December 06, 2003

How New Is New?

I don't usually pay attention to the Grammies -- their irrelevance is notorious, though I do know people who are still from the "she won a Grammy, so her music must be good" school -- but this boggles the mind.

From the Grammy website itself:

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

* Evanescence
* 50 Cent
* Fountains Of Wayne
* Heather Headley
* Sean Paul

What do they mean by "public identity?" I mean, 50 Cent already had hits in
the late '90s, and so has Sean Paul! And Heather Headley won a Tony Award in 1998! Most incomprehensible of all is the fact that the critically acclaimed debut album from Fountains Of Wayne came out in 1996 -- heck, I feel like I've been humming "Sick Day" forever.

Does "new" not mean "new" anymore? And who exactly constitutes this "public" -- the viewers of Total Request Live?

If that's the case, then let the "Best New Artist Grammy for Guided By Voices" campaign begin.

Posted by the wily filipino at December 6, 2003 07:24 AM
Comments

I'm in.

Posted by: Happy on December 6, 2003 09:20 AM

"New" is "new" when these artists and their songs become familiar to your music masa (masses) -- yes, the folks who think that, since you have a Grammy, you must be good. I'd go out on a limb and say these unsophisticates are the majority of the US music-listening public. I've got one foot in there....

Cheers! Romeo ("You and I Both" by Jason Mraz playing in the background).

Posted by: Romeo on December 6, 2003 11:32 AM
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