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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 11, 2001)
Griping V groaning: It’s time for GRAMMYs ■ Despite a few decent nominations, the GRAMMYs continue to reflect a degrading music industry By Rebecca Wilson Oregon Daily Emerald On Feb. 21, millions of viewers in 15 countries will plop down in their living rooms for an evening of bitching and moaning over the results of the 43rd Annu al GRAMMY Awards. Oh sure, there will undoubtedly be a few geeks/music professors/Midwest ern farmers who are really inter ested in the category for Best New Age Album or Best Traditional Polka Album. They are in the mi nority, however. The rest of us will watch to complain. I haven’t watched the GRAM MY Awards for several years be cause I have grown disenchanted with a music industry that values Floridian heartthrobs and anorex ic little girls over grownups who can write their own songs and play their own instruments. I started questioning the value of a “prestigious” award that seemed to reflect album sales rather than critical acclaim and musical in tegrity. The GRAMMYs perpetu ate an industry that consistently recognizes the lowest common denominator of musicians instead of supporting the innovative craftsmen who challenge their lis teners. Rant aside, I decided to serious ly peruse this year’s nominations, which were released on Jan. 3. My efforts paid off when I encoun tered several surprises amid the ranks of ‘N Sync and Destiny’s Child. The nominations included albums released between Oct. 1, 1999, and Sept. 30, 2000, and songs that were released or be came popular within that same time period. 1. Album of the Year. Latin beats and hyper teens? Nope. The white men dominate the category for this year: Beck, Eminem, Ra diohead, Steely Dan and Paul Si mon comprise the eclectic mix. Love him or hate him, Eminem will probably win this coveted category with his “Marshall Math ers LP.” Just remember, good rap pers aren’t necessarily good peo ple. It’s nice to see that Radiohead didn’t make as many enemies as expected with their spaced-out, college-rock album “Kid A,” and I love the fact that Paul Simon con tinues to turn out great tunes. As for Steely Dan ... I’m not sure what “Two Against Nature” is do ing here, but good for them. How ever, my personal favorite for Al bum of the Year is Beck’s “Midnite Vultures,” which was probably the most sexed-out al bum of 1999. Conspicuous by his absence in this category is D’An gelo with “Voodoo.” Commentary Rebecca Wilson 2. Boy bands. The Backstreet Boys really are on the way out. They received just a single nomi nation for “Show Me the Mean ing of Being Lonely” in the cate gory of Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. Evi dently, their hard-core persona hasn’t endeared them to critics any more than it has to the tee ny-bopper crowd. On the other hand, ‘N Sync, with three nomi nations, is here to stay. But at least they feel content with their pretty-boy image and don’t suffer delusions of being ghetto super stars. 3. Old people. Maybe I’m be traying my generation, but seeing aging rockers rubbing shoulders with the youngsters renews my faith in the Recording Academy and music consumers in general. In the category of Female Pop, Joni Mitchell and Madonna hold their own against the likes of Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears. Paul McCartney actually holds a nomination in the Alter native Music category with his album “Liverpool Sound Col lage.” Other veterans showing their faces are Don Henley, Patti Smith, Bob Dylan, Melissa Etheridge, U2, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Aimee Mann and The Cure. In a society that seems to value physical appearance and youth above all else, it’s refresh ing that people older than 40 can still make the Top 40. But even with all these inter esting and well-deserved nomi nations, most people will feel disappointed with most of the awards that will be handed out next month at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Even if your fa vorite band wins a GRAMMY, a band you despise will undoubt edly win one as well. After all, Oregon and the GRAMMY Awards Helmuth Rilling and the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus and Orchestra have been nominated for a GRAMMY in the field of Best Choral Performance for the world premiere recordingof Krzyszof Penderecki’s Credo. The album has already received the AFIM Indie award for best classical orchestral recording on an independent label, and the Cannes Classical Award as best album of music by a living composer. Soloists on the album include University faculty member Milagro Vargas. Rilling also received a nomination in the category of Choral Performance for his recording of the Bach Christmas Oratorio with the Gachinger Kantorei and the Bach Collegium Stuttgart. history shows that high record sales really do dictate the results of the award ceremony. So sit back, relax and be prepared for a good old-fashioned gripe session when ‘N Sync brings home the booty. Entertainment briefs The Associated Press LOS ANGELES — “The Sopra nos” star James Gandolfini re ceived a $5 million offer he could n’t refuse to appear in the new prison film “The Castle.” The tough-guy actor has signed with DreamWorks SKG to play the warden of a military prison in the drama, his manager, Mark Arm strong, said Monday. Gandolfini's character will fight for control of the prison against an CALL TO ARTISTS The Aperture and Buzz Art Galleries are now accepting submissions .for future exhibits through 2001. Community and student artists are encouraged to apply. Contact the Visual Arts Coordinator at the UO Cultural Forum at 346-0007, or email gallery@darkwing.uoregon.edu for more information. School of MUSIC JANUARY CONCERTS Clip and Save this Calendar! For more information on School of Music events, call 346-5678, or call Guardline at 485-2000, ext. 2533 for a taped message. Fri. EAST EUROPEAN FOLK ENSEMBLE 1/12 Participatory folk dancing to music of the Balkans. $3 General Admission 8 p.m., Agate Hall Sat. BOB MINTZER, Jazz Saxophone 1/20 & OREGON JAZZ ENSEMBLE Guest Artist & UO Ensemble 7:30 p.m., Beall Hall $10 General Admission, $7 students & senior citizens Tue. LUCY SHELTON, Soprano 1/23 MILAGRO VARGAS, Mezzo-soprano Chamber Music Series 8 p.m., Beall Hall Reserved seats $10, $20, $25, available at the Hult Center (682-5000) or EMU (346-4363) For our complete calendar, check: music1.uoregon.edu inmate who was once his five-star general. Robert Redford has signed to play the general, and former film critic Rod Lurie will direct. After playing meaty side-charac ter roles for much of his career, Gandolfini’s fame has skyrocketed with his Emmy-winning role as Tony Soprano, the leader of a dys functional mob family, on the HBO crime series. Shooting on “The Castle” is scheduled to begin in March after Gandolfini finishes his third sea son of “The Sopranos.” PASADENA, Calif. — The annu al vigil has begun for fans of “The X-Files.” Will the series return for a ninth season? Call the forecast partly sunny. “It’s the same as it’s always been,” creator Chris Carter told TV critics over the weekend. “If we can find a reason to keep doing the show creatively, we’ll keep doing it.” Later, he said there are “great plans” for a ninth season, “but we’re not quite there yet.” It’s been a transitional year for the Fox series. Actor Robert Patrick joined the cast and gave the show some new creative juice, Carter said. David Duchovny has become a part-timer; he’ll return for several episodes starting Feb. 25. Carter also is working on “The Lone Gunmen,” a comedy spinoff of “The X-Files” that’s expected to get a tryout from Fox in March. NEW YORK — Even though he’s had two failed marriages, Michael Jackson believes he can offer a word or two about balancing love and family. The King of Pop will host a celebrity panel about balancing “romantic love, familial love and professional dedication” at a bene fit for his charity, Heal the Kids, on Valentine’s Day. Tickets will sell for $45-$65. Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, author of the book “Kosher Sex” and a friend of Jackson’s, will moderate the Feb. 14 event at Carnegie Hall. Other participants include Johnnie Cochran, Chuck Woolery and Dr. Drew Pinsky, Jackson’s publicist said Monday. Jackson, 42, is the chairman and Boteach is the president of Heal the Kids, which aims to make chil dren a greater priority in adults’ lives. Jackson has two young chil dren of his own by Deborah Rowe, who filed for divorce in 1999. He was also married to Lisa Marie Presley. Jackson was accused of child molestation in 1993, but charges were never filed and he reached an out-of-court settlement with his ac cuser. He is working on a new album, expected to be released this year. He also will take part in a Jackson Five reunion album with his broth ers, according to his publicist, Cheri Fein. “Michael will be recording two to three songs for the new Jackson Five album,” she said Monday. “He has not gone into the studio yet to do this, and he has not yet committed to touring.” WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Erika Christensen says she didn’t draw from her own life for the gripping drug-war drama “Traffic.” “Honestly, I hadn’t had a ciga rette when I got the role,” she told reporters recently. Christensen was 17 when the R rated movie was shot. Her parents were at her side on the set at vari ous times. In “Traffic,” she plays the 16 year-old daughter of Michael Dou glas’ character, an Ohio Supreme Court justice who is appointed America’s drug czar. He doesn’t re alize his daughter has a serious habit of her own. Christensen prepared for the role by visiting a rehabilitation center and talking to people being treated there. She said there’s one thing her character should have known: “How hard is it to figure out that if you do crack and heroin, your life is not going to go very well?” PASADENA, Calif. — What do you do if you’re a 17-year-old boy, lie about your age to get on “The Dating Game” and win a trip to Acapulco with a 25-year-old woman? Not much, apparently. The potential dream experience turned into a nightmare for Judd Apatow, who grew up to be a Hol lywood producer and writer of “The Larry Sanders Show” and “Freaks and Geeks.” He’s explor ing awkward adolescence again in a new Fox comedy about college freshmen, “Undeclared.” As for his own awkward adoles cence, Apatow skipped school to take his winning trip — and learned a few lessons from his date. “Every bus boy in the place hit on her in a way that I had never seen at the time,” Apatow recalled. He wound up with a bad case of sunburn that left him confined to his room for two days. LOS ANGELES — The son of the late Abbie Hoffman has settled a lawsuit that claimed he was por trayed as “wimpy” in the film “Steal This Movie!” America Hoffman dropped his lawsuit against Lions Gate Films, Abbie! Productions and producer director Robert Greenwald. In a statement released Monday, Hoff man and the defendants an nounced they have “amicably” re solved the dispute. Terms and conditions of the set tlement were not disclosed. The suit alleged invasion of pri vacy and use of america Hoffman’s name and likeness without con sent. It sought unspecified dam ages. “Steal This Movie!” which opened last fall, starred Vincent D’Onofrio as Abbie Hoffman. It traced the Yippie prankster’s 1960s activism. The lawsuit, filed in Superior Court in August, claimed the movie falsely portrayed Hoff man’s son as “a wimpy, quiet, sulking and effeminate ’mama’s boy’” and implied he might be gay The movie inaccurately por trayed the relationship between father and son, according to the suit. “I understand that the filmmak er’s characterization of me and my relationship to my father was made in good faith and with hon orable intentions,” america Hoff man said in a statement after drop ping the suit. Abbie Hoffman was a member of the Chicago Seven, who staged a protest during the 1968 Democrat ic National Convention which led to violence and arrests. He over dosed on alcohol and pills in 1989 at age 52.
