What qualifies as a good song, a great musician or artist? Looking at the nominees for yesterday’s 2012 Grammys, it seems that our nation’s critics have forgotten the answer to this question.
Last week, USA Today’s Edna Gundersen took it upon herself to not only list this year’s nominees but also discuss who will win and who should win. I cannot agree with her more. Well, almost.
Though a few greats have made the final cut — Adele (obviously), Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lady Gaga and the Foo Fighters — a few choice ‘musicians’ are in the running as well.
Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters was recently quoted in the Feb. 23 edition of USA Today, comparing Adele’s wondrous and mesmerizing voice to other musicians.
“People are shocked when they hear actual talent. Music should be more than ad placement … and an image made to look like a superhero or a supermodel.”
With that in mind, who would have thought Bruno Mars “Grenade” would be nominated for record of the year, song of the year and best pop solo performance. I’m not too sure Mars will find his place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Cee Lo Green’s album, The Lady Killer, is listed between Gaga’s Born This Way and Adele’s 21? How exactly would a song with a total of six different words, and a man way past his prime share a spot in the same category as today’s true greats?
What will our following generations think when they hear Lil Wayne and Eminem’s Valentine’s Day parody from a year ago? Are these men really musicians or are they a pair of somewhat poets that know how to use a computer to make a sick beat? Let’s ask them if they know how to play a C-sharp on an instrument the way Pete Townshend can.
It’s high time someone defines the difference between musicians, pop artists and hip-hop lyricists. Someone singing to a beat made by a computer or a 20-year-old singing (poorly) about boys she had a crush on six years ago are not what I consider musicians. The song may be fun, but not melodic.
Though hip-hop artists (and very few pop artists) aren’t exactly musicians, they do deserve credit for what they do. I’m not too sure Bob Dylan could beat Eminem or Lil Wayne in a free style, and these guys do deserve a cover on Rolling Stone. (That’s more than I can say for Justin Bieber and his current and equally talented girlfriend, Selena Gomez).
There are some hip-hop artists I admire. Kanye West, for example, was my hero the year he jumped up on stage and ripped that VMA award out of Taylor Swift’s hand. Is her talent really that unique? I have a feeling most 15-year-old girls could have picked up a guitar and written songs about her boy obsessions. Beyoncé really did deserve that statue (#justsaying).
Eminem has also proved himself, mainly because he can create tracks that don’t relate to boobs and weed, but also because he has a meaning that is intertwined within each of his words and rhymes as apposed to West’s still egotistical vocabulary or Wayne’s impressively rare metaphors including, “life is a beach, I’m just playin’ in the sand,” — at least, that’s what I’m told.
It might be wiser for those at the Grammys to create an overall award for each genre of musical stylings. That way, we won’t get the talents of Adele and Nicki Minaj confused. Everyone goes home a winner, even some of us (myself included) who have Ke$ha, The Beatles, Jay-Z and The Who on the same iPod playlist.
Either way, we all knew who would actually receive the most awards at this year’s Grammys, or should I say, The Adele Show.
Lindsay Friedman is a freshman studying journalism and a columnist for The Post. Email her at lf328610@ohiou.edu.
