Dylans, Colvin Big ’98 Grammy Winners
The music world is experiencing the aftermath of its own El Nino
following last night’s 40th annual Grammy Awards
presentation at New York’s Radio City Hall.
Perennial favorite Jimmy Sturr may have
captured his eighth polka-related award, but it was Bob
Dylan and son Jakob who stole the show,
upstaging the Polka Prince by snagging three and two Grammys,
respectively.
The elder Dylan won the hearts of rock purists by winning the
Album of the Year award (Time Out of Mind), Best
Contemporary Folk Album (Time Out of Mind) and Best Rock
Song (“Cold Irons Bound”), while Jakob and the
Wallflowers snagged awards for Best Rock
Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal (“One Headlight”) and Best
Rock Song (“One Headlight”).
Before Dylan captured his final piece of hardware, he performed
a memorably rugged version of the bluesy “Lovesick,” unwittingly
complemented by a topless man performing an interpretive dance. The
limber neo-hippie (the dancer, not Bob), who had the words “Soy
Bomb” painted on his chest, appeared beside the unflappable veteran
and vogued to the song before half-asleep security yanked him
off-stage.
Earlier, the napping staff allowed the Wu-Tang
Clan’s daft Ol’ Dirty Bastard to disrupt
Shawn Colvin’s acceptance speech for Song of the
Year with his tangential filibuster about how the Clan should have
won the Best Rap Album award instead of Puff Daddy and the
Family. “Puff Daddy is good, but Wu Tang is for the
children,” ODB told the dumbfounded audience. (Mayor Rudy
Giuliani was undoubtedly doubled over in laughter. Maybe
next year Jerry Springerwill lend Grammy organizer
Michael Greene some henchmen to keep things
copacetic.)
Another bizarre moment came during the award for Best Female
Country Vocal Performance, in which Trisha
Yearwood nabbed the Grammy for the song “How Do I Live”
one minute after 15-year old LeAnn Rimes performed
a stirring, also-nominated version of the same song. (That’s like
giving props to Thelma instead of Louise.)
Squeezing 18 performances into three hours is no easy task —
one that inevitably involves cutting some performances short (so
long as they’re not ratings-grabbers Celine Dion
or R. Kelly, who picked up three Grammy Awards for
the Space Jam song “I Believe I Can Fly”).
The Lilith Fair contingent got the proverbial
shaft this year as Paula Cole, Shawn Colvin and
Sarah McLachlan were given the “verse-chorus,
next, please” treatment for their back-to-back-to-back performance.
Still, Cole managed to drop a kickin’ human beatbox into her
truncated version of “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone.”
After Colvin’s reflective take on “Sunny Came Home” (Song of the
Year and Record of the Year), Cole and Colvin joined double-Grammy
winner McLachlan (Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Pop
Instrumental Performance) for a gorgeous “Building a Mystery.”
Later, Cole avoided being a shut-out for her seven nominations by
upsetting favorites Hanson and Fiona
Apple to capture a Grammy for Best New Artist. (To
celebrate, Cole will not shave her armpits.)
Unexpected winners included Ray-Ban sunglasses, which received
choice product placement from Will Smith during
his inspired rap medley “Men in Black/Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It,” as
well as Dan Aykroyd and John
Goodman, who managed to plug Blues Brothers 2000
during a performance of “Respect” featuring Aretha
Franklin. Smith later accepted a Grammy for Best Rap Solo
Performance (“Men in Black”).
Other artists who lugged Grammys to the after-parties included:
Erykah Badu for Best R&B album
(Baduizm) and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (“On
and On”); Radiohead and
Jamiroquai — neither of whom attended the show —
for Best Alternative Music Performance (OK Computer) and
Best Pop Performance By a Duo or Group with Vocal (“Virtual
Insanity”), respectively; the Smashing Pumpkins
for Best Hard Rock Performance (“The End Is the Beginning Is the
End”); Tool for Best Metal Performance
(Aenema); John Fogerty for Best Rock
Album (Blue Moon Swamp); the Chemical
Brothers for Best Rock Instrumental Performance (“Block
Rockin’ Beats”); and Fiona Apple for Best Female Vocal Performance
(“Criminal”). Fortunately, Apple didn’t accept the award during the
show’s telecast.