Eclectic rocker Neil Young, who has made no secret of his disdain for the Grammys, finally won a coveted trophy on Sunday for the first time in a career spanning almost 50 years.

Fittingly, the Canadian singer/songwriter was honored for a long-delayed boxed set collecting more than 120 tracks from his early days.

"Neil Young Archives Vol. 1 (1963-1972)" won the Grammy for best art direction on a boxed or special limited-edition package. Young, 64, shared the award with fellow art directors Gary Burden and Jenice Heo.

"Thanks a lot, everybody," Young said as he accepted his statuette.

He also competed for best solo rock vocal Grammy but lost to Bruce Springsteen, whose career total rose to 20.

On Friday he was honored by the music industry at its annual MusiCares charity fundraiser in recognition of his annual concerts for the Bridge School for disabled children.

The 10-disc "Archives" boxed set has been in the works for years, with Young frequently delaying its release so that technology could catch up with his vision. It boasts studio and live tracks, demos, outtakes and other rarities, as well as videos and the first digital release of his directing debut, "Journey Through the Past."

Fans have the choice of three configurations: CD, DVD and Blu-ray -- the most expensive at more than $200. [Reuters]

Kings of Leon won three. MGMT won none. Loudon Wainwright, Steve Earle, Levon Helm, Steve Martin (bluegrass), and Michael J Fox all won Grammys. Phoenix won for best Alternative Music Album. David Byrne & Brian Eno's CD won for 'Recording Package'. Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, Les Paul and Michael Jackson were honored. Stephen Colbert won in the comedy category which came later in the show than his iPad bit. Video of that with the full list of winners below...

Continue reading "full list of 2010 Grammy Award Winners (Phoenix, Stephen Colbert, Kings of Leon, David Byrne, Leonard Cohen & more) "

M.I.A.'s baby boy (Pink is the New Blog)

M.I.A. who wouldn't risk her health to perform on the Oscars, and Peter Gabriel who wouldn't compromise his integrity to perform on the Oscars, lost the title of "Best Song" to Slumdog's Millionare's "Jai Ho", the song credited to A.R. Rahman who also won a few minutes before that for the entire soundtrack too.

You can hear "Jai Ho" in the video below...

Continue reading "M.I.A didn't win the Oscar, but Slumdog Millionare still did"

Slumdog Millionare's soundtrack does it again.

Continue reading "Slumdog Millionare's A.R.Rahman wins Best Score -------------- Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto"

The Dark Knight, the superhero thriller that was expected to make history as the first comic-book adaptation to take a best-picture nomination, and Gran Torino, which the Hollywood veteran starred in and directed, were left out of the contest for Oscar's top prize.

Instead, the far more serious Holocaust-themed The Reader took the fifth berth and its director, Stephen Daldry, also managed to slip into his category.

The other nominees announced for top prize in the 81st Academy Awards Thursday morning in Los Angeles followed the script of the prognosticators: the era-spanning fable The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which led the crowd with 13 nominations; gay-themed political biopic Milk; TV-landmark drama Frost/Nixon; and romantic crowd-pleaser Slumdog Millionaire. [USA Today]

Slumdog Millionaire, which won for Best Score at the Golden Globes, was also nominated for Best Score and Best Song (twice). Three songs total were nominated this year: Peter Gabriel's Down To Earth (Wall-E), and Slumdog Millionare's "Jai Ho" and "O Saya". Along with composer A.R. Rahman, Maya Arulpragasam (aka M.I.A.) is credited for "O Saya". Listen to it in the video below...

Continue reading "M.I.A., Peter Gabriel & others were nominated for Oscars"