GRAMMY WATCH: ALICE IN CHAINS

Over the next few days, I'm gonna be posting about different Grammy nominees, who I don't think are getting much attention in the press. Obviously everyone knows about all the nominations for Eminem, Bruno Mars and B.o.B. But there are a lot of other artists that are nominated who deserve some shine. This series of posts is inspired by the fact that, when I worked at VH1, I covered the entire ceremony, and had the privilege of interviewing lots of artists who weren't part of the "big story," from Lemmy to Tibetan monks, from Lord Of The Rings score composer Howard Shore to The Blind Boys Of Alabama.  I also interviewed Beyonce, but sometimes the artists who aren't quite as big seem to appreciate it a bit more.

I don't know what awards will be given out on the national broadcast (you can see the pre-telecast at the Grammys website). But Best Hard Rock Performance probably won't be on TV, and if there is one win I'm really hoping for, it's that Alice In Chains wins in that category. "A Looking In View," which opens their comeback album, Black Gives Way To Blue, is nominated.  It is a really intense song.  I remember going to an album preview event, and hearing that song, and being kind of blown away. I hadn't seen the reunited Alice yet (although I had seen William DuVall singing their songs as part of Jerry Cantrell's solo band years earlier, and he was amazing). But I was still skeptical about whether the band could credibly go on, post-Layne Staley. Midway through "A Looking In View," I knew they could. It's a great song.

Also, AIC have never won a Grammy, and while I'm kind of against voting based on that criteria, it would be a shame for them not to win this one. They are up against some great competition: I love Ozzy Osbourne's "Let Me Hear You Scream," and Them Crooked Vultures' "New Fang." Also in the competition is Soundgarden's "Black Rain," which shouldn't even be there, as it is an outtake from about twenty years ago. I love Soundgarden, but that's my opinion. And I'll keep my opinion on STP to myself. I think AIC deserves this one, hands down.