Monday Roundup Mix
featuring some grammys predictions
Hi from Charleston where two inches of snow shut down the entire city for a good portion of last week!
Listening: Honestly, I did not listen to much music over my snow days, so just a short roundup of new things I liked from Victoria Canal, Lord Huron (with spoken word by Kristen Stewart?), Amber Mark, and more:
Watching: I talk Saturday Night Live a lot because whether or not you think it’s funny, it is still culturally relevant ESPECIALLY to the celebrity PR machine. Timothée Chalamet did double duty on SNL this past weekend as part of his campaign for a Best Actor win at the upcoming Academy Awards. For his two musical performances, he played Bob Dylan songs. I’m hesitant to call them “covers” because it does feel like cosplay at this point.
I really liked A Complete Unknown - I think the movie does a great job of painting Dylan as both an incredibly important artist and an incredibly big jerk - and I do think this is an interesting way to campaign for an Oscar. Chalamet obviously cares a lot about Dylan, and I liked seeing this “modernized” take on his music. But I don’t know, I guess I’d just rather… watch Bob Dylan play Bob Dylan songs on SNL?
Is it enough to win him an Oscar? Time will tell!
Predicting: Speaking of awards! The Grammys are this coming Sunday. I made some predictions last year, and all of them were wrong, but why not try again! Here’s a breakdown of the nominees in the Big Four categories- my predicted winners (and some commentary) are in bold:
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
“Cowboy Carter,” Beyoncé [Beyoncé should already have this award for either Lemonade or Renaissance, and I feel like she will win here as a sort of correction. The Beyoncé Bowl may have sealed the deal.]
“Brat,” Charli XCX [My choice for what I’d like to see win, but probably won’t…]
“Hit Me Hard and Soft,” Billie Eilish [The Grammys really love Billie and this seems like a possible winner too.]
“The Tortured Poets Department,” Taylor Swift [If this wins, I may have to return my Swiftie Card. Frankly, if Taylor wins anything in these categories, I may have to return my card.]
“New Blue Sun,” André 3000
“Short n’ Sweet,” Sabrina Carpenter
“Djesse Vol. 4,” Jacob Collier
“The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess,” Chappell Roan
RECORD OF THE YEAR [the award for artist behind and production of a song]
“Espresso,” Sabrina Carpenter [I think this will (and should) win! A definitive song of the year.]
“Birds of a Feather,” Billie Eilish
“Texas Hold ‘Em,” Beyoncé
“Now and Then,” The Beatles
“360,” Charli XCX
“Not Like Us,” Kendrick Lamar
“Good Luck, Babe!” Chappell Roan
“Fortnight,” Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone
SONG OF THE YEAR [the award for songwriting and composition]
“Birds of a Feather” — Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas, songwriters (Billie Eilish) [I think this will win, the Grammys loveeee Billie and Finneas. She has won this award twice including last year for “What Was I Made For?”]
“Good Luck, Babe!” — Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, Daniel Nigro & Justin Tranter, songwriters (Chappell Roan) [I would love for this to win as it includes my favorite line of the year, “you’d have to stop the world just to stop the feeling,” but seems like a stretch.]
“Not Like Us” — Kendrick Lamar, songwriter (Kendrick Lamar) [This would be a fun win!]
“A Bar Song (Tipsy)” — Sean Cook, Jerrel Jones, Joe Kent, Chibueze Collins Obinna, Nevin Sastry & Mark Williams, songwriters (Shaboozey)
“Die With a Smile” — Dernst Emile II, James Fauntleroy, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars & Andrew Watt, songwriters (Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars)
“Fortnight” — Jack Antonoff, Austin Post & Taylor Swift, songwriters
(Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone)“Please Please Please” — Amy Allen, Jack Antonoff & Sabrina Carpenter, songwriters (Sabrina Carpenter)
“Texas Hold ‘Em” — Brian Bates, Beyoncé, Elizabeth Lowell Boland, Megan Bülow, Nate Ferraro & Raphael Saadiq, songwriters (Beyoncé)
BEST NEW ARTIST
Chappell Roan [I think Chappell will and should win!]
Doechii [I would also be super into a Doechii win here, but this feels less likely.]
Benson Boone
Sabrina Carpenter
Khruangbin
Raye
Shaboozey
Teddy Swims
Tune in next week when I admit all my predictions were wrong!
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