Cheer up, Thom! Your only-just-released debut solo album, The Eraser, is among the twelve long-players shortlisted for the 2006 Mercury Music Prize, sponsored by Nationwide.
The shortlist was revealed this morning at the Royal Commonwealth Club, and read out by Jools Holland. The winning album will be announced on September 5, when the artist/s in question will collect a cool £20,000. Nice.
The runners, riders, and irregulars...
Thom Yorke The Eraser
Scritti Politti White Bread Black Beer
Sway This Is My Demo
Hot Chip The Warning
Lou Rhodes Beloved One
Muse Black Holes And Revelations
Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan Ballad Of The Broken Seas
Arctic Monkeys Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not
Editors In The Back Room
Guillemots Through The Windowpane
Zoe Rahman Melting Pot
Richard Hawley Coles Corner
So, what do we all reckon to that? A better shortlist than last year's Hard-Fi-featuring dirty dozen? If Isobel Campbell wins, will an almighty fuss be kicked up a la last year's triumphant turn by Antony And The Johnsons? After all, Mark Lanegan is hardly from Oldham. Are there any albums you were certain would make the cut, but have been left to one side by the judges?
More importantly, who do you think will win? DiS asked about the office, and came up with the following predictions:
Colin Roberts: Guillemots (review)
Sean Adams: Muse (review)
Gareth Dobson: Hot Chip (review)
Mike Diver: Isobel Campbell (review)
yeah but
Arctics. With depressing predictability.
Hot Chip or
Thom Yorke will win (hopefully) in my opinion because an electronic record has not won for a while, and they are both amazing.
Arctic Monkeys on the other hand are far too predictable, as with Kaiser Cheifs, and there album is not THAT good to be honest, and though it is a similar situation to that with Franz Ferdinand a few years back, Franz had more credibility than the Arctics in indie-music-know-it-all circles who will judge it...on the other hand they might just make it easy for themselves and go for Arctic Monkeys.
Having said this, Guillemots is probably a good bet, as they're both credible and coffee-table...oh, i dont know, it is very hard this year...
I'm just happy
that there's no Lily Allen.
Wasn't this supposed to be for new artists
Hence the money would come in handy? Or am I confusing it with another award?
My money's on Guillemots
I take it this is mostly an Indie/jazz/folk award then?
agreed with slicky...
why the funk are Muse on it!?! :S
yeah
real music, innit.
So they say.
i think
it'll be hawley. middle aged folks like it, and its hip too.
my comments on the noms are on my blog if anyone fancies reading it.
nah
at first
i thought "Lou Rhodes" was "New Rhodes" and i got a bit excitied. but alas no.
Guillemots will win. Or arctic monkeys.
me too!
I was like whoa!!! :D AWESOME!
my money
is on Richard Hawley
i've got it right the past 3 years
this year i'll be wrong
i think
Guillemots.
I don't think
arctic monkeys or muse will win, they're too safe. Then again i'm not sure who will win. I think its between guillemots, thom yorke, and isobel campbell
guillemots
if not, hot chip or richard hawley
thom yorkes
album is barely out no? i cant have been out for more than a week.
the eraser
was released on 10th july, as was guillemots album.
how long
since an 'urban' artist last won - ms. dynamite wasn't it?
in which case i reckon Sway is in with a shot.
i've not heard of half of the people on that list, have only heard three of the albums in full and the odd song from a couple of others - am i out of touch, or too cool for the mercury prize?
Dizzee Rascal won it in 2003
have
you heard sway, i didnt mind dizzee rascal but sway is crap. shouting 'sway, whats my name? sway..' for 3 minutes does not make a good song. i saw him live and it was laughable.:/
Aye...
He turned up unannounced at a gig I went to and played a set at the end... went down really well, which was odd because he was utter drivel.
If we get past the business of how pointless these things are
... there's some decent albums on the list.
My money (if I were a betting man) would go on Muse or Guillemots.
There are two Domino albums I'd have chosen above the one that got the nod, but I'd have liked to have seen all three...
There's two acts I haven't heard of - are they the token jazz entries?
1
Hot Chip could be an outsider to win it.
After last year them going for something more alternative/underground they may go for the bigger name this year.
The list is redundant
as there is no Kate Bush.
Out of those Richard Hawley and Thom Yorke are my favourites but i think Guillemots will get it. Although they haven't had an 'urban' winner since, what, Ms Dynamite? So maybe Sway then.
Last urban winner
= Dizzee Rascal as far as I remember...
the sway album
is so shit :(
Hot Chip
are also up for The 2006 Popjustice £20 Music Prize, which clearly makes them the best. (as are Muse, but i think that might be a pisstake)
Muse on popjustice list
It's not a pisstake, popjustice loves Muse, as the supermassive black hole sounds a bit like Britney Spears' 'Do something'
Hmmmm
I've only really listened to the efforts by Scritti Politti and Hot Chip so I can't really pass judgement, both of them are pretty good, although I wouldn't say that they truely break any new ground or anything.
um
hot chip or editors
I reckon Richard Hawley will get it
which will be nice for him. I'd like it to be Guillemots, but I doubt it, as the 'obscure' one won last year. Antony seemed to escape the curse of Mercury pretty well though, I think.
..
guillemots ennit.
well
antony hasnt released another record yet has he? we'll see how good the next one is. the bsides to you are my sister were mighty good though, but dont know when they were recorded
for
thom yorke to win it after radiohead's superior band albums have been overlooked so many times would be quite wrong so...
hot chip please.
hmmm
muse, richard hawley or hot chip, i cannot decide. but one of those will definately win.
the person that wins is always a different type of artist to last year, and muse are kind of unique and will probably be rewarded for it. i was actually suprised by their nomination.
very clearly
the Arctics.
- Yorke's effort only came out last week, and there's the off chance he'll either not turn up or deliver a vaguely inflammatory acceptance speech.
- Scritti Politti? They're still going?
- Sway's alright, but he's got nothing on Dizzee Rascal, either commercially or artistically.
- Hot Chip are an outside bet. They're just slightly too out there.
- Lou Rhodes? Ho?
- Muse are too successful and overblown to win something as "cultured" as this. They're going to win at hatful of awards elsewhere anyway.
- Izzy's been shoved in to make up numbers.
- I will kill myself if Editors win. You have my word.
- As with Yorke, Guillemots are too recent, too much of a gamble.
- zo gaman? richard haly? Ho? Ho??
as central as you are to the DiS community, Parsefone
I doubt the judges will be sufficiently informed of your notoriety to discount Editors purely on those grounds.
duly noted
I'm hoping they are willing to discount them on the grounds they make the Arctic Monkeys look like Thom Yorke.
no no..
dont kill yourself. Kill the editors instead.
That way we all benefit from the death. I personally dont think I'd benefit from yours.
:')
too early like
when dizzee rascal won in 2003 when he was nominated a day after his album was released?
right, gotcha.
arctic monkeys will not win.
they really, really wont.
I think they will.
I think Mike's right
Isobel & Mark to win it.
Well, maybe. They should, anyway...
blahblahblahblah
blahblahblahblahblahblah... rhubarbrhubarbrhubarbrhubarbrhubarb
Beat that for tedious comment about this over-exposed nonsense award.
Well you're really asking two questions there
The first one takes me back to 1934. Admiral Burn had just reached the pole, only hours ahead of the Three Stooges...
As long as fucking Arctic Monkeys don't win
I'm happy.
I've tried to see what's so good about their album, but just can't. It's in no way special, imo. Just has 2 or 3 good tracks.
For me, one of Muse, Editors, Guillemots or Thom Yorke should win.
Isobel Campbell
To be fair, she wrote all but one of the tracks on the record alone - I don't think a fuss should be kicked up.
I would like to see Hot Chip win but the Campbell/Lanegan record is good too.
i was a bit suprised
not to see belle and sebastian on there
no mogwai either
Guillemots
will win
Sans doute.
MJ Hibbett's album not there? What is the world coming to?
Hooray Muse! Hooray Editors!
BOO Arctic Monkeys! I'm pissed that Hope Of The States were not entered, tis a shame. The Monkeys will win it anyway and we'll have to hear that twat and his fingers down a blackboard voice for more months to come.
Editors? What year is this?
I could have sworn their album came over a year ago.
With the exception of Isobel Campbell I can't agree with a single nomination on this list. It's as if they've just picked the top selling (and most heavily promoted) albums from Play.com and made a list for the most part.
There's Always A Bit Of Politics Around The Mercury Though
The biggest artists generally don't win, as a rule of thumb.... I reckon Sway might win it. When did a "urban" (a horrible catch-all phrase I know) record last win? Dizzee Rascal won it right?
I don't think sway will win,
his album isn't good enough. If the mercury awards work as everyone seems to think by rotating different non-specific sub-categories then they should at least choose a credible one to make the whole thing, well, credible.
MJ Hibbett
What a fucking legend. Love you bro - have fun at Truck.
Isobel Campbell
wrote ten of the tracks on that album, her scottish guitarist wrote one, and mark lanegan wrote only one. all the bits of it except lanegan's vocals were recorded by eligible recipients for the award, i.e. british citizens.
SO if anyone kicks up a fuss, give me their photo, and I will track them down and kill them and their family, 'cause i really can't be doing with either stupidity, or whinging for the sake of it after their overrated favourite band are unceremoniously dumped in the shitter. Fin.
Oh, and for the record, the 'Monkeys will win, after people got a bit confused by the Mercurys last year when an artist who wasn't on the Radio 1 Daytime playlist won.
I hope Isobel Campbell doesn't win
Seeing as how Mark Lanegan is American, it's hardly fair.
i hope Guillemots win
seeing as they have a Brazilian AND a Canadian, it's hardly fair.
hope Guillemots don't win
and i don't really, i was just pointing out who ludicrous and stupid your statement was.
And my post was aimed at winding you up
Due to your overly heated and serious rant. Looks like I succeeded fabulously.
great
you're a fuckwit. you go on the internet to wind people up. i feel smug.
Lanegan
I'd have shit myself it Langean really was from this err crap town. Our musical history is so far confined to Nine Black Alps and Mark Owen. Great innit?
Wow
You really *are* wound up at the minute, Mr Brusma, aren't you? What are you like in pub debates?
I'd say something about how Clearlake should have been nominated if I wasn't so worried about your blood pressure... :)
Thom Yorke or Richard Hawley please
A country mile ahead of the rest, and I really like Editors.
Yay Hot Chip
I hate Editors.
If they win its just taking the piss really. Seeing as how they are completely the poor man's Interpol it would be basically admitting that America is currently making better music.
Guillemots are shit and all.
Hot chip...
please. where is vashti onion? she shoudl be on it
Bets are off..
... it's gonna be Richard Hawley. Mark my words.
I reckon it will be
Richard Hawley, Hot Chip or Thom Yorke.
fucking EDITORS got nominated?
?!??!?!
it'll be guillemots.
Hot chip should win
Out of those nominated Hot Chip are the best but I think the best album of the Year has been completely overlooked, where is Nathan Fake, Drowning in a sea of love is a great album.
Editors
Good album, but didn't it come out before the 2005 shortlist announcement?
Guillemots will probably win, and deservedly so. But where is the Mystery Jets album?
shitty Pity vote more like
I am so happy Plan B didn't make the list (he'll win a MOBO no doubt)but Scritti Politti where awful enough the first time. A comeback now is just taking the piss! I reckon some coked up music journalists cooked this up for a sick and demented laugh.Please! no more.
BTW Guillemots do have a british majority
The singer is english, the drummer is scottish and the bassist is half english, half canadian (and a british citizen) but yes the guitarist is brazilian.
elbow
their leaders of the free world is cracking. but was it released in the last year? no idea.