Grammy Winners!

The Grammys were awarded last night and the show brought in its biggest audience since 1984.  This is sure to be attributed to those wanting to see tribute paid to Whitney Houston and other big names we lost this past year.

While the performances were hit (Adele), miss (Rihanna/Coldplay), and just plain well...odd (Nikki Minaj), it was a show that has a lot of people talking, espeically abnout Adele's whopping 6 wins!

Here is the complete list of winners.  What do you think?  Are the Grammys relevant again?

Pop vocal album: Adele's 21

Album of the year: Adele's 21

Record of the year: Adele's Rolling the Deep

Best pop solo performance: Adele's Someone Like You

Song of the year: Adele's Rolling in the Deep

Short-form music video: Adele’s Rolling in the Deep

Best rock performance: Foo Fighters' Walk

Long-form music video: Foo Fighters’ Back and Forth

Hard rock/metal performance: Foo Fighters’ White Limo

Rock song: Foo Fighters’ Walk

Rock Album: Foo Fighters’ Wasting Light

Best rap performance: Otis, by Kanye West and Jay-Z

Rap performance: Jay-Z and Kanye West’s Otis

Best new artist: Bon Iver

Alternative music album: Bon Iver’s Bon Iver

Country duo/group performance: The Civil Wars’ Barton Hollow

Folk album: The Civil Wars’ Barton Hollow

Country solo performance: Taylor Swift’s Mean

Country song: Taylor Swift’s Mean

Dance recording: Skrillex’s Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites

Dance/electronica album: Skrillex’s Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites

R&B album: Chris Brown's F.A.M.E.

Country album: Lady Antebellum's Own the Night

Recording package: Caroline Robert’s Scenes from The Suburbs, for Arcade Fire

Pop duo/group performance: Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse’s Body and Soul

Pop instrumental album: Booker T. Jones’ The Road from Memphis

Traditional pop vocal album: Tony Bennett and various artists’ Duets II

R&B performance: Corinne Bailey Rae’s Is This Love

Traditional R&B performance: Cee Lo Green and Melanie Fiona’s Fool for You

R&B song: Cee Lo Green and Co.’s Fool for You

Rap/sung collaboration: Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi and Fergie’s All of the Lights

Rap song: All of the Lights

Rap album: Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

New age album: Pet Metheny’s What’s It All About

Improvised jazz solo: Chick Corea’s 500 Miles High

Jazz vocal album: Terri Lyne Carrington and various artists’ The Mosaic Project

Jazz instrumental: Corea, Clarke and White’s Forever

Large jazz ensemble: Christian McBride Big Band’s The Good Feeling

Gospel/contemporary Christian music performance: Le’Andria Johnson’s Jesus

Gospel song: Kirk Franklin’s Hello Fear

Contemporary Christian music song: Laura Story’s Blessings

Gospel album: Kirk Franklin’s Hello Fear

Contemporary Christian music album: Chris Tomlin’s And If Our God Is For Us…

Latin pop, rock or urban album: Mana’s Drama Y Luz

Regional Mexican or Tejano album: Pepe Aguilar’s Bicentenario

Bands or Norteno album: Los Tigres Del Norte’s Los Tigres Del Norte and Friends

Tropical Latin album: Cachao’s The Last Mambo

Americana album: Levon Helm’s Ramble at the Ryman

Bluegrass album: Alison Krauss and Union Station’s Paper Airplane

Blues album: Tedeschi Trucks Band’s Revelator

Regional roots music album: Rebirth Brass Band’s Rebirth of New Orleans

Reggae album: Stephen Marley’s Revelatino Pt. 1: The Root of Life

World music album: Tinariwen’s Tassili

Children’s album: All About Bullies… Big & Small

Spoken world album (includes poetry, audio books and story telling): Betty White’s If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won’t)

Comedy album: Louis C.K.’s Hilarious

Musical theatre album: The Book of Mormom

Compilation soundtrack for visual media: Boardwalk Empire: Vol. 1

Score soundtrack for visual media: Alexandre Desplat’s The King’s Speech

Song written for visual media: I See the Light (from Tangled)

Instrumental composition: Bela Fleck and Howard Levy’s Life in Eleven

Instrumental arrangement: Gordon Goodwin’s Rhapsody in Blue for Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band

Instrumental arrangement accompanying vocalist: Jorge Calandrelli’s Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me), for Tony Bennett and Queen Latifah

Boxed or special limited edition package: Dave Bett and Michelle Holme’s The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story

Album notes: Hear Me Howling: Blues, Ballads & Beyond as recorded by the San Francisco Bay by Chris Strachwitz in the 1960s

Historical album: Band on the Run (Paul McCartney Archive Collection – Deluxe Edition)

Engineered album, non-classical: Alison Krauss and Union Station’s Paper Airplane

Producer of the year, non-classical: Paul Epworth

Remixed recording, non-classical: Cinema (Skrillex Remix)

Surround sound album: Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (Super Deluxe Edition)

Engineered album, classical: Aldridge: Elmer Gantry

Producer of the year, classical: Judith Sherman

Orchestral performance: Brahms, Symphony No. 4 by Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel

Opera recording: Adams: Doctor Atomic

Choral performance: Light & Gold - Eric Whitacre, conductor (Christopher Glynn & Hila Plitmann; The King's Singers, Laudibus, Pavão Quartet & The Eric Whitacre Singers)

Small-ensemble performance: Mackey: Lonely Motel – Music from Slide

Classical instrumental solo: Schwantner: Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra by Christopher Lamb, Giancarlo Guerrero conducts Nashville Symphony

Classical vocal solo: Joyce DiDonato with Kazushi Ono and Orchestre de l’Opera National de Lyon with Choeur de l’Opera National de Lyon for Diva Divo

Contemporary classical composition: Robert Aldridge and Herschel Garfein’s Elmer Gantry

SOURCE

RAWR(for more)

Garon's Top Ten Albums of 2011! (updated!)

Well...you get 10 - 6 for the time being.  You'll have to listen to the next episode of SHOW for the top five.  I'll update the post with the rest next week.

I spent a long time catching up and checking out a lot of different albums and artists and still this list turned out to be pretty mainstream for me and very pop heavy.   Some might be surprising, some might not.

Let's get it started!

10.

 Theophilus London

Timez Are Weird These Days

This one snuck up on me.  I saw him live with Erykah Badu and was instantly captivated.  The album is fresh and eclectic with a great mix of styles.  Really great stuff.

9.

Darren Hayes

Secret Codes and Battleships

To date, the best album he has ever done.  Beautiful, fun, heartfelt.  His best work yet.

8.

NEEDTOBREATHE

The Reckoning

A gorgeous collection of rock and roll and deeply moving lyrics.  This one catches you and does not let go.

7.

Blink 182

Neighborhoods

The guys are back and just keep getting better.  I was worried that they would try and go back to the sillier stuff of yesteryear when they reunited but am pleased they stuck with the maturity of their brilliant self'-titled album.

6.

Kelly Clarkson

Stronger

The first idol is back to prove she is really the ONLY idol.  Her best collection of songs shows how strong she really is as she grows into one of pop musics most valuable gems.  She really shines here and the album is cover to cover good.

Want the rest?  Check out episode 8 of show which will hit the airwaves THIS WEEK and we'll give you our top 5 best albums of 2011 and our picks for the worst album!

Check it out HERE.

TOP FIVE!

5.

 Rihanna

Talk That Talk

This is Rihanna at her absolute best.  She's never sounded better.  It's a mature and sexy album that is cover to cover good.

4.

Foster The People

Torches

This is not the album I expected.  In fact, I was convinced there is no way it could be good.  I don't know why.  I am pleased to be completely wrong as this album is catchy as hell and a fun listen back to front and "Pumped Up Kicks" isn't even the best song on the album.

3.

Adele

21

There really aren't even words for Adele.  She is an incredible vocalist and delivers a brilliant album.  you can hear these songs two thousand times (and let's face it you probably have) and they will never get old.

2.

Taylor Swift 

Speak Now 

I've talked about this album constantly. I can't explain it but I can't get enough of it.   I love every song on this album (that seems to be pretty consistent) and will probably keep talking about it.  Can she top this one?  I don't know, Speak Now is pretty much magic.

1. 

Glasvegas

Euphoric /// Heartbreak \\\ 

I don't know where this album came from.  It came out of nowhere when I was looking through 2011 releases.  I was all set to give Taylor Swift the #1 slot but from the moment I put on this album I was hooked.  It's a gorgeous, heart-wrenching album that is an absolute must listen.  It's been years since an album really gave me a truly deep emotional shake as this one did.  Buy.  This.  Album.

That's it for 2011 Music!  We'll see what 2012 has to offer.

RAWR(for more)

54th Annual Grammy Nominations!

The 54th Annual Grammy Award nominations have jut been released and they're an interesting bunch.  I'm really not understanding Rihanna getting an album of the year nod for Loud though.  That's a weird one.  

We'll go deeper into this on Episode 5 of Show!

 Some people look into an online school when they want to learn more about music.

Album Of The Year:
21 — Adele
Wasting Light — Foo Fighters
Born This Way — Lady Gaga
Doo-Wops & Hooligans — Bruno Mars
Loud — Rihanna

Record Of The Year:
"Rolling In The Deep" — Adele
"Holocene" — Bon Iver
"Grenade" — Bruno Mars
"The Cave" — Mumford & Sons
"Firework" — Katy Perry

Best New Artist:
The Band Perry
Bon Iver
J. Cole
Nicki Minaj
Skrillex

Song Of The Year:
"All Of The Lights" — Jeff Bhasker, Malik Jones, Warren Trotter & Kanye West, songwriters
(Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie)
"The Cave" — Ted Dwane, Ben Lovett, Marcus Mumford & Country Winston, songwriters (Mumford & Sons)
"Grenade" — Brody Brown, Claude Kelly, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Bruno Mars & Andrew Wyatt,
songwriters (Bruno Mars)
"Holocene" — Justin Vernon, songwriter (Bon Iver)
"Rolling In The Deep" — Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth, songwriters (Adele)

Best Pop Solo Performance
"Someone Like You" — Adele 
"Yoü And I" — Lady Gaga 
"Grenade" — Bruno Mars 
"Firework" — Katy Perry
"F***in' Perfect" — Pink 

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
"Body And Soul" — Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse
"Dearest" — The Black Keys
"Paradise" — Coldplay 
"Pumped Up Kicks" — Foster The People 
"Moves Like Jagger" — Maroon 5 & Christina Aguilera 

Best Dance Recording
"Raise Your Weapon" — Deadmau5 & Greta Svabo Bech
"Barbra Streisand" — Duck Sauce
"Sunshine" — David Guetta & Avicii
"Call Your Girlfriend" — Robyn
"Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites" — Skrillex
"Save The World" — Swedish House Mafia

Best Rock Performance
"Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall" — Coldplay
"Down By The Water" — The Decemberists
"Walk" — Foo Fighters
"The Cave" — Mumford & Sons
"Lotus Flower" — Radiohead

Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance
"On The Backs Of Angels" — Dream Theater
"White Limo" — Foo Fighters
"Curl Of The Burl" — Mastodon
"Public Enemy No. 1" — Megadeth
"Blood In My Eyes" — Sum 41

Best Rock Album
Rock 'N' Roll Party Honoring Les Paul — Jeff Beck
Wasting Light — Foo Fighters
Come Around Sundown — Kings Of Leon
I'm With You — Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Whole Love — Wilco

Best Alternative Music Album
Bon Iver — Bon Iver
Codes and Keys — Death Cab For Cutie
Torches — Foster The People
Circuital — My Morning Jacket
The King of Limbs — Radiohead

Best Traditional R&B Performance
"Sometimes I Cry" — Eric Benét
"Fool For You" — Cee Lo Green & Melanie Fiona
"Radio Message" — R. Kelly
"Good Man" — Raphael Saadiq
"Surrender" — Betty Wright & The Roots

Best R&B Album
F.A.M.E. — Chris Brown
Second Chance — El DeBarge
Love Letter — R. Kelly
Pieces Of Me — Ledisi
Kelly — Kelly Price

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
"Party" — Beyoncé & André 3000 
"I'm On One" — DJ Khaled, Drake, Rick Ross & Lil Wayne
"I Need A Doctor" — Dr. Dre, Eminem & Skylar Grey
"What's My Name?" — Rihanna & Drake
"Motivation" — Kelly Rowland & Lil Wayne
"All Of The Lights" — Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie

Best Rap Performance
"Look At Me Now" — Chris Brown, Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes
"Otis" — Jay-Z & Kanye West
"The Show Goes On" — Lupe Fiasco
"Moment 4 Life" — Nicki Minaj & Drake
"Black And Yellow" — Wiz Khalifa

Best Country Solo Performance
"Dirt Road Anthem" — Jason Aldean
"I'm Gonna Love You Through It" — Martina McBride    
"Honey Bee" — Blake Shelton
"Mean" — Taylor Swift
"Mama's Song" — Carrie Underwood

Best Country Song
"Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not" — Jim Collins & David Lee Murphy, songwriters (Thompson Square)
"God Gave Me You" — Dave Barnes, songwriter (Blake Shelton)
"Just Fishin'" — Casey Beathard, Monty Criswell & Ed Hill, songwriters (Trace Adkins)
"Mean" — Taylor Swift, songwriter (Taylor Swift)
"Threaten Me With Heaven" — Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Will Owsley & Dillon O'Brian, songwriters (Vince Gill)
"You And Tequila" — Matraca Berg & Deana Carter, songwriters (Kenny Chesney Featuring Grace Potter)

Best Americana Album
Emotional Jukebox — Linda Chorney
Pull Up Some Dust And Sit Down — Ry Cooder
Hard Bargain — Emmylou Harris
Ramble At The Ryman — Levon Helm
Blessed — Lucinda Williams

Best Blues Album
Low Country Blues — Gregg Allman
Roadside Attractions — Marcia Ball
Man In Motion — Warren Haynes
The Reflection — Keb' Mo'
Revelator — Tedeschi Trucks Band

Best Folk Album
Barton Hollow — The Civil Wars
I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive — Steve Earle
Helplessness Blues — Fleet Foxes
Ukulele Songs — Eddie Vedder
The Harrow & The Harvest — Gillian Welch

Source

RAWR(for more)

Music Video: Adele - Someone Like You

 

Took them long enough.   What do you think?  Is it worth the wait?

RAWR(for more)

Best of '08: Music

2008 was a pretty great year for music and this only made it harder for me to compile a best of list. The bulk of the great stuff this year seemed to come from outside of the mainstream. This is evident by the appearance of only three, maybe four, "mainstream" artists appearing on my top 10 list.

Before we get to the list I wanted to point out that I decided not to do a worst of list this year. I really don't think it's necessary to point out who was the worst *cough*lil wayne*cough*. I also decided to break up the best off stuff a bit more than last time. So you'll see a best of games, movies (hopefully soon), books, podcast, etc each day this week.

Okay, business is out of the way. Let's see the albums that make up the Best in Music for 2008!

#10

Katy Perry - One Of The Boys

I always make room for one big pop album on the list (last year was Britney Spears pseudo comeback album Blackout) and this year belongs to Katy Perry. There is no denying the utter catchiness of this album's singles so far. I Kissed A Girl is near impossible not to enjoy. The entire disc is packed with great songs.

#9

Adele - 19

Hailing from England, Adele delivered one of the most surprising albums of the year. I was all set to chock her up as a Joss Stone wanna be blues singer (how's that for journalistic objectivity?) but when I popped the disc in I was captivated from the first note. She has such a pure and elegant voice that pretty much knocks Joss Stone out of the water. Her album is gorgeous and got a significant sales boost after her SNL appearance.

#8

Kings of Leon - Only By The Night

This is another album that caught me by surprise. I hadn't heard of Kings of Leon before and was made curious by their appearance on SNL. I can now consider myself a fan. This album is full of great rock tunes, both fast and mid tempo. I love the kind of album that transcends mood and environment. Something you can just pop in and enjoy. Only By The Night fits that bill perfectly.

#7

Creaky Boards - Brooklyn Is Love

This is most likely a band you've never heard of. Too be honest, I hadn't heard of them until a few months ago when the band caused some uproar by pointing out the similarities between Coldplay's "Viva la Vida" and their song "The Songs I Didn't Write". I can't say anything came of it except publicity and a fantastic album full of quirky pop music. This is a band that is definitely worth checking out.

#6

Kanye West - 808's & Heartbreak

Kanye West's stunning album 808's & Heartbreak was probably one of the biggest surprises to me. It's pretty brave as one of the biggest rap artists of our generation releasing an album with hardly any rap at all. That said, it's the best hip hop (is it even really hip hop though? Kanye calls it 'Pop Art') album of the year. Some people got down on him for utilizing Auto Tune but I think it sounds great. The album is really quite emotional and everything down with the record accentuates that. I hope I don't get an angry blog about Kanye being at #6 on this list.

#5

The Submarines - Honeysuckle Weeks

The Submarines are a band you don't know but in fact really do know. At least by sound. You'll remember their awesome song "You Me and the Bourgeoisie" from the IPhone Applications commercial. Honeysuckle Weeks includes that song as well as nine other songs of alt pop gold.

#4

Okkervil River - The Stand Ins

Indie Folk Rock at its best. I can't really say more than that. It's a luminous collection of songs that I've been addicted to since I first put the album on. A great collection of eclectic sounding music. A lot of people are put off by anything related to folk but Okkervil River are extremely accessible to any music lover.

#3

Margot & The Nuclear So And So's - Animal/Not Animal

Technically, it's two albums. Not Animal is the label's choice of songs while Animal is the bands choice. Honestly, it's two full albums of amazing music from what is probably my favorite band right now so the more the merrier.

#2

Jake Walden - Alive and Screaming

A gorgeous collection of emotionally rich and touching songs. Alive and Screaming is a prime example why Jake Walden is one of the most promising new artists to come along in a while. End to End, this album is amazing.

#1

The Pop Culture Beast Best Album of 2008

Jay Brannan - goddamned

Hands down, Far and away the best album released this year belongs to Jay Brannan. There is nothing out that compares to the sheer beauty and raw emotion on this disc. It is an incredible piece of work that I cannot get enough of. It makes you cry and laugh and think and fall in love with every song. It's the kind of album that makes you want to hunt down every possible live performance or you tube song you can get your hands on. goddamned is an example of a brilliant singer/songwriter at work and leaves you begging to hear more. This is undeniably the greatest album I have heard this year.

***

That's it gang. My picks for the best albums of the year. I was surprised when I was going through all this that the list was so indie heavy. I think it is a good list though and if it introduces even one person to some new music they acn enjoy than I am certainly satisfied.

I wanted to point out a few albums that didn't make the list but certainly deserve some recognition as they were pretty great in their own right.

Honerable Mentions:

Janet Jackson - Discipline: Her best album since the best album of her career, Velvet Rope.

Coldplay - Viva La Vida: Coldplay would be hard pressed to make a bad album and Viva La Vida is no exception.

Lucinda Williams - Little Honey: Lucinda is the queen of alt country if you ask me and this album is another example of her greatness.

Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs: Death Cab...honestly, this album just barely missed the list. Stunning album from a stellar band.

Jason Mraz - We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things: This guy does not get near the credit he deserves. This album features my absolute favorite single of the year "I'm Yours" and the beautiful "Details In The Fabric"

Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue: The 2nd solo album from the Rilo Kiley front woman. She could sing the phone book and I'd be first in line to hear it. The large amount of guest stars only boost this albums appeal.

RAWR(for more)