The 38th Annual Grammy Nominations : The Grammys' New Vitalogy : The Analysis

By ROBERT HILBURN

Jan. 5, 1996 12 AM PT

TIMES POP MUSIC CRITIC

And the winners are . . . Michael Greene and the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences.

In response to stinging criticism over the often embarrassing conservativeness of Grammy voting, Greene, the academy’s president-CEO, took a big gamble and changed the nomination process this year.

It paid off promisingly Thursday.

The best album and best record nominations still aren’t totally satisfying. The most glaring omission is the absence from the best album category of PJ Harvey, even though the brilliant English singer-songwriter’s “To Bring You My Love” was the runaway winner in year-end critics’ polls.

Yet the new system gave us at least some nominees that reflected the strongest artistic and sociological currents of pop music during 1995. That hasn’t always been the case--and you don’t have to go back years in the voting to prove the point.

Take last year when the competition hit a new low in contemporary relevance, because of such hapless nominations as the 3 Tenors album and Tony Bennett’s MTV package.

By contrast, there’s almost a revolutionary feel to some of this year’s nominations.

Among the boldest choices:

* Pearl Jam’s “Vitalogy” for best album. Thanks to the passionate and aggressive approach of a cadre of ‘90s American bands, rock has seen its biggest creative rejuvenation since the punk movement of the ‘70s. This is the first time any of those bands--also including Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails, Hole and Smashing Pumpkins--has been nominated in the best album category.

* Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” for best single record. Hard-core rap has been widely criticized by adults as a negative influence on young people. But the best hard-core rappers (from Ice Cube to Public Enemy) have brought a street-edged social realism to contemporary pop that was frequently as forceful and as radical as Dylan and many of the commentators of ‘60s rock. Hidden in the debate about rap is the increasingly sensitive tone of the best records, including this daydream about a better, more peaceful time. Another rap record--M.C. Hammer’s cartoonish “U Can’t Touch This”--has been nominated in this category, but this is the first time a hard-core rapper has been nominated.

* Alanis Morissette’s “Jagged Little Pill” for best album. This album has enough mainstream accessibility to have possibly made it to the finals even under the old nomination system, which relied on the voting of all 7,500 academy members rather than on a hand-picked 25-member panel that it was hoped would bring a more informed and critical eye to the process. But “Pill” is still a victory for raw-edged alternative pop emotion and craft--as opposed to the more polite, mainstream sounds that have typically filled this category.

* TLC’s “Waterfalls” in the best record category. Hip-hop hasn’t gotten much more respect than rap from Grammy voters, so it’s encouraging to see this marvelously tender tale of a mother’s concern receive a nomination.

Despite the new system’s good start, it’s too early for a final verdict. And that’s not just because some conventional nominees, from Mariah Carey to Michael Jackson, slipped through in the top categories. Throughout the ‘80s, we saw enough encouraging results in the best album category--including the back-to-back victories of Paul Simon’s “Graceland” and U2’s “The Joshua Tree”--to declare that the Grammy process had come of age. But the optimism invariably proved short lived.

Now the outcome is in the hands of the 7,500 academy members. Let’s hope their voting is as thoughtful.

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The Grammys

THE NOMINEES: Canadian newcomer Alanis Morissette and pop diva Mariah Carey led the field with six nominations apiece. F1

THE VERDICT: The new nomination process at least came up with some nominees who reflect pop music’s strongest artistic and sociological currents. Analysis by Robert Hilburn. F1

Best Album

* Mariah Carey, “Daydream”

* Michael Jackson, “HIStory--Past, Present and Future Book I”

* Alanis Morissette, “Jagged Little Pill”

* Joan Osborne, “Relish”

* Pearl Jam, “Vitalogy”

Best Record

* Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men, “One Sweet Day”

* Coolio, “Gangsta’s Paradise”

* Joan Osborne, “One of Us”

* Seal, “Kiss From a Rose”

* TLC, “Waterfalls”’