Phoenix Win Best Alternative Album Grammy

In a year which saw hoary old rocker Neil Young win his first Grammy for “Most Overrated Musician”, French synth-popsters Phoenix (and issue 21 cover stars) came away with the award for Best Alternative Music Album, fighting off competition from Depeche Mode, Brian Eno & David Byrne, Death Cab for Cutie and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (although Eno & Byrne did win for “Best Recording Package”).

What could all this possibly mean? The Grammys have absolutely no relevance and simply consist of meaningless accolades bestowed by music-industry movers and shakers. The Academy itself states that sales figures, popularity or outside influences play no part in the selection of a Grammy winner yet just one look at the major winners of any year refutes this. The inclusion of Death Cab for Cutie this year was rather odd, as it was for a five-track EP (The Open Door) which purely complimented 2008′s Narrow Stairs release. Similarly, Depeche Mode’s umpteenth release Sounds of the Universe was neither a return to former glories nor a glorious re-inventions – it was simply the sound of the Basildon boys playing Depeche Mode by numbers; even the song titles were lacking in inspiration (“Wrong”, “Peace”, “Perfect”…yawn).

In terms of the alternative prize, the Grammy award nominations did not reflect the albums which swept the board at 2009′s end of years poll – Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, Dirty Projectors, Dead Weather – although Phoenix are worthy winners, undoubtedly the most accomplished release from those considered. That’s not the only bright spot – perennial Grammy award winners U2 thankfully failed to come home with anything suggesting even the Academy realized the musical monstrosity that was No Line on the Horizon.

The most interesting spin off for Phoenix after their win is that they can now leave behind the ‘alternative’ tag and continue their relentless march on to mainstream US success. After their win for Raising Sand last year, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss saw sales of their album increase by a whopping 715% within a week – suggesting that, despite the overall erosion of record sales, perhaps the Grammy awards are the one outlet for which the recording industry can utilise to maximise profits in the face of illegal downloading and artistic merit.