Greg Heumann
1129 posts
May 11, 2011
11:56 AM
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Its true. How sad. How short sided. How stupid. Everyone here should spread the word and complain loudly. Another nail in the coffin of american roots music.
1st link below is NY Times - you might need an account to view it. 2nd link should be public.
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/06/grammys-to-cut-more-than-30-categories/
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/grammys_eliminate_categories.html
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/Greg
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tmf714
624 posts
May 11, 2011
12:31 PM
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Here is the 2012 Grammy American Roots Music catagory:
Best Americana Album -Best Americana Album
Best Bluegrass Album -Best Bluegrass Album
Best Traditional Blues Album -Best Blues Album
Best Contemporary Blues Album- Best Folk Album
Best Traditional Folk Album- Best Regional Roots Music Album
Best Contemporary Folk Album
Best Hawaiian Music Album
Best Native American Music Album
Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album
The left column indicates what used to be-the right column indicates the revamped 2012 format. The bottom four catagories have been eliminated.
Best Blues Album is still there,and you could possibly take home the Grammy for "Best Folk Album" featuring harmonica. Don't forget-Jethro Tull won the Grammy for "Best Metal Performance" in 1988.
Last Edited by on May 11, 2011 12:42 PM
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REM
67 posts
May 11, 2011
12:54 PM
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The first link didn't say anything about the blues being eliminated. The second article did mention the blues category, but it didn't say it was being eliminated all together, it said the blues category would be consolidated into one award (same with folk and world music)instead of two. Previously the blues category had an award for both traditional and contemporary blues, now they'll just be judged in one category. Some of the changes they're making are unfortunate, but overall I agree with what they're doing. Having too many categories waters down the importance/prestige of the award, and some of the categories seem pretty unneccesary and overly specific. 109 categories really is too many, IMHO.
Last Edited by on May 11, 2011 7:01 PM
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Joe_L
1241 posts
May 11, 2011
1:18 PM
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I'm glad Pinetop and Willie Smith won the last one.
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Honkin On Bobo
649 posts
May 11, 2011
2:47 PM
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Doesn't suprise me. The grammy's are a joke, I haven't tuned into that show in years, and this is one more reason not to. I'm sure they're consolidating things so they can expand the hip-hop and dance/club music category.
Last Edited by on May 11, 2011 2:49 PM
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rharley5652
483 posts
May 11, 2011
3:07 PM
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@ Honkin On Bobo,. Ya hit the nail on the head !!
Its all about what is making the most money ,.Right now it is hip-hop and dance/club music !
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Simply Unique Kustom Mic's By Rharley
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shanester
375 posts
May 11, 2011
6:09 PM
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The old recording industry is bankrupt anyway. After so much corporate consolidation, the big labels are chasing safe quarterly profits with lowest common denominator music, and artist development no longer exists.
The real music is spawning from internet and grass roots social networking via the web.
There is a great book on just this subject called "Ripped" by Greg Kot.
Well worth reading if you want a taste of how this new model is developing!
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Shane
1shanester
Suffering may be optional, but it can be quite addictive!
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Matzen
181 posts
May 11, 2011
8:35 PM
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On May 5th 2011 The Grammy Awards hosted Grammy 101. It was a lecture given by Bill Freimuth (V.P. of Awards) to explain how the Grammys function and to explain the very controversial restructuring of the awards, which included cutting the awards given to the Blues category down from only two awards to one award. This statement was written by Matthew Skoller and delivered at this event on behalf of the Blues Committee:
May 5th 2011 Chicago, IL
A Statement On Behalf of The Chicago Blues Committee
The newly formed Blues Committee of the Chicago Chapter of the Recording Academy was stunned by the announcement on April 6th 2011 that the Best Traditional Blues Album category and the Best Contemporary Blues Album category would be eliminated and replaced by the umbrella category: Best Blues Album of The Year.
The mission statement for our committee from the outset has been to bring more mainstream exposure to the genre and advocate on behalf of it so that it receives the recognition it is due for being the seminal music form (if not art form) ever to come out of America. One of our goals was to add one or two more categories to this diverse and vastly influential genre, for instance, best Blues Song of the Year and/or Best Vocal performance of the Year.
The differentiation between contemporary blues and traditional blues is key to understanding just how the more popular and supported music genres evolved. For instance, listening to the best contemporary blues album of the year replete with the highly electrified guitar and drum sounds, illustrates how Blues gave birth to Heavy Metal music and other rock forms. How else are the (and I quote from the Overview on the Grammy web site) “inheritors of America’s great cultural legacy” to understand the history of their inheritance? Not to mention that instead of two blues artists receiving recognition each year, only one will have this career-changing honor bestowed upon him or her. And only one artist will reap the rewards that this award affords the recipient.
Why is this? Why is it that the genre that literally spawned Jazz, Rock and Roll, hard rock/Metal, Rap, R&B, Soul Music, Zydeco Music, House Music (and the list goes on) has been relegated to receive, at
first,
only two awards and now just one? If the mission statement of the Academy is “to positively impact the lives of musicians, industry members and our society at large” then why has the taproot of all American music been left to wither?
The blues committee feels this decision has added injury to insult and we are now more energized than ever to appeal to the Academy not to follow the tradition of mainstream America and marginalize the needs of a music form that should be considered a national treasure. It was the “British invasion” that hipped white America to The Blues. And this attention brought Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf and their contemporaries out of obscurity and afforded a few of them a living. We remember: when Keith Richards met Muddy Waters, Muddy was standing on a ladder painting the ceiling at Chess Records.
If we hope (and again I quote the mission statement of the Academy) “to positively impact the lives of musicians, industry members and our society at large” we must put an end to the marginalization of Blues music in America and what better place to start than with The Grammy? If you are indeed (in your words again) “the only peer-presented award to honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position” this should not be an issue.
The Blues Committee intends to launch a campaign this summer to increase membership of Blues professionals.
We appreciate your consideration in these matters and look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship with the Academy.
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Hondo
141 posts
May 13, 2011
7:33 AM
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I wanted to chime in on this because it is at the heart of where I REALLY get the joy from music.
As Shanester touched on Roots music. I didn't learn of Moreland and Arebuckle, Carolina Chococlate Drops, The Black Keys, Carolyn Wonderland, Scott Biram, on and on from the damn Grammys.
Hell, I'm suprised how many people don't know who Keb Mo' is. I wonder if they even know who Robert Cray is?
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