VMAs Most Memorable Moments

The Video Music Awards do still exist, and that is surprising because MTV doesn't play music videos anymore, a critique you will hear from many.  With that said, artists still make videos, and this kudos fest still occurs.  Over the years this show has provided with some draw dropping, water cooler moments at work.  With spoilers abound this year's big spoiler has been just well, spoiled, N'Sync is going to appear together.   Many of these moments are centered on icons like Michael Jackson, Madonna, Britney Spears, and while some started careers, others were at the downturns. Here are some of the most memorable moments throughout the years at the VMAs.

1984-Madonna rolling around the stage "Like a Virgin?"

1994-Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie-The MOST awkward kiss ever

1999-Diana Ross feels up Lil' Kim 

2003-Madonna Returns even less Virginal kissing Britney and Christina

2007-Britney Spears 2007 Post Meltdown (trying to recover)

2009-Kanye Rushing the Stage on Taylor Swift

2013 Grammy Nominations Prove to be a Man's Game with fun, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Mumford and Sons, and Frank Ocean Leading the Pack

The Grammy Awards seem to always have a well balanced amount of men and women nominated for their awards, in fact there seems to be a few more women who dominate these awards with high number tallies.  This year has proven to be the opposite.  This year Kanye West, Jay-Z, fun, Frank Ocean, Mumford and Sons, and Dan Auerbach lead the pack with 6 nominations.  Not a woman in site!  The next highest nomination recipient is the Black Keys with 5 nominations.  Even the Album of the Year category has no women, with The Black Keys, fun, Mumford and Sons, and Jack White nominated in this category.

Before I get into the lack of women nominated, there is also one new thing that has happened this year, 6 nominees in the Record of the Year category, this has never happened.  This also sets an interesting precedent.  Does this mean an increased number of nominations coming down the line?  Are the Grammy's trying to see how folks react, or if they can do something similar to the Emmy Awards?  Maybe there was just a tie.  All six nominees are solid, and that's why this category is the best of the General Field.  Now on to the women.

Did the NARAS forget the women?  Sure Kelly Clarkson has 4 nominations, and has the most in the major categories (a pleasant surprise).  The only other women in the major categories is Carly Rae Jepsen, Taylor Swift, Janelle Monae (as a featured artist), and even the Best New Artist category which is usually dominated by women only has The Lumineers Neyla Pekarek.  I swear there were women who released albums, Florence + the Machine would have been a welcome nominee to the major categories, but she was regulated to the pop genre (although I am not sure she fits there).  The country Solo Performance category is also only men, and there is no Miranda Lamber or Carrie Underwood, which is shocking.    This may prove that getting rid of the gender divide is a problem for this award show.

Many of the artists seem outside of the genre, but that may have been to get a nomination, many of these artists in the major categories like fun., Gotye, Mumford and Sons, Jack White, and The Black Keys have alternative roots but they were placed elsewhere.  This is going to be an interesting Grammy year, and at the moment I would state that the winners are, up in the air, with no clear front runners.

Many of the genres were entirely entirely forgotten in the major four categories, like there is not a single Rap nomination, which is telling because the genre nominations are extremely competitive, what happened?  R&B only has a Song of the Year nomination that came out of nowhere for Miguel.  Country also has a small showing with Hunter Hayes as a Best New Artist nominee.  

While in some respect this group of nominees represents this year well, maybe it also proves this was one of the weakest years for new material, hell Carly Rae Jepsen has 2 Grammy nominations, that is frightening to me.  While this year's nominees may be somewhat impressive, this will also be known as the year Grammy forgot women!

Here is a list of the majority of the nominations:

Album of the Year

The Black Keys-El Camino

fun-Some Night

Mumford and Sons-Babel

Frank Ocean-Channel Orange

Jack White-Blunderbuss

Record of the Year

The Black Keys-Lonely Boy

Kelly Clarkson-Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)

fun featuring Janelle Monae-We Are Young

Gotye-Somebody That I Used to Know

Frank Ocean-Thinkin Bout You

Taylor Swift-We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

Song of the Year

A Team-performed by Ed Sheehan

Adorn-performed by Miguel

Call Me Maybe-performed by Carly Rae Jepsen

Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)-performed by Kelly Clarkson

We Are Young-performed by fun featuring Janelle Monae

Best New Artist

Alabama Shake

fun

Hunter Hayes

The Lumineers

Frank Ocean

Pop Vocal Album

Kelly Clarkson-Stronger

Florence + the Machine-Ceremonials

Fun-Some Nights

Maroon 5-Overexposed

P!nk-The Truth about Love

Pop Vocal Performance

Adele-Set Fire to the Rain (Live)

Kelly Clarkson-Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)

Carly  Rae Jepsen-Call Me Maybe

Katy Perry-Wide Awake

Rihanna-Where Have You Been

Pop Vocal Duo or Group

Florence + the Machine-Shake it Out

Fun feauring Janelle Monae-We Are Young

Gotye featuring Kimbra-Somebody that I Used to Know

LMFAO-Sexy and I Know it

Maroon 5 &Wiz Kahlifa-Payphone

Best Dance Recording

Avicil-Levels

Calvin Harris featuring Ne-Yo-Let’s Go

Skrillex featuring Sirah-Bangarang

Sweedish House Mafia featuring John Martin-Don’t You Worry Child

Al Waiser-I Can’t Live without You

Best Dance/Electronica Album

Steve Aoki-The Wonderland

The Chemical Brothers-Don’t think

Deadmau5-Album Title Goes Here

Kaskade-Fire & Ice

Skrillex-Bangarang

Best Rock Performance

Alabama Shakes-Hold On

Black Keys-Lonely Boy

Coldplay-Charlie Brown

Mumford and Sons-I Will Wait

Bruce Springsteen-We Can Take Care of Our Own

Best Rock Song

Black Keys-Lonely Boy

Mumford and Sons-I will Wait

Muse-Madness

Bruce Springsteen-We Take Care of Our Own

Jack White-Freedom at 21

Best Rock Album

Black Keys-El Camino

Coldplay-Mylo  Xyloto

Muse-The 2^nd Law

Bruce Springsteen-Wrecking Ball

Jack White-Blunderbuss

Best Alternative Album

Fiona Apple-The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than The Driver Of The Screw And Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do

Bjork-Biophilia

Gotye-Making Mirrors

M83-Hurry Up We’re Dreaming

Tom Waits-Bad As Me

Best R&B Album

Estelle-Thank You

Robert Glasper featuring Ledisi-Gonna Be Alright (F.T.B.)

Luke James-I Want You

Miguel-Adorn

Usher-Climax

Best R&B Song

Miguel-Adorn

Tarnia-Beautiful Surprise

Trey Songz-Heart Attack

Anthony Hamiliton-Pray for Me

Elle Varner-Refill

Best Urban Contemprary Album

Chris Brown-Fortune

Miguel-Kaleidescope Dream

Frank Ocean-Channel Orange

Best R&B Album

Robert Glasper Experiment-Black Radio

Anthony Hamilton-Back to Love

R. Kelly-Write me Back

Tamia-Beautiful Surprise

Tyrese-Open Invitation

Best Rap Performance

Drake featuring Lil Wayne-HYFR (Hell Yeah F***ing Right)

Jay-Z featuring Kanye West-N****s in Paris

Nas-Daughters

Kanye West featuring Big Sean Pusha T, and 2 Chainz-Mercy

Young Jeezy featuring Jay-Z and Andree 3000-I Do

Best Rap Sung Collaboration

Flo Rida featuring Sia-Wild Ones

Jay-Z featuring Kanye West, Frank Ocean, and the The Dream-No Church in the Wild

John Legend featuring Ludacris-Tonight (Best You Ever Had)

Nas featuring Amy Winehouse-Cherry Wine

Rihanna featuring Jay-Z-Talk that Talk

Best Rap Song

Daughters-Nas

Mercy-Kanye West featuring Big Sean Pusha T, and 2 Chainz

The Motto-Drake featuring Lil Wayne

N****s in Paris- Jay-Z and Kanye West

Young and Wild and Free-Snoop Dogg, Wiz Kahlifa, and Bruno Mars

Best Rap Album

Drake-Take Care

Lupe Fiasco-Food & Liquor: The Great American Rap Album Part 1

Nas-Life is Good

Rick Ross-God Forgives I Don’t

2 Chainz-Based on a T.R.U. Story

Best Country Solo Performance

Dierks Bentley-Home

Eric Chruch-Springsteen

Ronnie Dunn-Cost of Living

Hunter Hayes-Wanted

Blake Shleton-Over

Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group

Ell Young Band-Even if it Break Your Heart

Little Big Town-Pontoon

Taylor Swift and the Civil Wars-Safe and Sound

The Time Jumpers-On the Outskirts of Town

Don Williams featuring Allison Krause-I Just Come Here for the Music

Best Country Song

Carrie Underwood-Blown Away

Ronnie Dunn-Cost of Livin

Ell Young Band-Even if it Break Your Heart

Allan Jackson-So You Don’t Love me Anymore

Eric Church-Springsteen

Best Country Album

Zac Brown Band-Uncaged

Hunter Hayes-Hunter Hayes

Jamey Johnson-Living for a Song: A Tribute Hank Cochran

Miranda Lambert-For the Record

The Time Jumpers-The Time Jumpers

Best Comedy Album

Jimmy Fallon-Blow Your Pants Off

Lewis Black-In God we Rust

Margaret Cho-Cho Dependent (Live in Concert)

Kathy Griffin-Kathy Griffin: Seaman 1^st Class

Jim Gaffigan-Mr. Universe

Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media
The Descendants
Marley
Midnight in Paris
The Muppets
Rock of Ages

Best Soundtrack Score for Visual Media
The Adventures of Tin Tin-John Williams
The Artist-Ludovic Bource
The Dark Knight Rises-Hans Zimmer
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo-Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Hugo-Howard Shore
Journey-Austin Wintory

Best Song Written for Visual Media
Abraham's Daughter-performed by Trent Reznor (from The Hunger Games)
Lean Me Right-performed by Mumford and Sons (from Brave)
Let Me Be Your Star-performed by Katherine McPhee and Megan Hilty (from Smash)
Man or Muppet-performed by Jason Segal and Walter (from The Muppets)
Safe and Sound-performed by Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars (from The Hunger Games)

Best Musical Theatre Album
Follies
The Gershwin's Porgie and Bess
Newsies
Nice Work if You Can Get it
Once: A New Musical

The N Word (A Dissection in Recent Popular Culture)

After a long hard day at work, what's a better way to unwind then discuss one of the most polarizing words in vocabulary today, the N word.  For all intents and purposes I will not be saying the word outright.

Over this past weekend Actor/Comedienne Chevy Chase was reported as saying the N word while on the set of the television series Community.  At first there was not much information or background on the story, but today new details came to light, but first a little bit of background on his character.  Chase plays Pierce Hawthrone a wealthy old man, and heir to a moist toilet fortune.  Pierce's character is always portrayed a bigoted old white man.  One example of the quotes he has said from an episode is the following "Oh, please. If all Chinese were psychic, they'd have invented birth control years ago."

While that quote is on the tamer side, Pierce often represents the out of touch, and is seen as type villain on the show.  Pierce's father is actually worse, but that's neither here nor there.  Going back to the Chevy's remarks, while shooting on the set he broke out in a rage saying something along the effects of what are you going to do next on the show, have my character say the N word, but he said the word.  After saying the word Chevy apologized to the cast and crew specifically Donald Glover and Yvette Nicole Brown, they play Troy and Shirley on the show.

The View's Whoopi Goldberg lead a discussion speaking about this word, and the panelist had some interesting musings.  Before you complain about me using The View as an example, this is one of the few places where black women get to speak their mind.  Whoopi took the perspective that she uses the word in order to not let the word lose its stigma, because no matter what the word still has a past, and if the word gets watered down so much those with hatred can take advantage of it.  Meanwhile co-host Barbara Walters asked the most interesting question(s) when can it be used? Who can use it, or is the ever time it can be used and not critiqued?

There is no simple answer to any of her questions, and the complex one could fill up books.  Looking at this from a popular culture lens has merits, because the way musicians, actors, and other auteur's use this word has an impact on society.

One recent example I would like to use is the track from Jay-Z and Kanye West's album Watch the Throne entitled "Ni**as in Paris."  In the article "The N-Word and how we Talk About Hip Hop" Nicole Holliday points an interesting yet superficial argument.  What do you do while you karaoke and that word is in your song, do you sing it, do you mumble over it?  How do you handle that, and does your race matter when you do?

Going back to the track from Jay-Z and Kanye, Gweneth Paltrow got a lot of flack for tweeting "Ni**as in Paris for real."  Paltrow's tweet made national headlines and she received a lot of flack for using the word in her tweet.  Paltrow's defense was ultimately that she was saying the title of the song, not defaming anyone, or using the words against people.  Holliday and the folks from The Word, and online journal for African American English have dissected the actual N-Word a lot lately, and ask is Gweneth wrong?

Throughout the different articles Holliday points out that the same two questions come up "Who has the license to use the word?" and "In what context is the word not offensive?"  Whoopi posed the following question "I would ask Gwyneth this. I don’t know that there’s ever a time that a white person can say that and not get a backlash for using it."  Then in today's episode she stated the that she was not sure that anyone, even a black person could escape the backlash of the N-word.

Both points of view have polar opposite thoughts on use of the N-word making the discussion on of the most complex for the ages.  Different people have different perspectives on this word, and who can use it and in what context.  There are people who believe the word can only be used by black people.  People who use the word because the feel as though watering down words gives those the power to make it something negative or too common place.

Let's go back to Chevy's outburst, was he wrong for using the word out of anger in that context.  Chase is known to be a difficult person to work with, and prior to hearing "the story" of what happened anger filled my blood.  Then when I heard why he used it and knowing the context of the direction of his character on the show, I am not surprised that he expressed anger and hatred in that manner.  Does this give him a pass?  Chase was using an extreme to stir the pot.  This word is an extreme, and like I stated above there could be books written on this topic.  There is no solution or easy answer to this analysis, merely one that can spur discussion, and how it impacts those the word represents.

2011's Best Music: The Albums and Songs

The Grammy's really don't know their stuff.  Here are my picks for the best albums of the year and the best singles.  This is my my first list of the "best."  The list of the best TV shows, performances in TV, and TV episodes of the year is up next!

Best Albums 

1-Adele's-21

It's hard to find people who do not love this album.  I have one friend who does, but his argument is he does not like Adele's voice ( I am baffled).  From start to finish this album is beautifully flawless.  Their is pure raw energy and talent.  This is one of my favorite albums of all time

Best Track "Someone Like You"

2-Bon Iver-Bon Iver

The music on this album is hauntingly beautiful.  The songwriting and tone of this somewhat soft pop is terrific.  One of the most soothing albums, while his voice may be unmistakable, there is something about the way his music lulls you into believing you are surrounded by nothing but beauty.

Best Track "Holocene"

3-Beyonce-4 

A lot of people wrote off this album, but I think this is one of Beyonce's strongest albums.  This did not have a lot of success sales wise, but sometimes the best material does not.  Beyonce has put her heart and soul into this album and it shows!

Best Track- "Countdown" 

4-Jay-Z and Kanye West-Watch the Throne

The combination of these two performers could have been explosively bad, with both of their egos.  Yet the music speaks for itself with songs that go into deep subject matters like racism, this album takes hip hop to another level.

Best Track-"Otis"

5-The Black Keys- El Camino

This album keeps up with the trend of their music have an influence with the blues, but also finds inspiration in rock.  The album is their first that has found the best balance in going beyond their overtly sad, and finds more upbeat sounds.

Best Track-"Dead and Gone"

6-Florence + the Machine-Ceremonials

There is no sophomore slump here, in fact this disc may be better than their first.  The music is haunting, and with every track their is new discovery of the talents within this group.  Florence's vocals are some of the best of the year, her voice is just perfection on these tracks.

Best Track: Seven Devils

Best Singles of 2011

1-Beyonce-"Countdown"

2-Adele-"Rolling in the Deep"

3-Nicki Minaj-"Super Bass"

4-Foster the People "Pumped up Kicks"

5-Britney Spears-"I Wanna Go"

2011 Entertainer(s) of the Year: Adele is Entertainer of the Year

1-Adele-My entertainer of the year was a no brainer, Adele.  Adele's tunes simply put are some of the best music produced this year.  Adele's album has been certified gold, and sold 4 million plus copies, and her single "Rolling in the Deep" is the number one single of the year in the US.  Adele is from the UK and her album sales make her the most successful artist within the last ten years.  This woman is an unstoppable force, with a soulful voice.  Adele's "Someone Like You," is also doing well on the singles charts, and i imagine her third single "Set Fire to the Rain" will be another huge hit!  I first heard Adele back in 2004 when she was the free itunes single of the week with her song "Hometown Glory."  I have been hooked ever since, and am proud to make Adele my entertainer of the year.

2-Ryan Gosling-Why him?  This guy is much more than his looks.  Gosling has consistently moved beyond his good looks (should have been named People Magazine's sexiest man alive this year) and moved towards being a strong leading male; he has also taken roles in more off beat films.  Gosling starred in three different films this year and was amazing in each film.  Crazy Stupid Love showed how witty, sarcastic, and funny he can be,  give this man more roles like this!  In Drive Gosling did more with his facial expression than with the actual dialogue.  Drive is one of the more unique films of the year, and Gosling was spell binding in this film.  Neither of those films provided his best performance; his best performance was in Ides of March.  Ides of March has Gosling hitting every range of emotion, and never missing a beat; he provided strong performances in each of these films, and made these movies even better than they could have been!

3-Melissa McCarthy, Kristin Wiig, Maya Rudolph, and Rose Byrne-These women rock!  Melissa McCarthy is hilarious, while she was great in the Gilmore Girls, 2011 was her year!  McCarthy has Mike and Molly on CBS sitcom.  At this past year's Emmy Awards she won Outstanding Lead Actress in Comedy Series (a huge surprise); her star power is making this show a hit.   Rose Byrne continued her work on the television series Damages and she starred in X-Men: First Class as Moira McTaggert.  Maya Rudolph is a scene stealing talk show host on the NBC sitcom Up All Night. Wiig is the star of Saturday Night Live;she is one the few females on the show and she makes this still a relevant funny variety series.  Then Wiig writes a screenplay for a film and when all four women's powers combine you get the funniest film of the year, Bridesmaids.  These four women are amazing and have provided some incredible laughter, and with Byrne a little bit of drama for 2011.

4-The cast of Game of Thrones-This show was a phenomena.  I came to the game late and watched the entire first season around Thanksgiving, but I was blown away by the talented cast.  The cast does not have a lot of big names, the biggest during the first season are Sean Bean, Peter Dinklage and Lena Headey, but together they have created a series that illuminates a mystical world.  Dinklage was honored with the Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series; he is great, but this ensemble works like a well oiled machine, and it's hard to single out one person that stands out.  Sure people will have their favorite character(s), but this ensemble provided some of the best acting this year, and made this show more than just a Fantasy show, it brought to life great literature.

5-Jessica Chastain and Viola Davis-These two are both twoof the stars of the hit film The Help, and within that film that are both polar opposites and at odds with each other.  Chastain plays a woman hell bent on creating seperate restrooms for "the help" while Davis plays Abileen of of the maids who works for white families and decides to tell her story.  Their performances in this film are great but both of them did not just take on these roles this year.  Davis has a supporting role in the film that will be released this month Extremely Loud and Incredibly Closewhich looks to provide her with more strong material.  Chastain seems to be in a lot of of films this year; she played the mother in Tree of Life, the wife to Michael Shannon in Taking Shelter (her best performance), and she was in The Debt and Coralanus.  These two women may have been at odds in The Help but they have proved to be two talented actresses.

6-Daniel Radcliffe-Daniel Radcliffe "The boy who lived come to die" was the star of this years highest grossing film (to date).  Radcliffe has been a part of the entire Harry Potter franchise, and as the series came to a close this year, he will ride off into a wonderful career.  Radcliffe started out an unknown more than ten years ago, and today he is one of the most recognizable faces.  Radcliffe not only starred in the most successful film of the year but he also made his way back to Broadway.  Radcliffe played J. Pierpont Finch in the revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.  While Daniel did not receive any award recognition his star power is a presence he and did a lot for the Harry Potter franchise and on the Great White Way this year.

7-Kanye West and Jay-Z-These two men not only put on the Watch the Throne tour, but they hold the throne as two of most influential musicians working.  The combination of their talent on a critically acclaimed album, and then a well attended tour has made this duo unstoppable this year.  Kanye West leads the pack at the Grammy Awards this year with seven nominations, and shares some of these nominations with the Jigga man.  Not only did these two put out one of the best albums of of the year, but their collaboration has spawned some of the best hip hop music in years, and should prove that this is the direction this genre should take.

8-AMC-This network continues to be a beacon for quality television programming.  In 2011 the network won Best Drama series award for Mad Men. This is the fourth year the series has won this prize.  Mad Men has not aired during the 2011 year but helped the network pick up this award.  During 2011 the network brought the first season of The Killing, which followed the murder of Rosie Larson in Seattle.  The Killing was a critical and ratings success, scoring a slew of Emmy nominations, and was picked up for a second season.  The mystery of Rosie Larson continues.  Breaking Bad returned for its fourth season getting continually better (as the show has done throughout its history), and has grown in popularity.  The Walking Dead returned for its second season and has remained the network highest rated show, scoring 6 million viewers on average.  This network has grown into one of the most reliable channels, and has provided some of the best television this year.


9-Michael Fassbender-This guy took 2011 by storm; he had a few relatively small roles but suddenly became a quality leading man this year.  Fassbender played Rochester in Jane Eyre, then played Eric Lensher aka Magneto in X-Men: First Class,  then one of the father's of psychoanalysis Carl Jung in A Dangerous Method, and finally a sex addict Brandon Sullivan in Shame.  Fassbender's four different roles provided him with a tremendous career change and served to be some of the best acting this year.  This man is a marvel, and every film he starred in provided people with something different from his dark action packed turn as Magneto to his exploration of sex addiction.  Fassbender provided some of the best film experiences this year.

10-The cast and crew from All My Children and One Life to 

Live-Laugh at me if you will, but these with both of these show ending this year they pulled together and produced some of the best television they had ever put on in years!  Saying goodbye to Susan Lucci's iconic Erica Kane, classic couple like Angie and Jesse Hubbard, and Tad the Cad Martin on All My Children was incredibly sad.  While One Life to Live is still on the air, its time is coming to an end soon too.  I started watching One Life to Live later than All My Children, but fell in love with some of the characters quickly.  Erika Slezak's Vicki and her multiple personalities, Bo and Nora reuniting finally, and of course Todd Manning and his evil ways.  Both of these shows provided some beautiful send offs, and worked towards providing satisfying endings.  I will be sad to see them off the air, but the provided some of the best entertainment during 2011.