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ranvwoop · 3 years

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TALK ABOUT AMERICAN HEALTHCARE I HAVE AN IDEA OF WHY IT'S THERE BUT I WANNA HEAR THE EXPLANATION ALSO THE ONLY HOUSE THAT"S NOT ON FIRE (YET) FOR THE SAME REASON I JUST WANNA SEE THE ANALYSIS:TM: IF U WANT I WANNA SEE IF I GOT IT RIGHT :D

Hi :DDD. Thank u for asking,,,, I have many thoughts. I am sorry in advance. This is one of those things I will put under a readmore because I am into rambling. IT GOT A LOT LONGER THAN ANTICIPATED IM SORRY. Like. a lot. It was 4 pages in google docs because i dont trust tumblr to save my drafts

Okay a lot of my Ranboo thoughts are about the syndicate / boreal trio / peerpressure duo. But you’re probably aware I am a Them enthusiast first and both a dsmp enjoyer and person second. Because. I really like the syndicate. I also don’t have too too many thoughts on the more recent lore past the experiments. Once the in character monologues stopped, so did my brain. I communicate through monologue to monologue communication.

American Healthcare is actually gonna be the main reason why this is so long bc it works Very Much for like three different reasons. One sorta niche and abstracter reason is a stream that was basically never elaborated on back in March, either the day after or very close to the peerpressure Egg confrontation stream. The egg called him a coward (for some reason my brain can Only come up with the “stop saying i look like chicken little. he’s dumb, and a coward, and i am NOT a coward” vine), and he is not a coward, so he decided to make an action plan to bring the server together by acting as a mediator for all parties and try to make sure that everyone is happy, because he’s the only one that can see all sides, or something. This was where he said the big happy family™ line but other than Ranboo Become Dream?? analysis nothing else really happened and everything went along as normal.

(I also always held a little bit of suspicion on this stream actually and thought it might be the influence of the egg, because it says it can give one whatever they want, and ranboo wants to make everyone happy and this was a totally foolproof way of doing that. Sort of in a similar way that BBH is convinced that his plan will totally make Skeppy happy. But also Ranboo is just like that, but this felt a little more on the nose than usual and he did fall into the egg and made his decisions after being egged on by it, buT WE’LL NEVER KNOW, WILL WE?

… also I really wanted to see more egg conflict at the time. Peerpressure rlly got involved in the egg plot for cameos at the banquet and nothing else. I do not blame anyone and respect the ccs for all of their attempts to weave plots together but also. also…. we.. we coulda had so much…)

That was a little off topic from the point, but… he really just thinks he can save the sick… he can see that everyone on the server is unwell and is wrong but, y’know, look inwardly, the unwell is coming from inside the house. And an inherent problem of the way that the server runs. And if this is still lowkey in effect or not (idk man a) ranboo has monologued a lot I simply chose a one off from march to grow emotionally attached to and b) i think that my brain has shut off once ranboo stopped solo lore streams), it would probably go the way that most choosing to change the system from the inside goes. Which is the point of the song and stuff! He will inevitably decide what’s too far, whether he will either admit it’s a choice or just feel that it’s what he has to do. The, uh, dealing with the devil, to be polite.

in conclusion (but we are not close to done here i’m holding you for a bit longer), i think a lot about that stream and i think that shows what he wants to be, at the very least, and continuing down that path would definitely go into being far more trouble than just a noble goal of wanting to help people, from negotiating with corruption (The lobbyists, the Congressmen and lies bit) and that the server can’t really be brought together and saved like that (When things are more and more this way / Sometimes it's like they'd rather die)

THE LESS. vwoop why have you written an unnecessarily long post about one stream in your playlist character analysis reason is both more literal and piece by piece and also Syndicate, My Beloved, you know the drill. We are going line by line because I have a lot of feelings about American Healthcare, apparently.

This also comes back to that everyone on the server is doing Really Badly, all of the time, but mostly his time in L’Manburg. For one, he is pretty complacent in everything and doesn’t really accomplish much in terms of actual change, so like Well people die every day / I wouldn't have it any other way / I just think they should feel good while they are alive. An example of this is Exiled Tommy — who I’d also metaphorically put as the dead man just for funsies, since Tommy’s whole exile thing was one of the first things Ranboo experienced on the server—as he did try to be friends with Tommy and keep him company with his letters, but he still has no power over the actual issue at hand. Just trying to make it a bit more bearable. Similarly is Techno, while Ranboo still participated in the butcher army that was trying to kill him, he helped in the meantime until he “died”.

And then it’s the Realization that participating in the system doesn’t really help much, and the subsequent Everything. It could be getting mad at the whole government system and that he didn’t mean to contribute to the harm, or how he fought with Fundy using hs ideology but not in the way that Ranboo thought. It could also be standing up to his hallucination Dream, in that he doesn’t try this hard to be a good person just to be accused of helping with all of the things that he may or may not have helped with. (That is… a discussion for not right now, I don’t know.) And I think this sort of area is also where it’s like they’d rather die is also relevant, cause Doomsday. Nobody could just set aside their governments and just get along, though Ranboo had his own solution to fighting and things.

And then he joins the Syndicate! And the lyrics of the song are directly Government Bad, because government bad. Canon anarchist, has done things that he’s not proud of as a part of the government. The lines it was the government / … It got louder over the years / Until all that I could hear was flies and all.

But honestly I think in the Syndicate he’s still trying to “save the sick”! Because the Syndicate don’t All fit eye to eye either. He’s the token pacifist, and a vote against violence whenever it comes down to it. Not all anarchists are violent but Techno and Phil will probably react strongly when provoked, due to All the past events, and I live in a world where their trauma and issues get talked about as much as everyone else’s. Since everything is decided by vote it’d probably be split between them and Ranboo + Niki, who is in her healing/no longer resorting to murder arc. He’ll help them negotiate and then everything will Be Okay, ideally.

(Also I just like the idea of Ranboo believing that he is helping the people he’s living with because canonically cc!Ranboo has said he just really cares about his family and the syndicate are included in his family shut up but they also just believe they’re helping him and yes it’s self indulgent. I care them. Particularly Endduo, actually, or whatever they're called, I am not bold enough to think Ranboo looks at Techno and thinks I Can Fix Him, but. Philza Minecraft will one day talk about his feelings. One day.)

There’s also radioduo and beeduo as of recent— really I’m just saying I think that Ranboo constantly has a Need To Help People, believes he can do it, and it will come back to hurt him in the end (except for the Syndicate because I’m in denial. The Syndicate can’t fall out if they never stream together :) ).

THIS CONCLUDES THE AMERICAN HEALTHCARE PORTION OF OUR SHOW.

The Only House That’s Not on Fire Yet !! I like this one. This is also blatantly there cause Syndicate. They are the only faction that is not actively falling apart, and this could absolutely be because they never stream together. But I do not care. However we are also going to go through this one piece by piece because we’re nearing 1500 words here and I might as well embarrass myself more. I am writing an incredibly informal essay about Ranboo My _Beloved (i assume his middle name is My, and he’s just one of those people who write his full full name) and this is the third page. If you’re still reading this, I’m sorry. Here we go.

There are lines that just seem like an unwell but recovering person, and I like to sort of think that way about Ranboo in the arctic during the down time. “I feel knotted up today / But in a most exquisite way” and “I feel strangely regular / But honestly I prefer it to / The usual bizarre” are just! He’s just hanging out. He’s doing good. There is the acknowledgement that he’s usually not doing well, and all of the episodes that he’s had in the past, and it’s probably strange to be doing well in the midst of everything, and there’s probably something impending, but now? He’s doing good!

The verses directly after both of those ones are about uncertainty and trust and such, and I feel like that’s not necessarily about just One relationship but all of them. Will cause problems as long as he has an accomplice. He is not confident but he trusts and loves people.

“This suit doesn’t fit me / I made it conterfeitly” I just like to think about Ranboo in his fancy suit, but it’s just a little wrong because he actually has no idea what he’s doing. I also like to think about Ranboo in a cape to fit in with boreal trio and later the syndicate, and emerald duo had matchy blue outfits from the Antarctic Empire… and trying to fit in with them…. or maybe They make him something.. You know. Much to think about.

“Killing me with déjà vu” I think is like. A little less fun, because despite how well things are going, the enderwalk is still not resolved and he had even less answers when I started thinking “this is a ranboo song”. Just as it relates to having a strange sense of reality and stuff, which goes into specifics of enderwalk headcanons, which would make this far longer. Even though I’ve framed it as a negative, there is also the more positive note of “Oh! I just thought of how to change all the hate / Into love with the old switcheroo / Dancing in my déjà vu / You'll be dancing too” which I’d rather explain broken up but I feel like as it’s a full verse it should be together. The first part is connected to my general thoughts of him explained earlier tbh, he’s trying Very Hard to make everyone happy and fix things. And adding the second part to it is just like! He is trying to make sense of everything, and it’s not so scary as time goes by. Since the experiments where he’s been (questionably) trying to be more comfortable and get more answers.

This was very long. I am sorry. I am ending it here and probably not going to do much formatting to make it readable because it is very late o’clock and also this is four pages and 2000 words I am so sorry. But if you read this far then. Uhhh thank. ^v^.

#asks #vwoop.noises #☆graphite☆#Reader. graphite in particular. i am so sorry.#this is. kind of just embarassing actually #if you notice a tone switch at the end its cause i got tired and didnt want to finish this in the morning #and look at my past sins #2k words of analyzing r*nboo in the direction of some internet songs. not. the thing you want to think hard abot that when you wake up #ok i fell asleep looking at the post page. 10/10 #but uh otherwise thank u for asking (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)

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shellheadtm-a · 4 years

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know your 616 tony stark - steve rogers edition

originally i was going to group these by groups but the avengers are so large i'm gonna just do...posts for everyone. especially steve. there's just too much between these two for me to ever keep it to a blurb, and that relationship is super different in 616 and why is also important.

this is gonna get real long. strap in.

if you've been here a while you know this story: so, unlike the mcu, where steve was found and thawed by shield, a newly-formed avengers (consisting of iron man, the wasp, giant man, and thor) went looking for the hulk on a rampage, and happened to stumble across a body floating in arctic waters and pulled it into their sub to have a better look at it. they didn't expect the dude to be alive, but as he thawed, they realized he was breathing. more than that, they realized that his clothes - old army olive drabs - had been shredded, and underneath was the red, white, and blue of the fabled wwii war hero, captain america, along with his shield.

sidenote: tony stark considers this day (canonically) to be the best day of his life. the day they found steve in the ice is his best memory, his little injured fanboy heart went pitter patter at the very idea of captain america being on their sub and being alive after all that time.

so, to continue our story: steve woke up and flipped out and had to be subdued before they got him calm down and got to talking, and they decided he was more than welcome to come back to new york with them. after some adventures of steve's own - the avengers being turned into statues, getting shot, meeting rick jones (professional hero sidekick), finding the alien who turned the avengers into stone, and fighting namor the sub-mariner - steve was made an avenger and the rest is history.

unfortunately, it's...a lot of history. so let's look at the differences.

iron man and captain america were immediately friends. there was no animosity there, iron man very quickly became the solid grounding force in steve's life at the time, because iron man was pretty down to earth and charming and funny for a robot (full disclosure, tony kept a secret identity and claimed iron man was his bodyguard). it's a joke that tony and steve always touch each other unnecessarily all the time always but the reason it's a joke is because it's true. it started literally immediately after steve got out of the ice. tony stark gave steve a home in that not only did he open his house on 890 fifth avenue to the steve (it was the avengers' meeting place), he took him on a date tried get up him up to date with the present day. radiohead is forever going to be an inside joke between them. no i'm not actually going to explain that. just know that the band radiohead definitely has a meaning for both them.

the animosity that happens between the two of them is because they both have tempers and are stubborn. not because they don't like each other. they love each other, this is fact. they are literally attached at the hip when they're not swinging at each other, and them swinging at each other is super rare, actually! tony's one of the people in steve's life that will call him out when he's being stupid about something (the captain america mythos is strong and tony's both not over it and over it - he's come to value steve a hell of a lot more than captain america and he's not afraid to let steve - his best friend - know when he's being a dumbass). steve makes tony want to do and be better, to be someone steve can be proud of. they're a duo. they work best as a united pair and with being on the same page. they're the mom and dad of the avengers and everyone knows it. steve's the disappointed gives you a lecture parent, tony's the stand there behind steve and frown and reel steve in when he gets carried away parent. i'm not even joking a little bit about this, this is what they do. they're a two man show.

they communicate in looks and finish each other's thoughts and sentences. it's part because they're part of that generation of avengers teams that were all super close like a family and literally lived together, and part just plain steve and tony. they do this thing where there can literally be a party going on and everyone else is milling around socializing and they'll have themselves in a corner and talk to each other only, like they're the only people in the room. they do that in front of other people in other situations. they fill in the blanks for each other when they talk to other people together. it's sure as shit a thing you have to witness for yourself.

the nicknames tony gives steve aren't derisive. instead, he's a big fan of things like beloved. captain handsome. winghead. he occasionally throws out an old man, but even that's affectionate instead of acerbic. he likes to talk about how pretty steve's eyes are. the only times he refers to steve as rogers is when things are literally going to shit between them, which, again, is less often than you think. tony and steve are best friends. if they're not speaking, the world is out of balance. all of these things are part of the tony and steve displays of affection with each other, when including the fact that they are touchy. like i could literally dig through the comics and find plenty of times where there have been shoulder squeezes, the way they'll guide each other with a hand on the back, neck squeezes. that's just tony and steve. it's how they are. there's normally none of this standoffishness. they are, in the end, physically and emotionally very close.

they love each other. however you want to read it, that is fact. that is canon. whether you want to look at it as them hovering in some weird space that's more than friends and never taking that last step, as one side being unrequited on a romantic front, as it being strictly platonic, whatever. they still love each other. it's not some tsundere thing, literally everyone knows they care a lot about each other. like a lot of you know, a lot of you are new, but some of you may not be aware of how during civil war, steve literally died in 616. well. not literally. more like got forced through time but for all practical purposes he was dead. and tony immediately fell the fuck apart. couldn't even give steve's eulogy, he broke down right there at the podium. if you've never read the confession, you should, that's about as solid of a love confession as you're ever actually gonna see, probably, of tony sitting in a room with steve's body sobbing his heart out explaining his reasoning for what he's done. because steve's death is the one thing! he cannot live with. and he is a mess until he goes on his brain delete world tour. there's a whole secret funeral with just tony, jan, and hank (well, skrull-hank but they think it's hank), the last of the original avengers still standing, where they found steve in the ice. just...he was a mess. and it didn't get better at all for a...super long time. (they're in a much better place with each other again finally and it's good to see and i love my boys.)

when they fight it's usually due to hurt feelings on both sides because they are both shit at using their words. and tony's usually the guilty party that's been lying. lying is a defense mechanism for tony. it's something he's trained himself to do after years of abuse. which is kinda funny (in a sad way) because steve actually had a Not Great Childhood with an abusive alcoholic father, too, they just coped in two separate directions. but tony likes to hide things, pretend like everything is great, everything is peachy, he can do it On His Own, and steve gets angry, every single time, because together things might have turned out differently, and also there's some jealousy occasionally mixed into that (read: finding out about the illuminati) and they just...they're very intense. their relationship is very intense. and they can argue and fight and disagree on all kinds of things but at the end of the day...tony still loves steve, and steve still loves tony.

steve is tony's moral rudder. ��this isn't me talking shit, tony literally says so. steve is tony's north star, the one he follows to guide him in the right direction. what would steve rogers do is literally his mantra. and this isn't a new thing, tony's been a cap fan from when he was very small. he has an entire collection of captain america memorabilia that he's been gathering since before he ever became iron man. so it definitely predates him meeting steve for real. he decorates with steve's face (okay, and the other avengers, too, there's always plenty of artwork and photos of the teams hanging on the walls). he keeps a picture of steve in his office the way most people do their significant others. he just really loves and admires steve a whole lot, and it's only intensified in the time they've known each other and been friends, and steve's friendship is literally the most important thing in the world for tony, period. even when they disagree. especially when they disagree. and tony would trade his life for steve's without even thinking. has tried to. the red zone story arc is a prime example, because tony willingly exposed himself to a biochemical agent that worked as flesh eating bacteria on steroids to give steve mouth to mouth to keep him alive, essentially thinking he was trading his own life for steve's and being fine with that decision because "captain america's more important than you." obviously they both survived, but nothing hurts more than seeing steve cradle tony's head in his lap while tony's dying, knowing tony willingly exposed himself for steve.

tony would probably have left the avengers ages ago if not for steve. he'd have let the dream die after avengers disassembled (which, for the unfamiliar, is when wanda destroyed the mansion and house of m happened and some of the team died and tony just didn't have the money to rebuild and keep them going). steve basically gently bullied him into starting a team with him after the breakout at the raft (a bunch of superpowered criminals got loose). he definitely wasn't going to join again after siege and reluctantly let steve talk him into it (even though i think a break there would have been good for him). he built the avengers machine for steve, to center around steve, because i believe he fully intended to either not survive or to in some way no longer be a part of the avengers. he let steve and thor talk him into starting another new team (the current one).

for tony, steve is the important part of captain america. and it's been that way since they first became friends. steve constantly amazes him, makes him want to try harder, live up to who steve thinks tony is. he stumbles a lot, he's only human, but steve's opinion of him is so, so important, and when they're on the outs tony's whole world just falls apart. but more than that, steve's not just...he's not the serum to tony. steve could be deserumed and scrawny and have a host of health issues like he once did and it wouldn't matter a single fucking bit to tony, steve will still be steve for him, because it's not captain america that's made steve a hero, it's steve that's made captain america a beacon of hope. that's all steve. and tony will also do everything in his power to get steve what he needs, help him when he needs it, will drop literally everything immediately to do anything steve asks. the rules tony may have in place with other people do not apply to steve. the exoskeleton he built steve, when the serum was failing and steve was basically dying, broke all of tony’s rules about his tech, and he did it willingly, without a second thought, because it was for steve. the idea of someone ever telling steve the only thing that makes him special came out of a bottle would have tony ready to fucking fight.

tony knows all the little things about steve you typically do know about your best friend. the bagel thing always comes up, so you know. tony absolutely knows steve's favorite bagel flavor. they can probably recite the way they both take their coffee by heart without thinking about it. dean harassed me with it like at some point earlier, but there's a thing samnee did that was basically the steve and tony dynamic in a nutshell. i mean ffs, folks, tony literally. canonically. has stolen clothes from steve, he's absolutely got one of steve's blue with the white star tshirts.

in retrospect this all sounds way, way less than platonic but i literally cannot make this shit up.

point is: in this case, steve is probably his most influential and important relationship. i'm not saying at all that there aren't others that have their own extreme importance; there are. rhodey, carol, pepper, happy, nat, clint, thor, bruce, all the people you know from the mcu are all very important to him. but steve and tony are...intense. very intense. and at the same time so absolutely effortless when they're not opposed on the important things. steve is tony's best friend, full stop. if tony possibly feels more than that...well, you're allowed to draw your own conclusions? but uh. intense. they act as one another's anchor, they're home.

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weekendwarriorblog · 4 years

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The Weekend Warrior September 18, 2020 – MR. SOUL!, THE GRIZZLIES, MY NAME IS PEDRO, ANTEBELLUM, THE DEVIL ALL THE TIME, THE NEST, ALONE and More!

Usually, I’d be using this weekend in September to wrap-up my usual week in Toronto for the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), though I haven’t gone the past two years and this year, I couldn’t get credentials because… well, who knows? You would think a virtual festival would allow more press, especially since there wouldn’t be the cost for attending, but the demand was greater than the capabilities of TIFF’s video streaming service, I guess. Either way, there are just way too many movies to talk about this week, so let’s get to it.

After sharing some stuff about TIFF… how’s that for a big-time fake-out?

Despite not getting credentials, I did get to watch a few of the movies, including the opening night film, Spike Lee’s movie based on David Byrne’s American Utopia; Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland, reviewed here; Werner Herzog and Clive Oppenheimer’s new doc Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds; and I Care a Lot the new film from The Disappearance of Alice Creed director J. Blakeson, starring Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage, Eiza Gonzalez and more.

Starting with American Utopia, I wasn’t sure if this Broadway musical would be for me, despite being a life-long Heads fan. It seemed like it could be the definition of a jukebox musical with Byrne just playing his greatest hits and maybe talking in between. That’s exactly what it is, in fact, but it turns out that Byrne is quite a storyteller on stage as he is in music and books. The way that some of the Heads’ oldest tunes have been repurposed for the stage leads to a lively show where everyone on stage is playing an instrument while also singing and dancing. No, there’s no actual narrative or story tying all of the songs together as might normally be the case but the music and stage show more than makes up for it, and Spike Lee (as always) does a grand job capturing it. This will be on HBO on October 18.

Herzog’s latest doc is an interesting one, and a weird one, and one that’s chock-full of eccentric nerds speaking on the topic of meteorites, as Herzog fills the role of narrator and allows Oppenheimer to take center stage in front of the camera, as the duo travels around the world talking to experts on meteors and meteorites, accompanied by gorgeous cinematography and a beautiful score. I’m not sure this may be as immediate as some of Herzog’s Antarctica docs, but it’s another bonafide experience you’ll be able to see on Apple TV+ from November 13.

And that brings me to Blakeson’s I CARE A LOT, a dark crime comedy with an impressive ensemble cast but most of the focus put on Rosamund Pike’s Marla Grayson, a professional guardian and caregiver who has made a fortune preying on the elderly and putting them into retirement homes before cleaning them out of money. Her partner in crime, Fran, is played by Eiza Gonzalez, and things are looking good for them as they are given a “cherry,” in Jennifer Peterson (Dianne Wiest), an old woman with no known connections who just happens to have a fortune in diamonds in a safe deposit boss in the bank. Oh, those also might belong to her estranged son, a crime-boss played by Peter Dinklage, who is outraged by what’s been done to his mother and swears revenge. Listen, these kinds of dark comedies aren’t always for everyone, because it’s really hard to root for Pike’s character, who is about as close to a “hero” as this movie comes. Either way, Blakeson has found a way to milk a rather untapped source in terms of a unique environment for this crime-comedy that ends up working far better than last year’s The Laundromat by Steven Soderbergh, maybe because it’s more about creating interesting characters rather than trying to give audiences a learning moment. (Also, Chris Messina is fantastic in this movie as Dinklage’s lawyer who first confronts Marla, and I’m really starting to see him in a better light as an actor. No idea what’s planned for this one, although it’s distributed by Elevation Pictures in Canada, and they seem to be making a foray into U.S. distribution. (See below)

Also, the New York Film Festival starts this week both virtually and in local drive-ins with opening night being one of three new Steve McQueen films that act as part of his “Small Axe” anthology with Lovers Rock being available to rent for just $25 via the Virtual Cinema starting Thursday. I still haven’t watched anything, as of this writing, but I hope to rectify that soon, so look for some reviews soon.

Before I get to this week’s movies, I do want to say that every once in a while (or maybe twice), I miss a movie or two. Very seldom do I have a chance to write about said movie while it’s still available to watch in theaters (or in this case, digitally), but not this time!

MR. SOUL! is a doc by Melissa Haizlip (co-directed by veteran Spike Lee editor and doc director Sam Pollard, who directed the excellent Two Trains Runnin’) about her uncle Ellis Haizlip, who produced and hosted the semi-long-running PBS show “Soul!” from 1968 to 1973. It was a touchstone for black communities throughout the country for those years, helping to break so many musical artists and poets and other personalities. I found the movie to be quite amazing, mainly since I had never heard of it. I didn’t move to the tri-state region until well after it was off the air, and honestly, I had never even heard of the show or of Ellis Haizlip, so watching his story being told in such a compelling way with so much archival footage, I was pretty blown away. I feel like what Ms. Haizlip and Mr. Pollard did with this movie is as groundbreaking and as important as the James Baldwin doc, I Am Not Your Negro, from a few years back in terms of helping modern-day people, both black and white, understand the black experience of he ‘60s and ‘70s. Mr. Soul! Is now available through Virtual Cinema across the country, and I hope those who enjoy learning new things will give it a look.

Let’s get to all of the new releases… because there’s a TON!

First, I’m gonna start with this week’s “Featured Flick” and yes, that might be considered Mr. Soul!, but the reason I write this column is to call attention to movies you might not have seen otherwise. That’s why I want to draw equal attention to a movie called THE GRIZZLIES (Elevation Pictures), which played at Toronto two years ago and is just now finally being released.

The directorial feature debut by producer Miranda de Pencier, The Grizzlies stars Ben Schnetzer as Russ Shepard, a recent graduate of McGill, who is sent to Kugluktuk at the very Northern ridge of Canada to teach a bunch of Inuit kids, as part of a program to pay back his college tuition. There, he learns that few teens even bother to show up for school, either kept away by their families’ traditions or just their desire to drink and do drugs. This kind of lifestyle inevitably ends to many suicides. Shepard has a hard time getting through to the kids until he realizes that maybe they just need a hobby, so he puts together a group of boys (and one girl) to play lacrosse.

My first year at the Oxford Film Festival (where I saw Sam Pollard’s Two Trains Runnin’), I also saw another excellent doc called Children of the Arctic about the teens from Barrow, Alaska, which is on a similar Northernmost part of the continent where this based-on-a-true-story takes place. Because I’d seen that doc, I was already interested in the setting for what might have otherwise been a typical teacher helps troubled students, not too unlike last week’s John Leguizamo film, Critical Thinking. What differentiates this from many previous movies like this (besides having lacrosse as its white savior sport, rather than chess) is that the setting is so unique, and it allows director Miranda De Pencier to work with a lot of really talented young indigenous actors, many who probably have never acted before. One exception is Boo Boo Stewart as Kyle, one of the kids dealing with domestic abuse from his drunken father.

I also liked Ben Schnetzer, who I wasn’t even remotely familiar with before seeing this, maybe because he had been doing mainly supporting roles; he proves himself to be perfectly capable of being the type of everyman lead we’ve seen other actors to portray. (Ben Affleck in The Way Back from earlier this year comes to mind.) More importantly, Schnetzer is just great with the talented younger cast. Sure, there are a lot of the normal cliches that come with this type of movie including the rousing coach speech to get the team motivated, but there’s no denying that this is one of the better iterations of a what has been a sadly overused movie genre.

I was kind of surprised to learn that this premiered at the Toronto Film Festival two years ago, and it’s just been sitting dormant waiting for someone to pick it up and release it. Actually, I found it quite shocking, because this is an absolutely wonderful and inspirational story that offers some hope in a world that’s gotten so dreary and depressing over the past few months. If you want to see a movie that can get you out of the doldrums, this is definitely one I’d recommend highly. If you can imagine a cross between The Bad News Bears (or even Slapshot) with Whale Rider, then that’s what The Grizzlies delivers.

Another wonderful and equally inspirational film to seek out is Lillian LaSalle’s doc MY NAME IS PEDRO (Sweet 180), which looks at the life and career of South Bronx resident Pedro Santana. The young Latino came from his own troubles going to school in the Bronx to becoming a beloved educator trying to help others using his unique personality and skill set. There’s no denyhing that Santana’s enthusiasm is quite infectious, so he’s quite beloved by everyone he encounters. Unfortunately, he runs into problems, including being systematically booted from his position at the Ramapo school district due to his lack of credentials. He then spends some time teaching in Haiti and gets a job in Dubai but then gets diagnosed with Stage 4 Kidney Cancer. I won’t say more because it’s a movie that, while not particularly ground-breaking in terms of technical aspects, it is indeed quite an inspirational and heartwarming film in the way it tells Pedro’s amazing story. My Name is Pedro will open at the Maysles Center’s Virtual Cinema in New York on Thursday, and then the Laemmle in L.A. on October 2, and then more cities on October 9.

There aren’t a ton of other prominent docs this week, although one of the more high-profile ones is Dawn Hudson’s doc THE WAY I SEE IT (Focus Features), which unfortunately, I received too late to watch and review. (Partially my own fault, to be honest.) It takes a look at two Presidents, Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan as seen through the eyes and lens of renowned photojournalist Pete Souza, who was the official White House photographer and had an unprecedent access to the country’s leaders. The movie will open in select theaters but then will be on MSNBC on Oct. 10 at 10pm Eastern.

Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz’s thriller ANTEBELLUM (Lionsgate) is a movie that’s being released this weekend via VOD after being delayed since April. Honestly, I’m not sure what I can say about it, because it relies so much on its rather ludicrous twist that anyone who watches the trailer can probably figure it out in 15 minutes or less. But I’ll play along. Janelle Monáe plays best-selling author Veronica Henley, who has been having dreams about being back in the Confederate South, working and being abused as a slave by racist soldiers.

We probably should get out of the way that Bush & Renz’s movie actually opens in the Antebellum South on a plantation where we watch a number of slaves being tortured and killed, including Monáe’s Eden and a fellow slave played by the always wonderful Kiersey Clemons from Dope. Jack Huston plays the particularly loathsome Confederate captain who is so awful to them. About 40 minutes into the movie, we meet Monáe’s Veronica Henley as she wakes from a dream of going through that ordeal we just watched. Got it? So it was all a dream, right? And I bet you really believe that. Again, I promised not to give away the “big twist” but after watching Veronica and her friends (including Gabourey Sidibe from Precious) attending a book conference and Veronica dealing with all sorts of weird people (including Jena Malone in a deliciously evil role) and other strange things, the movie quickly gets tiring. It just takes so long to get to how and why Monáe and the others are on the plantation, and there had to be a better way of making that happen in a more interesting way.

At least the film’s last act turns into a bonafide revenge-filled action thriller, and by then, you’ll be ready to see anything that gets your pulse above a 5. The last 20 minutes are so good you wonder why the filmmakers didn’t seem to care that they were likely to lose people from walking out of theaters – or I guess their homes -- long before the movie gets anywhere worthwhile.

I didn’t watch the trailer for Antebellum until after seeing the movie, but it’s a particularly deceptive piece of work because it says it’s from the “Producer of Get Out and Us,” so you assume (as I did) that this is a movie produced by Jordan Peele or Jason Blum, but neither is involved with it. The trailer also inserts a number of scenes that do not appear in the movie to try to make it seem eerier, and frankly, this being sold as a “horror movie” is probably its biggest infraction. Instead, Antebellum is a weak “Twilight Zone” episode that’s handled so poorly you’re not sure whether to be offended by figuring out the twist almost immediately or offended that these two filmmakers thought they might have you fooled for longer than that. Again, Antebellum is skipping a theatrical release entirely and being released straight to VOD, which is probably for the better.

Antonio Campos, director of Simon Killer and Christine, returns with his adaptation of Donald Ray Pollock’s THE DEVIL ALL THE TIME, which will be streaming on Netflix actually right now! Set in 1957, it stars Tom Holland as Arvin Russell, the son of a religious father (played by Bill Skarsgård) who has come home after seeing all sorts of horrors in World War II. The expansive story follows both father and son but also the residents of a small town called Knockemstiff in Southern Ohio and how they’re all connected through a series of incidents.

Narrated by Pollock himself, Campos has created a brilliant Southern Gothic thriller that’s far more of an ensemble piece than some may expect because the biggest name stars, Tom Holland and Robert Pattinson, don’t appear in the movie for a good 40 minutes! Instead, we follow the story from Arvin’s father Willard and the incidents that lead to Arvin becoming an orphan, living with his half-sister Lenora (Eliza Scanlen). Years later, Arvin finds himself having to protect Lenora from the lecherous young preacher, Preston Teagarden (played by Pattinson), who is preying on the town’s young women. The movie also stars Jason Clarke and Riley Keough, as a couple who pick up hitchhikers for evil intentions, and Sebastian Stan as the latter’s sheriff brother who gets dragged into all the evil-doings in town. It also has Mia Wasikowska and Haley Bennett in smaller roles as two of the beleaguered women caught up in the story.

I went into The Devil All the Time knowing full well that I’m rarely a fan of most Southern-based dramas with a few exceptions, like Dee Rees’ Mudbound. There have been just as many that just didn’t connect with me like Hounddog. Either way, this is a similarly complex tale for Campos to tell because there are so many characters, and it spends quite a bit of time in the past before we finally meet Holland and Pattinson’s characters. This will most definitely annoy some people, but I was intrigued enough by how everyone was being slowly introduced that it didn’t bother me so much.

I’ve always been quite aware how talented a filmmaker Campos is but like with Rebecca and Michael C. Hall in Christine, he also benefits from having one of the strongest ensemble casts put together, as well as great craftspeople -- like cinematographer Lol Crawley -- helping to realize his vision.

It takes its sweet time getting to the point where things start to get interesting, which for many will probably be when Pattinson shows up as Preston Teargarden. At first, I didn’t like Pattinson’s character or performance much, but it certainly grew on me and it’s not the only solid performance of note. Campos has created a movie that gains so much from a second viewing once you know the true nature of the characters. Make no mistake that Campos has kept all the complexities of Pollock’s book for a movie that kept my attention in ways that few other movies have this year with a number of scenes that really shook me up. Besides streaming on Netflix today, The Devil All the Time will actually be opening theatrically in a few cities so check your listings! I interviewed Campos over at Below the Line, and you can read my interview with Cinematographer Lol Crowley over there later today.

As excited as I was to watch a new film from Campos, even MORE exciting, in some ways, is that we’re getting a new movie from his (former?) Borderline Productions partner Sean Durkin, whose Martha Marcy May Marlene was one of the breakouts from Sundance the year it premiered all the way back in 2011. Durkin has returned with THE NEST (IFC Films), a movie starring Jude Law and Carrie Coon as Rory O’Hara and his wife Allison, a married couple with two kids who move back to England for his job, taking up residence in an opulent mansion before things start to fall apart.

I went into The Nest (i.e. I hit play on the screener on my computer) thinking that it was going to be one of those old school British thrillers from the ‘60s and ‘70s, especially once it gets to the giant eerie mansion that reminds you of something from The Omen (one of my favorite horror movies, incidentally). In fact, the movie is more of an intense family drama where we watch Law, Coon and their kids pushed to the edge by circumstances, which one might assume is something being caused by some toxic aspect of their new house, but actually, nope, it’s just everyday life stuff.

For Law’s Rory, it’s a huge deal that falls through as he tries to bullshit his way through it, yet he keeps turning to his wife for money. She has her own problems to deal with including her rebellious stepdaughter Samantha (Oona Roche) and younger son Benjamin (Charlie Shotwell), neither of whom are adjusting well to the move. Her hobby is riding horses, and just bad things keep happening to all of them that all collides on one fateful night that includes Samantha having a crazy house party.

Although The Nest wasn’t nearly as much of a genre movie as I hoped it might be, one thing that really jumps out and makes it worthwhile is Carrie Coon’s performance. There’s no denying she’s just one great role or movie away from being in the Oscar game. Sadly, this one is is not it.

Like the film by Durkin’s producing partner, The Nest takes its own sweet time getting anywhere as Durkin goes for a slow roll approach, but that also allows him to embellish the images with a great score that includes quite a bit of ‘80s music. (I wasn’t sure if the movie actually was taking place in the ‘80s or not.) Although the influence of Stanley Kubrick seems fairly present in Durkin’s The Nest, it’s really more Eyes Wide Shut Kubrick than The Shining, and that might dismay those who are seeking the film’s horror potential. But if you like Eyes Wide Shut and go in expecting that, you won’t be as disappointed.

Another really solid thriller worth seeking out is director John Hyams’ ALONE (Magnet Releasing), which actually played as part of the Fantasia Film Festival a few weeks back. It’s true that there have been way too many movies with that title, but this is a fairly compelling thriller that starts as something that might seem fairly obvious and then goes into so many amazing and unexpected directions. The movie stars Jules Willcox as Jessica, a widow who is moving to a new place when she encounters a creepy guy on the road (played by Marc Menchaca), who seems to be following her. Pretty soon, it’s obvious that he is following her and has bad intentions for her by trapping her in his basement.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Alone, because it starts out so much like The Hitcher or even the recent Unhinged with a woman being plagued by a creepy guy, and it’s hard to watch at times because it gets pretty violent. I was definitely uncomfortable watching this, since it felt like there was a voyeuristic aspect akin to torture porn that made me not to watch any more of this poor woman's torture and abuse. Fortunately, she does escape only to have to survive while trapped in the woods surrounding the cabin.

I wasn’t familiar with Jules Willcox before seeing this movie, but her performance and all the places it takes her in terms of fear and desperation is fairly impressive, as is Marc Menchaca, who does a great job playing one of those psychopaths who somehow can behave normal whenever it calls for it. (Think more Ted Bundy than Jeffrey Dahmer.) You combine these two amazing performers with a cat-and-mouse situation that combines their acting with some brilliant sound design work and cinematography, and you have a movie that goes far beyond what I expected from the premise.

Even so, Alone successfully explores the real fear women must face every day when they’re alone and feeling defenseless, and it shows Hyams to be an incredibly skilled filmmaker when dealing with a lot of elements. The last act where all of these skills come together, including some amazing stuntwork, is what takes what’s a thriller with an overly used premise and makes it something that’s far more unique and memorable. It will be available to watch in some theaters as well as On Demand.

Speaking of movies with unfortunate title choices, I’m guessing that director Kurtis David Harder was well into making his movie SPIRAL, on Shudder beginning Thursday, when it was announced that the next “Jigsaw” movie from Lionsgate would be called that. Fortunately, this Spiral has nothing to do with that one, the only thing in common is that they’re both horror. (This Spiral actually played at least year’s Brooklyn Horror Film Festival and a few others, in case you weren’t convinced.) In fact, this one is probably more in the vein of Get Out or even Hereditary, as it follows a same-sex couple, Malik and Aaron (Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman, Ari Cohen), who move to the suburbs with Aaron’s teen daughter Kayla (Jennifer Laporte) and begin to experience weird occurrences and behavior from their new neighbors. Of course, Malik thinks it’s homophobia, something he’s experienced in his past when he was put through a horrific experience during his early years exploring his sexuality.

I was pretty impressed with what Harder did with this premise, but just as much due to the performance by Bowyer-Chapman than I was of the director’s ability to build the tension as we learn more and more about the couple’s new suburban neighbors. Spiral is just a really well-done thriller in every regard, because it keeps things rather enigmatic, so you’re never quite sure if Malik’s paranoia is justified or not. Combine that solid premise with a terrific score – definitely one of the themes of this week’s movies – and Spiral is another fantastic offering from the horror streaming network that keeps blowing me away with the movies they pick up that you really can’t see anywhere else.

As luck would have it Harder also produced and co-directed (with Noah Kentis, directing under the pseudonym “Lankyboy”) Summerland, a coming-of-age comedy which I didn’t have a chance to see. (Actually, I did, but from the trailer, it didn’t seem like I’d like it, plus I’ve seen WAY too many coming-of-age movies the last few weeks and I’m getting burnt.) Anyway, this queer coming-of-age indie stars Maddie Phillips (Teenage Bounty Hunters), and it’s a road trip comedy that involves social media (if you remember my review of Spree and read one of my reviews below, that’s another warning sight for me), and it’s available on Demand on iTunes, Vudu, GooglePlay and Amazon right now!

And here’s the trailer!

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Noomi Rapace and Joel Kinnaman star in Yuval Adler’s THE SECRETS WE KEEP (Bleecker Street), a thriller set in the late ‘50s with Rapace playing Maya, a Romanian woman living in the suburbs with her doctor husband Lewis (Chris Messina), who thinks that their new neighbor (Joel Kinnaman) may be the Nazi soldier that assaulted and killed her sister during the war, so of course, she kidnaps him.

There’s something very familiar about this dramatic thriller, partially because it takes a similar approach as Bryan Singer’s Apt Pupil, but I feel there were other movies like this that I’m forgetting. The title basically comes from the fact that Maya has kept her past a secret from her husband, who gets involved in the grilling of Kinnaman’s character, who has kept his own past a secret from his wife, played by Amy Seimetz. Even while Kinnaman is tied up in her basement, Maya tries to befriend his wife to see if she can get some information that will prove that her captor is who she thinks.

I’m a pretty big Noomi Rapace fan, and I’m always excited to see her in movies because she tends to be give very dramatic performances, and that’s certainly the case although sometimes, the emotions go a bit overboard. The good thing is that here’s another movie where Chris Messina has really surprised me, just like he did all the way at the top of this column in J. Blakeson’s I Care A Lot. I always found him to be a rather bland and very vanilla actor, but he seems to be doing something to change that, and I fully approve.

There were certainly aspects and moments of The Secrets We Keep I liked because Adler is not a bad director, but there are also aspects that made me feel this would have worked fine or even better as a stage play. As a movie, it’s just kind of drab and predictable as the characters spend almost the entire film yelling and hitting each other. When you compare this to some of the movies above, there just isn’t enough mystery about where it might go, so more like Antebellum than Spiral or Alone despite being a more grounded and less genre-based thriller. Ultimately, it just fails, but it will be in theaters and on VOD starting today.

I knew I was in trouble with Will Wernick’s NO ESCAPE (Vertical) -- not to be confused with the Owen Wilson-Pierce Brosnan thriller – when I realized that the film’s main character Cole (Keegan Allen) was another one of those social media wannabe stars like the kid in Spree. Surprise, surprise, he is JUST as annoying. The concept for this one is that Cole does all sorts of crazy stunts on his feed to prove he’s not scared of anything, but then he and a group of friends (including his girlfriend Erin, played by Holland Roden) are invited to Russia to take part in the “scariest escape room ever” by a guy named Alexei (Ronan Rubinstein). Bad stuff happens.

There are a few rare times when I watch a movie and wonder how on earth a filmmaker was able to put together what seems like a pretty hefty budget for a movie as bad as this one turned out to be, and stuff like that just leaves me shaking my head. The premise itself isn’t so bad, even if it isn’t particularly original. (Imagine my surprise when I looked at Wernick’s IMDB page and his previous movie from 2017 was called “Escape Room” and not the Sony one either. It makes it pretty clear that this guy is the definition of a one-trick pony. Oddly, he ALSO has a movie called Alone.)

The problem is that Keegan Allen and most of his friends – including his best friend Thomas, played by Denzel Whitaker, who seems to have been doing so well in his career up until this movie – are so effin’ annoying, you never care one bit what happens to them, whether they get beat up in fight with Russian mobsters or end up in a series of death traps, many that are swiped directly from the Saw movies. In fact, that’s basically what this movie turns into once the friends are locked into a Russian prison and Cole has to try to save them. It basically becomes a cross between Saw and Hostel, but with Cole so flippant with his jokes and asides to his watchers, it completely takes away from any tension or scares. By the time the movie starts to get serious, it’s just far too late, because just when you don’t think the movie can possibly get stupider, it gets stupider. (And seriously, if I have to watch ONE MORE MOVIE that has people commenting or clicking on hearts in a way that’s so unbelievable and unrealistic, I’m gonna be even MEANER to that movie.)

The title of this movie may be No Escape, but there is a perfectly reasonable way to escape this time-waster, and that’s just not to watch it. It’s just another exploitative and predictable movie that lacks anything even remotely approaching originality.

There are a few other movies out this week that I either didn’t get to watch or I watched and just didn’t have enough to say to write a review. Listen, you have nearly 13 reviews above, so is that not enough for you?

Susan Sarandon leads an amazing ensemble cast that includes Kate Winslet, Sam Neill, Mia Wasikowska and more in Roger Michell’s BLACKBIRD (Screen Media), which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last year and is finally being released. After a Fathom Events release over the last couple days, it will be released in more theaters this Friday. Sarandon plays Lily, a woman who has been battling ALS who has decided to end her life on her own terms, so she and her husband (Neill) summon their daughters (Winslet, Wasikowska) and extended family for one last goodbye to celebrate Lily’s life before she’s gone.

Kieron J. Walsh’s THE RACER (Gravitas Ventures) was supposed to premiere at the SXSW Film Festival earlier this year, but that didn’t happen. It’s set during the summer of 1998 during the early stages of the Tour De France where Belgian rider Dominique Chabol, played by Louis Talpe, has been one of the team’s better support riders on the tour for the past 20 years, his job being merely to set a pace and never to win. When Dom is dropped from the team (for doping), he has to see if he can accept a civilian life after meeting a pretty Irish doctor, played by Tara Lee.

Next up is Steve Collins’ absurdist comedy, I’VE GOT ISSUES (Gravitas Ventures), which includes an amazing cast that includes Macon Blair, Claire Titelman, John Merriman and Byron Brown, with Jim Gaffigan narrating. I knew almost immediately while watching that this movie wasn’t going to be for me, and that’s all I’ll say.

A few of the movies I wasn’t able to get to include Last Call (available through the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema), The Last Laugh (High Octane), Film Movement’s God of the Piano and from Kenya, Sam Soko’s doc Softie about photojournalist Boniface “Softie” Mwangi, which won a Sundance Special Jury prize for its editing. There’s a thing called Google if you wanna know more about them.

My beloved and sadly shuttered local theater, the Metrograph, are continuing their digital live screening series with their Ulrike Ottinger retrospective that will debut her film Joan of Arc of Mongolia (1989) tonight at 8pm. Friday, they’ll be screening Eric Rohmer’s The Aviator’s Wife (1981) and then continuing the “Nan Goldin Selects” series on Saturday and then Ottinger’s Exile Shanghai (1997) son Sunday.

Film Forum’s Virtual Cinema will add Jan Oxenberg’s Thank You and Good Night (1991) today and then Jan Swankmaier’s Faust (1994) this Friday.

Next, we’ll look at some streaming stuff. The latest from Ava Duvernay’s Array deal with Netflix is Merawi Gerima’s Residue, which follows Obinna Nwachukwu as aspiring filmmaker Jay, who returns to his home in Washington, DC, to find his neighborhood being gentrified and finds himself being alienated by his old friends. It will debut on Netflix Thursday as well as be available in select virtual theaters. A number of series are starting up on Netflix his week, including Ryan Murphy’s Ratched, starring Sarah Paulson as the Nurse Mildred Ratched character from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, this series being a prequel to that Oscar-winning film. Netflix is also launching the four-episode docuseries Challenger: The Final Flight, which features interviews with the engineers and crew’s family members from the 1986 shuttle disaster. Lastly, there’s Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, an all-ages animated series based in the world of the beloved movie franchise.

Over on Hulu, I’m super-psyched for the second season of Pen 15, starring Maya Erskine and Anna Konlkle, which I discovered well after the hilarious first season debuted.

No idea what’s going on next week, but Gerard Butler’s Greenland certainly isn’t! I guess you’ll just have to come back and find out.

#TheWeekendWarrior #Movies #Reviews #Streaming #DriveIns #VOD #TheDevilAllTheTime #RobertPattinson #TomHolland #TheNest #TheGrizzlies #Alone #Spiral #NoEscape #MyNameIsPedro #MrSoul #TIFF

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2019 Grammys: The complete list of winners

The 61st annual Grammy awards held last night. The ceremony was dominated by female performers and presenters where Kacey Musgraves won album of the year and Cardi B became the first woman to win best rap album as a solo artist. At the beginning of the show, Alicia Keys, the host, introduced “my sisters”: Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, Michelle Obama and Jennifer Lopez. Messages of inspiration and hope continued throughout. See the full list of winners below.... GENERAL Record of the Year: “I Like It” -- Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin “The Joke” -- Brandi Carlile WINNER: “This Is America” -- Childish Gambino “God’s Plan” -- Drake “Shallow” -- Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper “All The Stars” -- Kendrick Lamar & SZA “Rockstar” -- Post Malone feat. 21 Savage “The Middle” -- Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey Album of the Year: Invasion of Privacy -- Cardi B By The Way, I Forgive You -- Brandi Carlile Scorpion -- Drake H.E.R. - H.E.R. Beerbongs & Bentleys -- Post Malone Dirty Computer -- Janelle Monáe WINNER: Golden Hour -- Kacey Musgraves Black Panther: The Album -- Various Artists Song of the Year: “All The Stars” -- Kendrick Duckworth, Solána Rowe, Al Shuckburgh, Mark Spears & Anthony Tiffith, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar & SZA) “Boo’d Up” -- Larrance Dopson, Joelle James, Ella Mai & Dijon McFarlane, songwriters (Ella Mai) “God’s Plan” -- Aubrey Graham, Daveon Jackson, Brock Korsan, Ron LaTour, Matthew Samuels & Noah Shebib, songwriters (Drake) “In My Blood” -- Teddy Geiger, Scott Harris, Shawn Mendes & Geoffrey Warburton, songwriters (Shawn Mendes) “The Joke” -- Brandi Carlile, Dave Cobb, Phil Hanseroth & Tim Hanseroth, songwriters (Brandi Carlile) “The Middle” -- Sarah Aarons, Jordan K. Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Marcus Lomax, Kyle Trewartha, Michael Trewartha & Anton Zaslavski, songwriters (Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey) “Shallow” -- Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper) WINNER: “This Is America” -- Donald Glover & Ludwig Goransson, songwriters (Childish Gambino) Best New Artist: Chloe x Halle Luke Combs Greta Van Fleet H.E.R. WINNER: Dua Lipa Margo Price Bebe Rexha Jorja Smith POP Best Pop Solo Performance: “Colors" -- Beck “Havana (Live)” -- Camila Cabello “God Is A Woman” -- Ariana Grande WINNER: “Joanne (Where Do You Think You’re Goin’?)” -- Lady Gaga “Better Now” -- Post Malone Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: “Fall in Line” -- Christina Aguilera feat. Demi Lovato “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” -- Backstreet Boys “'S Wonderful” -- Tony Bennett & Diana Krall WINNER: “Shallow” -- Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper “Girls Like You” -- Maroon 5 feat. Cardi B “Say Something” -- Justin Timberlake feat. Chris Stapleton “The Middle” -- Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album: Love is Here to Stay -- Tony Bennett & Diana Krall WINNER: My Way -- Willie Nelson Nat “King” Cole & Me -- Gregory Porter Standards (Deluxe) -- Seal The Music...The Mem’ries...The Magic! -- Barbra Streisand Best Pop Vocal Album: Camila -- Camila Cabello Meaning of Life -- Kelly Clarkson WINNER: Sweetener -- Ariana Grande Shawn Mendes -- Shawn Mendes Beautiful Trauma -- P!nk Reputation -- Taylor Swift DANCE/ELECTRONIC MUSIC Best Dance Recording: “Northern Soul” -- Above & Beyond feat. Richard Bedford “Ultimatum” -- Disclosure feat. Fatoumata Diawara “Losing It” -- Fisher WINNER: “Electricity” -- Silk City & Dua Lipa feat. Diplo & Mark Ronson “Ghost Voices” -- Virtual Self Best Dance/Electronic Album: Singularity -- Jon Hopkins WINNER: Woman Worldwide -- Justice Treehouse -- Sofi Tukker Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides -- SOPHIE Lune Rouge -- TOKiMONSTA CONTEMPORARY INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC Best Contemporary Instrumental Album: The Emancipation Procrastination -- Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah WINNER: Steve Gadd Band -- Steve Gadd Band Modern Lore -- Julian Lage Laid Black -- Marcus Miller Protocol 4 -- Simon Phillips ROCK Best Rock Performance: “Four Out Of Five” -- Arctic Monkeys WINNER: “When Good Does Bad” -- Chris Cornell “Made An America” -- THE FEVER 333 “Highway Tune” -- Greta Van Fleet “Uncomfortable -- Halestorm Best Metal Performance: “Condemned to the Gallows” -- Between The Buried And Me “Honeycomb” -- Deafheaven WINNER: “Electric Messiah” -- High on Fire “Betrayer” -- Trivium “On My Teeth” -- Underoath Best Rock Song: “Black Smoke Rising” -- Jacob Thomas Kiszka, Joshua Michael Kiszka, Samuel Francis Kiszka & Daniel Robert Wagner, songwriters (Greta Van Fleet) “Jumpsuit” -- Tyler Joseph, songwriter (Twenty One Pilots) “MANTRA” -- Jordan Fish, Matthew Kean, Lee Malia, Matthew Nicholls & Oliver Sykes, songwriters (Bring Me The Horizon) WINNER: “Masseduction” -- Jack Antonoff & Annie Clark, songwriters (St. Vincent) “Rats” -- Tom Dalgety & A Ghoul Writer, songwriters (Ghost) Best Rock Album: Rainier Fog -- Alice in Chains M A N I A -- Fall Out Boy Prequelle -- Ghost WINNER: From the Fires -- Greta Van Fleet Pacific Daydream -- Weezer ALTERNATIVE Best Alternative Music Album: Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino -- Arctic Monkeys WINNER: Colors -- Beck Utopia -- Björk American Utopia -- David Byrne Masseduction -- St. Vincent R&B Best R&B Performance: “Long As I Live” -- Toni Braxton “Summer” -- The Carters “Y O Y” - Lalah Hathaway WINNER: “Best Part” -- H.E.R. feat. Daniel Caesar “First Began” -- PJ Morton Best Traditional R&B Performance: WINNER (TIE): “Bet Ain’t Worth the Hand” -- Leon Bridges “Don’t Fall Apart on Me Tonight” -- Bettye LaVette “Honest” -- MAJOR. WINNER (TIE): “How Deep Is Your Love” -- PJ Morton feat. Yebba “Made for Love” -- Charlie Wilson feat. Lalah Hathaway Best R&B Song: WINNER: “Boo’d Up” -- Larrance Dopson, Joelle James, Ella Mai & Dijon McFarlane, songwriters (Ella Mai) “Come Through and Chill” -- Jermaine Cole, Miguel Pimentel & Salaam Remi, songwriters (Miguel feat. J. Cole & Salaam Remi) “Feels Like Summer” -- Donald Glover & Ludwig Goransson, songwriters (Childish Gambino) “Focus” -- Darhyl Camper Jr, H.E.R. & Justin Love, songwriters (H.E.R.) “Long As I Live” -- Paul Boutin, Toni Braxton & Antonio Dixon, songwriters (Toni Braxton) Best Urban Contemporary Album: WINNER: Everything Is Love -- The Carters The Kids Are Alright -- Chloe x Halle Chris Dave And The Drumhedz -- Chris Dave And The Drumhedz War & Leisure -- Miguel Ventriloquism -- Meshell Ndegeocello Best R&B Album: Love & Cigarettes -- Toni Braxton Good Thing -- Leon Bridges Honestly -- Lalah Hathaway WINNER: H.E.R. -- H.E.R. Gumbo Unplugged (Live) -- PJ Morton RAP Best Rap Performance: “Be Careful” -- Cardi B “Nice for What” -- Drake WINNER (TIE): “King’s Dead” -- Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Future & James Blake WINNER (TIE): “Bubblin” -- Anderson .Paak “Sicko Mode” -- Travis Scott, Drake, Big Hawk & Swae Lee Best Rap/Sung Performance: “Like I Do” -- Christina Aguilera feat. GoldLink “Pretty Little Fears” -- 6lack feat. J. Cole WINNER: “This Is America” -- Childish Gambino “All The Stars” -- Kendrick Lamar & SZA “Rockstar” -- Post Malone feat. 21 Savage Best Rap Song: WINNER: “God’s Plan” -- Aubrey Graham, Daveon Jackson, Brock Korsan, Ron LaTour, Matthew Samuels & Noah Shebib, songwriters (Drake) “King’s Dead” -- Kendrick Duckworth, Samuel Gloade, James Litherland, Johnny McKinzie, Mark Spears, Travis Walton, Nayvadius Wilburn & Michael Williams II, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Future & James Blake) “Lucky You” -- R. Fraser, G. Lucas, M. Mathers, M. Samuels & J. Sweet, songwriters (Eminem feat. Joyner Lucas) “Sicko Mode” -- Khalif Brown, Rogét Chahayed, BryTavious Chambers, Mike Dean, Mirsad Dervic, Kevin Gomringer, Tim Gomringer, Aubrey Graham, John Edward Hawkins, Chauncey Hollis, Jacques Webster, Ozan Yildirim & Cydel Young, songwriters (Travis Scott, Drake, Big Hawk & Swae Lee) “Win” -- K. Duckworth, A. Hernandez, J. McKinzie, M. Samuels & C. Thompson, songwriters (Jay Rock) Best Rap Album: WINNER: Invasion of Privacy -- Cardi B Swimming -- Mac Miller Victory Lap -- Nipsey Hussle Daytona -- Pusha T Astroworld -- Travis Scott COUNTRY Best Country Solo Performance: “Wouldn’t It Be Great” -- Loretta Lynn “Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters” -- Maren Morris WINNER: “Butterflies” -- Kacey Musgraves “Millionaire” -- Chris Stapleton “Parallel Line” -- Keith Urban Best Country Duo/Group Performance “Shoot Me Straight” -- Brothers Osborne WINNER: “Tequila” -- Dan + Shay “When Someone Stops Loving You” -- Little Big Town “Dear Hate” -- Maren Morris feat. Vince Gill “Meant To Be” -- Bebe Rehxa & Florida Georgia Line Best Country Song: “Break Up In The End” -- Jessie Jo Dillon, Chase McGill & Jon Nite, songwriters (Cole Swindell) “Dear Hate” -- Tom Douglas, David Hodges & Maren Morris, songwriters (Maren Morris Featuring Vince Gill) “I Lived It” -- Rhett Akins, Ross Copperman, Ashley Gorley & Ben Hayslip, songwriters (Blake Shelton) WINNER: “Space Cowboy” -- Luke Laird, Shane McAnally & Kacey Musgraves, songwriters (Kacey Musgraves) “Tequila” -- Nicolle Galyon, Jordan Reynolds & Dan Smyers, songwriters (Dan + Shay) “When Someone Stops Loving You” -- Hillary Lindsey, Chase McGill & Lori McKenna, songwriters (Little Big Town) Best Country Album: Unapologetically -- Kelsea Ballerini Port Saint Joe -- Brothers Osborne Girl Going Nowhere -- Ashley McBryde WINNER: Golden Hour -- Kacey Musgraves From A Room: Volume 2 -- Chris Stapleton NEW AGE Best New Age Album: Hiraeth -- Lisa Gerrard & David Kuckhemann Beloved -- Snatam Kaur WINNER: Opium Moon -- Opium Moon Molecules Of Motion -- Steve Roach Moku Maluhia - Peaceful Island -- Jim Kimo West JAZZ Best Improvised Jazz Solo: “Some of That Sunshine” -- Regina Carter, soloist WINNER: “Don’t Fence Me In” -- John Daversa, soloist “We See” -- Fred Hersch, soloist “De-Dah” -- Brad Mehldau, soloist “Cadenas” -- Miguel Zenón, soloist Best Jazz Vocal Album: My Mood Is You -- Freddy Cole The Questions -- Kurt Elling The Subject Tonight Is Love -- Kate McGarry with Keith Ganz & Gary Versace If You Really Want -- Raul Midón with The Metropole Orkest Conducted by Vince Mendoza WINNER: The Window -- Cécile McLorin Savant Best Jazz Instrumental Album: Diamond Cut -- Tia Fuller Live In Europe -- Fred Hersch Trio Seymour Reads The Constitution! -- Brad Mehldau Trio Still Dreaming -- Joshua Redman, Ron Miles, Scott Colley & Brian Blade WINNER: Emanon -- The Wayne Shorter Quartet Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album: All About That Basie -- The Count Basie Orchestra Directed by Scott Barnhart WINNER: American Dreamers: Voices of Hope, Music of Freedom -- John Daversa Big Band Featuring DACA Artists Presence -- Orrin Evans And The Captain Black Big Band All Can Work -- John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble Barefoot Dances And Other Visions -- Jim McNeely & The Frankfurt Radio Big Band Best Latin Jazz Album: Heart of Brazil -- Eddie Daniels WINNER: Back to the Sunset -- Dafnis Preito Big Band West Side Story Reimagined -- Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band Cinque -- Elio Villafranca Yo Soy La Tradición -- Miguel Zenón Featuring Spektral Quartet GOSPEL/CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC Best Gospel Performance/Song: “You Will Win” -- Allen Carr & Jekalyn Carr, songwriters (Jekalyn Carr) “Won’t He Do It” -- Koryn Hawthorne, songwriter (Koryn Hawthorne) WINNER: “Never Alone” -- Kirk Franklin & Victoria Kelly, songwriters (Tori Kelly feat. Kirk Franklin) “Cycles” -- Jonathan McReynolds, songwriter (Jonathan McReynolds feat. DOE) “A Great Work” -- Aaron W. Lindsey, Alvin Richardson & Brian Courtney Wilson, songwriters (Brian Courtney Wilson) Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song: “Reckless Love” -- Cory Asbury, Caleb Culver & Ran Jackson, songwriters (Cory Asbury) WINNER: “You Say” -- Lauren Daigle, Jason Ingram & Paul Mabury, songwriters (Lauren Daigle) “Joy.” -- Ben Glover, Matt Hales, Stephen Blake Kanicka, Seth Moslely, Joel Smallbone, Luke Smallbone & Tedd Tjornhom, songwriters (for KING AND COUNTRY) “Grace Got You” -- David Garcia, Ben Glover, MercyMe, Solomon Olds & John Reuben, songwriters (MercyMe feat. John Reuben) “Known” -- Ethan Hulse, Jordan Sapp & Tauren Wells, songwriters (Tauren Wells) Best Gospel Album: One Nation Under God -- Jekalyn Carr WINNER: Hiding Place -- Tori Kelly Make Room -- Jonathan McReynolds The Other Side -- The Walls Group A Great Work -- Brian Courtney Wilson Best Contemporary Christian Music Album: WINNER: Look Up Child -- Lauren Daigle Hallelujah Here Below -- Elevation Worship Living With A Fire -- Jesus Culture Surrounded -- Michael W. Smith Survivor: Live From Harding Prison -- Zach Williams Best Roots Gospel Album: WINNER: Unexpected -- Jason Crabb Clear Skies -- Ernie Haase & Signature Sound Favorite: Revisited By Request -- The Isaacs Still Standing -- The Martins Love Love Love -- Gordon Mote LATIN Best Latin Pop Album: Prometo -- Pablo Alboran WINNER: Sincera -- Claudia Brant Musas (Un Homenaje Al Folclore Latinoamericano En Manos De Los Macorinos), Vol. 2 -- Natalia Lafourcade 2:00 AM -- Raquel Sofía Vives -- Carlos Vives Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album: Claroscura -- Aterciopelados Coastcity -- COASTCITY Encanto Tropical -- Monsieur Periné Gourmet -- Orishas WINNER: Aztlán -- Zoé Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano): Primero Soy Mexicana -- Angela Aguilar Mitad Y Mitad -- Calibre 50 Totalmente Juan Gabriel Vol. II -- Aida Cuevas Cruzando Borders -- Los Texmaniacs Leyendas De Mi Pueblo -- Mariachi Sol De Mexico De Jose Hernandez WINNER: ¡México Por Siempre! -- Luis Miguel Best Tropical Latin Album: Pa' Mi Gente -- Charlie Aponte Legado -- Formell Y Los Van Van Orquesta Akokán -- Orquesta Akokán Ponle Actitud -- Felipe Peláez WINNER: Anniversary -- Spanish Harlem Orchestra AMERICAN ROOTS MUSIC Best American Roots Performance: “Kick Rocks” -- Sean Ardoin “Saint James Infirmary Blues” -- Jon Batiste WINNER: “The Joke” -- Brandi Carlile “All On My Mind” -- Anderson East “Last Man Standing -- Willie Nelson Best American Roots Song: “All the Trouble” -- Waylon Payne, Lee Ann Womack & Adam Wright, songwriters (Lee Ann Womack) “Build a Bridge” -- Jeff Tweedy, songwriter (Mavis Staples) WINNER: “The Joke” -- Brandi Carlile, Dave Cobb, Phil Hanseroth & Tim Hanseroth, songwriters (Brandi Carlile) “Knockin’ on Your Screen Door” -- Pat McLaughlin & John Prine, songwriters (John Prine) “Summer’s End” -- Pat McLaughlin & John Prine, songwriters (John Prine) Best Americana Album: WINNER: By The Way, I Forgive You -- Brandi Carlile Things Have Changed -- Bettye LaVette The Tree Of Forgiveness -- John Prine The Lonely, The Lonesome & The Gone -- Lee Ann Womack One Drop Of Truth -- The Wood Brothers Best Bluegrass Album: Portraits In Fiddles -- Mike Barnett Sister Sadie II -- Sister Sadie Rivers And Roads -- Special Consensus WINNER: The Travelin’ McCourys - The Travelin’ McCourys North Of Despair -- Wood & Wire Best Traditional Blues Album: Something Smells Funky ‘Round Here -- Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio Benton County Relic -- Cedric Burnside WINNER: The Blues Is Alive and Well -- Buddy Guy No Mercy In This Land -- Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite Don't You Feel My Leg (The Naughty Bawdy Blues Of Blue Lu Barker) -- Maria Muldaur Best Contemporary Blues Album: WINNER: Please Don’t Be Dead -- Fantastic Negrito Here In Babylon -- Teresa James And The Rhythm Tramps Cry No More -- Danielle Nicole Out Of The Blues -- Boz Scaggs Victor Wainwright And The Train -- Victor Wainwright And The Train Best Folk Album: Whistle Down The Wind -- Joan Baez Black Cowboys -- Dom Flemons Rifles & Rosary Beads -- Mary Gauthier Weed Garden -- Iron & Wine WINNER: All Ashore -- Punch Brothers Best Regional Roots Music Album: Kreole Rock & Soul -- Sean Ardoin Spyboy -- Cha Wa Aloha From Na Hoa -- Na Hoa WINNER: No 'Ane'i -- Kalani Pe'a Mewasinsational - Cree Round Dance Songs -- Young Spirit REGGAE Best Reggae Album: As The World Turns -- Black Uhuru Reggae Forever -- Etana Rebellion Rises -- Ziggy Marley A Matter Of Time -- Protoje WINNER: 44/876 -- Sting & Shaggy WORLD MUSIC Best World Music Album: Deran -- Bombino Fenfo -- Fatoumata Diawara Black Times -- Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 WINNER: Freedom -- Soweto Gospel Choir The Lost Songs Of World War II -- Yiddish Glory CHILDREN’S Best Children’s Album: WINNER: All the Sounds -- Lucy Kalantari & The Jazz Cats Building Blocks -- Tim Kubart Falu’s Bazaar -- Falu Giants Of Science -- The Pop Ups The Nation Of Imagine -- Frank & Deane SPOKEN WORD Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry Audio Books & Storytelling): Accessory to War -- Courtney B. Vance (Neil deGrasse Tyson & Avis Lang) Calypso -- David Sedaris (David Sedaris) Creative Quest -- Questlove WINNER: Faith - A Journey for All -- Jimmy Carter The Last Black Unicorn -- Tiffany Haddish COMEDY Best Comedy Album: Annihilation -- Patton Oswalt WINNER: Equanimity And The Bird Revelation -- Dave Chappelle Noble Ape -- Jim Gaffigan Standup For Drummers -- Jim Gaffigan Tamborine -- Chris Rock MUSICAL THEATER Best Musical Theater Album: WINNER: The Band’s Visit -- Etai Benson, Adam Kantor, Katrina Lenk & Ari'el Stachel, principal soloists; Dean Sharenow & David Yazbek, producers; David Yazbek, composer & lyricist (Original Broadway Cast) Carousel -- Renee Fleming, Alexander Gemignani, Joshua Henry, Lindsay Mendez & Jessie Mueller, principal soloists; Steven Epstein, producer (Richard Rodgers, composer; Oscar Hammerstein II, lyricist) (2018 Broadway Cast) Jesus Christ Superstar Live In Concert -- Sara Bareilles, Alice Cooper, Ben Daniels, Brandon Victor Dixon, Erik Grönwall, Jin Ha, John Legend, Norm Lewis & Jason Tam, principal soloists; Harvey Mason, Jr., producer (Andrew Lloyd-Webber, composer; Tim Rice, lyricist) (Original Television Cast) My Fair Lady -- Lauren Ambrose, Norbert Leo Butz & Harry Hadden-Paton, principal soloists; Andre Bishop, Van Dean, Hattie K. Jutagir, David Lai, Adam Siegel & Ted Sperling, producers (Frederick Loewe, composer; Alan Jay Lerner, lyricist) (2018 Broadway Cast) Once On This Island -- Phillip Boykin, Merle Dandridge, Quentin Earl Darrington, Hailey Kilgore, Kenita R. Miller, Alex Newell, Isaac Powell & Lea Salonga, principal soloists; Lynn Ahrens, Hunter Arnold, Ken Davenport, Stephen Flaherty & Elliot Scheiner, producers (Stephen Flaherty, composer; Lynn Ahrens, lyricist) (New Broadway Cast) MUSIC FOR VISUAL MEDIA Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media: Call Me By Your Name -- Various Artists Deadpool 2 -- Various Artists WINNER: The Greatest Showman -- Various Artists Lady Bird -- Various Artists Stranger Things -- Various Artists Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media: WINNER: Black Panther -- Ludwig Göransson, composer Blade Runner 2049 -- Benjamin Wallfisch & Hans Zimmer, composers Coco -- Michael Giacchino, composer The Shape Of Water -- Alexandre Desplat, composer Star Wars: The Last Jedi -- John Williams, composer Best Song Written For Visual Media: “All The Stars” -- Kendrick Duckworth, Solána Rowe, Alexander William Shuckburgh, Mark Anthony Spears & Anthony Tiffith, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar & SZA) “Mystery Of Love” -- Sufjan Stevens, songwriter (Sufjan Stevens) “Remember Me” -- Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez, songwriters (Miguel Featuring Natalia Lafourcade) WINNER: “Shallow” -- Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper) “This Is Me” -- Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, songwriters (Keala Settle & The Greatest Showman Ensemble) COMPOSING/ARRANGING Best Instrumental Composition: WINNER: “Blut Und Boden (Blood And Soil)” -- Terence Blanchard, composer (Terence Blanchard) “Chrysalis” -- Jeremy Kittel, composer (Kittel & Co.) “Infinity War” -- Alan Silvestri, composer (Alan Silvestri) “Mine Mission” -- John Powell & John Williams, composers (John Powell & John Williams) “The Shape Of Water” -- Alexandre Desplat, composer (Alexandre Desplat) Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Capella: “Batman Theme” (TV) -- Randy Waldman & Justin Wilson, arrangers (Randy Waldman feat. Wynton Marsalis) “Change The World” -- Mark Kibble, arranger (Take 6) “Madrid Finale” -- John Powell, arranger (John Powell) “The Shape Of Water” -- Alexandre Desplat, arranger (Alexandre Desplat) WINNER: “Stars and Stripes Forever” -- John Daversa, arranger (John Daversa Big Band feat. DACA Artists) Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals: “It Was A Very Good Year” -- Matt Rollings & Kristin Wilkinson, arrangers (Willie Nelson) “Jolene” -- Dan Pugach & Nicole Zuraitis, arrangers (Dan Pugach) “Mona Lisa” -- Vince Mendoza, arranger (Gregory Porter) “Niña” -- Gonzalo Grau, arranger (Magos Herrera & Brooklyn Rider) WINNER: “Spiderman Theme” -- Randy Waldman, arranger (Randy Waldman feat. Take 6 & Chris Potter) PACKAGE Best Recording Package: Be The Cowboy -- Mary Banas, art director (Mitski) Love Yourself: Tear -- HuskyFox, art director (BTS) WINNER: Masseduction -- Willo Perron, art director (St. Vincent) The Offering -- Qing-Yang Xiao, art director (The Chairman) Well Kept Thing -- Adam Moore, art director (Foxhole) Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package: Appetite For Destruction (Locked N’ Loaded Box) -- Arian Buhler, Charles Dooher, Jeff Fura, Scott Sandler & Matt Taylor, art directors (Guns N’ Roses) I’ll Be Your Girl -- Carson Ellis, Jeri Heiden & Glen Nakasako, art directors (The Decemberists) Pacific Northwest ‘73-74’: The Complete Recordings -- Lisa Glines, Doran Tyson & Roy Henry Vickers, art directors (Grateful Dead) WINNER: Squeeze Box: The Complete Works Of “Weird Al” Yankovic -- Meghan Foley, Annie Stoll & Al Yankovic, art directors (“Weird Al” Yankovic) Too Many Bad Habits -- Sarah Dodds & Shauna Dodds, art directors (Johnny Nicholas) NOTES Best Album Notes: Alpine Dreaming: The Helvetia Records Story, 1920-1924 -- James P. Leary, album notes writer (Various Artists) 4 Banjo Songs, 1891-1897: Foundational Recordings Of America’s Iconic Instrument -- Richard Martin & Ted Olson, album notes writers (Charles A. Asbury) The 1960 Time Sessions -- Ben Ratliff, album notes writer (Sonny Clark Trio) The Product Of Our Souls: The Sounds And Sway Of James Reese Europe’s Society Orchestra -- David Gilbert, album notes writer (Various Artists) Trouble No More: The Bootleg Series Vol. 13 / 1979-1981 (Deluxe Edition) -- Amanda Petrusich, album notes writer (Bob Dylan) WINNER: Voices of Mississippi: Artists And Musicians Documented By William Ferris -- David Evans, album notes writer (Various Artists) HISTORICAL Best Historical Album: Any Other Way -- Rob Bowman, Douglas Mcgowan, Rob Sevier & Ken Shipley, compilation producers; Jeff Lipton, mastering engineer (Jackie Shane) At The Louisiana Hayride Tonight… -- Martin Hawkins, compilation producer; Christian Zwarg, mastering engineer (Various Artists) Battleground Korea: Songs And Sounds Of America’s Forgotten War -- Hugo Keesing, compilation producer; Christian Zwarg, mastering engineer (Various Artists) A Rhapsody In Blue - The Extraordinary Life Of Oscar Levant -- Robert Russ, compilation producer; Andreas K. Meyer & Rebekah Wineman, mastering engineers (Oscar Levant) WINNER: Voices of Mississippi: Artists And Musicians Documented By William Ferris -- William Ferris, April Ledbetter & Steven Lance Ledbetter, compilation producers; Michael Graves, mastering engineer (Various Artists) PRODUCTION, NON-CLASSICAL Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical: All The Things That I Did And All The Things That I Didn’t Do -- Ryan Freeland & Kenneth Pattengale, engineers; Kim Rosen, mastering engineer (The Milk Carton Kids) WINNER: Colors -- Julian Burg, Serban Ghenea, David “Elevator” Greenbaum, John Hanes, Beck Hansen, Greg Kurstin, Florian Lagatta, Cole M.G.N., Alex Pasco, Jesse Shatkin, Darrell Thorp & Cassidy Turbin, engineers; Chris Bellman, Tom Coyne, Emily Lazar & Randy Merrill, mastering engineers (Beck) Earthtones -- Robbie Lackritz, engineer; Philip Shaw Bova, mastering engineer (Bahamas) Head Over Heels -- Nathaniel Alford, Jason Evigan, Chris Galland, Tom Gardner, Patrick “P-Thugg” Gemayel, Serban Ghenea, John Hanes, Tony Hoffer, Derek Keota, Ian Kirkpatrick, David Macklovitch, Amber Mark, Manny Marroquin, Vaughn Oliver, Chris “TEK” O’Ryan, Morgan Taylor Reid & Gian Stone, engineers; Chris Gehringer & Michelle Mancini, mastering engineers (Chromeo) Voicenotes -- Manny Marroquin & Charlie Puth, engineers; David Kutch, mastering engineer (Charlie Puth) Producer of the Year, Non-Classical: Boi-1da Larry Klein Linda Perry Kanye West WINNER: Pharrell Williams Best Remixed Recording: “Audio (CID Remix) -- CID, remixer (LSD) “How Long (EDX’s Dubai Skyline Remix)” -- Maurizio Colella, remixer (Charlie Puth) “Only Road (Cosmic Gate Remix)” -- Stefan Bossems & Claus Terhoeven, remixers (Gabriel & Dresden feat. Sub Teal) “Stargazing (Kaskade Remix)” -- Kaskade, remixer (Kygo feat. Justin Jesso) WINNER: “Walking Away (Mura Masa Remix)” -- Alex Crossan, remixer (Haim) PRODUCTION, IMMERSIVE AUDIO Best Immersive Audio Album: WINNER: Eye In The Sky - 35th Anniversary Edition -- Alan Parsons, surround mix engineer; Dave Donnelly, PJ Olsson & Alan Parsons, surround mastering engineers; Alan Parsons, surround producer (The Alan Parsons Project) Folketoner -- Morten Lindberg, surround mix engineer; Morten Lindberg, surround mastering engineer; Morten Lindberg, surround producer (Anne Karin Sundal-Ask & Det Norske Jentekor) Seven Words From The Cross -- Daniel Shores, surround mix engineer; Daniel Shores, surround mastering engineer; Dan Merceruio, surround producer (Matthew Guard & Skylark) Sommerro: Ujamaa & The Iceberg -- Morten Lindberg, surround mix engineer; Morten Lindberg, surround mastering engineer; Morten Lindberg, surround producer (Ingar Heine Bergby, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra & Choir) Symbol -- Prashant Mistry & Ronald Prent, surround mix engineers; Darcy Proper, surround mastering engineer, Prashant Mistry & Ronald Prent, surround producers (Engine-Earz Experiment) PRODUCTION, CLASSICAL Best Engineered Album, Classical: Bates: The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs -- Mark Donahue & Dirk Sobotka, engineers; Mark Donahue, mastering engineer (Michael Christie, Garrett Sorenson, Wei Wu, Sasha Cooke, Edwards Parks, Jessica E. Jones & Santa Fe Opera Orchestra) Beethoven: Symphony No. 3; Strauss: Horn Concerto No. 1 -- Mark Donahue, engineer; Mark Donahue, mastering engineer (Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra) John Williams At The Movies -- Keith O. Johnson & Sean Royce Martin, engineers; Keith O. Johnson, mastering engineer (Jerry Junkin & Dallas Winds) Liquid Melancholy - Clarinet Music Of James M. Stephenson -- Bill Maylone & Mary Mazurek, engineers; Bill Maylone, mastering engineer (John Bruce Yeh) WINNER: Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 11 -- Shawn Murphy & Nick Squire, engineers; Tim Martyn, mastering engineer (Andris Nelsons & Boston Symphony Orchestra) Visions And Variations -- Tom Caulfield, engineer; Jesse Lewis, mastering engineer (A Far Cry) Producer Of The Year, Classical: WINNER: Blanton Alspaugh David Frost Elizabeth Ostrow Judith Sherman Dirk Sobotka CLASSICAL Best Orchestral Performance: Beethoven: Symphony No. 3; Strauss: Horn Concerto No. 1 -- Manfred Honeck, conductor (Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra) Nielsen: Symphony No. 3 & Symphony No. 4 -- Thomas Dausgaard, conductor (Seattle Symphony) Ruggles, Stucky & Harbison: Orchestral Works -- David Alan Miller, conductor (National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic) Schumann: Symphonies Nos. 1-4 -- Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor (San Francisco Symphony) WINNER: Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 11 -- Andris Nelsons, conductor (Boston Symphony Orchestra) Best Opera Recording: Adams: Doctor Atomic -- John Adams, conductor; Aubrey Allicock, Julia Bullock, Gerald Finley & Brindley Sherratt; Friedemann Engelbrecht, producer (BBC Symphony Orchestra; BBC Singers) WINNER: Bates: The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs -- Michael Christie, conductor; Sasha Cooke, Jessica E. Jones, Edward Parks, Garrett Sorenson & Wei Wu; Elizabeth Ostrow, producer (The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra) Lully: Alceste -- Christophe Rousset, conductor; Edwin Crossley-Mercer, Emiliano Gonzalez Toro & Judith Van Wanroij; Maximilien Ciup, producer (Les Talens Lyriques; Choeur De Chambre De Namur) Strauss, R.: Der Rosenkavalier -- Sebastian Weigle, conductor; Renée Fleming, El?na Garan?a, Günther Groissböck & Erin Morley; David Frost, producer (Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; Metropolitan Opera Chorus) Verdi: Rigoletto -- Constantine Orbelian, conductor; Francesco Demuro, Dmitri Hvorostovsky & Nadine Sierra; Vilius Keras & Aleksandra Keriene, producers (Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra; Men Of The Kaunas State Choir) Best Choral Performance: Chesnokov: Teach Me Thy Statutes -- Vladimir Gorbik, conductor (Mikhail Davydov & Vladimir Krasov; PaTRAM Institute Male Choir) Kastalsky: Memory Eternal -- Steven Fox, conductor (The Clarion Choir) WINNER: McLoskey: Zealot Canticles -- Donald Nally, conductor (Doris Hall-Gulati, Rebecca Harris, Arlen Hlusko, Lorenzo Raval & Mandy Wolman; The Crossing) Rachmaninov: The Bells -- Mariss Jansons, conductor; Peter Dijkstra, chorus master (Oleg Dolgov, Alexey Markov & Tatiana Pavlovskaya; Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks; Chor Des Bayerischen Rundfunks) Seven Words From The Cross -- Matthew Guard, conductor (Skylark) Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance: WINNER: Anderson, Laurie: Landfall -- Laurie Anderson & Kronos Quartet Beethoven, Shostakovich & Bach -- The Danish String Quartet Blueprinting -- Aizuri Quartet Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring Concerto for Two Pianos -- Leif Ove Andsnes & Marc-Andre Hamelin Visions And Variations -- A Far Cry Best Classical Instrumental Solo: “Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 2” -- Yuja Wang; Simon Rattle, conductor (Berliner Philharmoniker) Biber: The Mystery Sonatas -- Christina Day Martinson; Martin Pearlman, conductor (Boston Baroque) Bruch: Scottish Fantasy, Op. 46; Violin Concerto No. 1 In G Minor, Op. 26 -- Joshua Bell (The Academy Of St. Martin In The Fields) Glass: Three Pieces In The Shape Of A Square -- Craig Morris WINNER: “Kernis: Violin Concerto” -- James Ehnes; Ludovic Morlot, conductor (Seattle Symphony) Best Classical Solo Vocal Album: ARC -- Anthony Roth Costanzo; Jonathan Cohen, conductor (Les Violons Du Roy) The Handel Album -- Philippe Jaroussky; Artaserse, ensemble Mirages -- Sabine Devieilhe; François-Xavier Roth, conductor (Alexandre Tharaud; Marianne Crebassa & Jodie Devos; Les Siècles) Schubert: Winterreise -- Randall Scarlata; Gilbert Kalish, accompanist WINNER: Songs of Orpheus - Monteverdi, Caccini, D’India & Landi -- Karim Sulayman; Jeannette Sorrell, conductor; Apollo’s Fire, ensembles Best Classical Compendium: Fuchs: Piano Concerto ‘Spiritualist’; Poems Of Life; Glacier; Rush -- JoAnn Falletta, conductor; Tim Handley, producer Gold -- The King’s Singers; Nigel Short, producer The John Adams Edition -- Simon Rattle, conductor; Christoph Franke, producer John Williams At The Movies -- Jerry Junkin, conductor; Donald J. McKinney, producer WINNER: Vaughan Williams: Piano Concerto; Oboe Concerto; Serenade To Music; Flos Campi -- Peter Oundjian, conductor; Blanton Alspaugh, producer Best Contemporary Classical Composition: Bates: The (R)evolution Of Steve Jobs -- Mason Bates, composer; Mark Campbell, librettist (Michael Christie, Garrett Sorenson, Wei Wu, Sasha Cooke, Edwards Parks, Jessica E. Jones & Santa Fe Opera Orchestra) “Du Yun: Air Glow” -- Du Yun, composer (International Contemporary Ensemble) Heggie: Great Scott -- Jake Heggie, composer; Terrence McNally, librettist (Patrick Summers, Manuel Palazzo, Mark Hancock, Michael Mayes, Rodell Rosel, Kevin Burdette, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Nathan Gunn, Frederica von Stade, Ailyn Pérez, Joyce DiDonato, Dallas Opera Chorus & Orchestra) WINNER: “Kernis: Violin Concerto” -- Aaron Jay Kernis, composer (James Ehnes, Ludovic Morlot & Seattle Symphony) “Mazzoli: Vespers For Violin” -- Missy Mazzoli, composer (Olivia De Prato) MUSIC VIDEO/FILM Best Music Video: “Apes***” -- Ricky Saiz, video director; Melodie Buchris, Natan Schottenfels & Erinn Williams, video producers (The Carters) WINNER: “This Is America” -- Hiro Murai, video director; Ibra Ake, Jason Cole & Fam Rothstein, video producers (Childish Gambino) “I’m Not Racist” -- Joyner Lucas & Ben Proulx, video directors; Joyner Lucas, video producer (Joyner Lucas) “PYNK” -- Emma Westenberg, video director; Justin Benoliel & Whitney Jackson, video producers (Janelle Monáe) “MUMBO JUMBO” -- Marco Prestini, video director; Sara Nassim, video producer (Tierra Whack) Best Music Film: Life in 12 Bars -- Lili Fini Zanuck, video director; John Battsek, Scooter Weintraub, Larry Yelen & Lili Fini Zanuck, video producers (Eric Clapton) Whitney -- Kevin Macdonald, video director; Jonathan Chinn, Simon Chinn & Lisa Erspamer, video producers (Whitney Houston) WINNER: Quincy -- Alan Hicks & Rashida Jones, video directors; Paula DuPré Pesmen, video producer (Quincy Jones) Itzhak -- Alison Chernick, video director; Alison Chernick, video producer (Itzhak Perlman) The King -- Eugene Jarecki, video director; Christopher Frierson, Georgina Hill, David Kuhn & Christopher St. John, video producers (Elvis Presley) Read the full article

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