U2 at The Grammys back in 1988. They returned last night.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I had the Grammys on while I was making dinner last night (chicken penne pasta soup, in case you were wondering). I’m of the tired opinion that awards are meaningless when it comes to the arts. I understand that they provide a chance to hype artists and their releases, and by god the music industry needs all the hyping it can get these days.

That said, the artists they hype on their broadcast need the least hyping. They already make their millions. But thus is the way of the world when it comes to awards….

None of the categories of interest to me were broadcast, and the collection of winners was, at times, awkward. For example, any opportunity to give credit to the late, great Leonard Cohen is welcome, but “Best Rock Performance” for You Want It Darker? Odd. That said, I’d never heard of a couple of the category’s other nominees: Kaleo and Nothing More, so…

War On Drugs’ A Deeper Understanding took home the Best Rock Album award (no doubt to Mark Kozelek’s disapproval).

LCD Soundsystem’s “Tonite” won for Best Dance Recording. I love this track. I can’t believe it beat out a host of R&B artists (such as Bruno Mars), which I guess the Recording Academy doesn’t consider “dance music”?

Kraftwerk’s 3-D The Catalogue won Best Dance/Electronic Album. A real surprise (I figured this was Sylvan Esso’s year). Love to see Kraftwerk get some love.

The National’s Sleep Well Beast was Best Alternative Music Album. I think the record’s a real snooze, but at least it’s an indie record.

Aimee Mann’s Mental Illness won for Best Folk Album — a great record, though not a folk record. Oh well…

I was going to say there was a time in the 1970s and ’80s when rock bands dominated the Grammys broadcast, but that’s just not true. Looking back at photos from The Grammys during that era, the talent on the show was as middle-of-the-road as anything we saw last night. Will rock ever make it’s way back to the Grammys? Does it matter?

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Speaking of rock music, Champagne, Illinois’ The Poster Children have a new album coming out this spring, their first in 14 years. The first single was released Jan. 19 to coincide with the year anniversary of the Trump presidency. Check out “Grand Bargain!” below… Now can someone please get to work on getting Poster Children to play here? Thanks in advance…

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.