Last week, a new wave of nominees were announced for the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, held in Los Angeles on February 12. While top-40 artists like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry dominated the categories, there are many notable indie nods. In the Record of the Year and Song of the Year categories, Justin Vernon a.k.a. Bon Iver is representing the indie folk genre. In the Best Alternative Album, Mr. Vernon is joined by Foster the People, My Morning Jacket, Radiohead, and Death Cab for Cutie. Although true indie music fans will probably scoff at this list of borderline mainstream independent music, the nominations point to a larger awareness of bands that are often left behind in a business that is dominated by formulaic pop songs.
While it is unlikely that Bon Iver will pull an upset with the self-titled album like Arcade Fire did last year (Adele is expected to take the award for “21″), the nomination is alarming many popular music publications like Pitchfork and Spin Magazine that work primarily in independent music news and reviews. Pitchfork gave “Bon Iver” an impressive 9.5 out of 10 on their notoriously critical rating scale. Reviewer Mark Richardson said of the album, “It’s a rare thing for an album to have such a strong sense of what it wants to be.”
But did the album want to be nominated for four Grammy Awards? Apparently not. Months before the nomination, Vernon told The New York Times, “I kinda felt like going up there and being like: ‘Everyone should go home, this is ridiculous. You should not be doing this. We should not be gathering in a big room and looking at each other and pretending this is important’.” Responding recently to this controversial statement, Vernon tweeted: “Everyone now knows how I felt back last February about the grammies [sic]. Room to grow, but I agree mostly.” This not-so-remorseful tweet may not fair well for the Grammy Awards, but it is safe to assume Vernon doesn’t care. He wrote his 2007 album “For Emma, Forever Ago” in the woods- the red carpet is likely the last place he wants to be.
Other surprising nominations are in the Best Dance/Electronica category, proving that certain electronic music has transcended its underground roots in 2011. Popular “dubstep” artist Skrillex was nominated for “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” along with Australian foursome Cut Copy, Deadmau5, “#1 DJ in the World“ David Guetta, and Robyn. Skrillex, the 23-year-old producer from Los Angeles, is up for five nominations, including the coveted Best New Artist nomination. ”I just hope it opens more doors for next year, not only Grammy nominations, but just everything in general,” he said. (Aside: follow the hilarious @Skrilleyshair on twitter, a meme account inspired by Skrillex’s unusual hairdo.)
In a world where music is becoming increasingly accessible, it is not surprising that these seemingly underground artists have infiltrated mainstream outlets and have ended up on several Grammy nominee lists. Artists like Skrillex blew up overnight through Facebook posts and internet buzz. Bon Iver played sold-out shows in huge venues around the U.S. on his 2011 tour. “Sharing” music is spreading music, and with social plug-ins on every music platform, spreading music is now easier than ever.
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