IN UTERO

Grammy Preview: And the Winner Is . . .

(롤링스톤 홈페이지에서 긁어온 내용입니다. 올해로 48회째인 그래미시상식은 8일 로스앤젤레스의 스테이플 센터에서 열린다고 합니다. 롤링스톤 선정 전문가 그룹에서 will win, should win 명단을 발표한 것이 있어 옮겨봅니다.)

Our experts weigh in on music's big night We assembled an A-list panel of experts -- rock stars, hitmaking producers, top execs -- to give you the inside line on the major races. Impress your friends with your killer Grammy knowledge!
Album of the Year

롤링 스톤

NOMINEES: The Emancipation of Mimi, Mariah Carey; Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, Paul McCartney; Love, Angel, Music, Baby, Gwen Stefani; How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, U2; Late Registration, Kanye West

DAVE NAVARRO: If Gwen sang over the sound of nails on a chalkboard, it would sound good. And she's the most attractive. Frankly, that's more important for half the people that will be voting.

JOHN NORRIS: It's Kanye or U2. I'm optimistic that Kanye's gonna win it this year. The only reason I wouldn't want him to is because he let us all know that he would have a big problem with it if he didn't.

JOHN SHANKS: Kanye's album is not only interesting sonically, but he managed to create hits that touched on themes people have shied away from lately.

RICK KRIM: I'm going with U2 because the voting group is broad, both young and old, and I think they appeal to all ages.

PAT WILSON: It could be a sympathy vote for Kanye, because the government doesn't like black people. The voters might try and help him out.

PETE WENTZ: Kanye, because I think it's very rare for someone to come out and say all kinds of things -- "My record is the album of the year" -- and actually live up to it.

POLLY ANTHONY: Mariah. The album is beautifully written and incredibly produced -- it feels like Grammy-Grammy-Grammy to me.

AHMIR "?UESTLOVE" THOMPSON: I somehow feel like a Steely Dan is about to be pulled -- I think McCartney might get it. It will be a Mexican standoff: Four records will cancel each other out, and McCartney will be waiting in the wings.

Will Win: The Emancipation of Mimi, Mariah Carey
Should Win: Late Registration, Kanye West

Record of the Year

NOMINEES: "We Belong Together," Mariah Carey; "Feel Good Inc.," Gorillaz Featuring De La Soul; "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," Green Day; "Hollaback Girl," Gwen Stefani; "Gold Digger," Kanye West

JED THE FISH: "Boulevard." That song has gravitas. How many rock bands have gravitas? I'm in awe of that band. They could quit tomorrow and we'll be listening to Green Day in ten or twenty years.

NAVARRO: I'm going to go with Green Day, even though musically it's essentially "Wonderwall." They put rock back on the map this year.

NORRIS: I wouldn't be surprised if "Boulevard" won. I think they'd like to honor Green Day, and that pop-radio-friendly song connects with a lot of pop fans who weren't necessarily into other parts of the record.

RIC OCASEK: "Hollaback Girl." It's just more exciting than the other records.

KRIM: "Gold Digger." It's a giant song. You heard the thing everywhere.

WILSON: My wife thinks "Gold Digger" is a good song.

WENTZ: I personally got down with Green Day a little more, but I think Mariah came up with a record that was awesome.

THOMPSON: It'd be interesting to see how the Gorillaz would go up and accept that award -- they're not human. But it's going to go to Mariah.

ANTHONY: I'm going to be boring here -- Mariah. The girl is going to have the night of her life. She should get a lot of rest the few days before, because she isn't going to sleep much that night.

Will Win: "We Belong Together," Mariah Carey
Should Win: "Gold Digger," Kanye West

Best New Artist

NOMINEES: Ciara; Fall Out Boy; Keane; John Legend; Sugarland

ANTHONY: The Grammy voting population loves artists like John Legend. He's an organic talent that fans and consumers can embrace. And he's great -- a guy who's worked very hard, paying his dues in every nook and cranny.

KRIM: John Legend all the way. That's a no-brainer. He's the kind of artist the Grammys tend to love.

NORRIS: I'd give that to John Legend.

WENTZ: I think that it's going to be John Legend. He appeals across the board to so many different people. It's kind of sad that I'm not picking my own band. I love Fall Out Boy too, but that John Legend is really good.

WILSON: I would vote for Fall Out Boy, just because people playing instruments is turning into kind of a quaint old-fashioned pastime.

JED: It's Fall Out Boy's time. There's been a buzz on that group for a long, long time.

OCASEK: I've got Keane on that one. I just like the songwriting a lot.

THOMPSON: This is the one category you don't want to win. I actually think it will go to Fall Out Boy. I hope they beat John Legend. If John Legend reads this, I'm lovingly saying that I hope they beat him.

Will Win: John Legend
Should Win: Fall Out Boy

Best Rock Album

NOMINEES: X&Y, Coldplay; In Your Honor, Foo Fighters; A Bigger Bang, the Rolling Stones; How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, U2; Prairie Wind, Neil Young

KRIM: Coldplay got snubbed a little bit by not getting any major categories. This is the opportunity for the Grammys to recognize them.

NORRIS: They'll go for U2 here. It's a familiar name, and they like honoring them.

ANTHONY: U2. It's a brilliant album.

JED: U2, because it really did sound like they were experimenting, and they always deliver the melodies. Also, their version of structure is more complex than the average songwriter's structure.

THOMPSON: They'll definitely go with U2. It is the only one from Universal, the monopoly of the industry now.

Will Win: How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, U2
Should Win: How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, U2

Best Rock Song

NOMINEES: "Best of You," Foo Fighters; "Beverly Hills," Weezer; "City of Blinding Lights," U2; "Devils and Dust," Bruce Springsteen; "Speed of Sound," Coldplay

WILSON: I'm going to vote for me. It's the best song.

JED: Weezer. When Rivers [Cuomo] writes a good song, it is just so simple and hits home on such a common visceral level. He doesn't hide anything. That is rarely found in rock.

WENTZ: Give it to Coldplay. That was one of my favorite songs on the record. That's awesome rock.

NORRIS: My choice would be Foo Fighters, but they'll go with Coldplay, because Coldplay is arguably more Grammy-friendly than Foo Fighters.

NAVARRO: Foo Fighters. Dave Grohl's music has grown incredibly over the years.

ANTHONY: "Beverly Hills" -- even though they are on my label. It's a great song. It gave rock some personality, in a time when rock is a little bit in the background.

OCASEK: "Beverly Hills" is the strongest. None of the others are as cool as that.

Will Win: "Beverly Hills," Weezer
Should Win: "Beverly Hills," Weezer

Best Alternative Album

NOMINEES: Funeral, Arcade Fire; Guero, Beck; Plans, Death Cab for Cutie; You Could Have It So Much Better, Franz Ferdinand; Get Behind Me Satan, the White Stripes

THOMPSON: I will actually steal nine ballots off my bandmates and my management and vote for the White Stripes. We all love them to death.

NAVARRO: The White Stripes strike a chord in me. It is pretty much the definition of taking something in its most simplistic form and having the most impact.

KRIM: I'm going with Beck. He made his best record in a long time.

NORRIS: Beck. Sometimes these choices come down to who is gonna be more familiar to people voting.

OCASEK: Death Cab for Cutie. They're a phenomenally great band -- more unique, original than any other of the records on that list.

WILSON: I would give the edge to Franz Ferdinand, because everybody already knows that the White Stripes are pretty great.

Will Win: Guero, Beck
Should Win: Funeral, Arcade Fire

Best Rap Song

NOMINEES: "Candy Shop," 50 Cent; "Diamonds From Sierra Leone," Kanye West; "Don't Phunk With My Heart," Black Eyed Peas; "Hate It or Love It," the Game Featuring 50 Cent; "Lose Control," Missy Elliott

THOMPSON: I'm throwing gasoline on the fire. I want 50 Cent and the Game to sweep all the categories. I think everyone is going to vote for them. I want my popcorn ready, and I'm going to be right in the fortieth row in the balcony watching.

NORRIS: I'd like to see "Lose Control" win. I thought that was a real cool song.

ANTHONY: I love "Candy Shop." That one really grew on me like fungus. There is a subtlety about that song that is so fantastic -- the way it just grabs you. He is an amazing songwriter.

KRIM: It's got to be Kanye. If we don't give it to him here, all hell will break loose. This is the category he should dominate.

Will Win: "Diamonds From Sierra Leone," Kanye West
Should Win: "Diamonds From Sierra Leone," Kanye West

Best R&B Song

NOMINEES: "Cater 2 U," Destiny's Child; "Free Yourself," Fantasia; "Ordinary People," John Legend; "Unbreakable," Alicia Keys; "We Belong Together," Mariah Carey

NORRIS: This is gonna come down to Mariah vs. John Legend. "We Belong Together" was so inescapable for so much of the year, I'll go with that one.

OCASEK: I pick "Unbreakable." I just love her voice.

THOMPSON: The most timeless song here is "Ordinary People." If a movie doesn't use this on a soundtrack, then there is something wrong in the world.

Will Win: "We Belong Together," Mariah Carey
Should Win: "Ordinary People," John Legend

Producer of the Year

NOMINEES: Danger Mouse, Demon Days (Gorillaz); Nigel Godrich, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard (Paul McCartney); Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, "Harajuku Girls" (Gwen Stefani), "Never Too Much," (Mary J. Blige); Steve Lillywhite, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (U2), Mr. A-Z (Jason Mraz); the Neptunes, "Already Platinum" (Slim Thug Featuring Pharrell), "Hollaback Girl" (Gwen Stefani)

ANTHONY: It was odd that neither Jermaine Dupri nor Kanye were nominated. Mariah is up for everything, and Dupri, who she openly acknowledges as her partner, isn't nominated? And Kanye's album is brilliant. I'm going with Steve Lillywhite.

THOMPSON: Kanye's crying.

SHANKS: I was surprised Kanye wasn't on the list -- and I was surprised I wasn't on the list. I had a part in great records.

KRIM: The Neptunes, for the pure volume and variety of projects.

OCASEK: I respect the Neptunes -- they're always good.

NORRIS: The safe choice is Lillywhite, but I'm going with the Neptunes.

Will Win: The Neptunes
Should win: Danger Mouse

THE EXPERTS

POLLY ANTHONY
President, Geffen Records

JED THE FISH
DJ, Los Angeles rock station KROQ

RICK KRIM
VH1 executive vice president of music and talent programming

DAVE NAVARRO
Former Jane's Addiction and Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist, nominated previously for six Grammys

JOHN NORRIS
MTV host and VJ

RIC OCASEK
Former Cars frontman, producer, founder of Sanctuary imprint Inverse Records, former Elektra A&R executive

JOHN SHANKS
Songwriter and producer (Kelly Clarkson, Sheryl Crow, Ashlee Simpson), 2004 Grammy for Producer of the Year

AHMIR "?UESTLOVE" THOMPSON
The Roots drummer and songwriter, winner of 1999 Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group

PETE WENTZ
Fall Out Boy bassist and songwriter, nominee for Best New Artist

PAT WILSON
Weezer drummer and nominee for Best Rock Song

ROLLING STONE

다음은 관련 아티스트 인터뷰 내용입니다. 몇몇 소개를 하자면...
첫 타자는 아케이드 파이어(Arcade Fire)입니다. 지난 한 해 개인적으로 참 좋은 기억을 가져다 준 밴드입니다. 어둠의 경로를 통해 접한 셀프 릴리즈 앨범 또한 수작이었죠. (no carg go!) 이들의 음악은 다른 말 필요 없을 듯합니다. '열심''성실''진실'의 삼위일체.

Grammy Preview: Arcade Fire

2 NOMINATIONs * Best Alternative Album * Best Song Written for Motion Picture or Television

With their 2004 debut, Funeral, Montreal's Arcade Fire won over legions of fans, including David Bowie and U2 -- and scored a nomination for the Best Alternative Album Grammy. "Statistically, we're long shots," says frontman Win Butler. "But I'll bet on us in Vegas. If we had 5-to-1 odds, I'd take that bet. Might as well bet on yourself."
What was your reaction when you heard about your nominations?

It's cool, but it's not like something that you're really thinking about when you're making music.

Was there disbelief?

No, it was more like, "Didn't our record come out last year?" It didn't really catch on in the States until 2005, though. At least we're not like one of those bands that's been around for, like, fifteen years and gets nominated for Best New Artist.

If you guys win, who is the first person you'd thank?

I'll make Regine do a little dance or something. But I really don't think we have much of a chance of winning, because the voting panel doesn't have to listen to the album or anything. It seems like less people would know our album than most of the other albums that we're up against.

Who would you most want to be paired with for a Grammy performance?

We just played with U2 -- that was pretty cool. We opened for them in Montreal, and we did a Joy Division cover with them. Maybe I'd try that again so we could nail it, because we only got to practice it in the backstage room.

Any artists that you think should have been nominated?

Wolf Parade is amazing. There's a song on their album called "I'll Believe in Anything" that's the best thing I've heard this year.

LAUREN GITLIN

다음은 U2입니다. U2 안 들은 지도 벌써 몇년째 예전같이 한 아티스트를 파고들며 신보에 환호하던 그 열정은 다시금 살리려 해도 도저히 살릴 수 없군요. 그래도 U2 정도는 인터뷰 짚고 넘어갑니다.

Grammy Preview: U2

5 NOMINATIONS * Album of the Year * Song of the Year * Best Rock Album * Best Rock Song * Best Rock Performance

We're reapplying for the job [of] best band in the world," U2's Bono said at the 2000 Grammys. In the past five years, fans have accepted that application and then some: That year's All That You Can't Leave Behind and 2004's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb have been Grammy favorites -- and two of the best-received discs of the group's long career. U2's chief sonic architect, guitarist the Edge, called from his dressing room an hour before one of the final U.S. shows on the Vertigo 2005 Tour. "We're all just going to show up to the ceremony," he says. "And if we don't win, we'll try to look gracious."

You guys have more Grammys -- seventeen -- than any other rock band. Where do you keep all those trophies?

Half in the office, half in my house. Luckily enough, they're fairly small, so you don't have to worry about them taking up too much space. They fit nicely on the shelf, and they look cool. I haven't run out of room yet.

All That You Can't Leave Behind was seen as a huge comeback for U2. How hard was it to have to follow it up?

Coming off that tour carried us into the songwriting for How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. It was always in the back of our minds as we were working on the songs -- playing them live. We really started becoming the band we are onstage. The best place to learn what your songs are like is to try them in front of the U2 crowd.

Atomic Bomb is even truer to the idea of All That You Can't Leave Behind: "four guys playing a room."

Yeah, that's probably a fair thing to say. We had been spending most of the Nineties trying to obliterate the core idea of what a band is. With this last couple of records, we've really found ourselves being inspired again by what a rock & roll band can be. Right now, a band playing guitar, bass and drums on a stage with very little else going on is a very fresh sound. Just looking at the other Grammy nominees -- the Killers, Franz Ferdinand, Coldplay, the Foo Fighters, Arcade Fire -- it feels like rock & roll is resurgent. And that's a really great feeling.

What was U2's greatest Grammy moment?

I think that first time winning Album of the Year [for The Joshua Tree, in 1987] is pretty hard to beat. That time was kind of the recognition of the other side of the music business, which doesn't really have its eye on radio or selling huge numbers of units. It just felt good -- it felt like a good move for everybody, everyone who was committed to this, who had lost themselves to this great form of rock & roll.

When you vote in the Grammys, do you generally vote for U2? Or is that bad luck?

It depends. I try to be as honest as I can -- often I would vote for U2, but not always.

Did you vote for U2 for Album of the Year this year, for instance?

Well, I haven't voted yet. But I will. [Laughs] Definitely -- are you kidding?

What do you guys have planned for next year?

We're going to be doing some more touring -- not in Europe or America -- but in some of the areas we didn't get to, like South America.

How about plans for the next record?

Well, I've been working a lot on material during the tour, and I have a lot of ideas that I think are very promising, so I'd be trying to work on a record in early 2006, developing the material. Then we'll just see where that takes us. I've got some definite ideas.

BRIAN HIATT