On Monday, Feb. 2, we lamented the lack of experimentation in the 2015 Song of the Year category, and there is not much to be excited about in the Best Rock Song category, either. Album of the Year rivulet "Blue Moon" -- from Beck's Morning Phase -- is one of the favorites, along with Paramore's "Ain't It Fun" and Jack White's "Lazaretto." Who should win and who will win at the Grammys?
We'll break down each track below, but first the nominees:
- "Ain't It Fun" written by Hayley Williams and Taylor York (performed by Paramore) and culled from the album Paramore.
- "Blue Moon" written by Beck Hansen (performed by Beck)
- "Fever" written by D. Aeurbach, B. Burton and P. Carney (performed by The Black Keys) and pulled from the album Turn Blue.
- "Gimme Something Good" written by Ryan Adams (performed by Ryan Adams)
- "Lazaretto" written by Jack White III (performed by Jack White) and featured on the album Lazaretto.
Paramore leaned more toward straight pop than hard rock on this Top 10 hit. Hayley Williams is a sweet audio personality with bit of kick to her delivery, and the combo works perfectly on "Ain't It Fun," an athem for the young women caught up in the bright lights of New York/Los Angeles/Chicago/general major city.
It is sort of like the comedown from Taylor Swift's "Welcome to New York," with an outro -- "Don't go crying / To your momma / When you're on your own in the big world" -- that is deceptively upbeat.
Beck returned to his wildly popular Sea Change sound on the new record, and the results were mostly solid. "Blue Moon" is not special, per se, but it is a good example of a strong songwriter cranking a double to left field.
This whole "Beck is nominated for stuff" is the typical Grammy attempt to endear itself to the audience of people who actually have nuanced opinions on music. It is not working.
The Black Keys, meanwhile, have settled into a groove, which is not necessarily a good thing. "Fever" is not particularly inspiring or notable. It is just "the next single" in a line of BK songs that have become increasingly predictable.
When Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney officially flipped the "mainstream" switch with 2010's Brothers, the results were great. It was a solid example of a band lending a more radio-ready sound to their product in hopes of international superstardom.
They have not had the sort of artistic remorse that, say, Kurt Cobain did, but we are still waiting for something raw to re-emerge from the Nashville-via-Akron duo's pop discography.
Ryan Adams is perhaps the most indie artist on this list, which is funny because "Gimme Something Good" is the most straight-up pop song of the bunch. He is a slide guitar part away from an alt-country classic, and the cut is so catchy that David Letterman had to hear it twice.
"All my life been shaking," Adams sings. "Wanting something / Holding everything I have like it was broken."
A haunting tone rings along with guitars that prevents the listener from breaking out into a smile. It is more of about audience empathy, and you will find it easy to nod your head in agreement.
Jack White has been chopping away at the rock charts since the millennium flipped over. It does not matter whether he is rocking with Meg White, The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather or rolling solo -- he just does the damn thing.
"Lazaretto" was the most memorable cut from his newest LP, and the riffage is a throwback to, well, any time but this one. The Tom Morello-esque scales at the end punctuate a song that will rest nicely alongside the rest of White's impressive collection.
What Should Win: We would still pick Sia's "Chandelier" -- a Song of the Year candidate -- over any of these, but Beck is in his own league compared to the rest of these nominations.
What Will Win: "Blue Moon."
