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"Hello"
Adele
Track from: 25
I could just copy my earlier comments on this song and they would stand, but I'll add a few more words. The recording is classic Adele. It's powerful, soulful, well produced, etc., etc., etc. It almost feels weird to be so blase about such a talented artist in today's day and age of hacks and wannabes, but it is what it is. This is a great song and deserves attention. I'm just not sure that it deserves a Grammy.
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"Formation"
Beyoncé
Track from: Lemonade
Again, another set of comments I could just enter here and it would suffice. Great track. Great production. The whole thing works for me, even if it's not my favorite of the group. What else can I say? Plus, I have to write more about Beyoncé in the last category.
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"7 Years"
Lukas Graham
Track from: Lukas Graham (Blue Album)
Yep. More of the same. This is a year where it makes sense to me that songs are appearing in both the Record and Song categories. This is obviously one of my favorites, and the recording is the same way. I like the way it sounds, and the overall production matches the songwriting.
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"Work"
Rihanna featuring Drake
Track from: Anti
When I consider the overall recording separate from the songwriting, I suppose this song can go here. I'm not impressed, though. From Rihanna's sloppy enunciation to Drake's tired raps, this club song just doesn't do it for me. I can probably come up with half a dozen recordings that I think deserve a spot over "Work." I half wonder if it's Rihanna returning to her island roots getting the Grammy voters excited. Look, I'm not a big fan of either of these artists by themselves. I actually am more impressed by the work Rihanna does when she's featured on other recordings.
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"Stressed Out"
Twenty-One Pilots
Track from: Blurryface
I think Twenty-One Pilots has a really unique sound, so I'm cool with this recording being nominated. It's fun, different, and very catchy. I like how they're blending genres and trying a lot of new sounds. I heard a lot about them before I really heard much of what they are doing. We saw them on SNL a while ago and they were really good. I enjoyed watching them. This track is firmly in the middle for me, but I could be OK with them winning.
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My Choice: "7 Years" is still my favorite. I think the entire track from writing to production is great. It's the one entry here that makes me want to listen to more by the artist.
My Prediction: "Formation" is part of Beyoncé's biggest work to date, so I have a feeling it will be rewarded with this Grammy as well. It will be very hard for Grammy voters to separate this track from the overall work, despite how the category works. It's not undeserving.
Next Up, Album of the Year
6 comments:
Weak category because it recycles the other one for the most part.
I agree that Work has no business being there. Rhianna has another song out now that's much better. So good I can't even remember the name of it. The point being that it doesn't take much to be better than Work.
How did you find more to say about Adele? We get it! We got it with the first album. And the second. And the third. And this one, which could have been a cut from the other three really. More of the same anguish with every note. She's the Eeyore of the music industry.
I hate the Twenty One Pilots song. It reminds me of a song that came out about 4 years ago about butterflies that glowed or something. Do you remember that song? It was the worst song I've ever had to listen to on the radio and I never could figure out how it made it big. If someone remembers that song just tell me the name. Don't post the video or anything, please.
With you completely--7 Years is deserving of the win. But it will go to Queen B.
I don't know that I could even come up with the glowing butterfly song, but I will do all of us a favor and not even try to find it. Even the name might be triggering. Maybe not remembering that song is why I can stand the Twenty-One Pilots song. OK. Now I'm going to try and find the nuclear butterflies song.
I love Jimmy's whole paragraph about Adele. That's so perfect. "She's the Eeyore of the music industry." SO TRUE.
Jimmy, is the song "Fireflies?"
I like these posts, because they make watching the Grammys so much more fun. This one is tough. I don't like the Rhianna song, but I do like the Twenty-One Pilots one (as well as "Fireflies"), but I'm a fan of happy music. :P I do like "7 Years," too, though, so we'll see.
(Do I dare write this? I don't think I *get* Beyonce.)
Yes. I asked my daughters the night after I wrote the comment and they reminded me it was fireflies, not butterflies.
They liked that song, too, and I wondered how I'd failed so hard as a parent.
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