There’s been some reports that Eminem is a little pissed that he didn’t win the album of the year. He supposedly also feels slighted by the Grammy people because he feels he did them a favor by performing. He expected he would win or maybe it was implied or they hinted he would.
I really hope he doesn’t feel that way, I mean the Grammys in essence are a joke, there’s a bazillion releases a year, a bazillion genres and to have supposed unbiased “industry” people vote on the best, is well, not going to get the best or correct result anyway.
There’s politics and agendas on all fronts, including the jackass head of the Grammys (oops I guess I’ll never get to present an award or host now) with his subtle dissing of radio while praising internet radio and satellite. Hey jackass, who looks like the father on family ties, we’re all waiting close to a decade now for the artist, band or song that broke out because of a streaming site or satellite. Oh yeah there hasn’t been one, so shut up.
Back to the album of the year and Eminem, he’s had three album of the year nominations and lost all three, but did he deserve to win any of them? That’s debatable, especially this year when he lost to Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs, which I believe to be a better album than his Recovery.
In 2001, he definitely had a reason to be pissed, there was no reason in hell that Steely Dan should have won for album of the year, it could’ve easily went to Eminem for his Marshall Mathers album, but then again Radiohead’s Kid A got screwed too, so it’s a toss up there
In 2003 he lost for the Eminem Show (which I think is his best). The 2003 Grammys will always be a sore spot for me as a music fan, that’s the year Norah Jones beat not only Eminem for album of the year, she beat out Springsteen’s The Rising, which I felt should have won.
So this is the only year that Eminem should not be pissed because he at least got beat by a great and probably better album. The other two years he got beat by inferior albums but so did albums that I feel were better than his as well as the winning album.
When you look back at the album of the year, there’s a ton of worthy nominated acts who haven’t won, including three of the biggest album artists of all time, The Rolling Stones, Springsteen, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin was never even nominated for album of the year. Also Pearl Jam, REM, Foo Fighters, Prince and Green Day have all been nominated and have lost to the likes of Herbie Hancock, Alanis Morrisette, Lionel Richie. And some of the albums that are regarded as the best ever, Exile on Main Street, Born to Run, London Calling among others weren’t even nominated.
And what is regarded as the greatest band ever, The Beatles, who were nominated 5 times but only won one album of the year grammy and that was for Sgt Pepper, so at least the Grammys got that one right, as that always is discussed in the best albums ever and deservedly so.
U2 has won two times out of the 3 nominations it’s received, deservedly for Joshua Tree, it somehow lost for Achtung baby (which I think is their best) to an Eric Clapton unplugged album and it won for How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, which wasn’t that great of an album by their standards but the field that year was so weak, it deserved to win.
So in reality Eminem is in great company, and will actually remain there if he never wins, I think it’s better for him to be included with the Stones, Zep, Bruce, Floyd, Green Day, Clash, Pearl Jam, REM etc than be included with Herbie Hancock, Norah Jones, Alanis and oh yeah,Christoper Cross.
Stay clean brother, lay off the hard stuff, keep drinking that brisk tea, and keep doing that David Cone look, it’s a good play here in NYC.
