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Are the Grammys Completely Out of Touch, or Am I?

December 4, 2008 12:38 AM

love the first Coldplay album. I think the second one is good. X&Y is pretty bad And this new thing they put out, Viva La Vida, is fucking unlistenable. It's fucking crap. It's some of the worst "music" I've ever heard. "Roman Catholic choirs are singing"? How does that count as a lyric! Compared to "Don't Panic" or even "Yellow," this new shit is appallingly bad.

And who the fuck is Lil' Wayne? I honestly have no idea. Have I heard something by him? I mean, what the fuck is going on in the world of music?

Anyway, all of this is to say that I'm baffled by the list of nominees. That Coldplay and Lil' Wayne got the most nominations fills me with anger and confusion. I mean, I have no idea what should have been nominated, but certainly we could have done better than to honor Coldplay in any way, yeah?

Actually, fuck the Grammys. I'm just so pissed at how fucking terrible that new album is. God. Dammit.



12 Comments


Santi said:

I'm afraid you are mistaken, my friend. "Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends" is indeed one of the best albums of the year, second only to "In Rainbows". So, there.

December 4, 2008 1:44 AM



tRJ said:

I don't think the Coldplay album is that bad. It's not nearly as good as their first record, but it's better than a lot of stuff that's out there.

That said, there is no way any part of it deserves a Grammy nod. There were much stronger albums released in that time period. In fact, the whole Grammy list is pretty tragic, with the exception of the nominations for Radiohead and NIN.

December 4, 2008 10:17 AM



Ismael Tapia II said:

Are you guys serious? I mean, are you fucking serious? That newest Coldplay album is like a steaming pile of musical failure. The two singles they've released so far are atrocious! That "Lost!" song sounds like nothing but pure noise with some trite, obvious lyrics thrown over it

I can't believe that two people whose musical opinions I trust are defending this thing. I'm shocked. Shocked!

December 4, 2008 10:40 PM



tRJ said:

Well, let's tackle this in your preferred method, by rating songs:

"Life In Technicolor" (3/5) Throwaway instrumental, but it's short and pleasant enough.

"Cemeteries of London" (4/5) Nice melody, atmospheric.

"Lost" (2/5) I agree that this one is bad.

"42" (3/5) I like the ground this song covers structurally. I am annoyed by the piano walk-up melody in the first section, as it's a blatant Lennon ripoff. After that it gets more interesting.

"Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love" (3/5) There's some really cool sounds in this song. Pleasant but forgettable.

"Yes" (3/5) This song is too long to not have any standout components.

"Viva la Vida" (4/5) Gotta love syncopated strings. And I happen to like the imagery of Roman Cavalry choirs singing.

"Violet Hill" (4/5) Best song on the album.

"Strawberry Swing" (2/5) Does nothing for me.

"Death And All His Friends" (3/5) Another one that's too long to have nothing special going on.

So that averages out to about 3/5 for the whole album, which I think is about right. It's just an ok album. It's probably their weakest, but it's completely listenable. In fact, its biggest strength is that it sounds good altogether, even if nothing really stands out as an exceptional track.

December 5, 2008 10:32 AM



NT Is All In said:

Remember I told you that my friend's brother is the bass player for the Mars Volta? They were nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance for Wax Simulacra. Not really my cup of tea, but its really cool to watch them perform live. The musicians in the band are awesome, especially the guitarist and the drummer.

December 5, 2008 4:09 PM



NT Is All In said:

I meant to include links to a couple of their videos.

The first one is to the song that the received the grammy nomination for:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZwFycBgUpI

Here is my favorite song, not surprisingly in Spanish:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2ayKK8E7gc&feature=related

Here is a cool video. Not sure what is up with the Elephant Man costume:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRDG9GKb-TM&feature=related

Check this out, Omar, the guitar player, made the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine with Eddie Van Halen, Jimmy Page and BB King.

December 5, 2008 4:26 PM



Santi said:

Are you as shocked about this as you were about this, or more so?

Can we at least agree that "In Rainbows" is awesome? (I'm guessing not based on what I remember about your review of that album)

:D

December 5, 2008 11:08 PM



Ismael Tapia II said:

NT,
I do remember you telling me that, and I really like what little of the Mars Volta I've heard. I should look into that band, but I'm so lazy about music lately it's embarrassing.

Santi,
You know, I just don't get it. After I posted that about Amy Winehouse, I went and listened to "Rehab" and really tried to give it a chance. I just couldn't get into it. I just couldn't. I don't like doo-wop, I don't like that sparse, beat-heavy instrumentation, I don't like the vocal delivery, and I don't like the lack of a clear, strong melody. I do like the horns. A lot, actually. Which is rare for me, since I generally am not a big fan of brass.

But, no, for me, Amy Winehouse just doesn't do it.

As far as your actual question, I think I'm more shocked by the Coldplay nominations than by Winehouse's. The people involved in producing the Winehouse album are clearly talented, although the jury's still out on Ms. Winehouse herself, as far as I'm concerned.

So, similarly, when I saw that you and tRJ defended Coldplay, I gave that first single a listen again, and I was just not impressed. In fact, I continued to be baffled. It's just so bad, I think.

I really, really hate the strings on it. They annoy me and they strike me as bland and unimaginative.

I guess we're just going to have to agree to disagree on this one.

December 6, 2008 12:00 AM



Santi said:

Indeed, we shall agree to disagree. But just to clarify, the first single was actually "Violet Hill" ;)

As for Amy Winehouse, what do you think of "You Know I'm No Good"?

December 6, 2008 12:33 AM



Lateisha said:

Good to see a tanlet at work. I can't match that.

November 23, 2011 9:43 AM



Liliam said:

Superbly illuminating data here, thnaks!

November 25, 2011 7:03 PM






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