By By Samantha Nwaoshai
Ask anyone what they think of their CD/mp3 collection and they all will say the same thing: “It’s great music.” As true as it might be to some people, there are still those who professionally judge music-music journalists, industry people and even the artists themselves. So when they acknowledge an album is good, people tend to listen. As Americans, we are familiar with the Grammys and The American Music Awards, but in the UK, there’s an award that doesn’t require any type of membership to win-all that’s needed is pure talent.
However, since the music industry does value large record sales and lots of money, artistic merit and quality music isn’t always a priority. However, you don’t have to look to institutions like Grammys anymore to find industry-recommended music. In America, we have the Shortlist Music Prize, but it has only been around since 2001, and the concept isn’t exactly brand new.
Across the pond in the UK, the Mercury Music Prize has been around almost 10 years before the Shortlist made its first Longlist. The idea is generally the same. A panel of UK (England, Scotland and Ireland) musicians and journalists pick amongst UK album releases for that particular year and choose 12 finalists. From the 12 finalists, the judges pick one artist’s album to be crowned “Album of the Year.” The winner is announced at a big concert featuring all the nominees. All genres of music are represented.
The difference between the Mercury Prize and the Shortlist is that record sales have nothing to do with it. Top-selling UK artists compete against some artists that have yet to reach gold status (selling 500,000 records). Artists who have reached gold record status are not eligible for the Shortlist. This makes the competition a lot more interesting. The first Mercury Prize was in 1992, where Primal Scream’s Screamadelica beat out U2’s Achtung Baby and Simply Red’s Stars for Album of the Year; it has been there ever since and other past winners include PJ Harvey, Dizzee Rascal and last year’s winners, Franz Ferdinand.
With an award like the Mercury, it’s pretty much a guarantee that the nominees will be diverse and interesting, and this year’s nominees are no exception. The genres range from hip-hop to indie-rock to just plain alternative. They have it all-but there can only be one winner.
Mercury Prize veterans, Coldplay, released their third album X&Y just in time to get nominated. They have never actually won the award, but they always mange to get nominated for every release, which is an honor in itself. However, this is the only band that could probably benefit from not winning the prize. Winning could cause a backlash.
Bloc Party, one of this year’s favorites, has quickly garnered attention both in the UK and stateside with their album Silent Alarm. The single “Banquet” slowly made its way from being a grimy video played on “Subterranean” to a spiffy video played-well, everywhere else.
Another favorite to win is, the Kaiser Chiefs, with their album Employment, which has gone platinum in the UK. Hit singles like “I Predict A Riot” and “Everyday I Love You Less and Less” are bringing back the New Wave fun that controlled the airwaves overseas.
Maya Arulpragasam, aka M.I.A., has also been receiving both critical acclaim and public favour, as her single “Galang” receives more and more airplay. The Sri Lankan former art student’s album, Arular, is as eclectic as her background referencing hip-hop, reggae and all with an indie sensibility.
Other nominees included Hard-Fi with Stars On CCTV, Maxïmo Park with A Certain Trigger, Polar Bear with Held On The Tips Of Fingers, Seth Lakeman with Kitty Jay, The Magic Numbers self-titled LP, The Go! Team with Thunder, Lightning, Strike and KT Tunstall with Eye To The Telescope.
However, the real story lies with this year’s winner, Antony and the Johnsons and their “Album Of The Year,” I Am A Bird Now. It seems like everybody loves Antony Hegarty. Lou Reed, Steve Buscemi and Boy George are just a few of his fans. His album, I Am A Bird Now has earned the title of “Album Of The Year.” The album has several guest appearances, yet you don’t get the feeling of “look at my famous buddies.” The guest actually fit really well with the songs. Boy George on “Are You My Sister” gives a performance that can bring a person to tears. Lou Reed on the standout track, “Fistful Of Love,” makes the track what it is. Other guests included Rufus Wainwright on “What Can I Do?” and Devendra Banhart on “Spiralling.” Despite the recognition level of the guest on I Am A Bird Now, Antony outshines them all and the album is a testament to his songwriting and arrangement prowess.
The award show was broadcast on BBC 6 in London on Sept. 6, and it makes you long for the entire show to be broadcast stateside. Now that everything is said and done, next year’s Mercury seems so far away.