Grammy Awards provide a big boost for indie music

 
Arcade Fire’s album-of-the-year Grammy award on Sunday night for “The Suburbs” was a victory for a lot of people, and not just because it seemed as if the Canadian rock collective brought half the population of its native Montreal onstage during its show-closing musical performances.

It also was a win for the grassroots community of independent musicians and record companies to which Arcade Fire and its label, Merge Records, belong. Combined with the win in another of the top four Grammy categories -- jazz bassist-singer Esperanza Spalding’s upset for best new artist -- indie labels and artists came away from Sunday night’s ceremony with two major boosts to their self-esteem.

“A lot of the jaws that hit the floor when those two categories were announced were those of independents,” said Jim Selby, chief executive of Naxos of America, the independent Nashville-based classical label that racked up 35 nominations and took home 10 awards for its artists and distributed labels Sunday. “Independent artists winning against Eminem? A lot of people were thinking, ‘This is insane!' "

Robert Plant meets Los Lobos: 'What a thrill'

What’s the response for a songwriter when a rock god decides to record one of your tunes?

That question came to mind when I got word last week that Robert Plant’s new solo album, "Band of Joy," due in September, would include, among other roots folk, rock and country songs, his version of Los Lobos’ "Angel Dance" from their 1990 album, "The Neighborhood."

So I put the question to Louie Perez, who wrote the haunting and bittersweet tune with his longtime songwriting collaborator, David Hidalgo.

"It was a surprise cuz it wasn't pitched by my publishing peeps," Perez said in an e-mail. "[I] haven't heard it yet. I actually talked to him about a week ago -- [he was] asking if David and I were interested in being in the video. Apparently he's been a fan of our songs for a long time. What a huge compliment as well as a thrill to talk to him."

And what a boost if it sells even half of what "Raising Sand," Plant's multiplatinum, multiple Grammy-winning collaboration with Alison Krauss, did.

“Band of Joy,” which will be coproduced by Plant and Americana musician-songwriter-producer Buddy Miller, isn’t slated to surface until Sept. 14 -- about five weeks after Los Lobos' new album, "Tin Can Trust," hits the streets Aug. 3. In the meantime, here’s a scorching 1991 live version from one of the L.A. music scene’s finest.  You can imagine where Plant might want to go with it.

-- Randy Lewis

Photo: Louie Perez. Credit: Bob Chamberin/Los Angeles Times

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L.A. music scene vets turn out for Peter Case benefit salute

A raft of stalwarts from L.A.’s Americana music scene, including but not limited to those who started their careers at local clubs during the 1980s, turned up over the weekend at McCabe’s in Santa Monica during three nights of shows to salute the music of Peter Case and help him pay down the bills from his double bypass heart surgery in January.

T-Bone Burnett, Dave Alvin, Carla Olson, Stan Ridgway, Syd Straw and Phranc appeared along with such friends and admirers as Van Dyke Parks, Loudon Wainwright III, Richard Thompson and Bob Neuwirth. Case, the one-time lead singer and songwriter for the Nerves and the Plimsouls and Grammy-nominated solo artist, played Blind Willie McTell’s “Broke Down Engine Blues” at Friday’s show. He was backed by the Section Quartet on Sunday for “A Million Miles Away” and then reunited with the other members of the Plimsouls for “Oldest Story in the World,” while the numerous guests offered renditions of favorite Case songs or others chosen for the occasion.

Plant and Krauss, Adele see Grammy bump [UPDATED]

The 2009 Grammy Awards helped give an ailing music business a bit of a Valentine's Day gift. Overall album sales were up more than 16% over last week, reports Billboard's chart guru Keith Caulfield. But despite the brief injection of good news, album sales were still down about 12% over the same week last year.

Benefiting the most from the awards were the album of the year winners Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. The pair's country-tinged "Raising Sand" rocketed up the chart, moving from the No. 69 position all the way to the No. 2 spot. The album sold 77,000 copies this week, according to Billboard. It debuted at the No. 2 slot last year, when it sold 112,000 copies.

Other big Grammy gainers were Coldplay and Adele. The British pop stars moved from No. 31 to No. 8, and sold 62,000 copies. Best new artist winner Adele, meanwhile, moved into the Top 10 on the U.S. pop chart. Her soulful "19" was up from No. 27 after selling 57,000 copies.