Wednesday, February 24, 1999
The University Daily Kansan
Section A · Page 7
Grammys bound to disappoint
Awards show to take place this evening
By Matt Cox
Kansan music critic
Time to watch the Grammy again. The program, which airs at 7 p.m. today on CBS, is bound to upset someone. There were nominations in three categories that were completely unjustified.
Album of the Year
Was the Academy afraid that Madonna would kill it if it didn't nominate her? I hope so, because there was no other reason Ray of Light should have been up for Album of the Year. Frozen was its only outstanding tune. The album itself recycled the same drum pattern with Madonna's most unimpressive display of vocals and lyrics to date.
I appreciated the attempt to reach out to the modern rock genre, but nominating Garbage shows the Academy didn't listen to many modern rock albums this year. Version 2.0 was one of the most well-recorded albums of the year but lacked any intense or moving melodies and hooks.
Shania, stop showing off your body and start concentrating on your music. Even though she was nominated this year, her beauty trick won't work in the
future. Apparently the Academy thought it only takes one good song to make one good album. Shania Twain's album, Come On Over, was an underdeveloped rehashing of today's pop country.
Lauryn Hill and Sheryl Crow deserved their nominations with their well-crafted and musically versatile albums.
I was disappointed that Fuel's album, Sunburn, didn't score a nomination. It is a modern rock gem that spawned the singles Bittersweet and Shimmer.
I also think the Dixie Chicks' Wide Open Spaces deserved a nomination for the lively debut.
Lauryn Hill will take this category, and she should. It's about time that an album from R&B genre finally got the Academy's attention.
Song of the Year
I don't want to hear a thing from Aerosmith again for the next 10 years. The writer, Dianne Warren, loved to rearrange songs she had written in the past and fool the world into thinking she was creative. I Don't Want to Miss A Thing offered nothing more than the common ramblings of an uninspired love-song writer.
Umm, the Titanic craze is finished now. I think we can finally admit to ourselves that it wasn't the best movie ever. We also admit that My Heart Will Go On's lyric content sank as low as the Titanic — overused and overrated.
Edwin McCain's I'll Be, one of the best-written love songs in the '90s, was overlooked this year. It could have easily competed with the likes of Goo Goo Doll's Iris and Twain's You're Still The One
I want Iris to take this category, but I bet Shania's pop success will score her the Grammy.
New Artist of the Year
excuse me? When did tools such as the Backstreet Boys become known as artists?
I thought artists created music. These pretty boys just sang and emulated the New Kids On The Block. Anyone who told you differently was selling something.
Natalie Imbruglia didn't convince me that her album was her own artistry rather than a product of her manager and producer.
Italian folk/popster Andrea Bocelli made an American impression, but the fact that no one heard of him until recently will devastate his chances of winning this category.
Again, Fuel deserved a nomination. They made a great showing on the rock charts and Sunburn had many songs that should have grabbed the Academy's attention.
Lauryn Hill will probably win because of all the hype this year, but I think the Dixie Chicks' instrumental performances and songwriting surpass the artistry of Hill.
Overall, the Grammys guarantee disappointment.
GRAMMY NOMINEES
ALBUM OF THE YEAR NOMINEES:
Sheryl Crow - The Globe Sessions
Version 2.0
Lauryn Hill. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Madonna-Ray of Light
Madonna-Roy of Light
Shania Twain-Come on Over
SONG OF THE YEAR NOMINEES:
Aerosmith, I Don't Want to Miss a
Thing — Diane Warren
SONG OF THE YEAR NOMINEES:
Goo Goo Dolls, *Iris* — John Rzeznik
Kirk Franklin, Lean on Me — Kirk Franklin
Celine Dion, My Heart Will Go On — James Horner & Will Jennings
Shania Twinn, You're Still the One — Mane Langs & Shania Twinn
BEST NEW ARTIST NOMINEES:
Backstreet Boys
Andrea Bocelli
Dixie Chicks
Lauryn Hill
Natalie Imbruglia
Son Volt to tour U.S. after finishing album
Versatile group to hit Lawrence tomorrow with Granada show
By Ezra Sykes
Kansan staff write
Jim Boquist thinks Lawrence is great.
And soon he'll be paying a visit.
"There are certain cities and towns that just have a feel to them, and Lawrence does," said Boquist, who plays bass for the band Son Volt.
Son Volt will be performing tomorrow night at the Granada, 1020 Massachusetts St., with opening act Richard Buckner.
Although the band is usually dubbed a folk rock group, Boquist said he couldn't put a specific label on the band's music.
"It runs a gamut really," he said in a phone interview from St Petersburg, Fla., where the band kicked off its current tour. "It goes from folk to rock to jazz to garage rock to Iggy Pop and everything in between."
The band is currently promoting its third album, Wide Swing Tremolo, which was recorded in 1997 and 1998 in an old lingerie warehouse.
Boquist said renting the warehouse gave the band an opportunity to explore more musical styles because it didn't have to worry about paying for studio time.
"It's a natural extension of the first two records, but there was a lot more room for experimentation," Boquist said, describing the band's use of unusual recording techniques. "We were able to mess around because we weren't always watching the clock."
Boquist said although being on the road for long periods of time could be exhausting, after recording the album, he was eager to go on tour.
"By the time you're done in the studio, you're ready to get on the road, but after six months on the road, you're ready to hit the studio again," he said. "They kind of compliment each other. They both have attractions."
Lorette Wyrick, Emporia sophomore, attended a Son Volt concert last fall at the Granada.
"I wasn't familiar with their new album, but the show was enjoyable because their music is all consistent," she said. "It's mellow, rock 'n' roll and very Americana."
"It was interesting to see him perform because his physical presence didn't fit his voice," she said. "It doesn't sound like what you expect it to look like."
Blondie releases new album, hopes reunion isn't a flop
Advance tickets for the show are $12.
- Edited by Clint Hooker
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Research, not sloth, led members of Blondie to kill a few hours in the afternoon watching MTV in a luxury hotel suite.
After 16 years away from the pop music world, these former chart-toppers needed to see what the competition was up to. Not much to hold Chris Stein's attention, it seemed.
"I don't really know any of this stuff," he muttered, "and I don't really have any interest in it, either."
Now it's time to wonder if the pop music world is interested in them.
With a reputation burnished by nostalgia, Blondie has re-formed and released its first album of new material since 1982. Rock reunions are often depressing jokes, but early signs here are encouraging: The first single, *Maria*, entered the British charts at No. 1, and VH1 filmed Blondie's first New York concert appearance for a special that airs Sunday at 9 o'clock.
woman Deborah Harry was a tough girl with pinup looks who could sing, too.
Hits such as Heart of Glass, Rapture and The Tide Is High made Blondie among the most commercially successful bands to emerge from the punk rock scene. The band was engaging eclectic and front-
Money tore them apart. When they weren't making much at the height of success, they turned on each other. Stein was also seriously ill for years with a rare genetic illness, and Harry, then his wife, effectively disappeared to help nurse him back to health.
With artists such as Garbage successfully mining Blondie's territory, Stein thought the time was right for a second try. Blondie is not ashamed to admit it's trying to cash in.
"I thought that if I didn't do it, I would look back in 10 years and say I probably should have done it," Stein said.
Harry, soured by the band's final days, didn't immediately warm to Stein's suggestion.
Disillusioned with the music business, keyboard player Jimmy Destry had spent years working as a contractor. He had renewed his interest in music and, oddly enough, was in England producing a Blondie tribute album when Stein called to talk about a reunion. Drummer Clem Burke had stayed in music, working for Eurythmics and others, and was also willing.
"He needed to work on me for a while," she said. "I
thought it was not a good idea at all. I just didn't want to delve in the past."
Stein's enthusiasm and Harry's pride won her over. She had done some acting, released some poorly received solo albums and sung for the Jazz Passengers, but the work wasn't entirely satisfying.
"I'm very proud of Blondie, the things we did for music," she said. "I thought it was sort of a shame that I couldn't continue my career as Blondie."
Some bad blood lingers. Nigel Harrison and Frank Infante, who joined the original quartet after the first album, aren't involved this time and have sued their former colleagues because of it.
But the passage of time is great for changing perspectives.
"We would do photo sessions in the old days, and the photographers would say, 'Debbie, come here and do some photos by yourself,'" Stein said. "Everybody would start complaining. Now everybody's happy because nobody wants to do the work anymore."
Harry is, after all, synonymous with Blondie for a lot of fans. Her inability to establish a solo career quietly may have proven the point that male band members defensively made in the old days — that they were a group, not a bunch of backup players.
Harry, 53, said she enjoyed hearing women say she had helped encourage them to follow a dream into music.
"Somebody would have done it if not Debbie, but she happened to do it," Stein said. "It was something that was coming along with the rise of feminism in society. Debbie's statement was that she didn't want to be seen as a victim. It was a form of girl power."
"I don't think her singing and her role as a musician was ever discussed in the first time around," Stein said. "Only her attitude was discussed and her stance, how she was acting. And as a singer, she was more than good."
Time also puts Harry's influence in better perspective. She wasn't afraid to use her sexuality in a male-dominated business. That was something new. Stein, 49, remembers an entire chapter of a book on Blondie devoted to a furious attack on Harry for showing a glimpse of her underwear.
It's the men in Blondie, oddly enough, who talk about Harry's influence on women when asked about the band's legacy. Harry instead mentions Rapture, the 1980 hit, which was the first exposure to rap music for many white music fans.
the KU Brazil-Portugal Organization proudly presents the 1999 Brazilian Week
WEDNESDAY- Media presentation Prof. Linda Davis talks about the power of TV networks and mass media in Brazil today. Stauffer-Flint, room 100 - 6pm
in the wake of Madonna and other strong women in music, it seems a lot longer ago than 20 years.
A panel will discuss Brazil's greatest pride and obsession; soccer. Presences confirmed: Professor Antonio Simoes; Sam Pierron and Brad Hallier, former Kansan sports columnists; and Danielle DeGuere, player of the KU soccer team.
THURSDAY - Soccer panel
English Room, Kansas Union - 6pm
FRIDAY - Music festival Professor Walter Clark and students from over the world share their talents playing Brazilian music, from classical to contemporary pop. Alderson Auditorium, Kansas Union - 8pm
CARNAVAL party The one and only Brazilian Carnaval in Lawrence, a 22-year tradition.
plus, on Friday:
Feijoada
(traditional Brazilian
black beans dish)
at the Kansas Union
The Granada, 1020 Mass - 8pm
Brazilian Table in the Kansas Union Lobby THU/FRI 11am-2pm
sponsored by:
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