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good albums don't win Grammys (tonight), Pazz & Jop 2010 looks like Pitchfork, & other obvious statements

“[A Grammy] definitely doesn’t hold as much credence in the indie world,” said Amy Phillips, news editor of online music tastemaker and news site Pitchfork.com.

Pazz and JopPazz and JopPazz and JopPazz and Jop

Though the Grammys occasionally have bestowed their highest reward on albums that pretty much everybody agrees are great – such as OutKast‘s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, in 2004, or The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, in 1998 – the Recording Academy’s choices usually don’t match those of the music press.

(And that’s as true this year as ever, despite the academy’s efforts to get hipper and younger. After wins in the last two years by Herbie Hancock and the duo of Robert Plant and Alison Kruass, there’s a notable absence of geezer entries in the top categories this year.)

That’s because the critical consensus of what makes for good pop music in 2010 has coalesced around indie bands – all of them at least partly based in Brooklyn – such as Grizzly Bear, Dirty Projectors and, most of all, Animal Collective, which won the Village Voice’s annual Pazz & Jop critics’ poll, published earlier this month.

You won’t find any of those bands up for any Grammy Awards. But you will find all of them on 2009’s Top 10 list from Pitchfork, the online music magazine whose 1-to-10 scoring system – down to scientifically precise decimal points – is taken as gospel in the indie universe. (Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion garnered a world-beating 9.6.)

As Chuck Eddy skeptically pointed out in his essay accompanying the Pazz & Jop poll, eight of the Pitchfork Top 10 also made the P&J Top 10, suggesting that “indie-rock is suddenly better than everything put together.” [Philadelphia Inquirer]

The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards air at 8PM ET/PT tonight (1/31).

The Ting Tings, Silversun Pickups, and MGMT all appear in the Grammy’s Best New Artist category. David Byrne & Brian Eno, Death Cab For Cutie, Depeche Mode, Phoenix, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs are all up for Best Alternative Music Album (the latter two also made the top 10 albums list in Pazz & Jop).

UPDATE: Phoenix won it.

“I’m sure Lady Gaga will do something amazing, and I can’t wait to see that,” said Pitchfork’s Phillips. “That’s really good, but the awards themselves don’t seem to be relevant.

“I think what people don’t really realize is that it’s all industry people voting for themselves. The fact is that it’s taken so seriously, and it really shouldn’t be.” [Omaha World-Record]

As previously also pointed out, Beast, Neko Case (also a Pazz & Jop Top 10er), Imogen Heap, Kings of Leon and Wilco have also been nominated. If Wilco win, it won’t be the first time. They talked about their last Grammy win on stage at a show. Video from that, along with other videos and the full list of nominees below…

Grammy Awards 2010 Preview: Newcomers

Wilco discusses getting Grammy

Behind the Grammy scenes w/ Silversun Pickups

pregnant MIA talks about being nominated for a Grammy

RECORD OF THE YEAR
“Halo,” Beyonce
“I Gotta Feeling,” Black Eyed Peas
“Use Somebody,” Kings of Leon
“Poker Face,” Lady Gaga
“You Belong With Me,” Taylor Swift

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
I Am…Sasha Fierce, Beyonce
The E.N.D., The Black Eyed Peas
The Fame, Lady Gaga
Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King, Dave Matthews Band
Fearless, Taylor Swift

SONG OF THE YEAR
“Poker Face,” Lady Gaga
“Pretty Wings,” Maxwell
“Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” Beyonce
“Use Somebody,” Kings of Leon
“You Belong With Me,” Taylor Swift

BEST NEW ARTIST
Zac Brown Band
Keri Hilson
MGMT
Silversun Pickups
The Ting Tings

BEST FEMALE POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE
“Hometown Glory,” Adele
“Halo,” Beyonce
“Hot N Cold,” Katy Perry
“Sober,” Pink
“You Belong With Me,” Taylor Swift

BEST MALE POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE
“This Time,” John Legend
“Love You,” Maxwell
“Make It Mine,” Jason Mraz
“If You Don’t Know Me By Now,” Seal
“All About the Love Again,” Stevie Wonder

BEST POP PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCALS
“I Gotta Feeling,” Black Eyed Peas
“We Weren’t Born to Follow,” Bon Jovi
“Never Say Never,” The Fray
“Sara Smile,” Hall and Oates
“Kids,” MGMT

BEST POP COLLABORATION WITH VOCALS
“Sea of Heartbreak,” Rosanne Cash and Bruce Springsteen
“Love Sex Magic,” Ciara and Justin Timberlake
“Lucky,” Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat
“Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” Willie Nelson and Norah Jones
“Breathe,” Taylor Swift and Colbie Caillat

BEST POP INSTRUMENTAL PERFORMANCE
“Besame Mucho,” Herb Alpert
“Throw Down Your Heart,” Bela Fleck
“The Fire,” Imogen Heap
“Phoenix Rise,” Maxwell
“Funk Joint,” Marcus Miller

BEST POP INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM
In Boston, Chris Botti
Legacy, Hiroshima
Potato Hole, Booker T. Jones
Modern Art The Rippingtons Featuring Russ Freeman
Down the Wire, Spyro Gyra

BEST POP ALBUM
The E.N.D., The Black Eyed Peas
Breakthrough, Colbie Caillat
All I Ever Wanted, Kelly Clarkson
The Fray, The Fray
Funhouse, Pink

BEST DANCE RECORDING
“Boom Boom Pow,” The Black Eyed Peas
“When Love Takes Over,” David Guetta and Kelly Rowland
“Poker Face,” Lady Gaga
“Celebration,” Madonna
“Womanizer,” Britney Spears

BEST ELECTRONIC/DANCE ALBUM
Divided By Night, The Crystal Method
One Love, David Guetta
The Fame, Lady Gaga
Party Rock, LMFAO
Yes, Pet Shop Boys

BEST TRADITIONAL POP VOCAL ALBUM
A Swingin’ Christmas, Tony Bennett
Michael Buble Meets Madison Square Garden, Michael Buble
Your Songs, Harry Connick, Jr.
Liza’s At the Palace, Liza Minnelli
American Classic, Willie Nelson

BEST SOLO ROCK VOCAL PERFORMANCE
“Beyond Here Lies Nothin,'” Bob Dylan
“Change in the Weather,” John Fogerty
“Dreamer,” Prince
“Working on a Dream,” Bruce Springsteen
“Fork in the Road,” Neil Young

BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCALS
“Can’t Find My Way Home,” Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood
“Live in Technicolor II,” Coldplay
“21 Guns,” Green Day
“Use Somebody,” Kings of Leon
“I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight,” U2

BEST HARD ROCK PERFORMANCE
“War Machine,” AC/DC
“Check My Brain,” Alice in Chains
“What I’ve Done,” Linkin Park
“The Unforgiven III,” Metallica
“Burn It to the Ground,” Nickelback

BEST METAL PERFORMANCE
“Dissident Aggressor,” Judas Priest
“Set to Fail,” Lamb of God
“Head Crusher,” Megadeath
“Senor Peligro,” Ministry
“Hate Worldwide,” Slayer

BEST ROCK INSTRUMENTAL PERFORMANCE
“A Day in the Life,” Jeff Beck
“Warped Sister,” Booker T. Jones
“Playing With Fire,” Brad Paisley
“Mr. Surfer Goes Jazzin,'” Brian Setzer Orchestra
“Now We Run,” Steve Vai

BEST ROCK SONG
“The Fixer,” Pearl Jam
“I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight,” U2
“21 Guns,” Green Day
“Use Somebody,” Kings of Leon
“Working on a Dream,” Bruce Springsteen

BEST ROCK ALBUM
Black Ice, AC/DC
Live From Madison Square Garden, Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood
21st Century Breakdown, Green Day
Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King, Dave Matthews Band
No Line on the Horizon, U2

BEST ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUM
Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, David Byrne and Brian Eno
The Open Door, Death Cab for Cutie
Sounds of the Universe, Depeche Mode
Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, Phoenix
It’s Blitz!, Yeah Yeah Yeahs

BEST FEMALE R&B VOCAL PERFORMANCE
“Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It),” Beyonce
“It Kills Me,” Melanie Fiona
“That Was Then,” Lalah Hathaway
“Goin’ Thru Changes,” Ledisi
“Lions, Tigers & Bears,” Jazmine Sullivan

BEST MALE R&B VOCAL PERFORMANCE
“The Point of It All,” Anthony Hamilton
“Pretty Wings,” Maxwell
“Sobeautiful,” Musiq Soulchild
“Under,” Pleasure P
“There Goes My Baby,” Charlie Wilson

BEST R&B PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCALS
“Blame It,” Jamie Foxx and T-Pain
“Chocolate High,” India.Arie and Musiq Soulchild
“Ifuleave,” Musiq Soulchild and Mary J. Blige
“Higher Ground,” Robert Randolph and The Clark Sisters
“Love Has Finally Come at Last,” Calvin Richardson and Ann Nesby

BEST TRADITIONAL R&B VOCAL PERFORMANCE
“At Last,” Beyonce
“Soul Music,” Anthony Hamilton
“Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight,” Boney James and Quinn
“Sow Love,” Ann Nesby
“Woman Gotta Have It,” Calvin Richardson

BEST URBAN/ALTERNATIVE PERFORMANCE
“Daykeeper,” The Foreign Exchange
“All Matter,” Robert Glasper and Bilal
“Pearls,” India.Arie and Dobet Gnahore
“A Tale of Two,” Eric Roberson, Ben O’Neill, and Michelle Thompson
“Blend,” Tonex

BEST R&B SONG
“Blame It,” Jamie Foxx and T-Pain
“Lions, Tigers, and Bears,” Jazmine Sullivan
“Pretty Wings,” Maxwell
“Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” Beyonce
“Under,” Pleasure P

BEST R&B ALBUM
The Point of It All, Anthony Hamilton
Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics, India.Arie
Turn Me Loose, Ledisi
Blacksummers’ Night, Maxwell
Uncle Charlie, Charlie Wilson

BEST CONTEMPORARY R&B ALBUM
I Am…Sasha Fierce, Beyonce
Intuition, Jamie Foxx
The Introduction of Marcus Cooper, Pleasure P
Ready, Trey Songz
Thr33 Ringz, T-Pain

BEST RAP SOLO PERFORMANCE
“Best I Ever Had,” Drake
“Beautiful,” Eminem
“D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune),” Jay-Z
“Day ‘N’ Nite,” Kid Cudi
“Casa Bey,” Mos Def

BEST RAP PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP
“Too Many Rappers,” Beastie Boys and Nas
“Crack A Bottle,” Eminem, Dr. Dre, and 50 Cent
“Money Goes, Honey Stay,” Fabolous and Jay-Z
“Make Her Say,” Kid Cudi, Kanye West, and Common
“Amazing,” Kanye West and Young Jeezy

BEST RAP/SUNG COLLABORATION
“Ego,” Beyonce and Kanye West
“Knock You Down,” Keri Hilson, Kanye West and Ne-Yo
“Run This Town,” Jay-Z, Rihanna, and Kanye West
“I’m on a Boat,” The Lonely Island and T-Pain
“Dead and Gone,” T.I. and Justin Timberlake

BEST RAP SONG
“Best I Ever Had,” Drake
“Day ‘N’ Nite,” Kid Cudi
“Dead and Gone,” T.I. and Justin Timberlake
“D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune),” Jay-Z
“Run This Town,” Jay-Z, Rihanna, and Kanye West

BEST RAP ALBUM
Universal Mind Control, Common
Relapse, Eminem
R.O.O.T.S., Flo Rida
The Ecstatic, Mos Def
The Renaissance, Q-Tip

BEST FEMALE COUNTRY VOCAL PERFORMANCE
“Dead Flowers,” Miranda Lambert
“I Just Call You Mine,” Martina McBride
“White Horse,” Taylor Swift
“Just a Dream,” Carrie Underwood
“Solitary Thinkin,” Lee Ann Womack

BEST MALE COUNTRY VOCAL PERFORMANCE
“All I Ask for Anymore,” Trace Adkins
“People Are Crazy,” Billy Currington
“High Cost of Living,” Jamey Johnson
“Living for the Night,” George Strait
“Sweet Thing,” Keith Urban

BEST COUNTRY PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCALS
“Cowgirls Don’t Cry,” Brooks & Dunn
“Chicken Fried,” Zac Brown Band
“I Run to You,” Lady Antebellum
“Here Comes Goodbye,” Rascal Flatts
“It Happens,” Sugarland

BEST COUNTRY COLLABORATION WITH VOCALS
“Beautiful World,” Dierks Bentley and Patty Griffin
“Down the Road,” Kenny Chesney and Mac McAnally
“Start a Band,” Brad Paisley and Keith Urban
“I Told You So,” Carrie Underwood and Randy Travis
“Everything But Quits,” Lee Ann Womack and George Strait

BEST COUNTRY INSTRUMENTAL PERFORMANCE
“Under the (Five) Wire,” Alison Brown
“The Crystal Merchant,” The Greencards
“Mansinneedof,” Sarah Jarosz
“Producer’s Medley,” Steve Wariner

BEST COUNTRY SONG
“All I Ask for Anymore,” Trace Adkins
“High Cost of Living,” Jamey Johnson
“I Run to You,” Lady Antebellum
“People Are Crazy,” Billy Currington
“White Horse,” Taylor Swift

BEST COUNTRY ALBUM
The Foundation, Zac Brown Band
Twang, George Strait
Fearless, Taylor Swift
Defying Gravity, Keith Urban
Call Me Crazy, Lee Ann Womack

BEST NEW AGE ALBUM
Faith, Jim Brickman
Prayer for Compassion, David Darling
Laserium for the Soul, Henta
In a Dream, Peter Kater, Dominic Miller, Kenny Loggins, and Jaques Morelenbaum
Impressions of the West Lake, Kitaro

BEST CONTEMPORARY JAZZ ALBUM
Urbanus, Stefon Harris and Blackout
Sounding Point, Julian Lage
At World’s Edge, Philippe Saisse
Big Neighborhood, Mike Stern
75, Joe Zawinul and The Zawinul Syndicate

BEST JAZZ VOCAL ALBUM
No Regrets, Randy Crawford and Joe Sample
Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings The Music of Coltrane and Hartman, Kurt Elling
So In Love, Roberta Gambarini
Tide, Luciana Souza
Desire, Tierney Sutton

BEST AMERICANA ALBUM
Together Through Life, Bob Dylan
Electric Dirt, Levon Helm
Willie and the Wheel, Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel
Wilco (The Album), Wilco
Little Honey, Lucinda Williams

BEST COMEDY ALBUM
Back From the Dead, Spinal Tap
A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!, Stephen Colbert
Internet Leaks, Weird Al Yankovic
My Weakness Is Strong, Patton Oswalt
Suckin’ It for the Holidays, Kathy Griffin
Tall, Dark, & Chicano, George Lopez

BEST COMPILATION SOUNDTRACK ALBUM FOR MOTION PICTURE, TV, ETC
Cadillac Records
Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds
Slumdog Millionaire
True Blood
Twilight

BEST SCORE SOUNDTRACK ALBUM FOR MOTION PICTURE, TV, ETC
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Disc 1)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Milk
Star Trek
Up

BEST SONG WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURE, TV, ETC
“The Climb” (From Hannah Montana: The Movie), Miley Cyrus
“Decode” (From Twilight), Paramore
“Jai Ho” (From Slumdog Millionaire), A.R. Rahman, Sukhvinder Singh, Tanvi Shah, Mahalaxmi Iyer, and Vijay Prakash
“Once in a Lifetime” (From Cadillac Records), Beyonce
“The Wrestler” (From The Wrestler), Bruce Springsteen

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR (NON-CLASSICAL)
T Bone Burnett
Ethan Johns
Larry Klein
Greg Kurstin
Brendan O’Brien

BEST REMIXED RECORDING
“Don’t Believe in Love (Dennis Ferrer Objektivity Mix),” Dennis Ferrer (Dido)
“The Girl and the Robot (Jean Elan Remix),” Jean Elan (Royksopp)
“I Want You (Dave Aude Remix),” Dave Aude, (Dean Coleman Featuring DCLA)
“No You Girls (Trentemoller Remix),” Anders Trentemoller (Franz Ferdinand)
“When Love Takes Over (Electro Extended Remix),” David Guetta (David Guetta Featuring Kelly Rowland)

BEAST – Mr.Hurricane

BEST SHORT FORM MUSIC VIDEO
“Mr. Hurricane,” Beast
“Boom Boom Pow,” The Black Eyed Peas
“Life in Technicolor II,” Coldplay
“Wrong,” Depeche Mode
“Her Morning Elegance,” Oren Lavie

BEST LONG FORM MUSIC VIDEO
In Boston, Chris Botti
Johnny Cash’s America, Johnny Cash
Anita O’Day — The Life of a Jazz Singer — Anita O’Day
Love Pain and the Whole Crazy World Tour Live — Keith Urban
The Beatles Love — All Together Now — Various Artists