analysis: grammys stay relevant

I was pleasantly surprised by this year's crop of Grammy nominations, at least as they pertain to electronic dance music. With M.I.A. (above), Diplo (as a producer) and Radiohead in the major-category mix, you have progressive, visionary folks repping digital music and DJ culture.

In the dance categories, there were the usual lames (Madonna and Rihanna in Best Dance Recording; Cyndi Lauper and Kylie Minogue in Best Electronic/Dance Album; Madonna featuring Justin Timberlake in Best Remixed Recording). But there were some solid selections, including Daft Punk for single ("Recording") and album. While the duo's work feels ten years old (at least for those of us who were there the first time), and while the Daft Punk nominations stem from a live album that was okay, this does reflect the resurgence of the Daft Punk sound in club-land and in pop culture (Kanye, et. al.). Same goes for Justice in the remix category. Overrated? Yes. But they totally reflect what's happening in club-land; and so you can't say the Grammy folks are out of touch, at least not on this note. (Heck, compared to DJ Magazine, with its same-old, spiky haired Dutch trance DJs continuing to rule its less-and-less relevant Top 100 DJs poll, the dance Grammy nominations this year appear to be downright visionary). The same goes for Lady Gaga and Brazilian Girls in the album category. I'm not exactly a huge fan of either. But are they fresh and sort of rep what's happening now? Absolutely.

And then there's Sam Sparro (Best Dance Recording), who's a particular point of pride for the 'blogga. When I wrote about him last year I knew he was going to be a star. It's amazing to watch someone like that go from having a lot of friends on MySpace to global recogition in little more than a year. Sparro is extremely talented and has been training for stardom all his life, so for him it was probably a given. On a personal note, it's also nice to see someone like Morgan Page (Best Remixed Recording) in the mix. He's another talent I wrote about and who continues to live up to his promise. Page represents a new generation of dance music producers who are as technically saavy with software as they are musically inclined (I would put the likes of Deadmau5 in that group too). Speaking of Mr. Mau5 - he gets a nod for his work on said Page track. Again, totally spot-on in terms of what's happening club-land. And, again, another subject of my coverage. Moby? Solid album (here's my take). This year he's assumed the Chemical Brothers' traditional role as the heavy hitting EDM veteran in the bunch, and that could give Moby some advantage come award time (Feb. 8 via CBS). Hot Chip? Eh. Not my cup of tea, but also repping a strong dance-rock strain in dance music that started with the rise of LCD Soundsystem.

But what about Madonna, Rihanna, Minogue and all the other pop that's been parked in the dance categories (as usual), probably because there were few other categories that would have them? I'm optimistic that, come voting time, the Recording Academy will see past them and choose some of the more innovative music makers on the list.