only one nominated for Album of the Year, but the Grammys are hardly logical, are they? Against my better judgment I’ll pick Stronger instead, as Kelly Clarkson has been killing it in pop lately.
Dance / Electronica Field
Best Dance Recording
Levels - Avicii
Let's Go - Calvin Harris Featuring Ne-Yo
Bangarang - Skrillex Featuring Sirah
Don't You Worry Child - Swedish House Mafia Featuring John Martin
I Can't Live Without You - Al Walser
I’ve only ever heard "Levels" by Avicii but I’ve heard that Skrillex is good and quite popular. Maybe I should actually do a little research and listen to all these songs? …Nahhhh.
Best Dance/Electronica Album
Wonderland - Steve Aoki
Don't Think - The Chemical Brothers
Album Title Goes Here - Deadmau5
Fire & Ice - Kaskade
Bangarang - Skrillex
Again, Skrillex seems quite big, so I’ll say that it’ll win for the second year running. I don’t really know though.
Traditional Pop Field
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
Christmas - Michael Bublé
A Holiday Carole - Carole King
Kisses On The Bottom - Paul McCartney
Michael Buble! He’s won in this category thrice already (with 6 nominations total) so I think he’ll go for a fourth win.
Rock Field
Best Rock Performance
Hold On - Alabama Shakes
Lonely Boy - The Black Keys
Charlie Brown - Coldplay
I Will Wait - Mumford & Sons
We Take Care Of Our Own - Bruce Springsteen
Again, "Lonely Boy" is the only song that’s up for Record of the Year, so I think The Black Keys are the logical choice here. If not, it’ll be Mumford & Sons swooping in with their most popular single yet.
Best Rock Song
Freedom At 21 - Jack White, songwriter (Jack White)
I Will Wait - Ted Dwane, Ben Lovett, Winston Marshall & Marcus Mumford, songwriters (Mumford & Sons)
Lonely Boy - Dan Auerbach, Brian Burton & Patrick Carney, songwriters (The Black Keys)
Madness - Matthew Bellamy, songwriter (Muse)
We Take Care Of Our Own - Bruce Springsteen, songwriter (Bruce Springsteen)
The Black Keys, with the same reasoning as above, more or less.
Best Rock Album
El Camino - The Black Keys
Mylo Xyloto - Coldplay
The 2nd Law - Muse
Wrecking Ball - Bruce Springsteen
Blunderbuss - Jack White
So Babel is an Americana album but the songs on it are rock? That makes perfect sense. Good job, Grammys. At least that means I can pick El Camino with a clear conscience.
Alternative Field
Best Alternative Music Album
The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than The Driver Of The Screw And Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do - Fiona Apple
Biophilia - Björk
Making Mirrors - Gotye
Hurry Up, We're Dreaming. - M83
Bad As Me - Tom Waits
Considering the diversity of these artists, this category makes so little sense. I think that’s the running theme of this awards show. Anyway... Gotye for Making Mirrors! I wouldn’t be displeased with a M83 win either.
R&B Field
Best R&B Performance
Thank You - Estelle
Gonna Be Alright (f.t.b.) - Robert Glasper Experiment featuring Ledisi
I Want You - Luke James
Adorn - Miguel
Climax - Usher
"Adorn" is getting a bit of hype and as it’s a rather nice song, I have no problem endorsing it for President. Or predicting it to win this Grammy category, whatever it is I’m doing right now.
Best Traditional R&B Performance
Lately - Anita Baker
Love On Top - Beyoncé
Wrong Side Of A Love Song - Melanie Fiona
Real Good Hands - Gregory Porter
If Only You Knew - Swv
I haven’t heard any of these but I see Beyoncé’s name, which is like a beacon of light to all. I’ll pick Blue Ivy’s mom!
Best R&B Song
Adorn - Miguel Pimentel, songwriter (Miguel)
Beautiful Surprise - Tamia Hill, Claude Kelly & Salaam Remi, songwriters (Tamia)
Heart Attack - Benjamin Levin, Rico Love & Tremaine Neverson, songwriters (Trey Songz)
Pray For Me - Antonio Dixon, Kenny Edmonds, Anthony Hamilton & Patrick "jque" Smith, songwriters (Anthony Hamilton)
Refill - Darhyl "DJ" Camper, Elle Varner & Andrew "Pop" Wansel, songwriters (Elle Varner)
"Adorn" by Miguel again!
Best Urban Contemporary Album
Fortune - Chris Brown
Kaleidoscope Dream - Miguel
Channel Orange - Frank Ocean
Frank Ocean for Channel Orange, EASY! Next!
Best R&B Album
Black Radio - Robert Glasper Experiment
Back To Love - Anthony Hamilton
Write Me Back - R. Kelly
Beautiful Surprise - Tamia
Open Invitation - Tyrese
Derp. Um… Well, R. Kelly is one of the most successful R&B artists ever, so that’s got to be worth something, right?
Rap Field
Best Rap Performance
Hyfr (Hell Ya ... Right) - Drake Featuring Lil' Wayne
... In Paris - Jay-Z & Kanye West
Daughters - Nas
Mercy - Kanye West featuring Big Sean, Pusha T & 2 Chainz
I Do - Young Jeezy featuring Jay-z & André 3000
"… In Paris." But props to Kanye for using the term “ass quake” on his song "Mercy." It’s just, it’s just so… ugh. Kanye gets me.
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
Wild Ones - Flo Rida Featuring Sia
No Church In The Wild - Jay-Z & Kanye West featuring Frank Ocean & The-Dream
Tonight (Best You Ever Had) - John Legend featuring Ludacris
Cherry Wine - Nas Featuring Amy Winehouse
Talk That Talk - Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z
I do like the song "Wild Ones a lot" but I see that "No Church in the Wild" has three big names headlining it. Then again, Amy Winehouse is featured on "Cherry Wine", and you know she rolls! Gah. And John Legend is awesome and there’s Jay-Z again for "Talk That Talk"! Ugh. Let’s just go with "No Church in the Wild," because it was featured in the trailer for The Great Gatsby and I hear it’s “genius” or whatever.
Best Rap Song
Daughters - Nas
Lotus Flower Bomb - Wale Featuring Miguel
Mercy - Kanye West featuring Big Sean, Pusha T & 2 Chainz
The Motto - Drake Featuring Lil' Wayne
... In Paris - Jay-Z & Kanye West
Young, Wild & Free - Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa featuring Bruno Mars
(I deleted the songwriter info because it was just way too long. Who knew rap involved such a collaborative process.) "…In Paris." I was about to comment, why isn’t Jay-Z and Kanye's Watch the Throne album nominated for Best Rap Album, in the next category? Then I did a little research and found out that it was nominated, last year. Whoops.
Best Rap Album
Take Care - Drake
Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album, Pt. 1 - Lupe Fiasco
Life Is Good - Nas
Undun - The Roots
God Forgives, I Don't - Rick Ross
Based On A T.r.u. Story - 2 Chainz
As a person who is clearly a huge expert on rap, I will say that I enjoyed Drake’s album Take Care and am surprised that it didn’t get into any of the General Categories. As a person who is lying about being a huge expert on rap, I will say that I have not actually listened to any of the other albums; however, Take Care has received quite a few accolades this past year so I chose the right album to listen to, I think.
Country Field
Best Country Duo/Group Performance
Even If It Breaks Your Heart - Eli Young Band
Pontoon - Little Big Town
Safe & Sound - Taylor Swift & The Civil Wars
On The Outskirts Of Town - The Time Jumpers
I Just Come Here For The Music - Don Williams Featuring Alison Krauss
Because it’s T-Swift, I’ll pick her and The Civil Wars (also known as that band that broke up due to "internal discord and irreconcilable differences.” Hahaha! The irony! Ha! Ha! It kills me!), even though the song doesn’t sound very country.
Jazz Field
Best Improvised Jazz Solo
Cross Roads - Ravi Coltrane, soloist
Hot House - Gary Burton & Chick Corea, soloists
Alice In Wonderland - Chick Corea, soloist
J. Mac - Kenny Garrett, soloist
Ode - Brad Mehldau, soloist
I’m thinking it’ll either be Chick Corea, solo, or Chick Corea and Gary Burton. I hope the duo wins for Hot House, mostly because I heard them play live a few months ago—I’m just awesome and cultured like that! Also, for the sake of Kenny Garrett, let it be known that he is not the same person as Kenny G (Kenneth Gorelick).
Best Jazz Instrumental Album
Further Explorations - Chick Corea, Eddie Gomez & Paul Motian
Hot House - Chick Corea & Gary Burton
Seeds From The Underground - Kenny Garrett
Blue Moon - Ahmad Jamal
Unity Band - Pat Metheny Unity Band
Hot House again!! Because see above!
American Roots
Best Americana Album
The Carpenter - The Avett Brothers
From The Ground Up - John Fullbright
The Lumineers - The Lumineers
Babel - Mumford & Sons
Slipstream - Bonnie Raitt
Mumford & Sons for Babel, even though their big single “I Will Wait” is nominated as a Rock song. (Yeah, okay, Grammys.) Snaps for the Lumineers and hitting it big (-ish) with their debut album though, which was the most listened to album on Spotify for several weeks in October (so Wikipedia tells me).
World Music Field
Best World Music Album
Folila - Amadou & Mariam
On A Gentle Island Breeze - Daniel Ho
Jabulani - Hugh Masekela
Traveller - Anoushka Shankar
The Living Room Sessions Part 1 - Ravi Shankar
I don’t know much about world music other than basic name recognition but I recognize three of them! Hugh Masekela is a trumpeter, Ravi Shankar is a sitar player (and the father of Norah Jones, fun fact), and his daughter Anoushka is too. I’ll go with the recently deceased Ravi Shankar (may he RIP) because he is some sort of maestro-icon-legend, whose music inspired George freaking Harrison to immerse himself in Indian music and introduce it to the Western world! What a legacy!
Spoken Word Field
Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling)
American Grown (Michelle Obama) - (Various Artists) Scott Creswell & Dan Zitt, producers
Back To Work: Why We Need Smart Government For A Strong Economy - Bill Clinton
Drift: The Unmooring Of American Military - Rachel Maddow
Seriously... I'm Kidding - Ellen Degeneres
Society's Child: My Autobiography - Janis Ian
Lately, this award has gone to well-liked celebrities or presidential-affiliated people. Since our awesome FLOTUS’s book is not performed by her, I guess Bill Clinton stands a stronger chance to win, which would give him his second Spoken Word Grammy.
Comedy Field
Best Comedy Album
Blow Your Pants Off - Jimmy Fallon
Cho Dependent (live In Concert) - Margaret Cho
In God We Rust - Lewis Black
Kathy Griffin: Seaman 1st Class - Kathy Griffin
Mr. Universe - Jim Gaffigan
Rize Of The Fenix - Tenacious D
Although I’ve never heard of Lewis Black, he’ll probably since he’s already won this category twice, and the Comedy Field winners appear to be actually consistent over time. (cough *Cosby Cosby Cosby Cosby Cosby Cosby Cosby*)
Musical Theater Field
Musical Theater Album
Follies
The Gershwins' Porgy And Bess
Newsies
Nice Work If You Can Get
Once: A New Musical
Apparently Once swept the board at the 2012 Tony Awards, so I don’t see why it wouldn’t win here. I imagine its stiffest competition should be Porgy and Bess or Newsies, but I’m not as into Broadway as Dactyl is.
Music For Visual Media
Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media
The Descendants - (Various Artists)
Marley- (Bob Marley & The Wailers)
Midnight In Paris- (Various Artists)
The Muppets- (Various Artists)
Rock Of Ages- (Various Artists)
Haha, these soundtracks all fill very specific niches. I’ve only seen Midnight in Paris but I think Marley might take it. Bob Marley was a legend after all and he never won a single Grammy, save for his posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1991. Maybe the great and arbitrary people of the Recording Academy will rectify this now. Probably not, though.
Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media
The Adventures Of Tintin - The Secret Of The Unicorn - John Williams, Composer
The Artist - Ludovic Bource, Composer
The Dark Knight Rises - Hans Zimmer, Composer
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, Composers
Hugo - Howard Shore, Composer
Journey - Austin Wintory, Composer
The Artist won at the Oscars and the BAFTAS in equivalent categories, so let’s go with that.
Best Song Written For Visual Media
Abraham's Daughter (from The Hunger Games) - T Bone Burnett, Win Butler & Régine Chassagne, Songwriters (Arcade Fire)
Learn Me Right (from Brave) - Mumford & Sons, Songwriters (Birdy & Mumford & Sons)
Let Me Be Your Star (from Smash) - Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman, Songwriters (Katharine McPhee & Megan Hilty)
Man Or Muppet (from The Muppets) Bret McKenzie, Songwriter (Jason Segel & Walter)
Safe & Sound (from The Hunger Games) - T Bone Burnett, Taylor Swift, John Paul White & Joy Williams, Songwriters (Taylor Swift Featuring The Civil Wars)
Is it too soon for Skyfall? Must be. In that case, it’s probably down to Taylor Swift vs. the Oscar-winning Man Or Muppet. I’m thinking T-Swift.
FINITO! I’ve skipped a few categories within several of these fields and some fields altogether (e.g. New Age, Latin, Reggae, the boring production ones, etc.) I probably could’ve done the music video field if I bothered to sit down and watch them all (or read what everyone else is saying), but I’m tired. And if you think you’re going to find Gospel or Album Notes predictions here, you’re barkin' up the wrong tree, pal. Feel free to give me a thrashing in the comments or argue it out for your favorite nominated artist, song, or album!
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