Oh Boy It Never Ends: The Grammy nominations

Asked Kat if she planned to cover the Grammy nominations? She said to grab him so I will.

1. Record Of The Year

Award to the Artist and to the Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s) and/or Mixer(s) and mastering engineer(s), if other than the artist.

Don't Shut Me Down
ABBA
Benny Andersson, producer; Benny Andersson & Bernard Löhr, engineers/mixers; Björn Engelmann, mastering engineer
Easy On Me
Adele
Greg Kurstin, producer; Julian Burg, Tom Elmhirst & Greg Kurstin, engineers/mixers; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer
BREAK MY SOUL
Beyoncé
Beyoncé, Terius "The-Dream" Gesteelde-Diamant, Jens Christian Isaksen & Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, producers; Brandon Harding, Chris McLaughlin & Stuart White, engineers/mixers; Colin Leonard, mastering engineer
Good Morning Gorgeous
Mary J. Blige
D’Mile & H.E.R., producers; Bryce Bordone, Serban Ghenea & Pat Kelly, engineers/mixers
You And Me On The Rock
Brandi Carlile Featuring Lucius
Dave Cobb & Shooter Jennings, producers; Brandon Bell, Tom Elmhirst & Michael Harris, engineers/mixers; Pete Lyman, mastering engineer
Woman
Doja Cat
Crate Classics, Linden Jay, Aynzli Jones & Yeti Beats, producers; Jesse Ray Ernster & Rian Lewis, engineers/mixers; Mike Bozzi, mastering engineer
Bad Habit
Steve Lacy
Steve Lacy, producer; Neal Pogue & Karl Wingate, engineers/mixers; Mike Bozzi, mastering engineer
The Heart Part 5
Kendrick Lamar
Beach Noise, producer; Beach Noise, Rob Bisel, Ray Charles Brown Jr., James Hunt, Johnny Kosich, Matt Schaeffer & Johnathan Turner, engineers/mixers; Michelle Mancini, mastering engineer
About Damn Time
Lizzo
Ricky Reed & Blake Slatkin, producers; Patrick Kehrier, Bill Malina & Manny Marroquin, engineers/mixers; Michelle Mancini, mastering engineer
As It Was
Harry Styles
Tyler Johnson & Kid Harpoon, producers; Jeremy Hatcher & Spike Stent, engineers/mixers; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer

For me, it comes down to Adele or Lizzo -- their songs really grabbed you the first time you heard them and then became inescapable

Album of the Year

"Voyage" — ABBA

"30" — Adele

"Un Verano Sin Ti" — Bad Bunny

"RENAISSANCE" — Beyoncé

"Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe)" — Mary J. Blige

"In These Silent Days" — Brandi Carlile

"Music Of The Spheres" — Coldplay

"Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers" — Kendrick Lamar

"Special" — Lizzo

"Harry's House" — Harry Styles

My pick would be Mary J. She deserves it.

Song of the Year

"abcdefu" — Sara Davis, GAYLE & Dave Pittenger, songwriters (GAYLE)

"About Damn Time" — Melissa “Lizzo” Jefferson, Eric Frederic, Blake Slatkin & Theron Makiel Thomas, songwriters (Lizzo)

"All Too Well" (10 Minute Version) (The Short Film) — Liz Rose & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift)

"As It Was" — Tyler Johnson, Kid Harpoon & Harry Styles, songwriters (Harry Styles)

" Bad Habit" — Matthew Castellanos, Brittany Fousheé, Diana Gordon, John Carroll Kirby & Steve Lacy, songwriters (Steve Lacy)

"BREAK MY SOUL" — Beyoncé, S. Carter, Terius "The-Dream" Gesteelde-Diamant & Christopher A. Stewart, songwriters (Beyoncé)

"Easy On Me" — Adele Adkins & Greg Kurstin, songwriters (Adele)

"GOD DID" — Tarik Azzouz, E. Blackmon, Khaled Khaled, F. LeBlanc, Shawn Carter, John Stephens, Dwayne Carter, William Roberts & Nicholas Warwar, songwriters (DJ Khaled Featuring Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, John Legend &Fridayy)

"The Heart Part 5" — Jake Kosich, Johnny Kosich, Kendrick Lamar & Matt Schaeffer, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar)

"Just Like That" — Bonnie Raitt, songwriter (Bonnie Raitt)

Lizzo. "About Damn Time" is one of those songs that you hear and think, "Why didn't I think of that!!! I could've written it." But we didn't. Takes more than just a thought to write a great song like that.

4. Best New Artist

This category recognizes an artist whose eligibility-year release(s) achieved a breakthrough into the public consciousness and notably impacted the musical landscape.

Anitta
Omar Apollo
DOMi & JD Beck
Muni Long
Samara Joy
Latto
Måneskin
Tobe Nwigwe
Molly Tuttle
Wet Leg

Don't really care. Do you?

5. Best Pop Solo Performance

For new vocal or instrumental pop recordings. Singles or Tracks only.

Easy On Me
Adele
Moscow Mule
Bad Bunny
Woman
Doja Cat
Bad Habit
Steve Lacy
About Damn Time
Lizzo
As It Was
Harry Styles

I'll go with Adele here due to her singing but I'd be fine with Lizzo winning this.

6. Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

For new vocal or instrumental duo/group or collaborative pop recordings. Singles or Tracks only.

Don't Shut Me Down
ABBA
Bam Bam
Camila Cabello Featuring Ed Sheeran
My Universe
Coldplay & BTS
I Like You (A Happier Song)
Post Malone & Doja Cat
Unholy
Sam Smith & Kim Petras

Only one entry deserves it: Sam Smith & Kim Petras' "Unholy." Amazing song and they did a wonderful job on it.

7. Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album

For albums containing greater than 50% playing time of new traditional pop recordings.

Higher
Michael Bublé
When Christmas Comes Around...
Kelly Clarkson
I Dream Of Christmas (Extended)
Norah Jones
Evergreen
Pentatonix
Thank You
Diana Ross

I gasped when I read those. I had no idea Diana was nominated. This has to go to Diana. It has to. That album is magnificent -- not good, not great, magnificent. And it's past time that the legend won a competitive Grammy. God, hear my prayer, let this award go to Diana.

8. Best Pop Vocal Album

For albums containing greater than 50% playing time of new pop vocal recordings.

Voyage
ABBA
30
Adele
Music Of The Spheres
Coldplay
Special
Lizzo
Harry's House
Harry Styles

Lizzo or Adele. But honestly? I'd sell out everyone of my choices if Diana could walk away with the Grammy for best traditional pop album. It has to be.

9. Best Dance/Electronic Recording

For solo, duo, group or collaborative performances. Vocal or Instrumental. Singles or tracks only.

BREAK MY SOUL
Beyoncé
Beyoncé, Terius "The-Dream" Gesteelde-Diamant, Jens Christian Isaksen & Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, producers; Stuart White, mixer
Rosewood
Bonobo
Simon Green, producer; Simon Green, mixer
Don't Forget My Love
Diplo & Miguel
Diplo & Maximilian Jaeger, producers; Luca Pretolesi, mixer
I'm Good (Blue)
David Guetta & Bebe Rexha
David Guetta & Timofey Reznikov, producers; David Guetta & Timofey Reznikov, mixers
Intimidated
KAYTRANADA Featuring H.E.R.
H.E.R. & KAYTRANADA, producers; KAYTRANADA, mixer
On My Knees
RÜFÜS DU SOL
Jason Evigan & RÜFÜS DU SOL, producers; Cassian Stewart-Kasimba, mixer

I'd go with "Don't Forget My Love"

10. Best Dance/Electronic Music Album

For vocal or instrumental albums. Albums only.

Renaissance
Beyoncé
Fragments
Bonobo
Diplo
Diplo
The Last Goodbye
ODESZA
Surrender
RÜFÜS DU SOL

Diplo would be my pick.

11. Best Contemporary Instrumental Album

For albums containing greater than 50% or more playing time of instrumental material. For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new recordings.

Between Dreaming And Joy
Jeff Coffin
Not Tight
DOMi & JD Beck
Blooz
Grant Geissman
Jacob's Ladder
Brad Mehldau
Empire Central
Snarky Puppy

Like most Americans, I DON'T CARE.

12. Best Rock Performance

For new vocal or instrumental solo, duo/group or collaborative rock recordings.

So Happy It Hurts
Bryan Adams
Old Man
Beck
Wild Child
The Black Keys
Broken Horses
Brandi Carlile
Crawl!
Idles
Patient Number 9
Ozzy Osbourne Featuring Jeff Beck
Holiday
Turnstile

The winner should be the Black Keys.

13. Best Metal Performance

For new vocal or instrumental solo, duo/group or collaborative metal recordings.

Call Me Little Sunshine
Ghost
We'll Be Back
Megadeth
Kill Or Be Killed
Muse
Degradation Rules
Ozzy Osbourne Featuring Tony Iommi
Blackout
Turnstile

No idea, not my bag.

14. Best Rock Song

A Songwriter(s) Award. Includes Rock, Hard Rock and Metal songs. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.

Black Summer
Flea, John Frusciante, Anthony Kiedis & Chad Smith, songwriters (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
Blackout
Brady Ebert, Daniel Fang, Franz Lyons, Pat McCrory & Brendan Yates, songwriters (Turnstile)
Broken Horses
Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth & Tim Hanseroth, songwriters (Brandi Carlile)
Harmonia's Dream
Robbie Bennett & Adam Granduciel, songwriters (The War On Drugs)
Patient Number 9
John Osbourne, Chad Smith, Ali Tamposi, Robert Trujillo & Andrew Wotman, songwriters (Ozzy Osbourne Featuring Jeff Beck)

The War On Drugs

15. Best Rock Album

For albums containing greater than 50% playing time of new rock, hard rock or metal recordings.

Dropout Boogie
The Black Keys
The Boy Named If
Elvis Costello & The Imposters
Crawler
Idles
Mainstream Sellout
Machine Gun Kelly
Patient Number 9
Ozzy Osbourne
Lucifer On The Sofa
Spoon

I'd go with the Black Keys but wouldn't be upset if Elvis Costello got the award.

16. Best Alternative Music Performance

For new vocal or instrumental solo, duo/group or collaborative Alternative music recordings.

There'd Better Be A Mirrorball
Arctic Monkeys
Certainty
Big Thief
King
Florence + The Machine
Chaise Longue
Wet Leg
Spitting Off The Edge Of The World
Yeah Yeah Yeahs Featuring Perfume Genius

Florence + The Machine or Artic Monkeys.

17. Best Alternative Music Album

Vocal or Instrumental.

WE
Arcade Fire
Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You
Big Thief
Fossora
Björk
Wet Leg
Wet Leg
Cool It Down
Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Why not Bjork. It was a big deal album and she's one of the most unique and original artists around.

18. Best R&B Performance

For new vocal or instrumental R&B recordings.

VIRGO’S GROOVE
Beyoncé
Here With Me
Mary J. Blige Featuring Anderson .Paak
Hrs & Hrs
Muni Long
Over
Lucky Daye
Hurt Me So Good
Jazmine Sullivan

Mary J. Blige. This should be a year in which she sweeps.

19. Best Traditional R&B Performance

For new vocal or instrumental traditional R&B recordings.

Do 4 Love
Snoh Aalegra
Keeps On Fallin'
Babyface Featuring Ella Mai
PLASTIC OFF THE SOFA
Beyoncé
'Round Midnight
Adam Blackstone Featuring Jazmine Sullivan
Good Morning Gorgeous
Mary J. Blige

Again Mary but Babyface wouldn't make me mad because it was a really tight song.

20. Best R&B Song

A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.

CUFF IT
Denisia "Blu June" Andrews, Beyoncé, Mary Christine Brockert, Brittany "Chi" Coney, Terius "The-Dream" Gesteelde-Diamant, Morten Ristorp, Nile Rodgers & Raphael Saadiq, songwriters (Beyoncé)
Good Morning Gorgeous
Mary J. Blige, David Brown, Dernst Emile II, Gabriella Wilson & Tiara Thomas, songwriters (Mary J. Blige)
Hrs & Hrs
Hamadi Aaabi, Dylan Graham, Priscilla Renea, Thaddis "Kuk" Harrell, Brandon John-Baptiste, Isaac Wriston & Justin Nathaniel Zim, songwriters (Muni Long)
Hurt Me So Good
Akeel Henry, Michael Holmes, Luca Mauti, Jazmine Sullivan & Elliott Trent, songwriters (Jazmine Sullivan)
Please Don't Walk Away
PJ Morton, songwriter (PJ Morton)

Mary. If it were up to me, Diana would get her Grammy, Mary would sweep up most of the rest and The Black Keys would play us out of the broadcast.

21. Best Progressive R&B Album

For albums containing greater than 50% playing time of newly recorded progressive vocal tracks derivative of R&B.

Operation Funk
Cory Henry
Gemini Rights
Steve Lacy
Drones
Terrace Martin
Starfruit
Moonchild
Red Balloon
Tank And The Bangas

This one seems an easy call to me. No one did as much in this category as Moonchild.

22. Best R&B Album

For albums containing greater than 50% playing time of new R&B recordings.

Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe)
Mary J. Blige
Breezy (Deluxe)
Chris Brown
Black Radio III
Robert Glasper
Candydrip
Lucky Daye
Watch The Sun
PJ Morton

Mary.

23. Best Rap Performance

For a Rap performance. Singles or Tracks only.

GOD DID
DJ Khaled Featuring Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, John Legend & Fridayy
Vegas
Doja Cat
pushin P
Gunna & Future Featuring Young Thug
F.N.F. (Let's Go)
Hitkidd & GloRilla
The Heart Part 5
Kendrick Lamar

24. Best Melodic Rap Performance

For a solo or collaborative performance containing both elements of R&B melodies and Rap.

BEAUTIFUL
DJ Khaled Featuring Future & SZA
WAIT FOR U
Future Featuring Drake & Tems
First Class
Jack Harlow
Die Hard
Kendrick Lamar Featuring Blxst & Amanda Reifer
Big Energy (Live)
Latto

25. Best Rap Song

A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.

Churchill Downs
Ace G, BEDRM, Matthew Samuels, Tahrence Brown, Rogét Chahayed, Aubrey Graham, Jack Harlow & Jose Velazquez, songwriters (Jack Harlow Featuring Drake)
GOD DID
Tarik Azzouz, E. Blackmon, Khaled Khaled, F. LeBlanc, Shawn Carter, John Stephens, Dwayne Carter, William Roberts & Nicholas Warwar, songwriters (DJ Khaled Featuring Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, John Legend & Fridayy)
The Heart Part 5
Jake Kosich, Johnny Kosich, Kendrick Lamar & Matt Schaeffer, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar)
pushin P
Lucas Depante, Nayvadius Wilburn, Sergio Kitchens, Wesley Tyler Glass & Jeffery Lamar Williams, songwriters (Gunna & Future Featuring Young Thug)
WAIT FOR U
Tejiri Akpoghene, Floyd E. Bentley III, Jacob Canady, Isaac De Boni, Aubrey Graham, Israel Ayomide Fowobaje, Nayvadius Wilburn, Michael Mule, Oluwatoroti Oke & Temilade Openiyi, songwriters (Future Featuring Drake & Tems)

26. Best Rap Album

For albums containing greater than 50% playing time of new rap recordings.

GOD DID
DJ Khaled
I Never Liked You
Future
Come Home The Kids Miss You
Jack Harlow
Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
Kendrick Lamar
It's Almost Dry
Pusha T

Too hard for me to call, too many favorites in every category.

And that's where I'm stopping

Going out with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Tuesday, November 15, 2022. Could the country finally be free of Donald Trump? We ponder that and other issues.

Starting with Donald Trump. The never-ending soap opera was indulged by the GOP. Feared and indulged. He was supposed to represent so much to so many. But, in fact, he couldn't deliver at the mid-terms.

It's over for him.

He lost in 2020 and he failed to deliver in the mid-terms. He can bluster and the media can quake -- their usual relationship to one another -- but no one likes a loser and that's what Donald now is.

A loser and a failure.

His bluster argued he was something more than a politician; however, results and actions demonstrate he is something far less and you don't run a loser on your ticket three times. He was the nominee in 2016 and in 2020. The Republican Party is stupid enough to run him in 2024?

You're seeing people turn on him.

It's natural, he failed to deliver and he exposed himself as powerless -- there's nothing worse for a politician to be than powerless -- it's the political equivalent of a micro-penis.

He could wise up right now and ease into the role of elder statesman of the party who cheers other candidates on and gives a speech at the convention but that's really all he's got now.

He failed to deliver.

And people put a lot of time into him. He failed to deliver and he took up so much of their time with his never ending soap opera. Was he persecuted by the media? Absolutely, they refused to even give him the normal 100 first days of the presidency -- the fluff coverage. But at a certain point, it becomes: So what?

Even for his supporters it becomes: So what?

Had he delivered in the mid-terms, things would be different for him.

But he didn't.

And now Republicans are looking at him differently. With a winner, you'll take a lot. Look at Aaron Rogers and how the press is no longer being as kind.

When you can't deliver, everyone of your mistakes and faults is magnified and re-examined.

So right now, he's struggling with whether or not he took top secret documents he shouldn't have. And that just reminds everyone of every other soap opera element when he was president.

And do they, the Republican Party, want a fresh start or do they want a so-so candidate with all that baggage who can't even deliver votes.

Or anything else.

What did Donald deliver that he promised he would? How did he make the lives of his supporters better?

He fought the entire four years, yes. Not just with Democrats. Not just with the media. He was constantly fighting with his own party.

And he achieved nothing.

He was supposed to be a maverick, an outsider. What actions in his four years in office demonstrate that?

None.

Ron DeSantis defeated a Republican in Florida. It was two Republicans. Charlie Christ spent most of his life as a Republican. Could he beat a real Democrat? Who knows. But many Republicans are hailing his victory because they're so sick of the past and Ron -- whether he goes on to become the nominee or not -- is a winner and Donald's a loser.

This is not a bad development.

We don't need Donald Trump in another race. We didn't need him in the race in 2016. We also don't need Joe Biden -- Joe, who turns 80 in five days.

Jen Psaki has clearly decided that whore and journalist are synonymous. Joe, she's taken to saying on MSNBC, is the only one who's ever defeated Donald Trump.

First off, that's a lie. Life has defeated Donald Trump. Ivana Trump defeated Donald Trump. Gravity defeated Donald Trump -- look at that face, ew. The list is endless.

Joe won one race against Donald Trump. It wasn't that difficult.

At the very start of 2016, we offered "2015: The Year of the Ass" -- a look back at the prior year. That piece concluded with:

2015 will lead into 2016. So is it any surprise that, as the year ends, it appears very likely that the two major party candidates who'll be competing next year will be Hillary and Donald Trump?

What else, honestly, what else could The Year of the Ass produce but a match off between each major party's biggest ass?

In 2016, Donald didn't beat one of the party's major politicians. He beat Hillary Clinton. Someone who had to cheat to win the nomination. Had to get the debate questions in an advance. Someone who was a known loser. She was supposed to have 2008 all sewn up but she lost those primaries to Barack Obama who infamously said to her face, "You're likable enough."

And to win, Barack had to destroy her. You cannot have one campaign call the other racist -- and Barack's 2008 campaign called both Hillary and Bill racist -- and then have the person you're calling a racist win eight years later. They also pushed that she wanted to murder Barack. Keith Olbermann and Majorie Cohn -- among many others -- took her comments about why she wasn't dropping out of the race to mean that she was (a) hoping someone would murder Barack or (b) asking that someone assassinate Barack.

This garbage came over the airwaves on MSNBC.

She never stood a real chance of winning in 2016. She had too many negatives. On top of that, unlike when she was seeking the party's nomination in 2008, she refused to campaign. Eight years older, she refused to get out and get the vote. She seemed to think she was entitled to it. She also seemed to think that she should now run like Barack (celebrities were what she sought out, not voters).

Hillary was not a great candidate. She lacked charisma. The only thing she could sell the people was that she was a workhorse who would get things done. But you can't refuse to go to Ohio, for example, while you're shaking it onstage with Jennifer Lopez and look like a workhorse who gets things done.

In 2020, any Democrat would have beaten Donald Trump.

Joe is not a savior of the party. Bernie could have done it, Elizabeth Warren could have done it, Julian Castro could have done it, Cory Booker could have done it, Kirsten Gillibrand could have done it, Amy Klobuchar could have done it, even Mike Bloomberg could have done it.

Joe and Donald both need to step aside. Let's see if either has the brains to do it.

The country needs leadership, not old men gasping their last breaths as they remain out of touch with the world around them.

Robert Pether doesn't need to be gasping his last breath but, thanks to the failures of the Australian government, he may be. In the last few months, the UK has freed two of their citizens from Iraq. Meanwhile Robert Pether rots in an Iraqi jail. Jessica Bahr (SBS NEWS) reports:

The wife of an Australian man being held in an Iraqi jail has spoken of her fears he won’t survive the ordeal.

Robert Pether has been detained in Iraq since April 2021. He has been locked in a 28-man cell for 19 months.

Mr Pether's wife Desree told SBS News her husband had lost 42 kilograms during his detention.

"To look at him now, it's like he's aged 40 years ... it's just absolutely heartbreaking," she said.

"It's like watching him die slowly and listening to him die slowly and he's not well, he keeps getting sick."

Australians should be toppling their government right now because it refuses to carry out its primary duty: To protect its citizens.

We'll close with BROS.

The following sites updated: