You Reel Me Out Then You Cut the String

I don't really put much stock into the Grammys. Occasionally an act that with some legitimate critical acclaim will get a nod as far as nominations go, but the winners are usually unit movers or older classic acts. I happened to catch to tail end of this year's show last night. I knew that Radiohead had been nominated for Album of the Year, so I wanted to see if by some freak chance they would get it.

Nope. They got "Steely Danned", again. Robert Plant and Allison Krauss won for their T. Bone Burnett produced record. At least it wasn't Coldplay.

This was the third time Radiohead had been nominated for this category and lost. 1998 they were nominated for Ok Computer and lost to Bob Dylan. I'm not too heartbroken about that since Time Out of Mind was really well-received. The really offensive snub came in the form of Steely Dan beating out Kid A in 2001. I remember watching the tepid applause as they got up to except the award (though I may have been projecting).

Thankfully we live in the age of You Tube and I don't have sit through the seven hour show to see a good performance. Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood performed "15 Step" with the USC marching band (love the part where the kids get to yell). Ironically, they were introduced by Gwyneth Paltrow, who is married to the lead guy in Coldplay, a band that wishes it were as artistic as Radiohead and as "important" as U2.