Pop is such a random catch-all term that it’s hard to figure out how the people that nominate artists for the Grammys figure out what constitutes “pop”. Of course, if you’re in the know, you just know that the labels that nominate their artists designate what categories certain songs go into, so…yeah, it’s totally random. This year’s nominees are the typical mixed bag of pop, a term that can navigate vast waters and describe everything from Michael Buble to Lady […]
Posts tagged "Lady Gaga"
Dear Grammy…
The Grammy Awards ceremony needs a face-lift, and I propose more awards and more performances by up-and-coming acts.
Blerd Briefs 1/4/11: R.E.M., Lil Kim & Lady GaGa
In the news today: Gaga’s new album, the Nicki/Kim beef, and songs from R.E.M.’s upcoming album.
Chart Stalker!: Billboard Year-End Version
Welcome to the first of two year end editions of Chart Stalker! Why two, you ask? Simple answer-Billboard’s year-end issue comes out before the end of the actual calendar year (to allow for publication time and ad purchasing). Generally speaking, it covers the year from December 1st of the previous year to November 30th of the current year, or thereabouts. Additionally, Billboard calculates it’s rankings by using a formula based on chart position, so where an artist ends up on […]
Eminem, Lady Antebellum Lead Grammy Nominees
award shows / Country Music / hip-hop / Indie Rock / music / news / pop culture / rock music / soul music
Eminem and Lady Antebellum lead the pack of Grammy nominees. The nominations were announced last night in Los Angeles.
The Grammy Crystal Ball: Who Gets Nominated?
Award season is in full swing, isn’t it? Coming less than two weeks after the American Music Awards and less than a week after the Soul Train Awards, and just a short time before the year-end best-of lists start raining down, the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences will announce the nominees for next January’s Grammy Awards. For the second consecutive year, there will be a prime time TV special announcing the nominees for the major categories, with scheduled […]
Award Show Sundays: Little Richard Steals the Thunder
This is probably one of my 5 favorite Grammy moments of all time (ooh, an idea for another list!). It’s March 1988, and the Grammy Awards are at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Presenting the Best New Artist trophy are Buster Poindexter, who is enjoying mainstream recognition for the first time in his career thanks to his cover of Arrow’s “Hot Hot Hot”, and Little Richard. What results is Richard going wildly and hilariously off-script (someone should […]
Blerd Radio Episode 8: Me, Grandpaw Jimmy & The Mysterious Celebrity Porno Renter
For Blerd Radio Episode 8, I turned to Jimmy , who hosts his own show entitled “Funny Like Car Accident Funny”. Over a wide ranging hour, we combined to bellyache about pertinent issues including: -Christine O’Donnell’s love of witchcraft. -Our need for a publicist to get us on “Real Time with Bill Maher” -What happens when Derek Jeter’s contract runs out at the end of this season (you think perhaps us talking about the Yanks was a bad luck charm?) -Whatever […]
Chart Chat 9/23/10: Linkin Park and Trey Songz In A Photo Finish!
1,005 units separate this week’s #1 and #2 albums in one of the closest races for the top spot in history. The eventual victor? Rock giants Linkin Park score the top spot with 241,000 units sold of their fourth studio album, “A Thousand Suns”. While that sum is healthy, it is cause for alarm considering that LP’s last album, “Minutes to Midnight”, debuted with triple that sum just three short years ago. Linkin Park’s sound has gradually evolved over the […]
Ushering in a New Era of Mediocrity with “Versus”
I stand corrected. When Usher’s “Raymond V. Raymond” came out earlier this year, I predicted that after a solid first week, it was going to flop hard. Well, I guess I have egg on my face. Thanks to the inexplicable success of the will.i.am-assisted hit “OMG”, “Raymond” has already outsold Usher’s (much better qualitatively but not as pop-friendly) previous record “Here I Stand”. In order to keep the momentum going (and maybe to hoodwink Usher’s fans into buying material that […]
Chart Stalker: The Power of Indie
“Indie Rock” is kind of a stupid term. “Indie” technically is shorthand for “independent” (as in not distributed by a major label), but most people see the word “indie” and think “hipster”. This leads to a bit of confusion. I mean, The Mars Volta record for a major label, and technically, Taylor Hicks and Elliott Yamin are “indie”. It should also probably be noted that most indie companies are actually owned by major labels. So we should probably think of […]
Dear Ladies: Time to Make an Adjustment on the Slutometer
When did it become the norm for women in music to be trampy 24/7? Believe me, there is nothing wrong with owning one’s sexuality. But is the concept of being in charge of your sexuality synonymous with acting like a stripper in heat? Over the past decade or so, the role of the woman in pop music has gone from being occasionally titillating to basically playing the role of a ho. Misogynist? Not at all. Work with me here. Name […]