Mercury Prize
July 22nd, 2008, 10:47 am · Post a Comment · posted by Michael
The shortlist for this year’s Mercury Prize for music was released today.
What’s the Mercury Prize? Why, it’s only the most baffling, snobbiest and British-iest award in the industry.
The list compiles the organization’s “12 Albums of the Year” before it votes on the top prize winner. It’s open to all genres by artists exclusively based in the U.K.
2008’s 12 Albums of the Year are:
- Adele - 19
- British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?
- Burial - Untrue
- Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
- Estelle - Shine
- The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of the Understatement
- Laura Marling - Alas I Cannot Swim
- Neon Neon - Stainless Style
- Portico Quartet - Knee Deep in the North Sea
- Robert Plant and Allison Krauss - Raising Sand
- Radiohead - In Rainbows
- Rachel Unthank and the Winterset - The Bairns
What I’ve noticed over the years is that the Mercury Prize voters (whoever they are) always choose a few obscure albums that have no chance of winning, a few “respectable” artists (sometimes the same as ”bigger names” or “perennial critical darlings”) and maybe an album that actually sold a copy or two.
This year’s no-chance album: Burial’s Untrue. The album has no melody, no theme other than creepy, shadowy synths and no real lyrics. It’s essentially faceless. I heard it last December on the recommendation of Pitchfork Media. It was crap.
The perennial critical darlings? Elbow and British Sea Power. Both released great albums this spring, each had less-than-stellar sales despite their greatness, and each have been around long enough to release three or four well-respected albums already. Both of those records will be close to if not listed in my top 10 this year.
The respected artists? Easy. Robert Plant and Allison Krauss’ Raising Sand is a no-brainer here. Also, Radiohead’s In Rainbows. The Last Shadowpuppets contains a key member of 2006 Mercury winner Arctic Monkeys.
The others - well, I haven’t heard them yet. Except for Estelle. Her hit “American Boy,” featuring Kanye West, is being played everywhere right now. It’s pleasant and has the decency to have a melody and coherent lyrics.
Who should win?
My head says Radiohead, but that’s an easy choice and the band has made better records than In Rainbows. That doesn’t mean In Rainbows isn’t grand.
I have to go with my heart, for Robert Plant and Allison Krauss. It’s a record anyone can love. It also features two of the best vocalists around in an unexpected pairing, covering old blues, soul and country tunes with T-Bone Burnett in the producer’s chair. It’s also an effortless listen.
But the Mercury voters also like to defy expectations and often award the prize to unknowns. And they often give it to the wrong artist.
Here’s a list of past winners:
- 1992 - Primal Scream, Screamadelica
- 1993 - Suede, Suede
- 1994 - M People, Elegant Slumming
- 1995 - Portishead, Dummy
- 1996 - Pulp, Different Class
- 1997 - Roni Size/Reprazement, New Forms
- 1998 - Gomez, Bring It On
- 1999 - Talvin Singh, OK
- 2000 - Badly Drawn Boy, The Hour of Bewilderbeast
- 2001 - PJ Harvey, Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
- 2002 - Ms Dynamite, A Little Deeper
- 2003 - Dizzee Rascal, Boy in da Corner
- 2004 - Franz Ferdinand, Franz Ferdinand
- 2005 - Antony and the Johnsons, I am a Bird Now
- 2006 - Arctic Monkeys, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
- 2007 - Klaxons, Myths of the Near Future
