Grammys 2012: Foo Fighters’ ‘Wasting Light’ wins for rock album
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
The Foo Fighters’ ‘Wasting Light’ collected the rock album Grammy Award on Sunday, as many had predicted.
The band was considered the favorite coming into this year’s Grammy ceremony, having taken the rock album award three times in the previous dozen years. “Wasting Light” garnered the veteran group that Dave Grohl assembled after the demise of Nirvana some of the best reviews of its career, in part for songs that wrestle honestly with life’s ghosts and unanswered — and perhaps unanswerable — questions.
‘I think this is by far the most rock record that we’ve ever done,” Grohl said last year. “That was our intention, and that’s why we did it with [‘Nevermind’ producer] Butch [Vig]. It has to sound huge. It has to feel big. I want to hear 80,000 [people] singing the chorus of ‘These Days’ because, to me, that’s what it’s all about.’
The contraction this year in the rock field that brought seven categories down to three probably didn’t have a significant effect on the rock album (or rock song) nominees. The reduction was accomplished by rolling together previously separate categories for hard rock and metal performance, as also was done by boiling solo vocal, duo or group vocal and instrumental categories down to a single rock performance category.
The award has gone in recent years to mainstream arena-rock acts including U2, Bruce Springsteen, the Foo Fighters, the Chili Peppers and Coldplay, although twice in the last decade it was claimed by pop-punk band Green Day. Last year it went to British electronica-prog rock group Muse’s “The Resistance.”
The Grammys are determined by about 13,000 voting members. The eligibility period for nominated recordings was Oct. 1, 2010, to Sept. 30, 2011.
The awards are being held at the Staples Center and will be telecast on CBS. They are broadcast live except for viewers on the West Coast. The latest headlines and any breaking news will be posted here on Pop & Hiss.
RELATED:
‘Bon Iver’ wins for alternative album
Live coverage of the Grammy pre-show
Foo Fighters, Coldplay keep things predictable
Jennifer Hudson to sing Whitney Huston tribute
Show starts with Bruce Springsteen and a prayer
Kanye’s MIA and Chris Brown is a turn for the worse
‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ wins for rap album
Critic’s Notebook: The junking of commercial rock music
Commentary: Where’s the love for the supreme Diana Ross?
--Randy Lewis
