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newyorker:

The Grammy Awards: Chris Brown Overload

It doesn’t hurt that Adele is an apt hero—enormously talented, not rail thin, recently returned from vocal-cord surgery, and believably moved when collecting the trophies she must have known she would win. This was the best thing about the night: a gifted musician getting her due, even if her recordings are not yet as impressive as her instrument. She knocked “Rolling In The Deep” out of the park and said “snot” in her acceptance speech. Love it. But read no further if you need to believe in unicorns and platinum rainbows.

Before the telecast even began, several key things happened. Kanye West won the four awards he was nominated for, all variations within the Rap category. If we’re imagining—pure speculation here, folks—that the awards are not doled out purely on the basis of aggregated votes and are possibly (speculation!) jiggered around to serve various constituencies, then it might have been necessary to give Kanye all the rap awards in sight, since his exquisite album, “My Beautiful Twisted Dark Fantasy” was not given a Best Album nomination. Much as we’re rooting for Adele, her modest, solid album “21” was in no way equal to West’s combination of patient craft and impatient, airy visions…

- Sasha Frere-Jones reviews last night’s Grammy Awards: http://nyr.kr/wqRGIh