With each year’s Grammy nominations comes the griping: the Grammys are too old, the Grammys are too male, the Grammys are too white. But the nominations for the 62nd Grammy Awards, which will take place on Jan. 26, were a surprise. The most-nominated artists are young and forward-looking. The enthusiastically upbeat singer-rapper Lizzo received eight nominations. Billie Eilish, the year’s most vivid young breakthrough, received six, as did Lil Nas X, who at this time last year was still a social-media gadfly looking for a meme-assisted breakthrough into the music world.

So by the old metrics, this year’s lineup of nominees is a breath of fresh air. But there are still blind spots: hip-hop, in general, is acknowledged weakly. And there were also pointed snubs, including Taylor Swift in most of the biggest categories.

On this week’s Popcast, a conversation about whether the newly updated Grammys are a better representation of contemporary pop than the old version, and whether a show of this nature can ever truly capture the zaniness and breadth of modern music.

On the Popcast: