Grammy candidates were announced today, and as expected there's nary a surprise gamble in the bunch—unless, of course, you count jazz man Herbie Hancock's nod for his Joni Mitchell tribute, River: The Joni Letters. Leading the pack with eight nominations is noted awards show loser Kanye West, a black man who will probably not be given a damn chance to win Album Of The Year against Hancock, Foo Fighters, Vince Gill, or Amy Winehouse—whom the Associated Press strangely felt compelled to point out is a "noted marijuana smoker," which is definitely the least of her problems. Winehouse is also up for Record Of The Year for giving hacky journalists a break by writing "Rehab," contending against Foo Fighters again, Beyonce, Rihanna, and…Justin Timberlake? Hasn't that album been out for a zillion years? Other "surprises": Feist is up for Best New Artist alongside Winehouse again (both a loose definition of "new") and Paramore, and somehow Bruce Springsteen's Magic—picked early on as a shoo-in to sweep the top categories—was relegated to only getting Rock Song and Solo Rock Vocal Performance for "Radio Nowhere." And because we know you guys like your hipster music, you'll be happy (?) to know that the much-maligned Alternative Music Album nominees are marginally better than last year's, including Lily Allen, Arcade Fire, Björk, The Shins, and The White Stripes. The complete list of nominees is here.
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