Two Misses Among Many

I know there is a TON of great music that comes out during a year, but I expect the Grammys to be able to judge it better than it does sometimes. However, I really think that the problem today is that unlike 20 years ago, we have SO much more amazing music getting made and exposed through social music mediums and new music movements. It wasn’t long ago that really only top 40 music was known – if you didn’t hear from a local stage or on the radio, you simply didn’t hear it. YOU had to do all the work to find the music. Today, it is a lot easier to find music to where the artists have mediums to really expose their music to us. The beauty of it is that now we have much wider/eclectic tastes in music than we all did 20 years ago.

Think about the Grammys on Sunday…

Most people who listen to music were familiar with Taylor Swift, Jay Z, Sting, Bruno Mars, Ziggy Marley, The Black Keys, Fun, and Mumford and Sons. This is a pretty eclectic group of artists compared to what we would have seen 20 years ago. So it creates a problem…a lot more bands competing for the same awards in  categories that are more and more eclectic in nature and less and less meaningful. I mean, what is “rock” anymore, versus alternative? At least R&B and Rap know what they are and are pretty easy to spot.

My point is…some amazing music and amazing artists get completely missed. I’ll share with you just two of my favorites of 2012 that could have easily won Album of the Year for me, that the Grammys missed out on.

These two bands have albums chock full of great music. Not just one or two songs that got really popular. I almost feel that the Grammys now days are awards for best marketers + best music. Many people thought, for instance, that Mumford & Sons’ win for album of the year was an upset (it wasn’t). Part of that is because they just didn’t get how awesome their album was, but mostly because peopled didn’t catch on to the fact that Mumford & Sons is really, really great with their fan engagement through social media. They are super savvy marketers through fan engagement. If you followed their efforts in that realm, it wouldn’t surprise you that they won. That stuff matters today. The two bands I am going to mention here, were not all that great at marketing themselves – for various reasons. But, their music is still amazing – and that is what the Grammys are supposed to be about. So here they are:

Artist: Shiny Toy Guns
Album: III
Sample songs: “Fading Listening”, “Wait 4 Me”

Fading Listening

Wait 4 Me

Artist: A Silent Film
Album: Sand & Snow
Sample Songs: “Danny, Dakota and the Wishing Well”, “You Will Leave a Mark”

Danny, Dakota, and the Wishing Well

You Will Leave a Mark

You probably have your favorites too, but these were two of my favorites this past year.  Check out their albums and enjoy Grammy worth of music all the way through!