Top 10 noteworthy things that happened at the 2012 Grammys

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Yes, most noteworthy. Because not everything associated with the Grammys is necessarily tops. Remember the Soy Bomb guy in 1998? Or Ol’ Dirty Bastard bum rushing the stage the same night (starting a bizarre tradition of rappers interrupting pop stars at awards ceremonies)? Or any number of times over the last 54 years when one of the industry’s chosen sons or daughters has taken home a slew of awards over a dozen other artists more readily deserving?

Yes, ladies and gentlemen. It’s 2012 and the music industry’s night of nights seems as disconnected from the wider music industry as it’s ever been. Most awards ceremonies are tiresome, self-congratulatory affairs – that’s no secret – but there’s something especially facile, irrelevant and therefore oddly fascinating about the Grammys, with its never-ending game of catch-up on the youth market and wilful ignorance towards the continued splintering of the greater music industry.

So TheVine watched on with interest yesterday as the American blogosphere repeatedly lost its collective shit over every twist and turn at a packed Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. Making this edition of the ceremony all the weirder was the sad passing of Whitney Houston on Saturday and the extra pressure that obviously placed on the event’s organisers. Now, with the dust having settled – a little – we flicked through our notes to bring you this, the top ten most noteworthy Grammy-related moments of 2012.

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10: What’s-her-face becomes the greatest living Grammy winner


Heaps famous

With all the hoopla about Katy’s hair and Adele’s vocal cords and McCartney’s crappy suit, it was easy to overlook the fact that yesterday we witnessed Grammy history. “Who the fuck is Alison Krauss?” your lol-tumblr should be asking. Well, Alison Krauss is in a large part responsible for introducing bluegrass to a modern audience over the last 20 years. You may have even heard Krauss and not realised it via the 2007 album Raising Sand, which she recorded with 63-year-old pirate, Robert Plant. Either way, her two gongs give her a grand total of 28 awards since 1991. Only the deceased Hungarian-British composer Georg Solti holds more, with 31.


9: Bad Vibrations

Great news four days out from the awards: the Beach Boys would be performing with Brian Wilson! It was one of the big talking points as this year’s ceremony got under way. Good work, Grammys. But, wait, who are these other guys on stage? Isn’t that… Maroon 5? And… Foster the People? Oh, man. That’s who you come up with to accompany one of the most influential bands of all time? What about Animal Collective or The Shins or Wilco or maybe fifty other artists who would have been more appropriate? Some hapless wonk probably got fired for suggesting such a thing. Sigh.


8: Life in the Staples Center press room

I’m not sure why – call it the relieved aversion of professional envy – but something makes me feel a little better about the Grammy’s press room being just as joyless and straitjacketed as the rest of the proceedings. Spin correspondent Jeff Weiss snapped this pic early in the night:



He later reported that the promised parade of winners in front of the press throughout the ceremony didn’t quite eventuate. They got Bonnie Raitt, and then the Beach Boys, and then Lady Antebellum, and then… that was it.


7: We’re too busy, watching the throne

Why else would Kanye West and Jay-Z skip this annual gathering of industry blowhards? Conspicuous in their absence, Yeezy was last reported as scouting the Persian Gulf for film locations (no shit). And it’s an election year, so Jay’s likely lobbying somebody somewhere for tax breaks on capital gains. Still, between the two of them they managed to take out all of the hip-hop awards.


6: Adele’s voice works


Adele - 'Rolling In The Deep' live at the Grammy Awards 2012

Adele’s throat surgery has been a success, which means millions of middle class, 40-something suburbanites can lower the guns from their temples. That’s a relief, because there’s plenty to celebrate after the 23-year-old took home a whopping six awards. To illustrate the fine work of her surgeons, Adele belted out a stirring rendition of ‘Rolling In The Deep’, the single that launched the Brit to superstardom in late 2010. Her ex definitely feels like a dick right now.

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