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The Mercury Music Prize

  
  

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haus of fraser
10:01 / 06.09.05
Ok so the Mercury music prize are on us and it's an interesting shortlist...

Antony and the Johnsons - I Am a Bird Now

Bloc Party - Silent Alarm

Coldplay - X&Y

The Go! Team - Thunder,Lightning,Strike

Hard-Fi - Stars of CCTV

KT Tunstall - Eye to the Telescope

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

The Magic Numbers - The Magic Numbers

Maximo Park - A Certain Trigger

M.I.A. - Arular

Polar Bear - Held on the Tips of Fingers

Seth Lakeman - Kitty Jay

current tabloid faves are the uber indie Kaiser Chiefs - maybe i'm just showing my age but it would be a little dull if britpop rehashers took the prize while the original (and superior) got pretty much ignored.

Of the other records i know or have heard bits of Antony and the johnsons was a record i really wanted to like but just didn't- i found it a bit too twee and to be honest it sounded much like out takes from the musical godspell.

Bloc Party/ Magic Numbers- dull indie pop if either of these records win then the judges have got cheese in their ears. Bloc party managed to make an album that i still have trouble distinguishing between the tracks- and while the Magic Numbers make Pop music- to me it just sounds like mid 90's swedish indie kids the wannadies.

Coldplay- i've heard nothing from this album except the first single- which i can't remember anything about except the video was a shit live performance and cost over a million bucks- for that reason alone they deserve notr to win... (relieve third world debt... and spend less on your shit unimaginitive videos... )

Maximo Park/ Hard- Fi- more indie britpop revivers- Cud for a new generation... The truth is i've heard a couple of tracks but just found them dull and uninspired, and i'm not that interested either.

KT Tunstall- i've largely avoided due to the this years Amy Winehouse, Katie Melure, Joss stone (delete as appropriate) tag that she seems to have- I will accept if i'm wrong it's down to her marketing rather than music as i don't think i've ever conciously heard any? Are my thoughts way off?

The Go! Team- One of my favourites to win although the album has worn off a lot of its initial charm has already worn out, and the current revival of it dueto its nomination has just annoyed me and made me think 'but that was last year'- maybe me just being a snob but it annoyed me seeing Thunder lightning strike in the new release section of HMV about a month ago... Besides all this- it is a record that i loved and i'd be happy to see them win- they were also refreshing live and genuinely seemed to love performing when i saw earlier in the year...

M.I.A. is a late addition for me. I've enjoyed everything i've heard by her, i downloaded some tracks a month or so back - but haven't got round to buying the album. While it certainly doesn't sound like anything else in the awards it brings to mind moments of Trickys Maxinquay and a modern X Ray Spex (maybe a lazy comparison but there's definitely something in it). Homebrewed catchy beats, chants, rhymes and yelps with a cocky South London drawl. To be honest this is the record that i'm most interested in out of the lot at the moment- re-listening to the tracks that i downloaded to start this thread definitely has me hoping she wins- its certainly the most inventive record up for the award.

Seth Lakeman/ Polar Bear- I know nothing about either anybody- can anybody else fill in the gap- i'm currently downloading tracks by both- although something tells me they fill the Jazz/ classical gap previously occupied by Courtney Pine etc. I know that's a massive sweeping generalisation that's totally unfair- but we also know from past experience that the award normally gets awarded to more popular genre's of music....

Seth Lakeman just finished downloading- and its not really my thing on a first listen.

So what is the Barbelith view on the Mercury prize- a massive waste of time, or a good chance to acknowledge new talent?

Who or what is missing from the shortlist? A lack of the current grime scene? where's Kano & Rolldeep?

Maximo Park over Tom Vek or Clor?

Are musical awards ever credible? Either they're too clique based or too populist...

The results are out tonight so what predictions do we think in advance to mull over tomorrow?
 
 
All Acting Regiment
11:28 / 06.09.05
It's purely personal, but out of the bands mentioned here I would like to see Anthony and The Johnsons or MIA recognised- not neccesarily because they're better at what they do than the others are, but because they both ammount to something a bit different.

MIA: I'm sure there have been other female Asian rappers, and people here who know can name them, but certainly I'm not aware of any of them gaining this level of popularity and bucking a few stereotypes- "Music's not just boys singing about killing and girls singing about love"(sic).

With Anthony and the Johnsons it's the fact that we've got this chubby, fey lad singing cabaret about transvestism and all that stuff in a voice that I think is pretty unique (though again I'm sure others here can illuminate). That immediately sets them (him) apart from just about everything else of the moment (as far as I know).
 
 
Our Lady Has Left the Building
12:02 / 06.09.05
Well, if the Kaiser Chiefs are the faves then it's not going to be them is it? They should do the decent thing and give it to the token classical musician this year, for so long they've always been the bridesmaids...
 
 
Regrettable Juvenilia
14:13 / 06.09.05
My feelings on the Mercury Music Prize are that I find it hard to cheer for anybody to win it - ie, I can see it being as much of a curse as a blessing for MIA, the artist/album from that list I think is most deserving of an award...

On the other hand, there are people I actively don't want to see win it: the Kaiser Chiefs are probably the most despicable band in the UK today, and any accolate granted to them would sadden and anger me.
 
 
haus of fraser
15:39 / 06.09.05
Do you really think its been a curse for winners? or do you think it helped open them up to a wider audience? Certainly Dizzee (in my mind) was more famous for being stabbed in Aya Nappa- I knew nothing about his music.

I know by saying this i'm exposing my own ignorance- i'm not trying to start a fight- more talk about how The Mercury Prize has helped open progressive new music to a wider audience. Showtime as a result got a much wider release and more positive response- i know it went and sold enough records to go gold in the UK- and had the hit single Dream.

I personally quite like the award- not that i always agrere with it. When we did a poll of favourite records of the year on Barbelith or when someone rants about something being good I do pay attention- especially if its something i've missed. I will probably go back and listen to Antony and the Johnsons again on the back of this for example. Can't guarantee i'll like it but i may've missed something.

The curse I guess is the catch 22 of producing a great record and either being recognised for it in the form of critical response and an award, or not being recognised for it and disbanding/ persevering to something greater. Would Pulp have followed Different Class with another record with or without the Mercury Prize? The curse of the mercury prize it seems is almost a curse of success- or the dreaded second album syndrome- how to follow up a master piece? Especially as you now have money and premieres, Super model spouses and something of a life outside the music.

Franz Ferdinand seem to be making a go of a follow up- and i suspect they will have some longevity in their career, as did Primal Scream, Suede, PJ Harvey (although stories from the city is IMHO no where near her best album).

IMHO the only real curse of the award is when the artist is rushed or simply doesn't have a follow up in them. Its only a weight if you let it become one/ your contract forces itself into one- and even then the curse is the industry not the award.

I still don't want the Kaiser Chiefs to win either.
 
 
Seth
21:12 / 06.09.05
What did it do for Talvin Singh?
 
 
The Strobe
21:20 / 06.09.05
..and it went to Anthony and the Johnsons.

Anyone heard them? Your thoughts?
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
21:38 / 06.09.05
Not having heard ANY of the acts on offer except A&theJs (who are ace) and Coldplay (who I can't fucking stand) I was hoping for a win from one but fearing a win from t'other.

I'm pleasantly surprised.
 
 
■
22:20 / 06.09.05
I haven't heard A&theJ's but Tom TT raves about them, so I guess they must be passable (he has child and taste, a rare combination). I'm just glad I didn't do a rash rush into a betting shop to bung a few quid on the Go! Team.
 
 
Regrettable Juvenilia
23:55 / 06.09.05
Do you really think its been a curse for winners?

Not what I said - I think it's varied from act to act. I think it would have been as much of a curse as a blessing for MIA in particular, in terms of the various (possibly still below radar) controversies about her identity, her music and her audience, and how a Mercury win might affect those arguments. I can go on about this in length in the MIA thread if anyone's interested, although it would involve having to recap and/or link to various viewpoints that I find quite nauseating.

Did anyone see the Go! Team's live performance of 'Huddle Formation'? I still maintain their album only has an EP's worth of good songs on it, but that was amazing...
 
 
haus of fraser
07:58 / 07.09.05
What did it do for Talvin Singh?

The truth is we simply don't know what would have happened to Talvin Singh- I would assume he would have followed a similar musical career- although he'd have sold less records and disappeared faster.

What is the evidence that winning the Mercury prize is what is responsible for his drop in popularity?

Much as i've not been converted to Antony and The Johnsons- I think its great a record that had been critically well recieved and loved will hopefully now sell a shit load more copies off the back of it and be opened up to a wider audience rather than disappear into obscurity.

I missed it except for the last 3 minutes- watching Antony and the jonsons play live- is it on terrestrial tv tonight? Flyboy if you haven't seen The Go! Team live yet you really should cos they are worth every penny.

I feel quite relieved it didn't go to a drab indie band- i was quite worried that the BBC website was talking up Hard-Fi as potential winners having downloaded some of their music- only to find they were bland Zutons soundalikes.

Just out of curiosity how is the short list decided- is it label nominations or selected by a panel- and who is on the panel?
 
 
Regrettable Juvenilia
08:09 / 07.09.05
Allegedly, NME editor Conor McNicholas claimed after the award was decided that Anthony and the Johnsons was "too weird" for NME and then counter-claimed that it was a "very Middle England" choice.

He's very much someone I'd like to see put to death.

On a related note, the Kaiser Chiefs have apparently been claiming that Anthony is not really British. How very in keeping with their other borderline Daily Mail views.
 
 
Haus Of Pain
08:13 / 07.09.05
For the record Talvin Singh's career was starting to show signs of flagging when he won the award, mainly 'cos he's a bit crud.

I wanted Coldplay to win because they are AMAZING.

No really they are. Original and innovative.


Just off to kill myself now.
 
 
haus of fraser
08:31 / 07.09.05
Yes i quite like the fact that its NOT the NME's award- maybe 13 years ago when the paper was a bit more interesting, just goes to show how bland the paper's become if they think something is too weird for them.

Oh and on the Kaiser Chiefs thing, what next?

Official announcement:
so we took the award from Antony & The Johnsons cos they're not British and gave it to.... M.I.A.......

whiney voice of a kaiser chief
'but she's not english either'

Announcer:
Look you little cunts your shit and not winning no matter what racist claptrap comes from your mouth...

It kind of reminds you of when 'Belle & Sebastion' won 'Steps' Brit award.

The Kaisers Chiefs- The Steps of indie rock....
 
 
Our Lady Has Left the Building
09:29 / 07.09.05
Did you see Connor McNichols on the '40 Years of the NME' show? It was like thirty-five years of mad, intelligent and/or weird people had worked on that magazine, and then the present day is some soulless little chump lacking in wit, smarts or the common sense not to dress like one of the fucking Strokes.

I genuinely don't get why anyone likes Antony and the Johnsons. Listening to his album it seems that Ant has a very limited range and style, it's just limited in an area most men can't reach. I also think his backing band need a kick up the arse as on all but one song they seem to be trying to impinge on the listeners ears as little as possible, if they did a song the chorus would probably go "please don't listen to us, we're not that interesting, please just pay attention to Antony, That's the bloke over there on the piano".

Anyway, the Mercury Music Prize is corporate whoredom at is best and they tend to give the prize to acts that then seem to disappear just as quickly from public consciousness (Dizzee Rascal? Roni Size? Talvin Singh?) so I'm quite glad it's gone to A&TJ rather than M.I.A. or The Go! Team. It allows the shops to do a display beforehand of 'nominees for the MMP' and gives them a little sales bump.
 
 
haus of fraser
09:46 / 07.09.05
Why corporate Whoredom? choosing Antony and The Johnsons is exactly why it's not corporate whoredom- they're on Rough Trade an independent record label and have made an uncommercial record- these aren't the Brits. The winner doesn't have to be a unit shifter - surely what constitutes a corporate whore in the music biz is making music to sell units without any emotional attachment behind it- ie. Crazy Frog?

Whether the acts that have won have been able to follow up they're successful album is surely down to the band and the record label- as i said earlier in the thread for every Talvin Singh you have a Franz Ferdinand and a Primal Scream. You can't guarantee an artists longevity- its hard to follow up a master piece- not every musician can.
 
 
haus of fraser
09:51 / 07.09.05
On the Dizzee thing- showtime (boy in the corner's follow up) as i said in my earlier post sold well and had a hit single- is Dizzee any more obscure than he was before he won the award?
 
 
Regrettable Juvenilia
10:06 / 07.09.05
Yeah, the idea that Dizzee vanished from public consciousness after the Mercury win is lazy nonsense really - I'm sure 'Dream', which came later, had much more of an effect in bringing him to people's attention.
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
10:58 / 07.09.05
I just love the fact that A&theJs' were first (afaik) championed by David Tibet of C93...
 
 
Our Lady Has Left the Building
12:08 / 07.09.05
Is it really nonsense though Petey? I mean, you probably know more about the pops than I do, granted, but what's he been up to? The only thing I remember is that tune based on 'happy talk', is this just the quiet time between albums?
 
 
haus of fraser
12:19 / 07.09.05
The only thing I remember is that tune based on 'happy talk', is this just the quiet time between albums? yup that was taken from Showtime his second album- not the mercury prize winner but his biggest hit to date (unless you count the embarrassing bit on the Band Aid single...)
 
 
Haus Of Pain
12:27 / 07.09.05
Is it really nonsense though Petey? I mean, you probably know more about the pops than I do, granted, but what's he been up to? The only thing I remember is that tune based on 'happy talk', is this just the quiet time between albums?

He's been, relatively successfully, breaking the U.S.A, doing shows all over the world and is supposidly writing new material.
 
 
Tom Tit's Tot: A Girl!
17:35 / 20.09.05
I haven't heard A&theJ's but Tom TT raves about them,

Really? That's weird, because if asked I wouldn't consider them fantastic or anything (although Antony has an amazing voice, and I do like that a genderqueer group has international acclaim.) That said, they tend to be a little too self-indulgently depressing even for me, and a couple of tracks just sound like a moan/dirge.

Still, they're the best out of the shortlist, to my personal knowledge. I reckon a few years and another album might reveal how good they are, if we're lucky.

I was surprised by the vitriolic response to their winning I read in a few newspapers, particularly the Metro. I don't know what triggered that, and it made me kinda sad.
 
 
Scrambled Password Bogus Email
21:21 / 20.09.05
Tis a joke of an award.

Does not translate into sales/popularity/appeal.

Is a laughing stock.

Gets handed to Mercury subsidiaries with notable regularity.
 
 
ronfinch
21:54 / 20.09.05
I don't know the details, and haven't got the (inclination) time to find out, but one little indian have deals overseas with warner/Steve Pritchet (ex one little indian) now works for universal music group's US indie distributors.
if Rough Trade isn't owned eventually by a major I will eat my hat.
(I could be wrong and will eat my hat if proven so...)
(assuming my hat is a bacon sandwhich that is)
Why hasn't barbelith got font colours so I can put (for instance) the last sentence and "(inclination)" (above) in just off white?
Ronald
 
 
haus of fraser
08:20 / 21.09.05
Tis a joke of an award.

Does not translate into sales/popularity/appeal.

Is a laughing stock.

Gets handed to Mercury subsidiaries with notable regularity.

Explain further Mr $hot? Is it really a laughing stock- as discussed above it's raised the profile of a few interesting artists- for this reason alone it has some value.

Rather than the dour Q/ Brit/ NME awards which are pure popularity/ sales based
(Q awards announced that their shortlists this week- they consist largley of Kaiser Chiefs, Oasis, Coldplay, James Blunt and Green Day- while all are big sellers- non are really creating anything that new or innovative).

I'm not saying the Mercury prize is perfect by any means- but of all the major music awards they are the one that i'll keep an eye on and definitely check out if i've not heard bands on the shortlist. What in the harm is that- and what from that really makes it a 'laughing stock'?

I'm not sure of the funding behind Rough Trade- although does it really make a difference- they've surely got one of the most interesting rosters of bands around at the moment, I suspect signing The Strokes and the Libertines has given them some kind of financial backup via overseas licencing- although also releasing Arcade Fire, British sea Power Sufjan Stevens, Adam Green and Antony and The Johnsons albums all in one year is fine by me! I don't see the problem.
 
 
Scrambled Password Bogus Email
14:59 / 21.09.05
Know what, Copey?

I take it back. Anthony and The Johnsoids are at least one exception that prove the rule. Press release from HMV:

"Sales of Antony & The Johnsons' 'I Am a Bird Now' album have rocketed a staggering TWENTY-FOLD since winning the 2005 Nationwide Mercury Prize a week ago.

HMV report a phenomenal customer response to Antony's album, which has soared from number 135 to 16 in this week's chart -- the first time 'I Am a Bird Now', released in March 2005, has ever been in the UK Top 20. HMV accounted for just under half of all UK sales on the album over the past seven days.

Says Phil Penman, HMV Head of Music: "The Nationwide Mercury Prize just keeps getting better and more influential every year and their effect on sales of shortlisted albums becomes more pronounced.

“This year has been no exception and we have seen a huge interest in the winning album by Antony & The Johnsons since they pretty much stole the show with their spellbinding performance at last week's Mercury Prize show."

Antony & The Johnsons' remarkable sales rise is the highest ever reported in the 14-year history of the Mercury Prize. Antony says: “Being part of the Nationwide Mercury Prize has proven to be an inspiring experience and an honour - I met so many wonderful artists. It's such a great forum for celebrating the fantastic diversity of the music scene at the moment.” "

So shut up $hot.

On the other hand, if I'm not wrong then it actually dipped from 16 to 18 in this weeks chart, which either means

1) They ran out of stock (small labelossible)

2) It's run out of momentum (A & J's target market being just the sort of people who would be influenced by the results of the Mercury Music Prize and go and buy the winner...the Mercurys can spark 100,000 album sales to the chattering classes (ugh) but that's generally the glass ceiling because of the kind of music and consumers involved.)

MS. Dynamite, on the other hand, hardly sold a fucking thing, ever, so her level of fame and high media profile is somewhat staggering, really.
 
 
haus of fraser
15:43 / 21.09.05
ahem....
Miss Dynamite saw her sales rise 700 per cent after she scooped the prize in 2002.
And did it really sell that badly?

Not that the higher sales or profiles are a reason to enjoy the awards- as i said above its kind of nice to give an accolade to an interesting record that doesn't rely soley on sales.
 
 
Regrettable Juvenilia
20:13 / 21.09.05
Ms Dynamite's new single is all about God, and how we should all be scared of how we will be called to account for our sins when we die.

Tsk.
 
 
ONLY NICE THINGS
21:20 / 21.09.05
You mock, but Nick Cave's made an entire career out of that.
 
 
Scrambled Password Bogus Email
07:43 / 22.09.05
And did it really sell that badly?

Yes.
 
 
haus of fraser
08:25 / 22.09.05
Proof Mr $hot is what i'm after! YES and NO won't do!

What are we setting as a bench mark as to how many copies it 'should' sell?

and why is it a bad thing even if it didn't sell that well? When have sales been a sign of a good record? If thats your criteria- you have the Brits or Q awards surely

And what are these Mercury subsiduries you talk of? Mercury the communications compay disappeared years ago- bought up by cable & wireless in 1999 but the awards retain the name...
 
 
Haus Of Pain
14:07 / 22.09.05
Apparantley Miss Dynamite only sold 6 copies of her album prior to the awards. I bought 2 copies one to listen and one for "personal" use.
I'd like to find out who bought the other 4 copies, but i'm really busy trying to decide is the existence of The Kaiser Chiefs is the physical manifestation of the earth trying to puke it's guts up.

Not sure.....Mulling over....Oh Magnum's on.Ace....
 
 
Scrambled Password Bogus Email
14:30 / 22.09.05
She sold just pip of 1 million copies in the whole wide world.

Which sounds like a lot, eh? But entails her record company losing loadsamoney. And her, bizarrely, becoming incredibly famous, and appearing in a Tough Windswept Urban Warehouse Location (tm) with Kirsty Wark on Newsnight to talk about her plans to move into politics.

Once she finishes her exams.
 
 
Scrambled Password Bogus Email
14:46 / 22.09.05
Aaand Copey - re: Bloc Party...

CLEAN YOUR EARS!
 
  

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