2012 GRAMMY Predictions

Instead of doing the millions of other things I should be doing right now, I decided to sound off on a few of the bigger awards at tonight's GRAMMYs. I'm going with the oft-used setup of who I think should win and who I think will win each category, with some potential added bonuses in certain categories.

The awards show is tonight at 8 p.m. on CBS. Follow me on Twitter at @surfwax83 for my up-to-the-minute thoughts on the evening.

Album of the Year

The nominees: Adele's "21" ; Foo Fighters' "Wasting Light" ; Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" ; Bruno Mars' "Doo-Wops and Hooligans" ; Rihanna's "Loud"

The winner: Adele

Should win: Adele

Had better not win or else I will hurt something: Foo Fighters

It's an easy prediction, I know, but it's tough to be provocative here. Adele had the biggest album of the year, there's no disputing it -- hell, the album's STILL at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and has been for 19 non-consecutive weeks. Think of it this way: "21" came out almost a year ago in the US. Yes, it's been that long. How could we possibly give the award to anyone else?

That's not to say that "21" was my favorite of those nominated. Though the record is quite honestly one of the most astounding pop releases of the last decade, one more outshined it in my eyes in terms of being even more of a classic pop record. "Born This Way" turned off a lot of Gaga fans, and I'll admit her schtick can run dry at times, but no other album on this list was simply as much fun to listen to. When I think back to 2011, I'll think glitzy, dance-y pop, and that's what Gaga represented. I love both albums, but Gaga's was the one I couldn't stop playing.

Oh, and the Foo Fighters? Great band, good album. But compared to the others? C'mon. The GRAMMYs needed a rock record to throw in there, and instead of going with Bon Iver (which amazes me, honestly), they went with the general sure bet. Mr. Grohl, you're great, but "Wasting Light" should not be mentioned alongside these other albums. Come at me, rockist bros.

Record of the Year

The nominees: Adele, "Rolling in the Deep" ; Bon Iver, "Holocene" ; Bruno Mars, "Grenade" ; Mumford & Sons, "The Cave" ; Katy Perry, "Firework"

The winner: Adele

Should win: Adele

I swear to god, guys: Katy Perry


Again, it's hard to argue against Adele here, though I want to. "Rolling in the Deep" was everywhere -- EVERYWHERE. What's more, it embodies everything many would love for the current sound of pop music to be. It's the backlash from the overproduced club bangers that surfaced in America in 2010. Adele didn't change her music for the pop world, and in time, it may so be that the pop world will change for her. Should she win as many awards tonight as many are predicting, that may finally happen.


But really, these are all great songs. I'd love to see Bon Iver win, because "Holocene" is simply some of the best that the indie folk scene has offered us in the past few years -- and wouldn't it be nice to see a man who dissed the show for not allowing him to perform sans collaborations get a victory? Bruno's "Grenade" is still by far his best, and showcases the unique and powerful voice he possesses. And I LOVE Mumford & Sons. That song? Definitely in my lower half in terms of favorites from "Sigh No More," but I'm happy to see them nominated. Hell, I even think "Firework" is the strongest song off "Teenage Dream." I just don't want to see Katy Perry win something. Sorry I'm not sorry.


Song of the Year

The nominees: Adele, "Rolling in the Deep" ; Bon Iver, "Holocene" ; Bruno Mars, "Grenade" ; Mumford & Sons, "The Cave" ; Kanye West, "All of the Lights"

The winner: Adele

Should win: Kanye West  


I'm going outside the generally-held opinion on this one. Again, Adele's song is great for all the reasons I've already listed. But Kanye's "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy"? There's an album that should have been nominated for Album of the Year -- simple as that. As for "All of the Lights," part of me just wants to see if all of the artists involve go onstage if it wins. But really, I do think this is a better song than "Rolling in the Deep." Whereas Adele can grate on me after a few listens, Kanye's song has not and will probably never get old. He's the best beatmaker in hip hop today, and this song is his shining moment on the album. It's a song that deserves a lot more recognition than it's received.


I'm already prepared for disappointment, because I really don't think anyone's going to defeat Adele this year -- and, you know, rightfully so, because she does deserve all the praise she receives. But this accolade? Please, pleeeeaase someone recognize something from this album for the genius that it is. Here's your best chance.


Best New Artist

The nominees: The Band Perry, Skrillex, Bon Iver, Nicki Minaj, J. Cole

The winner: Skrillex

Should win: Nicki Minaj
  
The "Seriously?!" award presented by J.Cole: J. Cole

I just have this bad feeling, guys. Skrillex's music is mostly hit-or-miss (mainly miss) for me, but I also think the GRAMMYs will attempt to act cool this year, as they tend to in certain categories, and this will be their stab in 2012. For whatever reason, the rave crowd ate Sonny Moore up this year, and he's basically the ringleader of a whole new generation of electronic music enthusiasts. As a fan of electronic music, I'm glad he's brought some new fans to the genre. As a person who finds a lot of American dubstep and other similar genres fairly unlistenable and a far cry from the glories of European's takes, I'm tired of the guy. But again, I just have this bad feeling.

Frankly, I'd love for Bon Iver to emerge victorious, but it's tough for me to consider Justin Vernon a new artist. And even so, I don't think he deserves it more than Nicki. For the first time in what seems like a long while, we have a female rapper worth a damn. She's smart, her music's often kind of funny, and her voice has a certain quality that makes her hard to avoid, whether or not you like the tone of it. Plus, I simply can't see any of these other artists on the level she was on this year on the charts. The Band Perry had a great year and I see them as a healthy alternative to T-Swift, but "If I Die Young" wasn't nearly as big as "Super Bass." 

And J. Cole? I'll let this GIF speak for me.

In the honor of timeliness, I'm going to provide my other thoughts in wonderful bullet point form. 

• Adele should win the pop categories for which she's nominated. I'm hoping for a victory from either Coldplay or Foster the People for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
• If you hear a primal scream across the Midwest tonight, it's because The Decemberists won for either Best Rock Performance or Best Rock Song -- or both. They won't, but I can't even imagine what would happen if they did.
• In reality, Foo Fighters will win the rock awards, and I will begrudgingly accept this. I'm pulling for "White Limo," though, because that's the best song off "Wasting Light."
• Cee Lo Green for Best R&B Performance and Song, PLEASE.
• If "Otis" doesn't win Best Rap Performance, I riot. 
• If Wiz Khalifa wins anything, I riot. 
• Taylor Swift's "Mean" is her worst song and I am currently rioting just thinking about it.
• Barton. Fucking. Hollow.
• I am really pissed about Foo Fighters being included in the dance/electronic performance segment with Chris Brown, deadmau5, David Guetta and Lil Wayne. Basically, they're going to get to play "Rope," but with deadmau5 backing them because he remixed the song -- or so I'm guessing. Oh well, at least they apparently get to play by themselves, too.
• I will probably enjoy the Beach Boys/Maroon 5/Foster the People segment more than I'm supposed to.
• Jay-Z and Kanye not performing together (or at all)? Ya dun goof'd, GRAMMYs.
• Cannot WAIT for the Glen Campbell performance.
• Adele will probably have the best performance of the evening to go along with ALL THE AWARDS she's about to win.

• It will be a somber affair tonight. I hope J-Hud and the producers were able to do Whitney justice in the small amount of time they had to whip up a tribute.

I'll probably be back later with my thoughts on the actual winners. Til then, stay classy and enjoy the show.

The Top 100 Songs of 2011 -- #1: "Helplessness Blues" -- Fleet Foxes

The best song of 2011 came to us relatively early in the year, when 2010 was still fresh in our minds. There was still quite a bit of music to be released, including the album on which it was released. Hell, many of us even had the silly notion that despite the fact that the year as a whole had been a bit of a letdown, we might still pull through. Score one for optimism, right? Haha, yeah. About that.

But Robin Pecknold has a strange way of keeping one hopeful, despite what has occurred and what is yet to happen. How this occurs is anyone's guess, be it the good vibes his band emits or the generally upbeat music they create. But somehow, no matter how bad it got in 2011, we always had Fleet Foxes.

"Helplessness Blues," from the album of the same name, begins with the gentle strumming of an acoustic guitar. Pecknold, his voice by now unmistakable after the runaway success of his band's debut record, sings of the uniqueness he was told he possessed as a youngster, before releasing that perhaps it is best to become a part of "some great machinery, serving something beyond me."

Fleet Foxes set the bar high for their second record, and "Helplessness Blues" far surpasses it. The song soon balloons into a more plugged-in affair, with drums and electric guitar complementing the sudden slash in tempo.

"What good is it to sing helplessness blues?" Pecknold asks, holding up the inherent optimism of the song. In an age where no one really knows where we're heading, Pecknold remains hopeful, and knows that doing otherwise will bring no good tidings. It's a lesson from which we can learn -- instead of pessimism reigning in our lives, why not have a healthier outlook on life? What good is it to live otherwise?



With beautiful harmonizing and instrumentation, Fleet Foxes created a song that may just define the decade with its message. It's tough to say where we're going, but perhaps if all of us had an orchard or two in our lives, we'd be a little happier.

The Top 100 Songs of 2011 -- #2: "Midnight City" -- M83

2011's best electronic fare came from a French artist that isn't Daft Punk or Justice. Who'd've thunk it?!

M83, a.k.a. Anthony Gonzalez and a score of backing musicians, released Hurry Up, We're Dreaming in the final quarter of 2011, a double album of epic proportions. Gonzalez utilized big guitars to go with his skyscraper synths, creating some of the loudest and most epic music to hit the airwaves this year.

"Midnight City" features a bouncing synth that sounds like a strange mutated scream at its onset, which keeps appearing time after time whenever the song needs extra 'oomph.' To this day, I'm still not sure quite exactly what M83's doing there, but its addition to the wall of sound the band creates drives the song over the edge.

Featuring monolithic synths and drums, "Midnight City" is every bit as huge as any other song released this year, especially in the electronic genre. The song quiets slightly when Gonzalez's vocals come in, but there's always the grandiosity lurking. The album as a whole was called one of the biggest of the genre in a while, and it's easy to see with "Midnight City." This is electropop on possibly its grandest scale yet.

And again, Year of the Sax alert! "Midnight City" features a jazzy sax solo toward its end, rising above the cacophony of electronic sounds. Its addition only furthers the strangely '80s vibe the song emits.



Do yourself a favor and listen to this entire album -- yes, the whole thing! It's a double album, but one of the most brilliantly conceived of its kind. "Midnight City" is only the beginning of this incredibly grandiose electronic opus.

The Top 100 Songs of 2011 -- #3: "Someone Like You" -- Adele

As this is a countdown that features a mere song per artist (with a few technical exceptions), it was tough to choose one song from Adele's miraculously great 21 that stood out above the rest.

In fact, when I was creating this list, I decided that no matter which of the two songs I was considering ended up being on the list, the order of the countdown altogether would not change. "Rolling in the Deep" and "Someone Like You" are both better than any other song I've mentioned thus far, but I don't find either of them to be of a higher quality than my top two. I hope that puts into words how much I love both of these songs.

In the end, I had to go with "Someone Like You." Weepy? Yes. But my god, can this woman write a breakup song. Well, soooort of a breakup song. I suppose the breakup's already technically happened, but this is the final separation, so to speak.

It's a song many can relate to. Adele's been separated from this lover for quite some time, but still harbors feelings for the object of her affection. But we are led to believe that it's been years since the fling, as said object has settled down, found a girl and is married. While that in particular may not have happened to all of us, I'm sure many can relate to the concept of rediscovering a lover for whom one still has feelings, only to find that they're quite happy without them and have moved on.

That said, unlike "Rolling in the Deep," this is not a song of anger. Adele only wishes "the best" for her former lover, claiming that she'll find someone like him one day. It's a refreshing spin on the subject matter, as many instances find the artist decrying the object of affection and denouncing him/her instead of wishing good tidings for them.



Adele crossed a lot of boundaries in 2011, and this is the song that solidified her as more than a one-hit shocker in America. Her brand of pop inexplicably caught on in America this year (not that I'm complaining!), and with "Someone Like You," she was vaulted to star status with one of the best ballads of the young decade.

The Top 100 Songs of 2011 -- #4: "Losers" -- The Belle Brigade

If you're looking for the underdog song of the year, this is your jam.

The Belle Brigade appeared on the scene this year with their self-titled debut. The duo, consisting of the Gruska siblings Barbara and Ethan, flew under the radar for the most part, but were still acclaimed critically by those that happened to come across their music.

The album itself was a wonderful 2010s take on '60s folk rock tunes -- understandable, given that the band has named Paul Simon's solo work as one of their biggest influences. In particular, "Losers" invokes the harmonizing of Simon & Garfunkel, with an updated folk rock sensibility for the times.

"Losers" is defiant, a harmony-laden song that takes a stand against the social mores of our generation -- or really, any generation... the song is fairly ambiguous when it comes to its timeframe. "There will always be someone better than you," they sing at first, changing later to "There will always be someone worse than you." "Don't care about being a winner," they sing, before laying out the list other things they simply don't care about being.

Possibly the most telling lyric of the song -- "I'm removing myself from the queue," they sing. The song is all about going against society's constructs, even if it means being called a 'loser.' In terms of messages, it's one of the best of the year, and the catchy melodies certainly don't hurt.



It's inspiring and timeless, a song which rises and rises to its inevitable climax, with howling vocals from the Gruska siblings. "Losers" was among the best indie rock had to offer this year, a telling prelude to a duo who will hopefully be around for quite some time.

The Top 100 Songs of 2011 -- #5: "The Edge of Glory" -- Lady Gaga

Many found Lady Gaga's Born This Way to be overly preachy, overproduced and a significant departure from her early material -- too significant, in fact, that some jumped the ship of Gaga around the release of the album's eponymous first single.

On the other hand, if you were me, you loved the new direction Gaga took, and didn't mind the craze that hit around February one bit. As a cohesive album, Born This Way is one of the best records to come from the new electronic music craze, and it's nice to see an artist that believes that pop music can resonate and make a statement in an age where the concept is increasingly rare.

Some might argue that "Born This Way" ended up the biggest single from the record, given its huge impact on the Billboard Hot 100 upon its release. However, while I am a big fan of that song (potential Madonna knockoff? Who cares, it's catchy as fuuuuck), I argue for "The Edge of Glory," which didn't hit No. 1 but maintained its allure for months into summer.

The electro rock production from Fernando Garibay cannot be understated. Gaga's contribution is, of course, highly important to its success, but the pounding techno of the song makes it one of the best pop songs the genre has recently produced.

Gaga's edge-of-the-world vocal is one of her best to date. The song is already huge, and on the chorus, she rises to the occasion and then some, with a magnificent vocal run that furthered its grandiosity.



The late Clarence Clemons makes an appearance, too -- on the song's bridge, with a larger-than-life saxophone solo. Speaking of which -- 2011: Year of the Sax, yes? Of course. This song, "Last Friday Night," "Mr. Saxobeat," "Something to Believe In," "Midnight City"... what on earth was everyone's infatuation with the instrument this year? Me, I'm still waiting on the accordion resurgence. "Stereo Love" got us started, let's get this shit going.

Even the title of the song suggests an epic soundscape, and that's exactly what Gaga pulls off with "The Edge of Glory." A few of her singles may not have performed up to the ridiculously high standards of many, but looking back on the 2010s, it will be hard to avoid talking about this song as one of its best.

The Top 100 Songs of 2011 -- #6: "Yonkers" -- Tyler, the Creator

2011 was the year of Odd Future, and Tyler, the Creator, the collective's ringleader, led the way. The center of attention in almost every respect, the 20-year-old rapper released Goblin, which garnered him praise from a number of publications and a Best New Artist award at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards.

I think something we can all agree on when it comes to Tyler is that, as he says himself on "Goblin," he's "not that great a rapper." No one's falling head over heels for Tyler's flow or rapping skills. So, what's the allure? Why was Goblin arguably the most talked-about rap record of 2011, and maybe even the biggest had it not been for Watch the Throne?

Part of it has to be the DIY nature of Tyler's music, itself seemingly a backlash to the sleek, polished nature of modern rap. For those disillusioned with the direction of the genre, this can only be a breath of fresh air. Don't count out the rawness of the music, either -- and not just in terms of his vocal. There's an edge to the music that most mainstream rappers today wouldn't even dare to gravitate toward.

"Yonkers" was the song that propelled Tyler into the stratosphere, and should have scared every living rapper out there -- except, perhaps, for artists like Jay-Z and Kanye, whose appeal is all-but-solidified no matter what at this point. This was not only a backlash to overproduced rap, it was a full-frontal assault.

Tyler's always been under scrutiny for his misogynistic, sometimes overly-vulgar lyrical content, which targets basically anyone and everyone, and at times features lyrics that can be construed as insensitive toward the homosexual community. With "Yonkers," his lyrics aren't exactly as controversial as some of his other tracks, but it's still a shock to anyone who's hearing his music for the first time.

In keeping with the theme of Goblin, during which Tyler talks to his therapist about his problems and life, "Yonkers" is introspective, but also a song about the abandon he experiences in New York City. And while Tyler disputes the fact some call his music horrorcore, tell me that backbeat under his rap doesn't creep you the fuck out.



2012 will be an interesting time for Odd Future, as it's still to be seen whether the collective will actually remain relevant or if they're a passing fad. Frank Ocean seems to have something to say about this and may end up the more relevant in the long run, but for now, Tyler, the Creator is one of the biggest new rappers in the game, as well as one of its most provocative figures. What will he do next? It's rumored Wolf, his follow-up, comes out in 2012.