The Black Keys, Frank Ocean And Mumford & Sons Are Winners At The 55th Annual Grammy Awards

Aside from the Black Keys, Frank Ocean, Mumford & Sons, Trent Reznor, Kanye West and Jay-Z taking home Grammy awards (and Taylor Swift and Fun.'s Nate Ruess gamely neck-and-neck for the honor of being the most egregiously out of tune), the 55th annual Grammy Awards was a pretty ho-hum affair. Unless, of course, you cared desperately about Justin Timberlake's tux-and-falsetto return, dragging along Jay-Z as an accessory and channeling a weird mix of Prince and Lawrence Welk.

If the screeching missteps of Swift and Fun. were among the low points of the night, the rousing tribute to the late Levon Helm, which roped Elton John, Mavis Staples T-Bone Burnett, Marcus Mumford, Zac Brown and Alabama Shakes' Brittany Howard together for a heartfelt, hootenanny-style cover of The Band's "The Weight," was absolutely a highlight. Other bright moments included the Black Keys' gallop through "Lonely Boy" with Dr. John and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Frank Ocean's mournful, restrained and partly-whistled take on "Forrest Gump" and The Lumineers' lank-haired pal Jack White thumbing his nose at CBS censors with a finely placed "f**k me" in his performance of "Love Interruption" with Ruby Amanfu.

A celebration of Bob Marley's influence on music  — featuring Ziggy and Damian Marley, Sting, Rihanna, Bruno Mars and more — was respectable enough, even though noted non-Jamaicans Mars and Sting played their own songs.  Actually, once a Marley song was finally unearthed it only served as a depressing reminder that the reggae legend could write rings around most of the preening artists in the room (and yes, we're pointing at you, Rihanna). 

After three-and-a-half hours, the closer — a hurried rap performance rounding  up the night's loquacious host LL Cool J, Chuck D, Tom Morello, Travis Barker and Z-Trip — was sharply truncated right in the middle of the Beastie Boys' "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" with the recitation of sponsors like Delta and the Hilton. So much for the Adam Yauch tribute.

There were plenty of expected (but still soul-sapping) wins too  — like Skrillex (why?) — but the heart-crusher of the night might have been Gotye defeating Tom Waits, Fiona Apple, M83 and Björk for best alternative album. The Alternate Side, weeping for the sake of "alternative" music as defined by Grammy voters, demands a recount.

We won't even discuss Fun. winning over Frank Ocean and Alabama Shakes for Best New Artist. At least Fun.'s win — which we'll consider another win for Lena Dunham — reminded us to DVR "Girls."

Here's how some of the winners panned out, below. For a full list of Grammy recipients, head to the Grammy website.

Album of the Year:
Winner: Mumford & Sons, Babel
(defeating The Black Keys, Fun., Frank Ocean, Jack White)

Record of the Year
Winner: Gotye featuring Kimbra "Somebody That I Used To Know"
(defeating The Black Keys, Kelly Clarkson, Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe, Frank Ocean, Taylor Swift)

Song of the Year
Winner: Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe, "We Are Young" (Jack Antonoff, Jeff Bhasker, Andrew Dost, Nate Ruess)

Best New Artist:
Winner: Fun.
(defeating Alabama Shakes, Hunter Hayes, The Lumineers, Frank Ocean)

Best Alternative Music Album
Winner: Gotye, Making Mirrors
(defeating Fiona Apple, Björk, M83, Tom Waits)

Best Pop Solo Performance
Winner: Adele, "Set Fire To The Rain" (Live)

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:
Winner: Gotye featuring Kimbra, "Somebody That I Used To Know"

Best Pop Vocal Album:
Winner: Kelly Clarkson, Stronger
(defeating Florence & The Machine, Fun., Maroon 5 and Pink)

Best Rock Performance:
Winner: The Black Keys, "Lonely Boy"
(defeating Alabama Shakes, Coldplay, Mumford & Sons and Bruce Springsteen)

Best Rock Song
Winner: The Black Keys, "Lonely Boy"
(defeating Jack White, Mumford & Sons, Bruce Springsteen, Muse)

Best Rock Album
Winner: The Black Keys, El Camino
(defeating Coldplay, Muse, Bruce Springsteen, Jack White)

Best Dance Recording
Winner: "Bangarang" Skrillex featuring Sirah

Best Dance/Electronica Album
Winner: Skrillex, Bangarang 
(defeating Steve Aoki, The Chemical Brothers, Deadmau5, Kaskade)

Best Urban Contemporary Album
Winner: Frank Ocean, Channel Ocean
(defeating Chris Brown and Miguel)

Best Rap Performance
Winner: Jay-Z & Kanye West "N****s in Paris'
(defeating Drake with Lil' Wayne, Nas, Kanye West with Big Sean, Pusha T & 2 Chainz, Young Jeezy featuring Jay-Z and André 3000)

Best Rap Song
Winner: Jay-Z & Kanye West "N****s in Paris"

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration:
Winner: Jay-Z & Kanye West featuring Frank Ocean and The A-Dream, "No Church In The Wild"
(defeating Flo Rida w/Sia, John Legend w/Ludacris, Nas w/Amy Winehouse, Rihanna featuring Jay-Z

Best Rap Album
Winner: Drake, Take Care
(defeating Lupe Fiasco, Nas, The Roots, Rick Ross, 2 Chainz)

Best Americana Album
Winner: Bonnie Raitt, Slipstream
(defeating The Avett Brothers, John Fullbright, The Lumineers, Mumford & Sons)

Best Folk Album
Winner: Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyere & Chris Thile, The Goat Rodeo Sessions
(defeating Carolina Chocolate Drops, Ry Cooder, Luther Dickinson and Various Artists for This One's For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark)

Best Reggae Album
Winner: Jimmy Cliff, Rebirth
(defeating The Original Wailers, Sean Paul, Sly & Robbie & The Jam Masters)

Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media
Winner: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Best Song Written For Visual Media
Winner: Taylor Swift featuring the Civil Wars, "Safe & Sound" (from The Hunger Games)