When “indie” pop sensation fun. was announced as Best New Artist at this year’s Grammy Awards, something literally didn’t add up right.
The question going through many heads was — or very well should have been — “How does a band that’s been around for over a decade be declared the Best New Artist for 2013?”
In fact, the artists behind Fun. would probably be the first ones to propose that question. The only stronger proponents of the other solid yet shortchanged nominees for Best New Artist were the award winners themselves.
In accepting the award, the first thing fun. lead singer Nate Ruess did was to suggest that the others on the list should easily have won over his group. To emphasize a point, Ruess let in on an apparently little-known secret about he and the rest of the group. “We’ve been doing this for 12 years, and I just gotta say that we could not do this without the help of all the fans that we’ve had keeping us afloat for the last 12 years,” he said.
Rather than suggesting which artist should have won, here’s a short explanation of how any other nominated artist should have taken the trophy over fun.
The Lumineers: 2012 was their year. This young group tells an indie success story, exploding in popularity and reaching No. 2 on the Billboard charts for their self-titled debut album, which they released a mere 10 months ago in April 2012.
Hunter Hayes: 21-year-old Hunter Hayes’ name exploded shortly after the release of his self-titled debut album in late 2011. For Hayes and his long career, it’s also been a long time coming. It was with his recent album release, though, that he was signed to Atlantic Records and topped Billboard Charts for the first time.
Frank Ocean: Ocean introduced a fresh wave of hip-hop that broke in July 2012 with his debut studio album, “Channel Orange.” He was instantly recognized for the release, and several of his singles have topped the Billboard Hot 100 over the past six months.
Alabama Shakes: The powerful female vocals and driving guitar leads of Brittany Howard were a treasured discovery for scores of people last year, following the release of Alabama Shakes’ debut, “Boys & Girls,” on April 9, 2012. Since then, this quartet of Alabama natives have made quite a name for themselves, their album peaking at Number 8 on the U.S. Billboard 200 last year.
In short, every other contender for Best New Artist was…well, new. With two albums since 2008, not to mention two other bands (The Format, Steel Train) circulating the scene since 2001 under different names but common members, fun. is clearly the choice that doesn’t seem to fit the category.
With songs such as “We Are Young” and “Some Nights” released in 2012, fun. has with no doubt blown up in a way that’s almost unprecedented. But these were not the first of noteworthy fun. songs. What about “At Least I’m Not as Sad (As I Used to Be),” released in 2009? And “All The Pretty Girls” of the same year?
In particular, fun. has caught some major attention with its single “We Are Young”, which has practically become the college student’s anthem over this past year. For that, they were deserving of the Grammy for “Song of the Year.”
But for a band that claims to have been around a dozen years and released two full-lengths since 2008, young is the polar opposite characterization belonging to this group of artists.
LL Cool J hosted the 55th Grammy Awards on Sunday night. On Monday morning, it’s highly unlikely that anyone will remember a single word he said.
The rapper and sometimes-actor opened the ceremony with a sentimental monologue about how honored he was to host for a second time, and how meaningful the Grammys are to the music world.
“A Grammy isn’t just a shiny trophy to hold on to,” he said. “A Grammy is a dream come true.”
As the night went on, his sole job seemed to be promoting the #Grammys on Twitter by putting a hashtag in front of every other word he said. He spent way too much time straight-up reading tweets from viewers at home and adding his own predictable commentary.
Watching his generic, boring hosting job has to make you wonder if the Grammys even need a host. While LL Cool J hosted the awards show last year, he was the first official host since Queen Latifah in 2005.
As history proves, the Grammys could easily do without a host and instead be run by the multitude of award presenters.
If a host is absolutely needed, any number of comedians or celebrities would have been more interesting choices than LL Cool J.
Sure, LL Cool J has years of experience in the music industry, and was given the chance to express his passion and excitement for music every time he was on screen for longer than 15 seconds. He was able to get personal and relate to the Grammy winners by talking about Michael Jackson being his musical inspiration and the time he gave his own Grammys to his grammy.
Yet, as a host, his performance often fell a bit flat. It was forgettable.
Maybe it’s for the best. While a comedian would have been an infinitely more entertaining host, it might have detracted from the real purpose of the night. People tune in to see performances from top musicians and their favorite artists recognized for their work. No one watches the Grammys to hear a host reading scripted jokes and cliched sentiments from a teleprompter.
The 2013 Grammys in Los Angeles featured some cool music. The hats that many performers brought to the stage, though, were interesting. Here's a look at the best and worst of the night.
-Host LL Cool J (or, Ladies Love Cool James) rocked a black kangol cap that, while it worked for him, I fear perpetuates the myth that such head wear is something everyone can pull off. We've all seen that guy on the street who's wearing one and looking around at how many people are looking at his hat. Thanks to LL, we'll probably see more of these people. This is not good.
-The Lumineers showed up with their standard retro look, complete with the suspenders and fedoras. I can appreciate such hats in this context. It's part of their act and they just look right with a song like "Ho Hey."
-Every time I see Bruno Mars wearing a trilby hat like the black one he wore on Sunday night, all I can think is how he reminds me of that kid I'm sure we all remember from our respective freshman year dorms. He sat on the hallway window sill and played his guitar all day. Then when he realized no one cared he went down to the lobby. That's Bruno Mars. The guy just tries too hard, something I think is definitely reflected in his hat choices.
-Prince can get away with wearing just about anything, I guess because when your stage name is "Prince," you can pretty much do whatever you want. That hood/suit combo was...something, though.
-Chuck D was sporting a Pirates baseball cap. That will always earn high marks in my book.
-An unidentified guy in the crowd was wearing a floppy hat. Now, I appreciate a good floppy hat as much as the next guy. Really, there's no better dome piece to hit the water with on a bright summer day or to shade your face in the stands at a baseball game. But sitting on the floor at the Grammys? You'd think it would limit your view, right?
Collectively, the Grammy performances have been awesome.
Rihanna and fun. were both definitely noteworthy - not to mention Jack White's flawless set. The Black Keys were awesome, as well, while country music seems to have a stronger pull in this year's Grammys than in past years.
I'd really like to see a stronger indie presence. Although neither won an award, The Lumineers and Alabama Shakes are both noteworthy groups and I'm glad they got recognized with nominations.
Overall, the collaborations and performances have been awesome and it is great to see that Dan and Pat [of The Black Keys] are taking a trophy back to Ohio.
"The Band" tribute was really, really strong, too.
Passion Pit should have been up for more things. "Gossamer" was certainly one of the best albums of the year, in my opinion.
Meanwhile, Frank Ocean's performance was a little disappointing. He seemed slightly off-key the entire time which is odd for someone as talented as him.
The Album of the Year going to Mumford and Sons blew me away. That album was a bit of a bust in my mind. Really surprising. I thought Jack of fun. had that one. Totally blindsided.
With the 55th Grammy Awards commencing at 8 p.m. tonight, senior music reporter Chris Calabrese predicts who he believes is most apt to bring home a gilded gramophone in the most prominent categories:
1. Record of the Year
“Lonely Boy” was the first single off of The Black Keys’ most recent album, “El Camino.” The production was certainly experimental, as the entire album was co-written and produced by hip-hop beat man Danger Mouse. The team created an interesting sound and I would like to see them win, but I think the award is going to “We Are Young” by the indie pop band, Fun. The way that the album was written and recorded tames the band’s colorful sound in the best way possible. The piano ballad quickly turns into a tribal chorus, with synthesized bass and stadium rock guitar chords. It’s an epic anthem seemingly written on a drunken walk home.
2. Album of the Year
I believe that Jack White deserves it 100 percent. He is my personal favorite guitarist, drummer, singer, rapper and producer. White’s album “Blunderbuss” is the epitome of a solo album seeing that he wrote every part for every instrument on every track, all while producing the album under his own record label, Third Man Records. Jack White is one of the most highly acclaimed rock legends of our time and “Blunderbuss” is an incredible album, but I don’t think he will win this Grammy. I think Frank Ocean will win this award. Although I am an "Odd Future" fan and I really do like Ocean’s album “Channel Orange,” I think it is one of the most overrated albums of the year. His sound is a minimalistic R&B when it is all said and done. No one does the genre like he does, but I don't think it deserves all of the acclaim it has received.
3. Song of the Year
The nominations for this category this year are absolute trash. “The A Team” is a cutesy acoustic serenade that I would deem a one-hit wonder. The track “Adorn” is by Miguel, another R&B artist whose success I don’t understand. It’s nothing too new. “Call Me Maybe” may have ruled the radio waves and the charts, but I could not see it winning this award. I think Carly Rae has a chance in the Best Pop Solo Performance but not here. “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” was popular or bit too, but I don’t think it will win anything. This award, I believe, will go to Fun. for “We Are Young.” It seems like the only song of substance on the list, not to mention that it is a genuinely great song.
4. Best New Artist
This is definitely my favorite award because it shows viewers where pop music is going. Each of these groups is great in my opinion, with the obvious exception of Hunter Hayes. I would love to see either Alabama Shakes or The Lumineers win this one. They both adopt that folk or blues sound that has made its way into the top forty recently. Both bands created outstanding debut albums and I do not see either of them fading away anytime soon, but neither of them will win this award. This one, I believe, is going to be a photo finish between Frank Ocean and Fun. Ultimately, I think Fun. is going home with the Grammy. Fun. has a very powerful sound, reminiscent of Queen. The band has a ton of depth: powerful vocals, epic instrumentals, meaty rhythms, catchy melodies and lyrical anthems of youth and individuality. The group, in my opinion, encompasses an important and long-lasting band for our generation.
5. Best Rock Album
This is one of the hardest categories for me to predict. I think that both “The 2nd Law” by Muse and “MyloXyloto” by Coldplay can be ruled out. This one is going to be a tight one between Jack White, The Black Keys and Bruce Springsteen. The Boss pulled off the Album of the Year award from Rolling Stone magazine for his album “Wrecking Ball” and The Black Keys certainly have a chance with their success with “El Camino,” but I want Jack White to run away with this one. Jack needs to win something and I think he has the best chance in this category. “Blunderbuss” was too good of an album to go unappreciated by the Grammys.
6. Best Pop Vocal Album
This is a tough one to predict. I would like to see Florence + the Machine take this one but I don't think they will. I think that this award is split between “Some Nights” by Fun. and “Overexposed” by Maroon 5. Both bands had exceptional years, but I believe that this one is going to Fun. Just as Adele dominated the Grammys last year, I think that Fun. will dominate this year. The Grammys certainly have a tendency to pick favorites, but in this case, I believe that Fun. deserves some recognition for its outstanding come up.
As part of the Mary E. Rolling Reading Series, novelist and Penn State professor of English William J. Cobb will be reading selections from his newest novel entitled “The Bird Saviors” at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Foster Auditorium.
Published in the spring of 2012, “The Bird Saviors” is a near-future vision set in the Sangre de Cristo mountains of Colorado. It addresses contemporary issues including severe dust storms in the wake of climate change, economic collapse and the outbreak and spread of a virus.
Cobb served as the director of the MFA program from 2009-2012, and he currently teaches ENG 414: Advanced Fiction Writing as well as a senior seminar in Western American fiction at Penn State. He cites authors such as Cormac McCarthy and Vladimir Nabokov as major influences on him as a writer.
Cobb spoke with The Daily Collegian on Wednesday about life as an author as well as a full-time professor at Penn State.
Q: You wrote “The Bird Saviors” at the same time that you were serving as Penn State’s MFA director. How do you strike a balance between the two?
A: Yeah, it’s hard. I think, like a lot of professors, you always have your project that you’re working on. You try to get your work done in the summers or any time off that you have, but you can’t just write only during those times. There were times when I would have to write a lot during the time that I was MFA director. How do you balance it? Well, sometimes you just don’t answer the emails (laughs).
Q: How are the works of fiction that you publish a product of the work you do as a faculty member at Penn State?
A: In the early stages of writing a book, which for me are for me the only enjoyable part, you’re just making up stuff and you get totally enraptured with the story. When I’m doing that, I have a lot of ideas. If I have an idea in mind I go ahead and write it here at the office.
Q: “Goodnight, Texas” is set in Texas, where you’re from, and “The Bird Saviors” is set in Colorado where you also live. How do you incorporate your own personal experiences into your novels?
A: The last two novels have almost nothing to do with my life but with “The Bird Saviors,” there’s an angle about a polygamous family and a polygamous father in the story. Where I lived in Colorado did have a big polygamous community. So that’s not about me, but it’s about something I witnessed in Colorado.
Landscape is also a big part of the story, and I love that landscape out there. In that way, it’s a part of my life.
Q: How did you get your start in novel writing?
A: Like a lot of writers, I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was a kid. I remember writing songs in school and when I got into high school, I was the typical misfit loner that smarter kids tend to be. I read a whole lot and thought that would be a cool thing to do trying to write a book.
Q: What is your approach to teaching creative fiction?
A: One thing I do that’s a little different is I don’t use any writing guides such as “How to Write Fiction.” I ask students to read authors of contemporary fiction because I think that’s how I learned to write. You read a bunch of good writers and see what they have done. You pick up all their tricks, and hopefully you learn what makes good writing by studying the best writers rather than writing guides.
Q: There are many aspiring writers here at Penn State? What is your message to them as they pursue a similar path in writing and publishing their work?
A: Write as much as possible, read as much as possible, and never give up.
Another episode of the “Bad Girls Club” aired last night on Oxygen and one bad girl who came in with a bang slowly lost her fuse.
Janae entered the house drinking her weight and yelling at everyone. But soon she went silent. After Valentina and the blonde firecracker, Nicole, silenced Janae with their fists, Janae began to cry.
All day.
If you’re a bad girl you don’t cry on the second day in the house –– suck it up.
Valentina gives us a poor excuse for beating Janae. It’s getting easier to characterize Valentina; the typical nosy girl who sticks herself in business that doesn’t involve her.
Claiming that Janae lashed out at her, Valentina swings at Janae for no reason. It seems as if we’ve identified the first fake girl in the house. Watch out ladies.
Shannon also cries this week! After calling Valentina a name, the house turns on Shannon, causing her to cry. Boo hoo.
But the virus of fakeness strikes Shannon as well when she tells America that she cried not out of sadness but out of anger.
Shannon and ginger Alicia try to show the nation just why they’re called bad girls.
Will the cry-babies of the house go home next week? The girls of the house are certainly trying to get Shannon and Janae out. It seems as though this season’s bad girls are made up of closet cowards who cover up their insecurities with bad girl tendencies.
If you missed this episode, don’t worry, an encore presentation will air on Oxygen Wednesday at 10 p.m.
The illusive "Bad Girls Club" has hit the nation once again on Oxygen. For those of you who don’t know about this show filled with ridiculous antics, here’s a bit about it.
“Bad Girls” is the one of many shows on television where women are acclaimed for social mishaps and bad behavior. The gist of the show includes loud mouth women who drink excessively, yell extensively and fight continuously.
There have been nine seasons thus far, each one more ridiculous and drama filled than the last.
The seasons basically run the same: girl meets girl, girl is nice to girl, girl is mean to girl, girl hits girl. So why does a society filled with seemingly educational elitists watch this; why has the show lasted for 10 seasons?
Easy. It’s entertaining.
There is no other show on television that inspires excitement and incites anger all at the same time.
This season is much the same as the previous ones, except the girls look better and the action takes place in the ATL.
Oxygen’s enticing and highly addictive reality show “Bad Girls Club” aired last Tuesday for its season premiere.
As millions of people watched the crazy antics, we all could not get enough of the hilarity and drama that ensued.
Unlike past seasons, most of the girls this season are pretty – for the most part – and seemed cordial at first.
But the drama quickly began. The girls of season 10 are especially catty and petty, characteristics that are sure to make this season one of the greats. Fights occurred on the first night.
Watch out for Janae; this southern woman loves to argue and cause trouble wherever she goes. The girls in the house are already beginning to hate her, especially Nicole, the blonde tomboy, and Valentina, the Nigerian Punisher.
As well, there’s another lesbian in the house. She’s the second Zuly (BGC Season 9) of the house and is already on the prowl for Janae.
From first impression, it seems as though Paula, the bad girl from Chicago, Janae, Nicole and Valentina will be the explosive characters this season. But who knows, it’s usually the quiet ones who cause the most trouble.
This season is sure to be a firecracker. Airing in the dirty south of “HotLanta,” the drama that will occur will be entertaining and infamous at best.
Don’t worry, if you missed it, new episodes air every Tuesday at 10 p.m.
After taking a six-year hiatus from his music career, Justin Timberlake is back and better than ever with his new single “Suit & Tie.”
The release of the single coincided with Timberlake’s announcement via an open letter to his fans that he will release a new album, “The 20/20 Experience,” later this year.
Although Timberlake has enjoyed success in his acting and producing career, it is nice to see him back to doing what he does best –– singing.
While not as catchy as past Timberlake songs, “Suit & Tie” has a very smooth, almost hypnotic sound that works well with Timberlake’s smooth falsetto. The up-tempo track heavily features horns and harps in the background, which provides a refreshing twist on the typical R&B style.
The lyrics, in typical Timberlake fashion, are not exactly philosophical. As the title would suggest, the song is quite literally about putting on a suit and a tie and showing off on the dance floor.
The song starts off slowly, but after a mysterious voice asks, “Are you ready JT?”, Timberlake kicks it into high gear.
With lines such as “I can’t wait to get you on the floor, good-looking” and
“As long as I got my suit and tie, imma leave it all on the floor tonight”, this song is perfect to listen to while getting ready to go out for the night.
The song abruptly transitions from Timberlake’s vocals into an unexpected verse from Jay-Z near the end of the song. The rap seems a little bit out of place, but it is hard to complain when two powerhouse artists such as Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake come together for something like this.
If this single is any indication of what the rest of Timberlake’s album will be like, fans are in for a long-awaited treat.
The Golden Globe-winning series “Girls” has finally returned with another season of failing relationships and professional confusion.
In the first episode of the season, aptly titled “It’s About Time,” Hannah Horvath (Lena Dunham) announces that, "this year is going to be different."
Viewers are introduced to a new character, Sandy, played by comedian, actor and musician Donald Glover. And with his presence more confusion about Hannah’s ex-lover Adam (Adam Driver) arises.
Hannah’s gay ex-boyfriend Elijah (Andrew Rannells) is now her new roommate and because Hannah has convinced herself that she is truly a different person this setup works.
But, as per usual, viewers shouldn’t believe Hannah so quickly. Adam, who got hit by a truck last season, leaves Hannah feeling responsible and thus she spends a big portion of the episode at Adam’s side, in typical Hannah fashion.
Soon into the episode and as a declaration of how much they enjoy living with each other, Elijah and Hannah decide to throw a housewarming party but things quickly go downhill, which after 10 episodes in season one of “Girls,” is to be expected.
Shoshanna (ZosiaMamet), now deflowered, has her own issues that the episode addresses, leaving Marnie as the only character left out of the realm of complicated love lives.
So naturally, a reappearance of her ex-boyfriend Charlie (Christopher Abbott) timely emerges, setting the stage for an awkward sexual encounter -- just not with whom viewers would expect.
The whimsical and now-wed Jessa also makes a short appearance in the final minutes of the episode, letting the audience know that if no other characters are happy, she certainly is.
Thus, the great deal of changes that happened to the “twentysomethings" within the constraints of the 30-minute episode makes it seem that viewers can expect an exciting season to come from the Greenpoint girls.
