We are now less than seven days out from the 2009 Grammy Awards, the most important night in music that few people truly care about. We wanted to do something to pay tribute to this great institution that, once a year, reminds us that long past their prime artists are still making records people enjoy. And so, Idolator is proud to announce the 2009 Grammy Awards Awards, recognizing the most Grammy-esque things the Grammys have done in the past year.
There are two reasons that I’m glad I kept putting off my treatise on the very unfortunate Bob Dylan vs. will.i.am smackdown in honor of Pepsi: First, MTV News’ James Montgomery pretty much summed up my thoughts on the overall “the present is kinda crappy, let’s just OD on sugar” feel of the ad; and second, I found out that the Coca-Cola-sponsored collaboration between Cee-Lo, Patrick Stump, Janelle Monae, Brendon Urie, Travis McCoy, and Butch Walker had debuted online today. Guess which one is about 50 million times more pleasurable to these ears? I’ll give you a hint: It’s the one without Shrek in its attached video. Embeds of both tracks after the jump.
A few people are up in arms about Bob Dylan licensing “Blowin’ In The Wind” for an ad in the UK, what with the song being all iconic and such. But really, this shouldn’t ruffle as many feathers as it has; Dylan, after all, licensed “The Times They Are A-Changin'” to a Canadian bank over a decade ago, and he’s lent other songs to Cadillac, Victoria’s Secret, and Apple. If anything, the piece of Dylan licensing that may debut during the Super Bowl this Sunday is way more offensive to these non-Boomer ears, thanks to it bringing one of the greatest, yet still most annoying, beneficiaries of the Barack Obama Presidential campaign into the mix:
ARTISTS: will.i.am, David Foster, Faith Hill, Seal, Bono, and Mary J. Blige
TITLE: “America’s Song”
WEB DEBUT: Jan. 19, 2009
The elections must be an exciting time for the news networks because they get to trot out all manner of gadgets and broadcast wizardry that they’ll probably never get to use again. It’s like they got to go shopping at Skymall for just one day! Fox News had Bill Hemmer’s Minority Report-like touchscreen board, and NBC showcased a “virtual studio” wherein poor Anne Curry stood in a green room while some producer whipped stats around her. But the neatest–and most useless–of these studio tricks was CNN’s hologram projections, wherein reporters and others were given the Princess Leia treatment.
What’s Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.I.Am up to when he’s not thinking about how his solo album stiffed at stores (hate to say I told you so) or working on another song about how dreamy Barack Obama is? He’s got at least two things up his sleeve, and after the jump we present them both in an easy-to-digest form.
I know many can’t stand the guy, but I enjoy the work of Flo Rida. Sure, I doubt I could quote a single line from one of his four push tracks’ verses, but I love the way his speedy delivery allows me to focus on dance beats and chorus hooks. More »
I was cleaning the upstairs bathroom and listening to BBC Radio One’s Chart Show on Sunday, and throughout the program the hosts were speculating where “Heartbreaker” would end up. “Heartbreaker,” I thought? By whom? Turns out it was will.i.am, who while redeeming himself slightly with the “American Boy” beat hasn’t done much with his solo disc (should’ve taken my advice, pal). Thankfully, the track was held to No. 4 for the second week, although whether justice was served might depend on your opinion of the Ting Tings. [Radio 1]
One crappy video for your candidate of choice: Understandable. You’re enthusiastic, and for at least the moment, you can round up a few celebrities to talk over a eighth-rate beat. Who wouldn’t do the same in your shoes? But a second video? Now you’ve gone too far, pal.
