Mike Blake/Reuters Dan Auerbach, left, and Patrick Carney of the Black Keys at the 55th annual Grammy Awards.This week on Popcast: a Grammy post-mortem, and a modest proposal.
Jon Caramanica and our host Ben Ratliff both wrote about last Sunday’s Grammy awards and telecast. Mr. Caramanica wrote: “If the Grammy narrative is to be believed, the last time there was musical innovtion worthy of celebration was the mid-1980s, which may well line up with the prime creative period of many Grammy voters.â€
Mr. Ratliff wrote: “Grammy voters want popular music to have credibility, breadth and a kind of moral weight. But they are also, and always have been, tired of new complications. It’s not just that they are behind the curve; they are starting to bet that things really were better in the old days. Simple preference has turned into style. They are perforce becoming antiquarians.â€
Still audibly chafed, they outline the contorted logic of the awards, including the Black Keys Perplexity, the Folk-Stomp Realness Chimera, and the Law of Adele; separate and identify the qualities in popular music that the Recording Academy tend t! o privilege or ignore; and propose sensible and unlikely alternatives to the current system.
Listen above, download the MP3 here, or listen on iTunes here.
RELATED
Jon Caramanica’s Critic’s Notebook on the 2013 Grammys
Ben Ratliff’s Critic’s Notebook on the 2013 Grammys
James C. McKinley Jr.’s report o the 2013 Grammys
SPOTIFY PLAYLIST
Tracks by artists discussed this week. (Spotify users can also find it here.)
