American 'Roots' Music Represented Well in Grammy Nomination

The votes are in and soon we'll know who'll take home the big honors at the 53rd annual Grammy Awards. Due to time limitations, only a few of the trophies¹ are presented during the televised program. A few of the nominees³ you won't be seeing on TV: the Best Americana, Bluegrass, & Contemporary Folk Albums.
Mary Chapin Carpenter has sold more than 13 million records, while winning five Grammy awards to date. If she's lucky, "The Age of Miracles" will bring a sixth, as it is one of the five nominees for the Best Contemporary Folk. A theme for the album is how relationships work in the real world.
"The Age of Miracles" is Mary Chapin Carpenter's 12th solo CD. It was written soon after she suffered a pulmonary embolism, a life threatening illness that forced her to cancel not just a tour, but all work for a year.
The other nominees for the "Best Contemporary Folk Album" Grammy are the duo of Jackson Browne & David Lindley, Guy Clark, Richard Thompson, and Ray LaMontagne. Ray's song "Beg, Steal or Borrow," is also one of the five nominees for the "Song of the Year" Grammy. It's rather incredible to see Ray in that category, as the other nominees are hits from much more commercially successful acts: Miranda Lambert, Cee Lo Green, Lady Antebellum, and Eminem, with Rhianna.
Rosanne Cash's "The List", Los Lobos' "Tin Can Trust", "Country Music" by Willie Nelson, and Mavis Staples⁴' "You Are Not Alone" are all vying⁵ for the "Best Americana Album" award this year. Robert Plant's "Band of Joy" is the fifth nominee² in that tough category. Plant's latest album also earned the 62-year-old singer a "Best Rock Vocal⁶" nomination⁷ for "Silver Rider."
Robert Plant's "Band of Joy" is up for two Grammys this year, thanks to great songs, great singing, and great playing by musicians including co-producer Buddy⁸ Miller⁹, Patty Griffin, and Darrell Scott, himself a nominee in the "Best Country Instrumental" category.
The list of nominees for that award this year reads like a "Who's Who" of Bluegrass. In addition to Darrell Scott, they are modern bluegrass bands The Infamous¹⁰ Stringdusters and the Punch Brothers, the more traditional Cherryholmes, and Marty Stuart, who already has four Grammys at home. He's up for two this year, the other being "Best Country Collaboration¹¹ with Vocals¹²" for "I Run To You," recorded with Connie Smith.
The "Best Bluegrass Album" nominees this year include both contemporary and traditional bands and one artist more often associated with country music. Patty Loveless is nominated for "Mountain Soul II," her 16th solo CD. This bluegrass-tinged collection of old time country and Appalachian music is the follow- up to Patty's 2001 Grammy Award-nominated album "Mountain Soul." The Steeldrivers' second CD "Reckless" is also in the running, as is "Family Circle" by The Del McCoury Band, who won the category in 2005.
Also nominated in this category is multi-instrumentalist Sam Bush for "Circles Around Me." Sam Bush has taking his music beyond the boundaries of traditional bluegrass for more than 35 years. As a founding member of the New Grass Revival¹³, Sam pioneered a whole new direction for bluegrass and since setting off on a solo career, he's dug even deeper, incorporating elements of jazz, folk, country, and rock into his songs.
The final nominee in this category is Peter Rowan for "Legacy," his first solely¹⁴ bluegrass record in years. Rowan, who as a young man did a stint¹⁵ as one of Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys, has spent recent years exploring rock, reggae, and other types of music. He has never really left bluegrass behind, however, as evidenced by this collection. We'll find out if he takes home the trophy¹⁶ when the Grammy Awards are handed out in Los Angeles on February 13.

1 trophies   

n.（为竞赛获胜者颁发的）奖品( trophy的名词复数 )；奖杯；（尤指狩猎或战争中获得的）纪念品；（用于比赛或赛跑名称）奖

参考例句：

• His football trophies were prominently displayed in the kitchen. 他的足球奖杯陈列在厨房里显眼的位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hunter kept the lion's skin and head as trophies. 这猎人保存狮子的皮和头作为纪念品。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

3 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

4 staples   

n.（某国的）主要产品( staple的名词复数 )；钉书钉；U 形钉；主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly. 订书机上的铁砧安装错位。 来自辞典例句
• I'm trying to make an analysis of the staples of his talk. 我在试行分析他的谈话的要旨。 来自辞典例句

5 vying   

adj.竞争的；比赛的

参考例句：

• California is vying with other states to capture a piece of the growing communications market.为了在日渐扩大的通讯市场分得一杯羹，加利福尼亚正在和其他州展开竞争。
• Four rescue plans are vying to save the zoo.4个拯救动物园的方案正争得不可开交。

6 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

7 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

8 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

9 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

10 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

11 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

12 vocals   

（乐曲中的）歌唱部份，声乐部份( vocal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Also look out for soaring vocals on The Right Man. 另外，也可留意一下《意中人》中的那高亢的唱腔。
• Lazy bass line, lazier drums, lush violins, great piano and incomparable vocals. 懒惰的低音线，较懒惰的鼓，饮小提琴，棒的钢琴和无比的声音。

13 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

14 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

15 stint   

v.节省，限制，停止；n.舍不得化，节约，限制；连续不断的一段时间从事某件事

参考例句：

• He lavished money on his children without stint.他在孩子们身上花钱毫不吝惜。
• We hope that you will not stint your criticism.我们希望您不吝指教。

16 trophy   

n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品

参考例句：

• The cup is a cherished trophy of the company.那只奖杯是该公司很珍惜的奖品。
• He hung the lion's head as a trophy.他把那狮子头挂起来作为狩猎纪念品。