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It's been decades since the Beatles were even together (and two are gone) but at the Grammys on Sunday, the Fab Four still managed to eke out what is almost certain to be their final such award ever. The long disbanded group won "Best Rock Performance" for their A.I.-assisted hit "Now & Then," which came out last year.
The song was found on a poor quality cassette recorded by John Lennon and was considered too bad to use, until engineers figured out how to use computer assistance to improve the quality.
But the British invasion stalwarts weren't the only blasts from the past to share in Grammy glory. The Rolling Stones also won the category for Best Rock Album, for their "Hackney Diamonds" LP, their first new album in 18 years.
None of the surviving members of either group were there to accept, but Sean Ono Lennon accepted the prize on behalf of his father and the rest of the Beatles, while Stones' producer Andrew Watt thanked the Academy for their choice.
The Beatles and Rolling Stones win big at Grammys – 60 years after their first gong
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I didn’t even know that the Grammys were on last night! There was a time I wouldn’t have missed it, getting old!
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'Best Rock Performance'? Maybe now all those meatheads that say Jethro Tull winning 'Best Heavy Metal Album' about 40 years ago was the worst Grammy selection ever will finally shut up.
Last edited by Walter (February 3, 2025 9:19 am)
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The Beatles and The Rolling Stones are much closer to "Rock" than Jethro Tull is to "Heavy Metal".
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Binson Echorec wrote:
The Beatles and The Rolling Stones are much closer to "Rock" than Jethro Tull is to "Heavy Metal".
'Now and Then' isn't rock and roll, and nobody appreciates the Beatles artistically and culturally more than I do.
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Walter wrote:
Binson Echorec wrote:
The Beatles and The Rolling Stones are much closer to "Rock" than Jethro Tull is to "Heavy Metal".
'Now and Then' isn't rock and roll, and nobody appreciates the Beatles artistically and culturally more than I do.
Agreed and I'm a Beatles nut also, but - The Beatles being nominated in the "Rock" category makes sense to me. I don't pay much attention to award shows so am not sure in what other category the song could've been nominated; certainly not "Heavy Metal" lol.
Of course, one could argue the song didn't deserve a nomination at all.
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Binson Echorec wrote:
The Beatles and The Rolling Stones are much closer to "Rock" than Jethro Tull is to "Heavy Metal".
The Tull album that won was 1987 Crest of a Knave which had a more guitar oriented sound than usual and sounded different because Ian Anderson had recently recovered from throat surgery and didn't have his usual range. So it wasn't a normal Tull album in the first place. Most people forget that part.
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Binson Echorec wrote:
Of course, one could argue the song didn't deserve a nomination at all.
Perhaps it would help to consider not just the technical aspects of a recording, but how it made you feel.
As a lifelong Beatles fan, I know how it made me feel. It was worth a dozen Grammies.
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I've loved The Beatles my whole life too but "Now & Then" just isn't in the pantheon of "Beatles Greats" for me. I feel the nomination was more for the novelty of a band releasing material 54 years after their demise (as noted, I largely ignore award shows, I don't see them as anything more than industry wank sessions).
Is it a nice song? Yes.
Did I like hearing "new Fab Four" in 2024? Yes.
Do I like the song? Yes.
I can like things and find fault in them.
Much like Pink Floyd's final album (which I adore), it's a lovely tip-of-the-hat career-ending farewell but it somewhat demands you've followed the career to get the poignancy of the thing.
It also felt like the first Beatles tune that followed the recipe, rather than creating one.
Last edited by Binson Echorec (February 3, 2025 2:12 pm)