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Handicapping the 2018 Grammys: Who should win and who will win

The 2018 Grammys will be a hip-hop, rap and R&B event with not a single rock category scheduled for the telecast. All those awards will be given out ahead of time. Let’s give those nominees a little analysis.

Best Rock Performance
(For new vocal or instrumental solo, duo/group or collaborative rock recordings.)

• You Want It Darker
Leonard Cohen
Track from: You Want It Darker

• The Promise
Chris Cornell

• Run
Foo Fighters
Track from: Concrete And Gold

• No Good
Kaleo
Track from: A/B

• Go To War
Nothing More

 

This should be a no-brainer. The Foos are peaking (again) and Dave remains immensely likable. The Academy wouldn’t have wasted much time marking an X next to “Foo Fighters.”

Should win: The Foo Fighters

Will win: The Foo Fighters

 

Best Metal Performance
(For new vocal or instrumental solo, duo/group or collaborative metal recordings.)

• Invisible Enemy
August Burns Red

• Black Hoodie
Body Count
Track from: Bloodlust

• Forever
Code Orange
Track from: Forever

• Sultan’s Curse
Mastodon
Track from: Emperor Of Sand

• Clockworks
Meshuggah
Track from: The Violent Sleep Of Reason

This one is a toss-up because you know that the Academy doesn’t give a shit about metal. They’ll vote for the most recognizable name.

Should win: Meshuggah

Will win: Mastodon

 

Best Rock Song
(A Songwriter(s) Award. Includes Rock, Hard Rock and Metal songs. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.)

• Atlas, Rise!
James Hetfield & Lars Ulrich, songwriters (Metallica)
Track from: Hardwired…To Self-Destruct

• Blood In The Cut
JT Daly & Kristine Flaherty, songwriters (K.Flay)
Track from: Every Where Is Some Where

• Go To War
Ben Anderson, Jonny Hawkins, Will Hoffman, Daniel Oliver, David Pramik & Mark Vollelunga, songwriters (Nothing More)

• Run
Foo Fighters, songwriters (Foo Fighters)
Track from: Concrete And Gold

• The Stage
Zachary Baker, Brian Haner, Matthew Sanders, Jonathan Seward & Brooks Wackerman, songwriters (Avenged Sevenfold)
Track from: The Stage

Although they’re nominated, Avenged Sevenfold won’t be showing up because they’re pissed that rock isn’t being represented on the Grammy broadcast. They probably realize that they won’t win, anyway, because they’re up against the Foo Fighters.  But I’ve got a feeling that things will not go according to plan. I can see the #MeToo movement pushing people to vote for the only woman in this category,. Which wouldn’t be bad because “Blood in the Cut” is a terrific song.

Should win: Foo Fightets

Will win: K.Flay

 

Best Rock Album
(For albums containing at least 51% playing time of new rock, hard rock or metal recordings.)

• Emperor Of Sand
Mastodon

• Hardwired…To Self-Destruct
Metallica

• The Stories We Tell Ourselves
Nothing More

• Villains
Queens Of The Stone Age

• A Deeper Understanding
The War On Drugs

Personally, I’d like to see this one go to either Queens of the Stone Age or The War on Drugs, but the award will definitely go to Metallica because Hardwired was a big success. It’s hard to argue against that.

Should win: Metallica

Will win: Metallica

 

Best Alternative Music Album
(Vocal or Instrumental.)

• Everything Now
Arcade Fire

• Humanz
Gorillaz

• American Dream
LCD Soundsystem

• Pure Comedy
Father John Misty

• Sleep Well Beast
The National

 Another tough one as all of these records are very good. Going with my gut, I’ll say…
Should win: The National
Will win: Arcade Fire (based on past Grammy track record if nothing else)

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 38019 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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