OK…before we even get to who won last night, I have to continue to express how exciting it was to have some hard rock/metal bands featured on the GRAMMY telecast this year! Â To see Metallica and Lang Lang with their pyro, and Nine Inch Nails and Queens of the Stone Age with Dave Grohl on drums and Lindsey Buckingham on guitar was a real treat for me this year.
The Best Rock Performance went to newcomer Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactiveâ€.  The song caught fire this year, and while it’s hard for me to say that it is better than the company it was nominated in, it definitely represents a song that seems to defy genres.  Is this rock?  Is it rap?  Is it electronic?  It’s becoming harder to tell.  But I can tell you that when they performed this at the telecast last night with Kendrick Lamar, they brought the house down.
The Best Metal Performance went to Black Sabbath’s “God Is Dead?â€.  This was my pick to win, as the godfathers of heavy metal’s comeback album proved to show us that Black Sabbath isn’t dead.  Geezer, Iommi, and Ozzy presented at the telecast.
The Best Rock Song winner was “Cut Me Some Slack†from the Sound City Players Dave Grohl, Paul McCartney, Krist Novoselic, and Pat Smear.  This was also my pick to win; watching the Nirvana remnants walk onstage to accept with a Beatle was exhilarating.
Clip of the Sound City Players accepting
The Best Rock Album winner was Led Zeppelin’s Celebration Day, which was also my pick.  This live recording from their sole reunion concert proved that, like Sabbath, the band still has it.  I kept my eyes peels for the Golden God and Zoso at the Pre-Telecast, but they were sadly not present to accept.
The Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media went to Sound City: Real to Reel soundtrack. Butch Vig was there to accept at the Pre-Telecast.
Until next year!
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Was there a pit we couldn’t see on TV, or did they let you roam around the periphery of the stage – front and back? And yes, this year’s telecast reached out to a bunch of genres and artists long neglected by NARAS – not only metal, but outlaw country and Krautrock (lifetime achievement for Kraftwerk? unbelievable!). And can you believe that the RECORD INDUSTRY admitted that the Best New Artist DID NOT NEED A RECORD LABEL? They would have called that heresy just a few years ago.
There are 2 small pits within the stage!