Wednesday, Jan. 08, 2003
Tell me, what's it like to be a skateboarding punk rocker?, posted at 7:43 p.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com Random fact:The Grammy nominations were announced yesterday, and, unbelievably, I own all five nominees for Album of the Year: Norah Jones' Come Away With Me, Eminem's The Eminem Show, Bruce Sprinsteen's The Rising, Nelly's Nellyville, and The Dixie Chicks' Home. I didn't even plan it, but I own all five.
I've got my finger on the pulse of American mainstream musical culture, people.
My old independent music snob persona would have been embarassed, but I'm not. All are really good albums, and I'm happy to have them all. Do I have a favorite, or one I think should win? No. I've got to think about it, I guess. Each of the albums are good, but all are a bit erratic. Eminem's album is probably the best, very powerful in parts, but doesn't even contain his best song of the year ("Lose Yourself") and hosts songs like "Superman" that are almost unlistenable. The Dixie Chicks' CD has some great songs on it, but gets a little slow towards the end; I wanted more songs the tone of "Long Time Gone." Bruce Springsteen's CD is moving and powerful at times, but why has it sat on my shelf so much since I bought it? (Answer: I've been listening to too much of the 30-year old Bruce Springsteen, and I don't think the 50-something Bruce Springsteen is quite as good.) Norah Jones' album is great for long drives or for setting the mood, but is the same almost all the way through. Nellyville was a fun album, but probably not as memorable as his first one and containing too many filler tracks (Justin Timberlake's weakest song of the year was his duet with Nelly on this album). (Speaking of which, Timberlake's album must have been released too late to be eligible, because he certainly deserved a nomination in this category... Vibe the other day called it one of the best R&B Albums of the year, and it really is superb.)
Again, all really good albums, but I'm not sure if there's a clearcut winner in my mind out of these five nominated.
By the way, because of intellectual listlessness, I've begun titling my entries with either random song lyrics or thoughts that have nothing to do with the entry. Just a fair warning. Ten points for whomever can catch the reference behind this entry's title origin.