Friday, December 19, 2008

My Kooky Idea

So... Try to stay with me here. I know it can be difficult to follow my thought process sometimes but if you can hang on... it usually turn out to be entertaining.

So... I'm not a huge fan of Christmas music cuz I just worked retail for too freaking long. Luckily, I've been out of retail long enough that some Christmas music is starting to be aloud in my vicinity. One of my favorite Christmas albums has always been the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Christmas Eve in Sarajevo. (If you haven't heard it ... find it and listen! Don't let the word Orchestra scare you - wicked cool guitars are involved) So I recently stumbled across their "Christmas Canon Rock." You know the song you commonly hear when the bridesmaids and groomsmen walk down the aisle at a wedding? That's the song. But kind of a rock version. The beginning starts out pretty traditional, but then you get those wicked cool guitars.

Now, for those of you who know me, you know I'm not really a "traditional" kind of girl. I've never really imagined that I would use that song at my wedding (God willing I will get married one day). But after hearing that version, I'm thinking... well maybe.

But it goes a step further. Whilest listening to the wicked cool guitar in the song I think... This should totally be on Guitar Hero. It'd be super hard but OH... SO... COOL! So then I think, well, I've always wanted live music at my wedding ... how cool would it be to have my brother and sister (Shorty and Pop Tart) who are addicted to Guitar Hero play that version of the song on Guitar Hero for the wedding! AWESOME!!! My wedding is gonna be so freakin' cool!!! (God willing!)

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Grammy Picks

Ok, I've always wanted to do this post but never have... so here goes! Grammy Nominations are out! Time to make my picks. If you would like to debate my choices... I invite you to comment. All nomination information is pulled directly from the Grammy Website. Some info has been removed to avoid this post being even longer than it already is. I've also picked only the categories that I actually know something about. So, you won't get my opinion on the best gospel album, best country collaboration with vocals, best tejano album among many others. There are some categories that I probably could have commented on, but I didn't know some of the songs/albums/artists that were nominated, and apparently didn't care enough to look them up.. so I just didn't bother. With that said.. here are my thoughts on the categories I felt inspired to comment on....

Record Of The Year
(Award to the Artist and to the Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s) and/or Mixer(s), if other than the artist.)

  • Chasing Pavements - Adele Track from: 19
  • Viva La Vida - Coldplay Track from: Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
  • Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis
  • Paper Planes - M.I.A Track from: Kala
  • Please Read The Letter - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss Track from: Raising Sand
This is a tough category. The only songs I recognized right off the bat were Bleeding Love and Viva La Vida. When Bleeding Love first came out I hated it, but then I watched Chelsie and Mark perform to it on So You Think You Can Dance and now THIS is what I think of when I hear it and that makes me happy. Viva La Vida is nice, but not particularly my favorite Coldplay track. The rest of the songs I looked up on Rhapsody. I immediately recognized Chasing Pavements and realized that I thoroughly enjoy the song. Paper Planes is kind of a weird song. I don't dislike it, but I don't know that it's Grammy material. Please Read the Letter was way to sappy and slow for me.

The winner: I think it has to go to Adele for Chasing Pavements. She has a great voice and I really enjoy this song.


Album Of The Year
(Award to the Artist(s) and to the Album Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s)/Mixer(s) & Mastering Engineer(s), if other than the artist.)

  • Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends - Coldplay
  • Tha Carter III - Lil Wayne
  • Year Of The Gentleman - Ne-Yo
  • Raising Sand - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
  • In Rainbows - Radiohead
This probably isn't fair for me to judge because I haven't heard the WHOLE album from any of these artists. I'll leave this up to the popular vote. What do you guys think?


Song Of The Year
(A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. Singles or Tracks only.

  • American Boy - Estelle Featuring Kanye West Track from: Shine
  • Chasing Pavements - Adele Adkins & Eg White Track from: 19
  • I'm Yours - Jason Mraz Track from: We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.
  • Love Song - Sara Bareilles Track from: Little Voice
  • Viva La Vida - Coldplay Track from: Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
I think this is definitely the toughest category of the year. American Boy (performed here on So You Think You Can Dance) is a great little hip hop tune. It has a pretty permanent place on my workout play list on my iPod, which is a pretty elite list. Chasing Pavements - again - so good. I really love Adele's voice and the song is very passionate without being sappy. And then there's I'm Yours. What's not to love about Jason Mraz? Peppy and upbeat to a certain extent, all around a good song. Love Song - Sara Bareilles has become a new addiction for me this year. Her whole album is fantastic and of course I have an extra soft spot the singer/songwriter type (of course Adele and Jason Mraz get those honors as well). I enjoy the title Love Song when the song it's self says "I'm not gonna write you love song, 'cuz you asked for it, 'cuz you need one." Viva La Vida - again, not bad, just not my fav for Coldplay.

And the winner - YIKES!! So hard! I think it comes down to Chasing Pavements and Love Song, with the winner being Chasing Payments. (I would like to make the disclaimer that these are not where I think the awards will actually go. These are MY picks. My guess is the Grammy will actually go to Coldplay).

Best New Artist
(For a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that artist.)

  • Adele
  • Duffy
  • Jonas Brothers
  • Lady Antebellum
  • Jazmine Sullivan
Ok.. Jonas Brothers - EW! I've never even heard of Lady Antebellum or Jazmine Sullivan (if you think I need to know who they are, please let me know. I'm always happy about new music) So that leaves Duffy and Adele. Both good choices. Duffy has a very distinct voice that I think you either have to love, hate, or learn to love. I fell into category 3. Again, damn that So You Think You Can Dance. This time it was Twitch and Katee (this video kind of sucks because I can't find any footage from the show so this is something that someone recorded from the tour). And I think I've talked enough about Adele. You know where I stand.

And the winner is... I think I'm gonna go with Duffy mostly for the uniqueness (if that's a real word). So help me if this Grammy goes to the Jonas Brothers... that fate would be so horrid that I can't even imagine it.

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
(For a solo vocal performance. Singles or Tracks only.)

  • Chasing Pavements - Adele Track from: 19
  • Love Song - Sara Bareilles Track from: Little Voice
  • Mercy - Duffy Track from: Rockferry
  • Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis
  • I Kissed A Girl - Katy Perry Track from: One Of The Boys
  • So What - Pink
Another VERY VERY hard category. I've already covered the first 4 nominations. Katy Perry cracks me up. I Kissed A Girl is a great song (though a bit over played) and it makes me laugh. I've always been a big Pink fan. She's got the right amount of angsty rocker in her to make her stand out from the rest of the girly popsters. I love the song So What - again with the angst, but with a good pop/rock beat!

And the winner is... I'm almost 100% certain that the Grammy association will NOT agree with me on this, but I'm gonna go with Pink's So What. You can't go wrong with a song whose lyrics claim "and you're a tool" (that was for you Quitter).


Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
(For a solo vocal performance. Singles or Tracks only.)

  • All Summer Long - Kid Rock Track from: Rock N Roll Jesus
  • Say - John Mayer Track from: Continuum
  • That Was Me - Paul McCartney Track from: Amoeba's Secret
  • I'm Yours - Jason Mraz Track from: We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.
  • Closer - Ne-Yo Track from: Year Of The Gentleman
  • Wichita Lineman - James Taylor Track from: Covers
Have I mentioned I kinda hate John Mayer? Paul McCartney - without the rest of the boys you just don't do it for me - sorry! James Taylor isn't bad, just not really my style though. So... that leaves us All Summer Long - great summer tune from Kid Rock. Little spin off from Sweet Home Alabama. Not bad. I've already commented on Jason Mraz - I'm Yours. Finally, Closer - Ne-Yo. You know, I'm not necessarily a huge Ne-Yo fan, but I rather enjoy this song. The beat shifts a couple times from slow to a more traditional hip hop dance beat. Ne-Yo gets my vote for this one. The Grammy's will probably choose John Mayer (they obviously weren't working retail when Mr. Mayer informed us every third song that our "body is a wonderland.")


Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
(For established duos or groups, with vocals. Singles or Tracks only.)

  • Viva La Vida - Coldplay Track from: Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
  • Waiting In The Weeds - Eagles Track from: Long Road Out Of Eden
  • Going On - Gnarls Barkley Track from: The Odd Couple
  • Won't Go Home Without You - Maroon 5 Track from: It Won't Be Soon Before Long
  • Apologize - OneRepublic Track from: Dreaming Out Loud
I'm not going to pretend. I ADORE Maroon 5. They win. Let's be honest, the real Grammy's are NOT fair and unbiased, why should I be. I did love Apologize by OneRepublic and would accept that as a winner, but..

And the Winner is.. Maroon 5. Why, because I said said so. They make me happy.


Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals
(For a collaborative performance, with vocals, by artists who do not normally perform together. Singles or Tracks only.)

  • Lesson Learned - Alicia Keys & John Mayer Track from: As I Am
  • 4 Minutes - Madonna, Justin Timberlake & Timbaland Track from: Hard Candy
  • Rich Woman - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss Track from: Raising Sand
  • If I Never See Your Face Again - Rihanna & Maroon 5 Track from: Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded
  • No Air - Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown Track from: Jordin Sparks
Many good options here. Alicia Keys loses points for associating with John Mayer. Madonna loses points for all the plastic surgury she's had - though I do enjoy the song. I don't know who Robert Plant and Alison Krauss are and this post is getting really long and it's becoming difficult to look all these songs up and actually listen to them. Rihanna and Maroon 5 - AWESOMENESS! And Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown rocked this song, but again, wouldn't have loved it as much if it weren't for this.

And the winner is... Rihanna and Maroon 5 of course!! They freaking rock!


Best Dance Recording
(For solo, duo, group or collaborative performances. Vocal or Instrumental. Singles or tracks only.)

  • Harder Better Faster Stronger - Daft Punk Track from: Alive 2007
  • Ready For The Floor - Hot Chip Track from: Made In The Dark
  • Just Dance - Lady Gaga & Colby O'Donis
  • Give It 2 Me - Madonna Track from: Hard Candy
  • Disturbia - Rihanna Track from: Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded
  • Black & Gold - Sam Sparro Track from: Sam Sparro
You know, I really want to like Disturbia because I typically really like Rihanna, this song just doesn't really do it for me though, especially not as a "Dance" recording. I think this has to go to Harder Better Faster Stronger - rock it out Daft Punk! Thanks to Shorty for introducing me to them.

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
(For a Rap/Sung collaborative performance by artists who do not normally perform together. Singles or Tracks only.)

  • American Boy - Estelle Featuring Kanye West Track from: Shine
  • Low - Flo Rida Featuring T-Pain Track from: Mail On Sunday
  • Green Light - John Legend & Andre 3000
  • Got Money - Lil Wayne Featuring T-Pain Track from: Tha Carter III
  • Superstar - Lupe Fiasco Featuring Matthew Santos Track from: The Cool
Ok.. all honesty haven't heard some of these... but I LOVE LOW by Flo Rida. I've been listening to this song for MONTHS AND MONTHS and I still love it. So yeah.. that's the winner.

Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media
(Award to the Artist(s) and/or Producer(s) of a majority of the tracks on the album, or to the individual(s) actively responsible for the concept and musical direction and for the selection of artists, songs and producers, as applicable.)

  • American Gangster - Various Artists
  • August Rush - Various Artists
  • Juno - Various Artists
  • Mamma Mia! - Meryl Streep & Various Artists
  • Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street - Various Artists
Ok, haven't seen American Gangster or August Rush. Juno's soundtrack was well... interesting. And what's not to LOVE about Mamma Mia! Only negative there was Pierce Brosnan is totally incapable of singing. It was painful. Sweeney Todd!!!! loved it! I was annoyed with the girl who played Joanna. Her voice was waaaay high and sing song-y, arguably that's what it's supposed to be so I guess it's not her fault, but I didn't really care for it.

And the winner... I think it has to go to Sweeney Todd. Mamma Mia was right up there, but Peirce killed it for me. I think the Grammy's might go out on a limb and give it to Juno though.

Well, there you have it. My Grammy picks. I know I left out A LOT of categories, but this post would have gone on forever and I was getting bored. Sorry! I'd love to hear your comments though. I'm sure Quitter will make a stink about all the hate being thrown John Mayer's way and the Coldplay shut out, but she'd have to be reading this to complain about it. HAHA!