Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 24, 1993 TAG: 9302230255
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN ANTCZAK ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
GRAMMY AWARDS FACE MIDLIFE CRISIS
The realization that this year's top Grammy nominee is a graybeard rocker older than the president of the United States makes Garry Shandling's head spin."It's very odd to see the music of my generation become mainstream. I don't think this is the year of the woman; I think this is the year to call it quits. I've never felt older in my life," the comedian lamented as he pondered the 35th annual Grammy Awards show for which he'll be host tonight.
"I think we were sort of the anti-establishment, immature generation and now suddenly we have to really begin thinking of ourselves as our parents. I don't think we're prepared for it. I think that's why there's the sense of panic in the country."
If not panic, there's at least plenty to trigger a rock 'n' roll midlife crisis at this year's Grammy presentations.
Eric Clapton, the 47-year-old master of the electric guitar who joined the Yardbirds three decades ago and formed the legendary trio Cream a quarter-century ago, has a leading nine nominations.
And most are for an album of acoustic music featuring a wooden version "Layla," the rock anthem originally released back in Clapton's Derek and the Dominos days in 1970.
Three of Clapton's bids are in the top categories of record ("Tears in Heaven"), album ("Unplugged") and song ("Tears in Heaven") of the year.
Competition for those awards comes from Billy Ray Cyrus, the Celine Dion-Peabo Bryson pairing for "Beauty and the Beast," k.d. lang, Vanessa Williams, Annie Lennox and U2.
Musically, all but Cyrus and U2 are typical nominees for those Grammys. But Cyrus, with the huge hit "Achy Breaky Heart," benefited from the immense popularity of country that blurs category lines. Similarly, U2's unique brand of rock has broadened its appeal across audiences.
Michael Greene, president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, readily agrees that mainstream is the word for nominees for the top honors but contends that unfairly characterizes the Grammys as a whole.
"There's several problems we have with this dinosaur of a show," he said. "One is that we have well over 400 nominees in 80 categories and generally we only get to put about 13 performances on the air . . . so many of the nominations that are showcased are what we call the popular categories."
Behind the scenes, all 7,000 voting academy members can vote on record, album and song of the year as well as best new artist.
"That means you've got Latin, polka people, metal heads, rappers, classical jazz, big band, country - all of that whole amalgamation of creative and technical people - only [coming] together on those four categories. Consequently, the nominees that you get in those categories are far more mainstream," said Greene.
For the other 76 award categories, each member is only allowed to vote in areas in which they have expertise.
Firing off names of nominees like Nine Inch Nails, Arrested Development, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Alice in Chains, Faith No More and Megadeth, Greene added:
"It's pretty much all things to 80 different categories of music. You can't just look at record of the year and judge the academy. You gotta look at all 80 categories."