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Robert Plant And Alison Krauss Win Grammy Album Of The Year

Raising Sand, from Led Zeppelin vet and bluegrass superstar, wins five Grammys on Sunday night.
By James Montgomery with MTV News staff


Alison Krauss and Robert Plant accept the award for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards on Sunday
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images

"I'm bewildered," Robert Plant said onstage as he accepted the Grammy Album of the Year award with Alison Krauss on Sunday night. "In the old days we would have called this selling out, but it's a good way to spend a Sunday."

He was probably one of the few who were surprised, because Raising Sand, which won five trophies at Sunday night's show, is in many ways the perfect Grammy album. It features two respected veterans, a critically lauded producer, some sandpaper-and-velvet vocals and a baker's dozen of time-tested standards.

You're probably familiar with Robert Plant from his Led Zeppelin days, and you might be aware of producer T-Bone Burnett's work on the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack (it won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 2002). And if you don't know who Alison Krauss is, she possesses a haunting set of pipes and is one of the meanest fiddle players in the world. Oh, and she's won 21 Grammys, more than any other female artist and the seventh-most in history.

Really, she's the key to Sand's success, and not just because of her voice (or her fiddle playing). She and Plant first met in 2004, at a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tribute to legendary bluesman Leadbelly, and the former Zeppelin man was amazed by her knowledge of American Roots music — so much so that they began kicking around the idea of recording an album together. Three years later, Sand was released.

And while Plant possesses the more famous voice, the album's finest moments radiate from Krauss. Whether she's getting bluesy on Little Milton's "Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson" or entwining with Plant's husky voice on songs like "Please Read the Letter" and Roly Salley's winsome "Killing the Blues," she more than carries her end of the bargain.

And perhaps that's also due to producer Burnett, who handpicked the 13 songs the duo cover on Sand. His arrangements are sparse — giving the two voices ample room to breathe — yet dense, warm and crackling at the same time. It's a testament to his work that he's often given just as much billing as Plant and Krauss on the project ... and it's certainly justified.

To date, Sand has sold more than 1 million copies, heaped tons of acclaim and actually earned a Grammy last year — "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)" took home the award for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals.

One expert was surprised not by the album's success, but by the fact that it's actually quite a good album.

"At first, the album seemed like a vanity project. ... Two names, clearly a one-off record, didn't have to be any good, you know?" New York Times music critic Jon Caramanica said. "Led Zeppelin fans would buy it because of Robert Plant, Alison Krauss would get a check. But it actually turned out to be a really thoughtful, really good record. So when you combine all that with the fact that the Grammys love to lionize one of their own, I could really see it taking home some awards."

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Britney Spears, Afrojack Remixes Put Moguai On The Dance Floor

'Lyve From Beta' DJ crafting another 'Beatport Elements' sample pack.
By Adam Stewart


Sofi and Moguai
Photo: MTV News

Moguai is quickly becoming one of the hottest names in dance music. Midway through his most-recent Stateside jaunt, "Lyve From America," the German DJ and producer will hit Sin City this weekend for a set at the Palms' Rain Nightclub on Saturday, followed by the granddaddy of them all: opening the Circuit Grounds stage on the final evening of the Electric Daisy Carnival on Sunday.

But it wasn't always club tunes and chart-topping success for the Mau5trap signee, born André Tegeler, who not long ago was on a path that was more likely to put him in the courtroom than the DJ booth.

"I was in Germany, studying for my law examination," he recalled recently in Miami. "But at that same time, I hit my first official German chart, so I had to make a choice: Do I do this the serious or un-serious way? So I said, 'OK, go for the music!' "

Luckily for the EDM aficionados, he put his legal dreams aside and dove headfirst into sound production. And now, just a few years later, he's become an integral part of one of the world's hottest dance labels. Having joined forces with Sofi (as in Deadmau5's "Sofi Needs a Ladder") on "Beat of the Drum," who he first met literally minutes before our chat, Moguai hit big this year in Miami, and his infectious grooves have been spreading like wildfire ever since. With his latest solo release "Oxygen," a rework of Afrojack's club monster "Bangduck" due out July 4, and a massive remix of the new Britney Spears single "I Wanna Go" to be released shortly after, Moguai is quickly proving that he is as versatile as he is talented.

Coming off the success of "Lyve From Beta," a unique release that included all of the loops, samples and tools from his set at the renowned Denver nightclub, Moguai is busy crafting another sample-based Ableton-friendly release pack, "Beatport Elements."

"It will have parts, so you can download the full audio and you can download the separate parts of what the tracks are made of," he explained. "You can see the pitch and the bpm, and you have lots of information about the music, so you can deal with it and handle it in whichever way you like."

While in the past, bedroom producers were tasked with slicing and dicing a master track from their favorite artists, the tech-savvy can now get their hands on individual song parts and re-interpret the tracks in their own style, something Beatport is hoping to do with more artists, Moguai said. He recalled how different his upbringing to the scene was compared with the technological advantages of today. With a bourgeoning tour schedule on the horizon, he's relieved that the age of the digital DJ allows him to travel light.

"It's nice, all of this software and all of these things, but I'm from this old-school generation. I'm coming from this vinyl business. I played so many years with only vinyl, and I paid so much traveling with vinyl to all of my gigs!" he recalled, laughing.

Will you be catching Moguai on tour? Tell us in the comments below!

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Ke$ha Is Channeling 'Sexiness' Of '70s Rock For New Album

Glitter-heavy pop star tells MTV News she's going for 'balls-out, irreverent rock and roll.'
By James Montgomery, with reporting by Matt Elias


Ke$ha
Photo: MTV News

Ke$ha's already got the face paint down pat, and, during recent live sets, she's even taken to guzzling blood out of a human heart, so it should come as no surprise that, on her upcoming album, the pop star is taking things back to the most theatrical era of rock: the prop-heavy, arena-spanning heyday of the 1970s.

Ke$h revealed her plans over the weekend in Los Angeles, on the red carpet of KIIS FM's annual Wango Tango concert, where she told MTV News that the follow-up to her breakout Animal album (and, we suppose, Cannibal too) would be heavy on hard riffs and light on pretty much everything else.

"The next album ... I've been working on writing on the road, but as far as a sound, I just know it's gonna be balls-out, irreverent rock and roll," she said. "I've been pretty much in this '70s rock and roll kick and I just want to capture some of the true essence of what rock and roll is, and that's just irreverence and sexiness and fun and not giving a f---, so we'll definitely put a bit of rock and roll in it."

So, does that mean that fans can expect the likes of Alice Cooper or Peter Frampton to show up on her new album? Perhaps. Because while Ke$ha's new album is still a ways off, she's already begun calling in favors, hoping to line up a killer collabo for the new disc.

"I'm trying, trust me," she laughed. "I really would love to connect with one of my idols, I mean, that's my dream. I'm working on it."

What do you think of Ke$ha going rock for her next album? Tell us in the comments!

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'SYTYCD' Recap: Season 8, Episode 11

'SYTYCD' Recap: Season 8, Episode 11

Yesterday: Kristin Chenoweth requested that some doors be closed. She was pretty insistent about it, so if I were you, I'd get on that. The opening group dance has Melanie front-and-center, which is something I approve of. I flip-flop between Sasha and Melanie, so they're my co-favorites. It's a refreshingly unencumbered dance.

The outfits are simple and grey, and there aren't any props to wave around. There might not even be a story. It's just some limber kids hopping around to music from The Incredibles. Very pleasant. Good work, Michael Rooney.

CLICK TO READ THE FULL RECAP

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Lady Gaga's 'Edge Of Glory': A Pop-Culture Cheat Sheet

In her newest video, Gaga pays homage to classic clips of the 1980s.
By James Montgomery


Lady Gaga
Photo: Getty Images

The first thing that strikes you about Lady Gaga's "The Edge of Glory" video is the fact that it's steeped in the rich, gauzy traditions of classic pop clips and noticeably missing any of the allegories, agendas or, uh, afterbirth of her previous work.

Simply put, "Edge" is an homage to an entire genre of videos that has since gone by the wayside — namely, the eternally soft-focused, ethereal mini-movies of the 1980s, (mostly) pop productions that reimagined cityscapes as dream-like fantasy worlds, where the just-wet streets shone like mirrors, the manholes frothed with steam and no piece of fabric was left un-billowed. These were decidedly big-budget, unapologetically Hollywood things, shot on studio backlots, glowing with million-dollar lighting budgets and given extra grandeur thanks to sweeping, soaring crane shots. They made no attempt to portray reality as anything of the sort — because, much like the songs they accompanied, there was rebellion in that fantasy — or of hiding their excesses. And, not surprisingly, as the decade came to a close, and earnestness began to reign supreme, they slowly disappeared (surely, their big budgets didn't help their fate either).

But with her new clip, Gaga resurrects the epic videos of the '80s once again. And, seemingly, all at once. There truly are too many nods to the classics to list individually, and really, that's beside the point. With "The Edge of Glory," LG is paying tribute not to individual artists, but to an entire genre. Still, there are some whose influence stands above the rest, and we've combined them into one handy cheat sheet. Of course, in keeping with her tradition, not all of them come from the 1980s. Because if there's anything Lady Gaga has proven, it's that she refuses to be fenced in. Here's our list:

Bonnie Tyler: Welsh-born belter whose better-known videos (like "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and "Holding Out for a Hero") practically set the standard for the fantastical pop videos of the 1980s. Soft focus, arching crane shots, achingly staged lighting — they're all there, and they're all on display in "Edge of Glory" too.

Blondie, "Rapture": One of the earliest examples of the ethereal '80s (it was released in 1981), the video follows Debbie Harry on a dream-like traipse through the streets of New York City, complete with guest appearances by Fab Five Freddy and a shuffling Uncle Sam (to name just a few). It makes no sense, because it's not supposed to.

Cyndi Lauper: Gaga's good friend and, along with Madonna, perhaps the premier '80s video star, Lauper's classics — be they the good-natured rebellion of "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" or the moody, arty "True Colors" — both seem like spiritual successors to "Edge."

"Fame": Epochal tale of performing-arts students living and loving in NYC during the early '80s, it's spirit and style have long influenced Gaga's work. With its dance moves and dreamy, freedom-in-the-streets scenes, "Edge" is perhaps the best example of that.

"Flashdance": Prototypical "girl finds escape in dance" film from 1983, it stars Jennifer Beals as a steelworker/dancer who dreams of a better life. Not only are the same sentiments echoed in "Edge," but Gaga pays tribute to the film's most memorable scene — where Beals reclines in a chair and is doused in water — by striking a similar pose outside her apartment building.

George Michael: Before he became known for his various, uh, exploits, Michael was the biggest British pop star of the 1980s, and as such, he churned out some appropriately huge music videos. Two of his biggest — "Father Figure" and "Careless Whisper" — seem to have influenced Gaga with their gauzy, steamy portrayals of late-night life in the big city and, in the case of "Whisper," that balls-out sax wailing.

Michael Jackson: You can't write anything about videos from the 1980s without mentioning MJ, who took the art form to rarely duplicated heights. Usually, his clips were fantastical things, but occasionally, he also got gritty, and it's those moments (videos like "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Billie Jean") that seem to have stuck in Gaga's mind.

"Newsies": The 1992 Disney musical is most notable for its initial "flop" status and its subsequent rebirth as a cult classic. It tells the story of newsboys on strike in New York City, and in classic scenes like Christian Bale's performance of the song "Santa Fe," it takes that struggle to the twisting fire escapes of the city. Sort of like "Edge of Glory," really.

"Rent": Broadway retelling of Puccini's "La bohème," set in the Lower East Side in the early 1990s. As some have noted, Lady Gaga seems to be paying tribute to the choreography of one particular number ("Out Tonight") as she dances on the fire escape.

"West Side Story": One of the best-loved Broadway musicals of all time, "Story" was remade as a film in 1961 and went on to win a whopping 10 Oscars, including Best Picture. As you can expect, there are plenty of street scenes and fire escapes in both the film and the stage show, but perhaps the most famous is "Tonight," where the story's star-crossed lovers profess their love for one another high above the city. Sure, Maria never tears off her Versace silk, but you seemingly cannot film a scene on a fire escape without recalling this classic, and, in "Edge," there's certainly a lot of the former.

Did we miss any influences? Let us know in the comments below!

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