Beck, "Morning Phase"

Whether or not you care about the Grammy Awards, chances are you heard about the big 'album of the year' upset. Beyoncé's self-titled video album, which shook the world when it was released unexpectedly on iTunes with no prior announcement in December 2013, was the clear front-runner for the prestigious award. But instead of Beyoncé accepting the honor, the award went to Beck's much less popular Morning Phase album. Beck broke into the mainstream in the early 90's with his quirky folk-rap hit "Loser". Since them, he's had a series of critically acclaimed albums that have covered many genres of music including funk, hip-hop, hard rock, electronica, and on 2014's Morning Phase he showcased yet another new sound. The result is a somber mix of gentle acoustic folk, shimmering indie rock guitars, orchestral flourishes and even a hint of country twang, which shows how much Beck has matured both musically and lyrically since "Loser". But, Beck has not had a mainstream hit since "Loser" in the early 90's, and therefore he has not been in the public eye. Only avid music fans have been aware of Beck's more recent material including Morning Phase, while anyone aware of pop culture surely knows something about Beyoncé's album. Understandably, many people felt that Beyoncé was robbed of an award that she deserved for challenging conventions in the music industry and creating a wildly popular album. One of these people was none other than Kanye West. After almost interrupting Beck's acceptance like he did six years ago to Taylor Swift, Kanye told reporters after the show that "Beck should have given his award to Beyoncé", and that "Beck needs to respect artistry". He also claimed that "if the Grammy's want real artist to come back, they'll need to stop playing with us." I'll admit that I am a big Kanye fan, but I can't support anything he said about Beck. You can argue that Beyoncé's album was a more significant event and therefore deserved the award, but to suggest that Beck is not as much of an artist as Beyoncé is utterly ridiculous. In fact, every song on Morning Phase was written and produced entirely by Beck himself. Beck played many instruments himself and only had friends help out when needed, and recorded the album in his own home. If this is not pure, original artistry, than I don't know what else is. Beyoncé's record did showcase some experimentation, interesting production, unconventional song structures, and lyrical risks. But it's credits also boast the names of many of the industry's hottest songwriters and producers. I'm by no means saying that Beyoncé is not a 'real' artist and did not deserve the award, but I believe that the home-made nature of Beck's album shows that the Grammy's are respecting artistry.

Click here to watch Beck and Coldplay's Chris Martin perform "Heart Is a Drum" at the Grammy's
Click here to read the Washington Post's report on Kanye West's comments made after the show