EDM’s Grammy Controversy: Al Walser-Rothschild Revealed

Posted by A on December 7, 2012

I tried to retire. I really did. I wanted to ride off into the blog sunset and never draft a blog post again. It was supposed to be a story book ending. Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.

Last night, I watched the “EDM Snob’s” interview with Al Walser, who was nominated for “Best Dance Music Recording” against names like Skrillex and Swedish House Mafia. Of course, the kandi community was all up in arms about how the Grammys had dropped the ball, how they were out of touch, how they were making a mockery of the EDM world. Although I agreed with them, everyone missed the boat.

The “EDM Snob” was busy listening to himself talk while the Dubstep.com guy was pontificating about what was good and bad for the “genre.” Give me a blog break. They blew the interview. They didn’t even bother to do their homework. If they had, they would had discovered that Al Walser is really Alexander Walser-Rothschild, the “Goodwill Ambassador” of Liechtenstein. He also happens to conveniently be a member of the the Rothschild family. It’s apparent they don’t know how to use the google.

Here’s what I found on Alexander’s “fan” blog obviously written by him:

Alright. He’s a member of the Rothschild family. He’s from Lichenstein. He’s bi-racial. He speaks German. Ich spreche Deutsch. He’s a radio personality. He’s from some unknown band that was a moderate success in Europe. We’ve got it. It gets worse though, as Al interviews himself about how rich he is:

I could go on and on about this guy’s exploits; pulling up in a Lamborghini at an empty night club, paying peo ple to follow him around with cameras, being pictured with the Jackson family, wearing a spacesuit with his name on it. It’s all on his Youtube account, and it’s embarrassing. Side note: For a definitive guide about the man, read Spice’s column here: [Link]

Look, I’m no rocket scientist. It’s clear though, that Al Walser-Rothschild’s Grammy nomination was achieved through the following factors:

1. His family name.

2. His special Grammy “voting member” status and access to voting members.

4. His spam on the Grammy 365 site.

3. The Grammy committee’s general lack of EDM knowledge.

It’s as simple as that. We’re never going to know what was going through the voter’s minds when they chose his song. How the interviewees below failed to get to the heart of the issue is beyond me. They had him served up on a silver platter in Google hangouts form. Instead, they wanted to know what his musical influences were so they could snicker about them. It was shoddy self-important journalism at best.

I’m not mad at Al Walser. I actually feel bad for the guy. He truly believes that he deserves the nomination. I’m sure he works hard on his music, but the video is an abomination to “EDM” in general. Looks like he got his wish though. Al Walser-Rothschild will forever be infamous for his Grammy nomination. These days, it seems it’s not about what you know but who. I’m getting too old for this blog stuff.