The Grammy Awards season is on. The nominees for the biggest music awards in the US were announced early last week. Normally, the nominees' presentation is often overlooked as it’s always the big winners during the actual awards show that counts. But for those looking to expand their listening palette beyond what went viral on YouTube or TikTok, the nominees' list is as good as any place to check out great acts and their music that have otherwise flown under the pop radar. 

So, skipping the obvious biggies list of Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, Charli XCX, Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter, etc. (the last three deservedly nominated), we're zeroing into the great alternative acts that comprise the Grammy nominations. 

André 3000, of Outkast’s “Hey Ya” fame, is nominated for Album of the Year for “New Blue Sun.” Quite different from what he’s known for, the record is a collection of uplifting and sometimes eerily beautiful instrumental music. Those digging into lo-fi, chill, ambient, synth-pop and all its iterations would do well to dive into “New Blue Sun” for its heavy use of these styles, and yet it’s not only that. The jazz element underneath gives the songs in “New Blue Sun” their sophistication. André 3000 might not be a jazz artist per se, but his sonic explorations on “I Swear, I Really Wanted to Make a ‘Rap’ Album, but This Is Literally the Way the Wind Blew Me This Time” and all 12 minutes of it certainly echo the jazz experimentations of the greats that went before him. 

Also nominated for AOTY is Jacob Collier, a 30-year-old UK musician whom you can’t pin down on any music style. His  “Djesse Vol. 4” album reflects his diverse musical leanings. Tracks such as “100,000 Voices” start like world music, build up like an Avicii track, comp like an alt-pop song with keyboard licks thrown in, and wind down with a heavy metal snippet. Jacob Collier is truly schizophrenic, but in a good way. 

Khruangbin is getting the recognition it deserves. Khruangbin is an alternative, psychedelic, surf rock instrumental band from Houston, Texas. Composed of Laura Lee Ochoa on vocals and bass, Mark Speer on guitar-vocals, and DJ Johnson on drums, Khruangbin is nominated for Best New Artist for their 2024 album “A la Sala.” But Khruangbin has been around much longer. Since 2010, in fact, and have been releasing music since 2014. Well, trust the Grammy rules to screw things up. Just kidding! The only logical reason is that Khruangbin must only have recently been signed to a major label, finally making them eligible for a Grammy nomination despite releasing many albums already. Anyway, to describe Khruangin’s music and pegging it to any easy label is missing the point. Just believe it when we say they’re the kind of band that Quentin Tarantino might feature in his movies. I mean, they’re that cool. Also, Khruangbin means “airplane” in Thai.

Also, check out the Best Alternative Music Performance category for a taste of the alternative. Kim Gordon, bassist for Sonic Youth with the delicious electronic noise of “Bye Bye.” Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds “Song of the Lake” sounds like an exquisitely stoned Neil Diamond (and because he’s Nick Cave) Alt-rock sophisticate St. Vincent (real name Anne Clark) with “Flea.” Cage The Elephant for their alt-pop turn on “Neon Pill,” and Dublin band the Fontaines D.C. with “Starbuster” for some alt-rock and post-punk flavors for your listening diet.