Fuck the Grammys

Well, the Grammys are pretty much a joke. I haven't actually watched them since the days of NSync and Britney Spears. And I didn't watch them this year, either, but the next day I looked over the nominees and winners. And . . . wow. I want to do some comparisons real quick.
Spin's Top 5 Albums of 2009:

1. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!
3. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
4. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
5. Girls - Album

Spin's Top 5 Songs of 2009:

1. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero
2. Phoenix - 1901
3. Girls - Hellhole Ratrace
4. Animal Collective - My Girls
5. Kings of Leon - Use Somebody

Rolling Stone's Top 5 Albums of 2009:

1. U2 - No Line on the Horizon
2. Bruce Springsteen - Working On A Dream
3. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
4. Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3
5. Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown

Rolling Stone's Top 5 Songs of 2009:

1. U2 - Moment of Surrender
2. Jay-Z & Alicia Keys - Empire State of Mind
3. Bruce Springsteen - Outlaw Pete
4. Miley Cyrus - Party in the USA
5. Phoenix - 1901

Pitchfork's Top 5 Albums of 2009:

1. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
2. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
3. The xx - The xx
4. The Flaming Lips - Embryonic
5. Raekwon - Only Built for Cuban Linx . . . Part II

Pitchfork's Top 5 Songs of 2009:

1. Animal Collective - My Girls
2. Dirty Projectors - Stillness is the Move
3. Phoenix - 1901
4. Bat for Lashes - Daniel
5. Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks

Top 5 Selling Albums in US 2009:

1. Taylor Swift - Fearless
2. Beyonce - I Am . . . Sasha Fierce
3. Nickelback - Dark Horse
4. Twilight Soundtrack
5. Hannah Montana: The Movie Soundtrack

Top 5 Songs in US 2009:

1. Black Eyed Peas - Boom Boom Pow
2. Lady Gaga - Poker Face
3. Lady Gaga - Just Dance
4. Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feeling
5. Taylor Swift - Love Story

Grammy Album of the Year 2010:

1. Taylor Swift - Fearless - Winner
2. Beyonce - I Am . . . Sasha Fierce
3. Black Eyed Peas - The E.N.D.
4. Lady Gaga - The Fame
5. Dave Matthews Band - Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King

Grammy Song of the Year 2010:

1. Beyonce - Single Ladies - Winner
2. Lady Gaga - Poker Face
3. Maxwell - Pretty Wings
4. Kings of Leon - Use Somebody
5. Taylor Swift - You Belong With Me

What this tells me is that the Grammys are not for the best, they're for the best selling. Not all year-end lists are going to agree, true. And Phoenix did win Best Alternative Album (among nominees Yeah Yeah Yeahs, David Byrne & Brian Eno, Death Cab for Cutie, and Depeche Mode). And I love Taylor Swift. I'm not saying every nominee/winner is bad.
But even the more nuanced categories were filled with artists that no one cares about anymore, or at least are not making exciting, new, different music (except for the drones at Rolling Stone, also quickly becoming [or maybe has become?] irrelevant): Stevie Wonder (Best Male Pop Performance), Seal (Best Male Pop Performance), Bon Jovi (Pop Performance by a Group with Vocals), The Fray (Pop Performance by a Group with Vocals), Hall & Oates (Pop Performance by a Group with Vocals), Madonna (Best Dance Recording), Bruce Springsteen (Solo Rock Vocal Performance), John Fogerty (Solo Rock Vocal Performance), Prince (Solo Rock Vocal Performance), U2 (Rock Performance by a Group with Vocals), Green Day (Rock Performance by a Group with Vocals) . . . I could go on and on.
Again, I'm not saying these artists are bad (personal opinions aside). What I'm saying is: where was Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, Phoenix (aside from their one nomination), Yeah Yeah Yeahs (aside from their one nomination), Dirty Projectors, Flaming Lips, etc etc? This all can be written off as me being an indie hipster, I know. But wouldn't it be nice if the Grammys were exciting? Relevant? Showcased more than big sellers?
Just a thought.