Glass Animals - Gooey
Last Sunday the biggest and most glamorous event on the musical calendar occurred as just over 25 million people tuned in to watch several thrilling performances and a few "prestigious" awards handed out. The 57th Annual Grammy Awards featured a little bit of everything, from aging veterans rocking out to some Spanish band you've never heard of to Kanye West technically not interrupting the best album award in vintage Yeezy douche bag fashion.
By this point you're probably sick of all the analysis and opinions of this incident so I'll just offer this: Thank You Grammy's for picking the most chilled out, stonerific bro to win the award over Kanye's beloved Beyonce. For if Sam Smith, the odds on favourite, had actually won I can guarantee you this would have been a much bigger deal. Either Sam's tears would've flooded the Staples Center or the rays from his death stare would've burned the house down. And, although I do like Kanye West, I felt that his seemingly complete lack of knowledge of Beck's 20+ year long career quite frustrating and ignorant. A more in depth analysis of the musical genius douche bag sideshow that is Kanye West will occur in the future.
Now most people would agree that the actual Grammy awards are just completely ridiculous. I mean, how can anyone really pick between the albums by Beyonce (R&B), Smith (Pop) and Beck (Soft Indie Rock) when they are so unique and good in their own ways? Quick, name the album that has won the most Grammy's ever... nope not Thriller, not anything by The Beatles... but Santana's Supernatural, the one with that "Smooth" song on it. Surprised? Well you shouldn't be as these awards seem to be mattering less and less every year (I feel like only 6 or 7 were even given out during the broadcast this year), which is why the performances have become the main attraction of the event. In fact, the songs performed that night earned an average 44% sales boost the following week (source: Billboard). There were plenty of great performances this year and here are my top 5:
5.) Eric Church - "Give Me Back My Hometown"
Yes he's country and I'm not the biggest fan of his singing voice but he's an excellent lyricist, great performer and the dude can shred on that guitar. My girlfriend recently got me into him and I'd recommend checking out the album The Outsiders which rocks a lot more than you'd expect.
4.) Beyonce - "Take My Hand, Precious Lord"
She sang the fuck out of this one, period. Opting for the gospel song and personal favourite of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. over last year's extremely sexy "Drunk In Love" with hubby Jay-Z, Bey showed her true range and was true class and beauty.
3.) AC/DC - "Highway To Hell"
The rock Gods are back and rockin' hard. Definitely one of the all time great beer drinkin' and air guitarin' tunes out there and they delivered just how you'd want 'em to. Kinda sloppy, kinda pitchy, but certainly didn't give a fuck and rocked hard. Bonus points for the message to the crowd after the performance that will likely never be used ever again: "The Devil horns are yours to keep, but please put them away for the rest of the show. Thank You."
2.) Beck & Chris Martin - "Heart Is A Drum"
This was just a beautiful performance by two guys who seemed like they were genuinely enjoying the moment and each others' company. I smell a potential future collaboration in the studio.
1.) Hozier & Annie Lennox - "I Put A Spell On You"
Hozie-who? That's sure what I was thinking when the stunning and talented Annie Lennox took the stage part way through his hit "Take Me To Church." From that point on she completely stole the performance, turning in a possessed yet soulful rendition of the Screamin' Jay Hawkins classic "I Put A Spell On You." In just over 3 minutes Annie played the air harmonica, danced with sexy-scary rolling hips and finished eyes ablaze and lungs belting, putting a spell over the entire audience. I sure hope she tours soon because I would pay big money to watch more of that. If not, you can always rewatch that legendary performance below.
Well tomorrow is Valentine's Day and I hope that all the couples out there have something romantic planned. Yes it's a fake holiday invented by a greeting card company in order to increase their profits but so what? A little extra romance never hurts and it's a great chance to do something special for your special someone. The song that I picked for this week, "Gooey" by Glass Animals is an incredibly sexy, lush track. Lead singer Dave Bayley practically whispers the chorus, which becomes sexier and catchier with each listen. The soundscape features sultry keyboard tones, soothing background vocals and trippy drip effects. I recommend checking out their debut album, Zaba, which features more of the same and is brilliant from start to finish.
This week's beer continues with the Valentine's Day theme and is a delicious double chocolate stout from Rogue Ales in Oregon. It oozes sexy with it's use of the lover's candy, chocolate, and has an all red bottle. The beer uses imported Dutch bittersweet chocolate and can be paired well with dessert or any beef if you can't wait.
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