5 minute read
2024 Grammys
Rock, pop & post-punk predictions
By Kendall Polidori
Every year, some nominations seem obvious, others feel pleasantly surprising and a few rate as downright shocking. For example, women dominate the Album of the Year category this year. Look at some of The Rockhound’s favorite categories and predictions.
BEST ALTERNATIVE MUSIC PERFORMANCE
Nominees:
Alvvays (Belinda Says)
Arctic Monkeys (Body Paint)
Boygenius (Cool About It)
Lana Del Rey (A&W)
Paramore (This Is Why)
WHO WILL WIN: Boygenius (Cool About It)
WHO SHOULD WIN: Alvvays (Belinda Says)
I adore Boygenius—which includes solo stars Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker. I’ve been following and listening to the band since their 2018 EP boygenius, and have obsessed over their individual work.
But if you’ve followed my reviews this past year, you may have noticed I have developed a deep appreciation for the work of Alvvays, a Toronto-based alternative-rock group that blows me away every time I see them live. To me, their music perfectly fits the alternative category—their sound is unconventional and outside the mainstream.
Their song Belinda Says kicks off with a soothing synth intro and transitions to a fuzzy guitar melody; it doesn’t sound like any other alternative song out there right now. Five years after its last album, Antisocialites, Alvvays came back strong, earning a first-ever Grammy nomination.
BEST ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUM
Nominees:
Arctic Monkeys (The Car)
Boygenius (The Record)
Gorillaz (Cracker Island)
PJ Harvey (I Inside the Old Year Dying)
Lana Del Rey (Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd)
WHO WILL WIN: Boygenius (The Record)
WHO SHOULD WIN: Boygenius (The Record)
I’m having the most trouble with this one. Of the artists on this roster, I’d consider Arctic Monkeys’ The Car the most alternative album. If the winner was to be picked solely by that standard, then they’d win. But is it the best album on this list? I’d say no.
I’m at a tie between Lana Del Rey’s Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd and Boygenius’ The Record because these were two of the best albums of the year.
It’s been such a wonderful year for women artists. While I know music genres are a bit muddled today, I still like to hold artists to some categorization. While Lana Del Rey’s album is a mixture of pop, folk, rock and jazz, Boygenius’ album holds a stronger alt persona. Both are deserving, but considering Boygenius’ presence in mainstream rock it’s likely they’ll take this one home.
BEST ROCK SONG
Nominees:
The Rolling Stones (Angry)
Olivia Rodrigo (Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl)
Queens of the Stone Age (Emotion Sickness)
Boygenius (Not Strong Enough)
Foo Fighters (Rescued)
WHO WILL WIN: Foo Fighters (Rescued)
WHO SHOULD WIN: Boygenius (Not Strong Enough)
Back to my opinion of Boygenius. They kick ass! It’s so refreshing to see a strong trio of talented women spearheading modern rock.
This category is often made up of all male musicians, so it’s also pretty cool to see Olivia Rodrigo’s name on the roster. Each of Boygenius’ members holds such power in their vocal range and guitar-playing that they occupy the space equally. Driven by guitar, their music is pure indie-rock, filled with groovy guitar solos and progressions.
Not to mention that Not Strong Enough is one of my favorite songs of the year. And Foo Fighters love them too! In October, Dave Grohl joined them on drums for the song Satanist at their sold-out Halloween show at the Hollywood Bowl.
BEST ROCK ALBUM
Nominees:
Foo Fighters (But Here We Are)
Greta Van Fleet (Starcatcher)
Metallica (72 Seasons)
Paramore (This Is Why)
Queens of the Stone Age (In Times New Roman…)
WHO WILL WIN: Foo Fighters (But Here We Are)
WHO SHOULD WIN: Paramore (This Is Why)
No hate toward Foo Fighters ever, but I like to see other amazing artists receive the recognition they deserve. And folks, I have a Paramore album tattooed on my arm, so let me have this!
The re-emergence of pop-punk bands like Paramore, Blink-182 and My Chemical Romance has brought us retired emos back to life.
It’s difficult for bands to make a solid comeback after some time away, but Paramore did so gracefully. The band has been around since 2004, and their latest album, This Is Why, solidifies their spot as one of the most influential woman-fronted rock bands of this generation.
BEST ALBUM OF THE YEAR
WHO WILL WIN: Taylor Swift (Midnights)
WHO SHOULD WIN: Miley Cyrus (Endless Summer Vacation)
BEST SONG OF THE YEAR
WHO WILL WIN: Taylor Swift (Anti-Hero)
WHO SHOULD WIN: Taylor Swift (Anti-Hero)
BEST NEW ARTIST
WHO WILL WIN: Ice Spice
WHO SHOULD WIN: Noah Kahan
Luckbox Reader Survey
WHO WILL WIN BEST ROCK ALBUM?
Foo Fighters: 30%
Greta Van Fleet: 16%
Metallica: 29%
Paramore: 15%
Queens of the Stone Age: 11%
More 2024 Predictions
• Expect ticket prices to keep rising. Ticketing platforms (such as Ticketmaster) will remain a point of frustration.
• Taylor Swift will announce the release of Reputation (Taylor’s Version).
• The Recording Academy will reconsider its stance on AI-generated music because of the success of The Beatles’ Now and Then Before the current Grammys, the RA had ruled the human contributions—but not the AI input—was eligible for nomination. Here’s an example: If AI performs the lead vocal for a song penned by a human, the track would be eligible in a songwriting category but not a performance category.
Kendall Polidori is The Rockhound, Luckbox’s resident rock critic. Follow her reviews on Instagram and Twitter. @rockhoundlb
