It comes as no surprise that our three locally connected Grammy contenders got shut out at tonight's 52nd annual Grammy Awards.
Ministry lost out to Judas Priest in the Best Metal Performance category.
Los Rieleros del Norte got clawed by Los Tigres del Norte (again) in the Best Norteno Album group.
And Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "It's Blitz!," recorded mostly at Tornillo's Sonic Ranch, didn't win the Best Alternative Music Album award. That went to France's Phoenix for their "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix" CD.
The usual rule of thumb is that most obvious names win in the so-called lesser categories, because the growing number of voters in the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, who hand out the awards, usually vote for names they know.
Ministry, whose founder Al Jourgensen has lived here since 2002, may be one of the fathers of industrial metal, but they don't have the name recognition of fellow contenders Megadeth, Slayer and Judas Priest, or the cache of newer band Lamb of God.
When it comes to norteno music, few acts are bigger, or better known, than Los Tigres.
I kind of thought the YYYs' album, which has gotten good reviews, might stand a chance in its category, but I figured the biggest name in the group, Depeche Mode, would win on name recognition alone. But the Phoenix album was a nice surprise, an acclaimed disc with a reputation that must have preceded the vote.
FYI: Country jammers the Zac Brown Band were the obvious choice for Best New Artist category, which they won. You can check out their "Chicken Fried" charm when they play the Pan Am Center on March 4.
Note to KDBC, which carried the show locally: Please, please, please carry it live next year. It sucks watching an awards show that's an hour old by the time it airs. You can follow the awards in real-time online and wait around for the performances, which are often overhyped and underwhelming on the show, but I prefer the real thing on TV — live.
Secondly, thanks to KDBC for accidentally airing the intro to "CSI: New York" at about 9:53, or about the time that Maxwell took the stage to sing "Pretty Wings." There's just no excuse for that kind of sloppiness on such a major awards show.
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