The War on Drugs’ Adam Granduciel on Winning a Grammy, Rooting for Lorde

Last night at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, the War on Drugs’ A Deeper Understanding won the award for Best Rock Album. When it was revealed that the band had picked up the win over Queens of the Stone Age, Metallica, Mastodon, and Nothing More, Adam Granduciel was still asleep. He woke up in Auckland, New Zealand to a text from his friend, producer Shawn Everett, informing him that he’d won. Granduciel hopped on the phone with Pitchfork tonight to discuss the win, his thoughts on how the Grammys shook out, and of course, how he feels about the Philadelphia Eagles making it to the Super Bowl.

Pitchfork: Congrats on your first Grammy! How are you feeling?

Adam Granduciel: I feel good! I’m in New Zealand, so I’m in the future. I’m just waking up and making a pour over in my room. We had a great time yesterday. We found out pretty early in the morning, around 11, so we had all day to kind of share the news. That night we got to play Laneway Festival, then we came back to our hotel and hung out on the patio. It was a great day. It felt like everyone won a Grammy. Like our monitor guy Lowell [Laurence]—he felt like he won a Grammy.

Did you have any expectations about whether or not you guys would win?

I don’t think we thought we were gonna win. Well, a couple weeks ago I did say, “I think we might win,” but that was also me trying to be the leader and everything. I didn’t really know, I just knew we were psyched to be on that list. I had something in the back of my mind that felt like maybe we’d win, but that didn’t change the fact that I was definitely surprised. Obviously we were psyched about it and honored.

How do you feel about winning in the Best Rock Album category instead of Alternative Music Album?

I guess it’s strange. Everyone was talking about how we were such an outlier in the list of bands, but to me, the rock category was always the music that I listened to over the course of my life. All of my favorite music was probably in the rock category. I thought it was cool to be in a list of bands that we were either very different from or that I had grown up being a fan of. But as a ‘60s rock band, it is cool to be recognized as a rock band.

Were you familiar with any of the albums you were competing against?

Quite honestly, the only one I was familiar with was the Queens of the Stone Age record.

Were there any albums you thought deserved more recognition at the Grammys this year?

Actually, I thought Lorde’s album was going to win something. It’s obviously a really great record, so I was surprised when I saw that. But I was psyched to hear the National won, too. Their house engineer Jon Low is a Philly guy who worked at this studio we record at all the time.

Speaking of Philly guys, how are you feeling about the Eagles going to the Super Bowl?

I feel great about it! It’s exciting. I mean, Philadelphia, if the Eagles were to win the Super Bowl, you kind of wonder how it’d change the city in some way. At the end of the day, as intense as Eagles fans are or as Philadelphia fans are, they really just love their team and they’ll be happy either way. The Eagles have made Philadelphia proud. When we were in New York when they beat the Vikings, I was like seeing pictures of our neighborhood in Philly and I was like, “Ah man I wish we were there,” you know? I hope I have another moment next week when I’m in Brisbane where I’m wishing I was in Philly when they win.

I also grew up as a Patriots fan. When I was a kid, the Patriots were my team, but I didn’t really care, you know what I mean? I got taken to a game once by a friend and it was the coldest I’ve ever been in my life. It was torture. And they were awful—it was during that period when they were really bad. So I don’t want the Patriots to lose because my whole family are huge Patriots fans. My mom’s cat’s name is Bruschi, you know?

This year, a lot of people were upset that Bruno Mars swept the major categories over artists like Kendrick Lamar, JAY-Z, and Lorde. How much power do you give the Grammys’ “album of the year” designation?

I mean, there’s no real consequence. Lorde’s record is great, and it’s gonna continue to be a great record. Hopefully it’s satisfying enough that it’s nominated and out there and in so many people’s minds. But it is what it is. There are so many great records that when you grow older, you’re like, “Oh man, this is the best record ever made.” And you’re like, “Oh it didn’t get nominated or win a Grammy.” It’s countless, how many amazing, classic American records haven’t been knighted or whatever. The art is going to live past the night. It’s not a quantifier of what’s good or the best or worth listening to.