By Samantha Nwaoshai
On Nov. 15, at the Avalon in Hollywood, the top of the Shortlist (think indie-Grammy’s) was finally announced. The question on everyone’s mind was who would be crowned this year’s ‘Indie-King(s)/Queen.’ The winner was of no shock to those who knew the artist’s music, but to the unfamiliar people-it was a weird twist to the left. Most of the general public thought that either Franz Ferdinand, with their self-titled debut or Loretta Lynn with her album Van Lear Rose (that was produced by Jack White of The White Stripes) would take the prize. Loretta Lynn released her first single before MTV was even conceived and Franz Ferdinand won the Mercury Prize (UK’s answer to the Shortlist). When the Listmakers (a panel of musicians and industry people that pick the winner) named TV on the Radio as winners, one thought popped into everyone’s head. “They finally got it right!” Rewind to last year’s Shortlist to understand as to why.
Last year’s Shortlist prize was a major upset to those who were paying close attention. Everyone was convinced that Interpol’s debut album Turn on the Bright Lights was to take the prize. When Damien Rice’s O was named the winner, the audience may have been clapping, but they were probably thinking “what the hell? How did Damien Rice beat Interpol?” Most people even now do not see how that came to be. Some would attribute this mistake to the Listmakers taking mind-altering substances.
This year, the Listmakers seem to have their game together. TV On The Radio’s left-of-center album, Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes, was the correct choice. The first single off the album, “Staring At The Sun,” was a breath of fresh air from the typical over-produced, under-talented piles of sonic feces out there. The album cannot be pinned down to just one or two genres of music. “Staring At The Sun” alone has fantastic synths that could be pinned down as electronica, bass and guitar riffs that could be described as anything between art to progressive rock, and Tunde Adebimpe’s vocals are beyond words. He could do rock one moment and du-wop (like on the track “Ambulance”) the next. Then there were eight other tracks for the band to display their musical prowess.
This is not to say that TV On The Radio was the only band with any talent or that the other nominees lack talent. To get nominated for the Shortlist there has to be a lot more than “just a little something.” TV On The Radio just stands out more, like a red sock in a pile of white ones. TV On The Radio now joins Damien Rice (just shake your head), N.E.R.D. and Sigur Ros on the growing list of past Shortlist winners.
One Shortlist tradition that never gets old is that there is always a killer concert with the nominees before the winner was announced. This year was no different. Other nominees like Nelly McKay and Dizzee Rascal performed, along with winners TV On The Radio. Air was also scheduled to perform but cancelled due to scheduling conflicts. The concert was said to be an amazing spectacle. McKay opened the show with her piano, and Dizzee Rascal got the crowd amped with his single, “Fix Up, Look Sharp.” The Eagles of Death Metal (the band 2004 Listmaker Josh Homme is drummer for) then had a 15-minute set to fill in for Air. Of course TV On The Radio owned the crowd, especially during their performance of “Staring At The Sun.”
Of course you would have to take the concert descriptions at face value. For those of us who were hoping to watch the Shortlist concert on television this year were sadly disappointed. One would think that with all the air time that MTV2 has given to the Shortlist that they were about to partake in one of the greatest musical events of the year. The Shortlist received huge amounts of time on the MTV2 show “Subterranean.” Some of the nominees were even guests. At least three weeks before the Shortlist Special aired, there were commercials that would have one under the illusion that the whole concert was going to be shown. You felt like you were being prepped for a great Saturday night indoors.
Then Saturday, Nov. 20 at 9 p.m. EST, one of the biggest television let-downs in the history of mankind happened. There was no televised concert; there wasn’t even one full performance. The Shortlist Special wasn’t even up to a half-hour long once you remove the commercials. It was just little snippets of the nominees and even smaller snippets of the performances. If the Shortlist Special was the Superbowl, then all you would have gotten was the commercials and highlights of touchdowns.
Overall, this year some things were done right, while others weren’t done at all. They picked the right winner, no doubt about it. However, it would have been even better if the whole concert was aired on TV. If the Grammys can get so much airtime for just the red carpet entrances, then another four hours for the actual awards, then the Shortlist should deliver too. But even if the telecast special was a bust, the Shortlist still beats the Grammys any day. Unfortunately this year’s party is over and we will have to wait until next summer for the fun to begin again.