Columnist Spencer Patterson: Grammy nominations inspiring — for a change

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Jan. 9, 2004 | 8:29 a.m.

The Grammys have never been known for their sense of timing.

From Jethro Tull's win in the inaugural year of the Best Heavy Metal Performance category in 1988 to Steely Dan's victory over Eminem for Album of the Year in 2001, Grammy voters have demonstrated an odd disregard for trends in popular music.

Last year the show's live broadcast turned off many music fans, as shy debut artist Norah Jones found herself holding eight trophies, including all of the night's major hardware.

When this year's nominees were announced, I expected more of the same -- safe choices without a shred of musical edge.

But to my surprise, Grammy voters actually seem to have paid attention in 2003 (technically, the dates between Oct. 1, 2002 and Sept. 30, 2003) and made several races worth tracking as the Feb. 8 broadcast nears.

For once, Album of the Year actually has several worthy contenders, two of them from the world of hip-hop, OutKast's "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" and Missy Elliott's "Under Construction."

The White Stripes' alterna-rock opus "Elephant" is another fine choice, though Justin Timberlake's solo debut, "Justified," might garner more support solely on the strength of the singer's pop stardom.

Evanescence's "Fallen," which rounds out the category, wasn't the year's best hard-rock disc by a long shot, but at least it's encouraging that voters took such care to include multiple genres in their top classifications.

The picks for Record of the Year -- awarded for the year's top song -- also demonstrate a decent grasp on the listening pulse of America.

Voters opted against 50 Cent's mega-hit "In Da Club" but did tap Eminem anthem "Lose Yourself," along with the hip-hop flavored "Hey Ya!" by OutKast and "Crazy in Love" by Beyonce with Jay-Z.

Best Alternative Album is another well-conceived category (Flaming Lips, Radiohead, Sigur Ros, the White Stripes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs), as are Best Rap Album (Missy Elliott, 50 Cent, Jay-Z, OutKast, the Roots) and Best Contemporary Folk Album (Roseanne Cash, Emmylou Harris, Tom Paxton, Lucinda Williams, Warren Zevon).

Of course, the Grammys wouldn't be the Grammys without a few (or maybe a few dozen) head-scratchers among their ludicrously indulgent 105 categories.

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance is a trip, with two recently deceased rockers (George Harrison and Zevon) paired with two aging pop stars (Sting and Michael McDonald). The fifth member of the group? Timberlake, of course.

"American Idol Season 2" champion Ruben Studdard inexplicably earned a nomination for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. And my pick as the top album of 2003 -- Cat Power's "You Are Free" -- was left out entirely, as I fully expected.

On the whole, though, the latest Grammy nominations reflect a general pattern of thoughtfulness, strange as it seems to say that.

Music notes

Winging it: The Palms' "Rock the Lounge" concert series continues Monday night, with an 8 p.m. performance by Kip Winger, former Winger bandmate Reb Beach (now with Dokken) and Night Ranger's Kelly Keagy.

Other acts scheduled for the Monday night hair-metal revivals include Warrant's Jani Lane (Jan. 19) and Gilby Clarke's Blue Mafia, which includes Eric Singer (Kiss), Ted Andreadis and Ryan Roxie of Alice Cooper's band and former Guns N' Roses guitarist Clarke (Jan. 26).

Tickets for each show are $25 and are available at the Palms box office and through TicketMaster.

A golden voice: Southern Nevada's extended music family lost one of its own with the Dec. 28 death of concert promoter Rick Van Santen. Santen, 41, reportedly died of complications from the flu.

Santen, who was born in Las Vegas before moving to California, served as the co-president of Goldenvoice, a Los Angeles-based promotions firm, beginning in 1991. Famous for its support of punk and indie rock acts, the company created the annual Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, Calif., in 1999.

No word yet on how Van Santen's death might affect this year's Coachella event, scheduled for May 1-2. Radiohead, the Pixies and Nine Inch Nails are among the rumored acts for the as-yet-unannounced lineup.

Circling the Joint: Mainstream rockers A Perfect Circle have announced a March 29 stopover at The Joint on their upcoming tour, which begins March 18 in Salt Lake City.

The band, originally created as a side project by Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan, released its second album, "Thirteenth Step," in September. The disc debuted at No. 2 on The Billboard 200.

On sale

Hilary Duff performs at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Feb. 7. Tickets are $35 and $43 and go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Mandalay Bay box office, TicketMaster outlets, by phone at 474-4000 and at www.ticketmaster.com.

Lucinda Williams plays the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay on Feb. 21. Tickets are $22 and $27 and were to go on sale today at the House of Blues box office, at www.hob.com and through TicketMaster.

Dropkick Murphys land at the House of Blues on March 18, along with Slapshot and the Ducky Boys. Tickets are $15 and go on sale on Thursday at 10 a.m. through the House of Blues at TicketMaster.

Tickets are on sale for three other recent additions to the House of Blues concert calendar: Berlin on Jan. 23 ($22), Evanescence on Feb. 12 ($32.50, $42.50, $50) and Deep Purple with Thin Lizzy on Feb. 15 ($40, $50).