Chicago Groups Get Grammy'd

By Scott Smith in Arts & Entertainment on Dec 8, 2006 8:41PM

We know there’ll be a resounding chorus of “Who cares?” in the comments on this post, but we’d be remiss in our music coverage if we didn’t acknowledge those Chicagoans who pulled down Grammy award nominations this week.

Continuing to build hope for the future of hip-hop, West Side hip-hopper Lupe Fiasco picked up three nominations (best rap solo performance, album and song). Lupe celebrated the nomination by signing 256 new endorsement deals, including one for his own brand of artificial respirators (motto: “Don’t let your loved one’s final hours become a disaster, make it a Fiasco!”).

Former Chicago-based rock band OK Go snagged a nomination for best music video thanks to a few well-placed treadmills. You can read more about that video and OK Go’s career in our interview with bassist Tim Nordwind. The band returns to town next April in a sold-out show with Snow Patrol at the Aragon.

The Trib reports that other current or adopted Chicagoans grabbed nominations as well, including the Caravans, E-Smoove, Ministry, the Chicago Chamber Musicians and Chaka Khan, who we’re hoping feels for us the way we feel for her (we wanna rock her, that’s all we wanna do).

Finally, Eddie Blazonczyk's Versatones continued its reign in Chicago’s polka kingdom, though Lenny Gomulka and the Chicago Push emerged this year as a challenger to the throne. Both groups received best polka album nominations, though this marks this 18th nomination for the Versatones (read more about Blazonczyk’s Grammy experience last year in an interview we did with him last February).

The Grammy awards will be broadcast February 11 on CBS, but we'll probably have the good sense to have something better to do that night, and catch whatever amazing performance Mary J. lays down the next day on YouTube.