U2 Sweeps Grammys with Last Year's Record

Irish rockers U2 swept the 5 Grammy categories in which they were nominated. Bono and the Boys won Album of the Year and Rock Album of the Year for “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb”, and Song of the Year, Rock Song of the Year and Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for “Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own”. Funny, but stuff on “How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” got them three Grammy awards last year.

“Vertigo,” from the same “Dismantle” disc, was the single that carried the day in 2005, and somehow the Grammy rules allow this kind of thing. “Vertigo” won the Rock Song and Rock Performance awards and the short form video in 2005. Only the real hard-core U2 fans and detractors will remember whether these were deserved. However, a record can’t come out twice, so it sort of grates that U2 could have been nominated this year. Ditto for Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," a piece of genius that came out two years ago.

Of course, this isn’t a knock on the best thing to come out of Ireland since James Joyce, far from it. U2 has managed to do something quite astonishing; the lads have remained relevant twenty five years after starting the band. The Beatles never did, nor did the Who, and the Rolling Stones have wandered of late after setting the standard. Bono’s conscience may bother people from time to time, but there is no denying that the latest album is as good as anything since “Boy.” Those lucky enough to have seen that tour, back when the world was young, were treated to something very rare, seeing history in the making. Those who catch the band live today get a band at roughly its artistic peak.

No, it is more a case that in the award show season, the Grammys are the least lovable. As with any election, the result depends upon who the voters are. In the case of the Grammy, they are, according to the Recording Academy’s rules, “professionals with creative or technical credits on six commercially released tracks (or their equivalent). These may include vocalists, conductors, arrangers, and other fields directly related to the creative or technical process of producing recordings.” There is an inherent bias here in favor of a conservative aesthetic. Thus, Green Day of the 1990s and today gets awards while the Clash of the 1970s and 1980s never did.

Just how relevant the Grammys are in music today is best seen not in who won or lost, nor in who performed with whom. The real measure is in the Nielsen ratings. The cattle-call “American Idol” had a 17.4 rating/26 share while the Grammy’s got a 12.3 rating/19 share. Head-to-head at 8 pm Eastern, Idol’s 27 share crushed the 16 share for the Grammy broadcast.

The Danish flag appears here as a protest against the violence being done to the free press of that country and elsewhere by those offended by some cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed, peace be unto him. A perceived insult is not an excuse for intimidation and violence, even in the name of the Creator. One cannot insult God, only small-minded men who falsely claim to speak for Him. © Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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