2005 Mercury Music Prize - The Nominations

[Flyswatter]

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


Bloc Party for me with T'Chiefs a close second.

[mumbojumbo]

The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team The Go! Team

[drbastard]

I like the Go! Team as well but I don't think their album captures how great they are when they play live, they have a buzz about them.


M.I.A. deserves that award if only for making the best album of the year. You simply cannot compare Arular to anything you've heard ever whilst the others reek of imitation elsewhere.

[ninefootjoe]

Go! Team, M.I.A., Antony or Bloc Party. In that order of preference. The Kaiser Cheifs are great but the others deserve it more. I just hope The Team get a load more fans out of this, they deserve to be huge.

[Mr Subways]

I really hope MIA doesn't win. I fail to see how it is ground breaking, I've heard it all before.

I think Kaiser Chiefs are in this year, Employment is a top album, and they're definetley a unique band. KT Tunstall will be close behind though.

[vickyrichardson]

Got to be between Antony and the Johnsons(glorious)Kaiser Chiefs(great powerepo) and KT Tunstall. Sureprised that Jem or Lucie Silvas didn't get a mention...or even James Blunt...but I suppose he's considered too populist now i guess.
Great album rtough and nice bloke ...interviewed him on my radioshow last month!

Vicky xx

[materialgirl1982]

Out of the nominees I want The Magic Numbers to win, but i think that K T Tunstall or Bloc Party are more likely to win unfortunately.

Again this year some worthy albums missed out on nominations - Idlewild 'Warnings/Promises', Garbage 'Bleed like me', Oasis 'Don't believe the truth' and Gwen Stefani 'Love Angel Music Baby' are all worthy of nominations. But once again it seems the nominations are just made up of NME bands and unknown artists, how predictable.

[aneza]

Go Kaisers.

[Mr Subways]

materialgirl1982 said:

Out of the nominees I want The Magic Numbers to win, but i think that K T Tunstall or Bloc Party are more likely to win unfortunately.

Again this year some worthy albums missed out on nominations - Idlewild 'Warnings/Promises', Garbage 'Bleed like me', Oasis 'Don't believe the truth' and Gwen Stefani 'Love Angel Music Baby' are all worthy of nominations. But once again it seems the nominations are just made up of NME bands and unknown artists, how predictable.

Gwen is American.

I agree that Garbage would have been a good nomination, and Idlewild, instead of maybe Magic Numbers.

If White Stripes were british I reckon they'd be shoe-in.

[Storm]

mrbrightside said:

I really hope MIA doesn't win. I fail to see how it is ground breaking, I've heard it all before.

Really?? Can you tell me then, who, in your opinion sounds like her? I can't even put her stuff in a genre, nevermind find someone else who sounds like her.

S for Kaiser Chiefs being original - they're very good, but it's not really a million miles from Franz Ferdinand, last years winner..........

[drbastard]

Some lazy sods will attempt to compare her to Neneh Cherry but these people are missing most of the story. Arular strides retro dance, jazz, reggae, pop and other genres in a glorious but futuristic fusion of sounds. It is easy to sound 80s and do some electro beat but to do something forward thinking and culturally interesting is much harder, especially if you want to make people dance while doing it. Now people here (Mr Subways) may not like M.I.A. but her album is unique. What's more I can name the influences in all the other albums and relate them to other bands whilst Arular feels to me very, very special and not so obvious. In a day when 'urban' music is about bling, strippas and 50 Cent's (fake) sex boasts someone like M.I.A. is a bloody breath of fresh air. Galang is especially affecting for its lyrical content and Bush busting sentiment, which is important considering most younger artists (bar Eminem I suppose) totally failed to say anything about that vile American preferring instead to discuss frivolous crap like their escalades or whatever shit they came up with. Why should M.I.A. just write about cars and jewellery? What fucking relevance does that have to me and others like me? And even better, she does it to a ruthlessly catchy beat. Yay!

She MUST win that award because her album is the best on that list and the most important.

Come on! When Richard X's songs are the weakest on the album, you know it's a piece of genius and of course the Piracy Funds Terrorism is a brilliant piece of mixing too.

[Mr Subways]

I can see what you're saying, I can't really name an artist MIA sounds like, but I just feel like, in many other song, it's nothing new, but she's bringing it together in one album. Still, I don't like it, and don't feel as if it's worthy of the Mercury Music Prize.

[Tim]

mrbrightside said:

I can see what you're saying, I can't really name an artist MIA sounds like, but I just feel like, in many other song, it's nothing new, but she's bringing it together in one album. Still, I don't like it, and don't feel as if it's worthy of the Mercury Music Prize.

Well then, how about naming a recording artist who has released something this year that isn't bringing together music that has been made before. I will literally give you £1000 if you can do it.
And of course, if you don't like something then it shouldn't win a prize. That's a given.

[Mr Subways]

Oh I give up.

[Dark Angel]

I have a feeling it'll be between Mia, The Kaisers and Bloc Party. Out of that three I hope Bloc Party win it, although, I have a hunch it'll go to Mia.

[materialgirl1982]

mrbrightside said:

materialgirl1982 said:

Out of the nominees I want The Magic Numbers to win, but i think that K T Tunstall or Bloc Party are more likely to win unfortunately.

Again this year some worthy albums missed out on nominations - Idlewild 'Warnings/Promises', Garbage 'Bleed like me', Oasis 'Don't believe the truth' and Gwen Stefani 'Love Angel Music Baby' are all worthy of nominations. But once again it seems the nominations are just made up of NME bands and unknown artists, how predictable.

Gwen is American.

I agree that Garbage would have been a good nomination, and Idlewild, instead of maybe Magic Numbers.

If White Stripes were british I reckon they'd be shoe-in.

Oops i didn't realise this was exclusive to UK artists, for some reason i assumed The Magic Numbers were American, but apparently not. My mistake.

I find these Mercury nominations to be quite predictable though, they always tend to choose the unknown rather than a popular band/artist. This is meant to be an award for the albums of the year, i'm sure Garbage, Idlewild and Oasis' albums are much better than most of the albums nominated, i sure like them anyway! Coldplay are the only "big band" nominated and that is just because Coldplay are the buzz band of the moment, their album is nothing much to shout about, just the same old stuff.
I wish whoever chooses the nominees would actually listen to the albums and decide which are the best, rather than just decide who the cool up and coming bands are and which kooky act they can throw in for good measure, it really is quite tiresome.

[tigermilk]

materialgirl1982 said:

I find these Mercury nominations to be quite predictable though, they always tend to choose the unknown rather than a popular band/artist.

But at least half of the albums on the list have been in the top 10 at some point. Hardly makes them 'unknown'. And even though Seth Lakeman and Polar Bear are hardly household names, they're still significant names within their genre.

And, y'know, without wanting to get all indiefascist about this, popularity doesn't neccessarily equal quality.

[materialgirl1982]

tigermilk said:

materialgirl1982 said:

I find these Mercury nominations to be quite predictable though, they always tend to choose the unknown rather than a popular band/artist.

But at least half of the albums on the list have been in the top 10 at some point. Hardly makes them 'unknown'. And even though Seth Lakeman and Polar Bear are hardly household names, they're still significant names within their genre.

And, y'know, without wanting to get all indiefascist about this, popularity doesn't neccessarily equal quality.

That's right, but i think it's wrong that in situations like this quality is overlooked just because it is by a popular artist/band.

[Booers]

mrbrightside said:

I can see what you're saying, I can't really name an artist MIA sounds like, but I just feel like, in many other song, it's nothing new, but she's bringing it together in one album. Still, I don't like it, and don't feel as if it's worthy of the Mercury Music Prize.

Having recently purchased Arular out of total curiosity (just before it was announced as a Mercury contender, might I add) I found it be just noise, but the more I have listened to it the more I have warmed to it.

I think the beats and noises are fantastic but I wasn't too keen on her voice which I felt was far too shouty for my liking but it's really grown on me. Sunshowers, Bucky Done Gun and £10 are particular favourites now. I think she's an aqcuired taste though so I can totally understand why people think she's crap.

[tigermilk]

materialgirl1982 said:

That's right, but i think it's wrong that in situations like this quality is overlooked just because it is by a popular artist/band.

But again, if you look at past shortlists, that's not true: 'popular' artists are consistently nominated. Just look at the four previous years. They've included;;

2004 - Franz Ferdinand, Keane, Jamelia, Joss Stone, Snow Patrol, The Streets
2003 - Coldplay, The Darkness, Radiohead, Athlete, The Thrills
2002 - David Bowie, Doves, The Coral, Ms Dynamite, The Streets
2001 - Basement Jaxx, Radiohead, Gorillaz, Zero 7

Go further back and you'll find the likes of Robbie Williams, The Spice Girls, Sting and Simply Red amongst the nominations. If anything, the awards are becoming more and more populist as the years go on.

[Deleted]

Seth Lakeman should win because he is hot. And folk artists never ever get to win. Here he is (on the left) with his brother, looking altogether like a lo-fi, PG version of a porn fantasy.

[materialgirl1982]

tigermilk said:

materialgirl1982 said:

That's right, but i think it's wrong that in situations like this quality is overlooked just because it is by a popular artist/band.

But again, if you look at past shortlists, that's not true: 'popular' artists are consistently nominated. Just look at the four previous years. They've included;;

2004 - Franz Ferdinand, Keane, Jamelia, Joss Stone, Snow Patrol, The Streets
2003 - Coldplay, The Darkness, Radiohead, Athlete, The Thrills
2002 - David Bowie, Doves, The Coral, Ms Dynamite, The Streets
2001 - Basement Jaxx, Radiohead, Gorillaz, Zero 7

Go further back and you'll find the likes of Robbie Williams, The Spice Girls, Sting and Simply Red amongst the nominations. If anything, the awards are becoming more and more populist as the years go on.

Fair point, but you must admit this year's shortlist only really has Coldplay and maybe you could say Kaiser Chiefs as already 'very popular' nominees, and i doubt either will actually win. I think there's certainly a degree of trying to be cool going on when they are selecting the shortlist.
Anyway, at the end of the day these sort of awards don't really mean that much, it's the publicly voted awards that are important, not the industry's darlings awards.