My Take on This Year's Grammy Nominees Album

Because I am a slightly masochistic individual, I recently decided to resume writing for my university's school newspaper, the Famuan. If you've read my bio diligently (which I know you probably haven't), then you already know that I kind of hated it the first time around. I'm not apprehensive about returning, however; in retrospect, it mostly sucked because of things that were out of my control. At the time I was not only a journalism major, having to write stories as part of my coursework, but also on staff, which meant covering whatever my boss, the editor-in-chief, told me to. Small town local news, obscure sports, student government meetings that lasted until 1 and 2 a.m. - I had to pretend that all of these things that I didn't care about actually mattered to me! I could probably write a whole series of posts on how it sucked, but I'll save that for some other time. As for now, I'm writing freelance. I only write about things I like (film, music, books, and more film) and send it their way; they can take it or leave it, and there's no skin off my ass if they think it sucks. The following is a piece I wrote on the 2012 Grammy nominees compilation album. I can't really comment on the music itself (my musical talent could fit in a thimble, just ask my high school piano teacher), so I decided to just say whether it was a good buy or not. Hopefully it will run in the Famuan some time this week, but for now take a look at it here:

I’ll get right to the point: this album is not for you. Or at least it is not for you, specifically. Universal Republic Records and GRAMMY Recordings, who have partnered to produce a compilation album of the 2012 Grammy Nominees, have made sure that it will appeal to as many people as possible. All of the most popular genres of music are represented on the 22-track album. Everything from acoustic instruments to synthesizers has been crammed together into one package. The result, although somewhat inconsistent, has something for everyone.

The first eight tracks or so should be familiar to anyone who has switched on a major radio station in the past few months. All of your favorites are there, including Bruno Mars, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, and of course Gaga. But things get more interesting in the latter half of the album, where listeners are introduced to lesser-known acts. These are the Cinderella teams of the music world, able to upset their more popular household name counterparts on occasion.

Just ask Norah Jones, who beat out the likes of Eminem and Bruce Springsteen to win five Grammys nine years ago, or members of the band Arcade Fire, which became an overnight search trend last year when they won Album of the Year for “Suburbs.” The indie band’s competition included Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and, once again, Eminem.

This year’s album is no different, sporting its fair share of artists who have flown relatively under the radar. Of particular note are indie rock outfits Mumford and Sons and Foster the People; both bands have been nominated for work from their debut albums. Skrillex, one of the biggest names in the rapidly growing dubstep genre of electronic music, receives a nod for the hypnotic “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites.”It is hard to keep from nodding your head to the symphony of sirens, bass hits and sound bites of a girl screaming “Yes, oh my God!” But the biggest sleeper hit may be a folk band no one has heard of named Bon Iver. Their single “Holocene” is up for Song of the Year.

The mix of genres achieves a kind of overall balance. The album opens with some big booming ballads, skips along to some club-worthy singles, and kicks back with some rock and country before smoldering to a close with a duet performance of “Body and Soul” by Tony Bennett and the late Amy Winehouse. It is equal parts wild night out on the town, relaxed drive home and nap curled up by the fire.

The effect is far from perfect, though. Some tracks pale in comparison to others. For example, Bruno Mars’ “Grenade” is a powerful breakup ballad on its own, but it withers when played right after Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep.” In a bid to make the album family-friendly, all traces of profanity have been removed, taking some of the punch out of tracks like Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass” or J. Cole’s “Work Out.”

While diverse, the selections do not include any gospel, jazz, Latin, new age, world music, or reggae songs. Rappers Kanye West and Lil Wayne, who have been nominated for seven and five Grammys, respectively, also do not make an appearance on the album. And of course, the collection will not appeal to those who just ascribe to one or two particular genres of music and cannot really be bothered with anything else, regardless of who is selling it.

Still, if these seem like minor grievances and you have flexible musical taste, this compilation provides a decent picture of modern music for a modest price. Anyone who gives it a spin will be well-prepared to sound cultured and knowledgeable when the presenters announce the lesser-known names this weekend. The 54^th Annual Grammy Awards will air at 8 p.m. EST on Feb. 12.

Tell me what you think!