Grammy 2015

I actually never really know who's nominated for a Grammy year after year…. I know it's a big honor (especially if you end up winning).

All I know is that the big bet this year is around rising artist Sam Smith. His song "Stay With Me" was nominated for for the Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance. Did you know that the song was co-written by William Phillips (aka Tourist)? That's not all, the big controversy was that (recently) Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne are now listed as co-writers because of the song's similarities to Petty's song "I Won't Back Down".

I am told that Phillips will be attending the Grammys in Los Angeles on February 8th. And before his debut album comes out, Tourist is scheduled to play live at Coachella (April 2015) and Wild Life Festival, this Spring 2015. Also, just announced, his first London show of 2015 is this March 12th.

Anyway, I hope the song wins.

PS, You might remember that we went out to see Tourist at 7th Street in 2013. He was touring in support of his then-forthcoming Patterns EP (Method Records).

Swedish band Little Dragon's fourth album Nabuma Rubberband (Loma Vista Recordings) album has been nominated for a Grammy in the Best Dance / Electronic Album category for 2015.

It's been a long time, but we last saw them live in 2009 and I don't think they've returned back to the Twin Cities since then.

I described their live show as "very martial and yoga-like", with tough boxing stances. They certainly seem comfortable on stage, and it shows.

If I were to describe their sound, I would say it's urban. If you like Gorillaz, you might like Little Dragon.

Anyway, with Nabuma Rubberband, the record is described as more experimental, with nods to Prince and Janet Jackson, as singer Yukimi Nagano described, "When you put some of Janet's really slow stuff on you feel like you're floating. That feeling really influenced me and maybe that's why there are quite a lot of slow jams on the record. In the past we've been a bit self-conscious about making slow jams after 'Twice'. Then we wanted to make dance music which we did with Machine Dreams and then Ritual Union still had a dance vibe, but with this album it wasn't about that. The intention was about whatever we felt strongly about."

Nabuma Rubberband is competing against Aphex Twin, Deadmau5, Röyksopp & Robyn, and Mat Zo… so it's going to be a close call.

Jared Cassedy of Windham High School in Windham, N.H., is the the recipient of the second annual Music Educator Award presented by The Recording Academy and the GRAMMY Foundation.

Cassedy will be accepting the award at the 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards ceremony, and will receive a $10,000 honorarium.

"Words cannot describe how amazing this honor is," said Cassedy. "This award is not only recognition of the truly talented students and supportive community I get to work with every day, but it's also a representation of the fundamental significance of music and the arts in our schools. As a tribute to the thousands of outstanding music educators everywhere, I cannot thank The Recording Academy and GRAMMY Foundation enough for helping us to advocate for and to celebrate the importance of music education across the nation."

You can read more about the award and winner at grammyintheschools.com