Polka which hosts/produces the Grammy Awards, announced that it was eliminating the polka category. The Academy's official reason for eliminating the polka award was “to ensure the awards process remains representative of the current musical landscape.” The Academy's decision stems from the declining number of popular polka albums considered for an award in recent years. For example, out of the five polka albums nominated for an award in 2006, only one album was widely distributed in the mainstream. Polka The polka is originally a Czech dance and genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the
Explosions-Polka Explosions-Polka Explosions-Polka, op. 43, is a polka written by Johann Strauss II in 1847. The title was inspired by a discovery of guncotton or nitrocellulose by German scientist Christian Friedrich Schönbein in 1840. The Viennese press eagerly reported this discovery many years later in 1846, describing many products that can then be made 'explosive'. The polka is one of Strauss's novelty pieces, capturing a vogue. The "Explosions-Polka" was written for a benefit concert entitled 'Lust-Explosionsfest' (Joyful Explosions Festival), held in the Sträussl-Säle of the Josefstädter Theater on 8 February 1847. The polka incorporates many explosion effects throughout the piece, and