5:52: Who is Sasha Gradiva, why is she wearing guns, and …why is she wearing guns?!

5:55: Rebecca Black is at the Grammys. Arcade Fire who?

5:59: Former Kanye West piece of arm candy Amber Rose is dating Wiz Khalifa. That is like, the biggest downgrade in the history of mankind.

6:27: Nicki Minaj just arrived in some sort of Red Riding Hood-goes-Nun dress, along with the pope. Or something. What.

7:02: And we’re off! Bruce Springsteen giving an opening performance. Bit of a snoozer if we’re being honest. Yes, he’s important, but not exactly the bang-bang-bang opening performance that we’re used to.

7:05: LL Cool J is hosting. I had no idea. Opens with a prayer for his “fallen sister” Whitney Houston. So heartfelt.

7:10: LL Cool J calls Paul McCartney Sir OG. I am never referring to him as anything else other than Sir OG again.

7:08: They show a clip of Whitney performing “I Will Always Love You.” What. A. Voice. A standing ovation.

7:12: Bruno Mars is performing a song that I haven’t heard before. Hopefully Janelle Monae shows up.

7:14: Bruno Mars just swore on national television. I hope there’s a huge fake controversy like with M.I.A..

7:21: Bonnie Raitt and Alicia Keys take the stage. They both look stunning. They perform an Etta James tribute, singing “A Sunday Kind of Love.” Bonnie Raitt is absolutely sublime; Alicia started off shaky but has settled in nicely.

7:24: Adele wins her first Grammy of the show for “Someone Like You” for Pop Vocal Performance. SNL captured the effect of that song best in their skit.

7:26: Chris Brown is performing, and I would just like to remind everyone that he is a woman beater who should not be on the stage.

7:27: I have never heard this song. Chris Brown should be banned from the Grammys for life. The end. Uh. The stage is cool?

7:28: BREAKING: Chris Brown’s stupid dance thing lasted longer than the tribute to Etta James. That is disgusting, Grammys.

7:30: Oh, it’s Beautiful People. I have heard this song. PS: Chris Brown is a woman beater.

7:36: After commercial, Fergie and Marc Anthony present Best Rap Performance to OTIS BY KANYE AND JAY-Z, who aren’t there, because if you didn’t hear Beyonce just had a baby named Blue Ivy Carter.

7:37: REBA MCENTIRE TAKES THE STAGE! Apparently only to introduce Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson, who sing their duet, Don’t You Wanna Stay.

7:40: I’m a Jason Aldean fan, but he doesn’t sound too great. Kelly sounds good, but then again, she did win a live singing competition, so it’s expected. Also, this duet is pretty average in terms of power country duets. Remind Me by Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley is better. Also I’m pretty sure Aldean’s mic just cut out. WHAT. Good work, Grammys.

7:48: Jack Black introduces Foo Fighters, makes fun of Bon Iver. Foo Fighters play, my television is muted.

Song of the Year

The Song of the Year award goes to the songwriter, and the songwriter alone.

Nominated this year are “Rolling in the Deep” (Adele), “Holocene” (Bon Iver), “Grenade” (Bruno Mars), “The Cave” (Mumford and Sons) and “All of the Lights” (Kanye West). Adele, who has spent 19 weeks atop the album charts, seems like she will dominate these awards. “Rolling in the Deep” was everywhere this year, and the songwriting is solid and catchy. I suppose Bruno Mars could be a spoiler here, but Adele is unstoppable.

Favorite: “Rolling in the Deep”
Spoiler: “Grenade”
Should have been nominated: “Countdown” by Beyoncé

Record of the Year

Nominated this year are “Rolling in the Deep” (Adele), “Holocene” (Bon Iver), “Grenade” (Bruno Mars), “Firework” (Katy Perry) and “The Cave” (Mumford and Sons).

Though this list is almost identical to the one above, the Record of the Year award actually goes to the producers and the artist. Once again, “Rolling in the Deep” looks like it was too big of a hit to ignore. The production is subtle, if unspectacular. If “Rolling in the Deep” somehow loses, “Firework” was a pretty big hit, and Katy Perry just got a divorce. Sympathy vote? The biggest surprise is a complete snub of the impeccable production of Kanye’s song.

Favorite: “Rolling in the Deep”
Spoiler: “Firework”
Should have been nominated: “All of the Lights” by Kanye West

Best New Artist

Nominated this year are The Band Perry, Bon Iver, J. Cole, Nicki Minaj and Skrillex. As per usual, the general public knew almost every single one of these artists before the Grammys recognized them as “new.” It seems like either Bon Iver or Nicki Minaj (who has industry support and powerful allies) should win. But last year, the Grammys threw conventional wisdom to the wind and chose unknown Esperanza Spalding over Justin Bieber and Florence + the Machine, each of whom deserved the award for different reasons. So, who knows? Maybe Skrillex will win.

Favorite: Tossup between Bon Iver and Nicki Minaj
Spoiler: The Band Perry
Should have been nominated: The Weeknd

Album of the Year

Nominated are “21” (Adele), “Doo-Wops & Hooligans” (Bruno Mars), “Wasting Light” (Foo Fighters), “Born This Way” (Lady Gaga) and “Loud” (Rihanna). Yet again, Adele looks to triumph. “21” sold the most copies (and consistently still tops the charts, almost a year after its release). In addition, critics respected it. “Born This Way” had a stellar debut but fizzled out, and it hasn’t received nearly as much radio play as Lady Gaga’s previous efforts. The most curious nomination is Rihanna, who is more known for her singles than for her actual album. And who even knew Foo Fighters put out another album?

There are several albums that deserved nominations more than most of this category, such as Beyoncé’s “4” and Kanye’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”—both daring and career-best efforts from two of America’s best modern artists. However, it is a pleasant surprise that Taylor Swift’s “Speak Now” was not nominated.

Favorite: “21” by Adele
Spoiler: “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga
Should have been nominated: “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” by Kanye West

Rap Album

Nominated are “Watch the Throne” (Jay-Z & Kanye West), “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” (Kanye West), “Tha Carter IV” (Lil Wayne), “Lasers” (Lupe Fiasco) and “Pink Friday” (Nicki Minaj). It’s Kanye-on-Kanye action, and I hope it doesn’t lead to him being snubbed for both his career-best work on “MBDTF” and one of the greatest rap collaboration albums of all time (“Watch the Throne”). Kanye’s nomination for Song of the Year for “All of the Lights” points to a little more support for that effort, so it is the de facto “favorite” in another tossup.

Favorite: Kanye
Spoiler: Anyone who isn’t Kanye.
Should have been nominated: If there was a way for all 5 slots to belong to Kanye, he would deserve all of them.

Country Album

Nominated are “Red River Blue” (Blake Shelton), “Here for a Good Time” (George Strait), “My Kinda Party” (Jason Aldean), “Own the Night” (Lady Antebellum) and “Speak Now” (Taylor Swift). Taylor Swift is always unstoppable at the Grammys. She’s like Meryl Streep if Meryl Streep won for every nomination. And if Meryl Streep acted extremely surprised when she won. And if Meryl Streep was awful. Basically, Taylor Swift for the win in this category. Nothing else could happen. Lady Antebellum won a lot of Grammys for “Need You Now,” though, so maybe they can pull off an upset.

Favorite: “Speak Now” by Taylor Swift
Spoiler: “Own the Night” by Lady Antebellum
Should have been nominated: Is “Not Taylor Swift” an option?

For fans of

The Script, Snow Patrol, OneRepublic

Singles to download

“Heartbeat,” “The Fighter,” “Run for Your Life,” “1961”

Denver-based pop-rock band The Fray is known for its massive choruses, catchy hooks and lead singer Isaac Slade’s heart-wrenching vocals. With the release of The Fray’s third album, “Scars and Stories,” it seems that not much has changed. The band, popular for chart toppers like “Over My Head (Cable Car),” “You Found Me” and everyone’s favorite sing-along “How to Save a Life,” doesn’t deviate much from the formula for its latest offering. This results in a solid, if slightly tedious, album.

The best song on the album is the first track, “Heartbeat,” which is also the first single. Although this may be because it sounds so similar to the band’s previous hits, this doesn’t lessen the fact that it is catchy and passionate. It’s a bit of a shame, as the rest of the LP never quite manages to live up to the uplifting emotionality of its first song. In fact, the album seems to gradually decline in quality, with the majority of the best songs lumped towards the beginning. For example, second track “The Fighter” is a powerfully written song with lilting melodies, a soaring chorus and expressive lyrics following the narrative of a boxer and his lover. The songwriting on this album is impressive, with many songs taking on a story, like the fast-paced anthem “1961.” However, as the album progresses, it begins to fall into rather safe and boring territory, with ballads that never really lift off the ground, such as “I Can Barely Say” and “Be Still.” It is a rather disappointing finish for such a strongly started album.

Certainly, The Fray’s particular brand of piano-driven pop-rock is always palatable and catchy. But as the album stretches on, the songs begin to merge into undifferentiated, albeit pleasant, mush. Die-hard fans and casual listeners should be happy with “Scars and Stories,” but it is merely a step in the same direction for The Fray.

Courtesy of Gym Class Heroes

Rap-rock band Gym Class Heroes (above) will be headlining this year’s WUStock.

Though Gym Class Heroes first joined together in upstate New York in the late ’90s, it wasn’t until 2004 that the band found its current form. Now, the rap-rock group consists of McCoy, McGinley, lead guitarist Disashi Lumumba–Kasongo and bass guitarist Eric Roberts. Gym Class Heroes consistently break genre barriers by combining hip-hop, R&B, rap and funk into one cohesive sound.

Gym Class Heroes released their first major-label album, “The Papercut Chronicles,” in 2005. After two more studio releases, the band decided to take a break, allowing McCoy to pursue a solo career. After a few top-notch collaborations with stars like Bruno Mars on “Billionaire,” McCoy rejoined his band in 2011. They released hit “Stereo Hearts” with Adam Levine last summer and dropped their most recent album, “The Papercut Chronicles II,” in October of 2011.

CS40 uses a somewhat complicated method to decide whom to bring to WUStock. Sophomore Bailey Breems, CS40 Swamp Committee chair, described the process: The committee “narrowed it down to 10 [bands], based on availability, budget, and reviews of the bands.” After that, the [Swamp] Committee narrowed it down to five choices, which were then offered in a student vote.

The students came out strong for Gym Class Heroes, who won the vote by more than five percentage points.

Last year, CS40 brought in indie duo Matt & Kim as the headliners, and the event was a huge success. Will this year’s event have such a good turnout?

“We do hope that WUStock will continue to grow every year,” Breems said. “It’s a relatively new event.”

Whether or not 2012’s WUStock will top last year’s show, Gym Class Heroes will bring amazing energy to the Swamp when they come to visit. Student bands will also perform at WUStock, and the full lineup will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) is the sheriff who everyone listens to, and his wife, Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) has lots of personal problems. Meanwhile, his old partner Shane Walsh (Jon Bernthal) is steadily going insane. There’s also Old Wise Man (OWM) Dale Horvath (Jeffrey DeMunn) and Glenn (Steven Yeun), the gullible and frequently unbelievably stupid why-would-you-do-that comic relief. Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) is the redneck with a crossbow who manages to be the only reason I still watch the show. There are other characters, but you’d be better off ignoring them.

These actors are very good at their jobs, but I watch the show because of its potential, not because of what it actually is. The characters have become stock characters. There’s the hip, young kid Glenn; OWM Dale; Rick, the man who literally cannot do wrong; and crazy guy Shane.

The beginning of the second season was very harrowing. It had one of the most intense scenes of television I’ve ever watched, with characters hiding under a traffic pileup while the dead shambled past. Then a minor character, young Sophia, went missing. It looked as though the second season was going to be a traumatic journey to find her.

And then nothing happened. Whatsoever. They were stuck on a farm, having arguments about stupid interpersonal problems for the entire season. The characters stopped being interesting, and it became so predictable that you could guess possibly every problem that was going to come up.

After the premiere episode, the only time anything of substance occurred was in the last 10 minutes of the midseason finale. The plot finally moved along at the pace I expected when I started watching the show.

If you have any experience with the graphic novel it is based on, you know the potential of “The Walking Dead.” There is so much room for conflict and growth in the characters. The writers clearly know how to write disturbing scenes that bring you to the edge of your seat, and those scenes have happened consistently throughout the show.

Don’t watch this show thinking it will be amazing, as it’s really not. Nothing all that important happens, and the pacing and conflict is meaningless and inane sometimes. Watch it for what it could be. Watch this show for its potential. I know the writers have it in them to write some seriously amazing stories, and AMC has the ability and creative talent to stick it out for a long time, even without amazing ratings.

This show isn’t as good as the other things on AMC. “Breaking Bad” and “Mad Men” are both better television shows, but the premise of “The Walking Dead” is more powerful and more intriguing than that of either of those shows. “The Walking Dead” isn’t there yet, but I’m willing to stick it out. So let’s see what happens in the second half of the season, because you never know when things might heat up.

The Chinese calendar may have declared it the Year of the Dragon, but according to the Super Bowl ads, it was the Year of the Dog.

Volkswagen: “The Dog Strikes Back”

This was one of our favorites for these six reasons. (1) It had a dog, and, as we will soon see, animals are a necessity for any good Super Bowl commercials. (2) There was a subtle cultural critique: Obesity is a problem, but it is one that can be overcome by exercise and dedication. (3) It was a total non-sequitur. Dogs have nothing to do with cars. Neither does “Star Wars.” (4) It referenced the Volkswagen commercial from last year by having the “Star Wars” characters in the bar watching that commercial, and it was so meta. (5) The montage was great—any sports-related video worth its enzymes and Gatorade will have one. (6) The use of the classic song “Get up offa that thing”!

Audi: “Vampire Party”

It’s probably the second safest car on the market (behind the 2012 Chevy with Armageddon protection). The Audi will get you where need to go, and it will kill any pesky vampires along the way. Seriously, Will Smith watched those Audi and Chevy commercials and cried because if he had had either of these vehicles in “I Am Legend” his dog wouldn’t have died. And if there is anything America loves more than cars, it’s Twinkies. Or animals. Based on these commercials, we can’t tell.

Bud Light: “Rescue Dog”

So Americans love cars and Twinkies and animals. But they also really, really love beer. So this Bud Light commercial put a dog and its beer in conversation. The cleverly named Weego brings you a Bud Light every time you call him. “Here, Weego!” translates into “Here we go!” and the dog just brings you happiness. Now, if only my dog would bring me whatever I wanted to eat…can one of you smart Wash. U. science people get on that?

Budweiser: “Eternal Optimism”

So it takes a few weeks for good beer to ferment, and yet Budweiser is ready to go just a few hours after the end of Prohibition…I wonder how they made that happen! Anyway, this cute commercial expressed pure delight in its product, and the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales made it all the more fun to watch.

Honda – “Matthew’s Day Off”

Anyone who’s ever seen “Ferris Bueller” should recognize the amusement of the commercial. Matthew Broderick repossesses his role from that classic movie, and the shot of him on TV with his producer watching was a perfect homage. Now, if only we could get away with these tricks to get out of class!

The unorthodox beats she creates and the lyrics she writes aren’t even the most fascinating thing about M.I.A. She was born to political refugees of Sri Lanka’s civil war, and her father was absent for most of her life. She feuded with a writer for The New York Times over truffle fries. She was denied a work visa to the United States once. And yet, she’s overcome all of that to become a Grammy and Oscar nominee and a mother to son Ihkyd. While her story isn’t exactly a rags-to-riches tale, her career path is rich with material to draw from. The daughter of a seamstress and a rebel became one of the world’s biggest female rap stars, and now she is engaged to an heir of a powerful Jewish family. That is more compelling than almost every other current top-ten artist’s story combined.

The album, currently untitled, will be her fourth, after two critically acclaimed efforts (“Arular” and “Kala”) and an underrated, complex and sometimes-incomprehensible third album, “Maya.” The “Maya” era was perhaps the most tumultuous in her career, as everyone wanted another “Paper Planes,” and she gave them some of the most radio-unfriendly music she had ever made. One of her music videos, “Born Free,” was banned from YouTube, and she gave an interview that made her look awful, privileged and desperate. In late 2010, she released a mixtape, “Vicki Leekx,” which sounded similar to both “Maya” and “Kala” and was viewed as a welcome return.

The new album is due out sometime in the summer. The lead single, “Bad Girls,” had already been released as a song on “Vicki Leekx,” but the production has been refined and the lyrics improved for the new album. It has a sublime hook: “Live fast, die young / Bad girls do it well.” The music video, released on Feb. 3rd, by French director Romain Gavras has attracted more buzz on the Internet than her collaboration with Madonna and Nicki Minaj. The video is set in a Middle Eastern country and features some amazing car stunts, including one in which M.I.A. sits on the door of a car driving on only two wheels, filing her nails. If Romain Gavras ever directs a “Fast and Furious” movie, I will be first in line for that ticket. M.I.A. was also featured on Madonna’s new song “Give Me All Your Luvin’,” which will get more radio play than “Bad Girls,” a fact inexplicable to anyone with ears. She gets nothing more than a short verse on the song, but it is the highlight, with a welcome callback to “Paper Planes.” It’s been almost three years since it seemed like M.I.A. was everywhere with that song. Perhaps that is a good omen of things to come this year.

Courtesy of Hi-Rez Studios

“Tribes: Ascend” is a first-person shooter game currently in closed beta testing. It is scheduled for release later this year.

“Tribes: Ascend” is a class-based first-person shooter involving large maps, jetpack-equipped players and a serious sense of speed. For those wondering about its free-to-play business model, it seems to be relatively inoffensive, taking after the industry standard “League of Legends” model. There are only a few classes unlocked at the outset, with more classes, weapons and options unlocked through either playing or shelling out money. The only real gripe I have is that the launcher is an abomination that makes the “League of Legends” Adobe Air launcher look slick in comparison.

Freedom of movement is the name of the game in “Tribes: Ascend.” Each player has a jetpack to help him or her navigate the enormous maps. By holding down the space bar while running down a hill, players can “ski” along the ground and pick up momentum. When combined with the thrust of the jetpack, that momentum sends players sailing through the air at breakneck speed. Skiing is a skill to be honed, and experienced players can make efficient use of their momentum to cover vast tracts of ground in a matter of seconds.

The most basic class, the Pathfinder, is equipped with the series’ iconic weapon, the Spinfusor, which fires explosive blue discs. The discs are relatively slow-moving projectiles, so players will have to learn to lead their opponents properly in order to secure kills. Bullet-based weapons such as the assault rifle are also somewhat difficult to use, as it’s no easy feat to keep your crosshair trained on such fast-moving targets.

If it’s not obvious already, “Tribes: Ascend” is not an easy game to play. Although it might be streamlined compared to the older games, it still feels like a ’90s PC shooter—an all but extinct species. It’s a game in which movement is an art to be practiced, and each weapon is a science to be learned. Many games nowadays are geared towards instant gratification, but “Tribes: Ascend” is not one of these games. New players thus might be put off by how difficult it is to bag a single kill.

That might sound frustrating to some, but having grown up with “Unreal Tournament” and “Quake,” I can’t get enough of “Tribes: Ascend.” More than anything else, “Tribes: Ascend” is a game that rewards skill. If you can ski, you can escape from an ambush completely unscathed. If you can handle a Spinfusor, you can shoot players out of the sky and earn the Blue Plate Special medal. If you can do both, you can catch up to an enemy flag runner by out-skiing him and bring him down with a disc to the face. In “Tribes: Ascend,” if you’re good, you’re a god.

And that’s just the infantry aspect of the game. Capture the flag, the most classic “Tribes” game type, features bases with generators, turrets and vehicles. Teamwork and coordinated assaults are necessary if you want to actually leave the enemy base with their flag, much less drop it off at your own base. There seems to be a competitive community springing up around the game as well, with the North American Star League picking it up for future seasons.

“Tribes: Ascend” is currently in beta, with developers Hi-Rez giving out keys to anybody who likes them on Facebook. If you’re looking for a game of speed and skill, there’s no better choice.

“The River,” premiering on ABC, will air in the timeslot that “Lost” aired in during its final season (Tuesday at 8 p.m. CST), so the “The River” already has sort of a leg up.

There are a couple of big names at the top for this project—Steven Spielberg is a producer and Oren Peli of the “Paranormal Activity” trilogy is writing and directing. Peli’s influence is all too apparent. The trailer for “The River” looks like the action in “Paranormal Activity” moved straight from that house to the jungle. The clips that commercials show are full of the quick night shots, with unseen forces throwing people around like rag dolls.

The plot of “The River” seems innocuous until you get further into the story. An explorer, Dr. Emmet Cole (Bruce Greenwood), seemingly modeled after the likes of Steve Irwin, has been lost in the Amazon for six months when his emergency beacon suddenly turns back on. His family, wife Tess (Leslie Hope) and son Lincoln (Joe Anderson), can only fund the rescue by agreeing to let a documentary crew film the mission. They then join a team of cameramen and producers to find him, or at least to find out what happened. Early into the mission, they find Cole’s empty boat, and that’s when things start to go wrong. What does it all mean? Well, hopefully we will find out over the course of the eight-episode season.

ABC is following “Lost” into the jungle here, obviously hoping to get similar viewer numbers. With Peli’s history at the box office and the similar style here, it is certainly possible for the show to have a strong debut. If done well, it could reach near the heights of that lonely island ratings-wise, but the quality of “The River” will probably pale in comparison.

Courtesy of NBC

‘Smash’ is NBC’s new comedy-drama about the making of a musical about Marilyn Monroe’s life. Megan Hilty, left, and Katharine McPhee compete for the role of Marilyn Monroe.

Tonight, at 9 p.m. CST, NBC will premiere “Smash,” its new follow-up to “The Voice.” The show has a grown-up premise, unlike its “Glee”-ful competitor. It centers around a Broadway musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe, and it offers an insider’s perspective into the heart of show business. It stars Debra Messing (“Will and Grace”) and “American Idol” season five runner-up Katharine McPhee, among other all-stars.

While the show sounds interesting, its plot seems somewhat hard to sustain. Messing’s character is part of a songwriting team that decides to write a show about Monroe, and within the first episode, it is already written and almost cast. The major conflict seems to arise when they cannot decide whom to cast in the lead role. Seasoned Broadway veteran Ivy (Megan Hilty) seems like the best bet to play the icon, but newcomer Karen (Katharine McPhee) captures the essence of the role in front of the casting team. What to do? Who to cast? I don’t know, but I also don’t know how long I’m going to care about whom a fictional musical is going to cast.

There are a number of subplots involving the characters’ personal lives, but the real winners of “Smash” are the songs. “Smash” will showcase both covers and original songs, which will be written by “Hairspray” vets Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. A large percentage of the cast comes from Broadway, and we know they’ll know how to sing. For some reason, I don’t feel like this is going to be a production in which auto-tune is involved.