Well the Grammys DID award innovation and experimentation when they gave Zooropa "Best Alternative Album". It was funny at the time because of the band's popularity, but it WAS alternative, and more out there than the other nominees, including those in years to follow, up to today, where The White Stripes won for what is in essence an old-fashioned rock & blues record (albiet a great one).
Also, many here fear that these awards will validate U2's "safe" sound as of late, causing them to just stick to the formula in the future, and I beg to differ. Their new-millenium resurgence is now complete. They have recaptured all the fans, the record sales, the ticket sales, and now the biggest awards the industry has to offer. With these last two albums they have won Rock Album twice, song of the year twice, record of the year twice, and Album of the year once. There is nowhere else for them to go. What, exactly, would be the point of the recording ANOTHER album in the same vein? The band knows this very well, and I expect a significant left turn on the next album. While they won't be venturing into jazz or techno or any other specific style, it will probably be a lot darker and more aggressive. Because now that's really what they still need to prove they can do.
I'm optimistic.