Mercury Music Prize 2004 Shortlist Predictions Thread

Belle & Sebastian - Dear Catastrophe Waitress
Jamie Cullum - Twentysomething
Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
Hope of the States - The Lost Riots
Keane - Hopes & Fears
Joss Stone - The Soul Sessions
The Streets - A Grand Don't Come for Free
Wiley - Treddin' On Thin Ice
Amy Winehouse - Frank
Plus token classical entrant
Plus token folk entrant
Plus jazz entrant

24 possibles that the panel could well select:

1. Julian Arguelles - As Above, So Below (Provocateur Records)
2. Denys Baptiste - Let Freedom Ring (Dune)
3. Basement Jaxx - Kish Kash (XL)
4. Beta Band - Heroes to Zeroes (Regal)
5. Broadcast - Haha sound (Warp)
6. John Cale - Hobosapiens (EMI)
7. The Delays - Faded Seaside Glamour (Rough Trade)
8. Elbow - Cast of Thousands (V2)
9. The Futureheads - The Futureheads (679)
10. Grand National - Kicking The National Habit (Sunday Best)
11. Jonny Greenwood - Bodysong (EMI)
12. Jehst - Falling Down (Low Life)
13. LFO - Sheath (Warp)
14. Phil Manzanera - 6pm (Expression)
15. John Martyn - On The Cobbles (Independiente)
16. Morrissey - You are the Quarry (Sanctuary)
17. Mylo - Destroy Rock & Roll (Breast Fed)
18. Oceansize - Effloresce (Beggars Banquet)
19. The Psychonauts - Songs for Creatures (International DeeJay Gigolos)
20. Richard X - Presents His X Factor Volume 1 (Virgin)
21. Dani Siciliano - Likes (K7)
22. Ty - Upwards (Big Dada)
23. Willis - Come Get Some (679)
24. Robert Wyatt - Cuckooland (Hannibal)

DJ Martian's Outsiders
25 albums that deserve attention but will probably be overlooked, [or maybe not even entered into the competition in the first place] - if any make it to the official Mercury Music Prize Shortlist - I will be pleasantly surprised.

1. Amplifier - Amplifier (Music For Nations)
2. Anathema - A Natural Disaster (Music For Nations)
3. Broadway Project - The Vessel (Memphis Industries)
4. Capitol K - Happy Happy (Faith & Industry)
5. Claro Intelecto - Neurofibro (Ai)
6. Dave Clarke - Devils Advocate (Skint)
7. The Creatures - Hái! (Sioux Records)
8. The Cure - The Cure (IAM records/ Geffen)
9. Cursor Miner - Cursor Miner Plays God (Lo Recordings)
10. Dom and Roland - Chronology (Moving Shadow)
11. Envoy - Shoulder2Shoulder (Soma)
12. The Fall - 'The Real New Fall Album' - Formely Country on the Click (Action)
13. Guapo - The Five Suns (Cuneiform)
14. Peter Hammill - Incoherence (Fie)
15. Jon Kennedy - Take My Drum To England (Grand Central)
16. Kerrier District - Kerrier District (Rephlex)
17. The Magnificents - The Magnificents (KFM)
18. My Dying Bride - The Thirteenth Chapter (Peacevile)
19. Soulsavers - Tough Guys Don't Dance (San Quentin)
20. Squarepusher - Ultravistor (Warp)
21. Two Banks Of Four - Three Street Worlds (Red Egyption Jazz)
22. Two Lone Swordsmen - From The Double Gone Chapel (Warp)
23. Luke Vibert - Yoseph (Warp)
24. The Workhouse - The End Of The Pier (Bearos)
25. Zoot Woman - Zoot Woman (Wall of Sound)

I don't think Morrisey's been around quite long enough to qualify for inclusion in this section yet - although that may be just me showing my age.

or the streets.

ah well, I'm bored so let's play anyway:

Ty, Winehouse, Streets, FF, Razorlight, B&S, Wiley, Kathryn Williams, Delays, Wyatt, Orbital, [token]

Infinte Livez
does qualify though
http://www.bigdada.com/artist.php?id=99

Julian Arguelles - As Above, So Below (Provocateur Records)
Anathema - A Natural Disaster (Music For Nations)
Beta Band - Heroes to Zeroes (Regal)
Broadway Project - The Vessel (Memphis Industries)
John Cale - Hobosapiens (EMI)
Claro Intelecto - Neurofibro (Ai)
Dom and Roland - Chronology (Moving Shadow)
Envoy - Shoulder2Shoulder (Soma)
Guapo - The Five Suns (Cuneiform)
Ty - Upwards (Big Dada)
Robert Wyatt - Cuckooland (Hannibal)
Zoot Woman - Zoot Woman (Wall of Sound)

All I'm saying - there's a reason Dogs Die In Hot Cars' album was out last week. I'd vastly prefer The Futureheads, but hey. It's most likely the Streets' year.

There are melodies on certain tracks that could be lifted from Talking Heads - Little Creatures album, circa 1985.

Grand National - Kicking The National Habit

But was the album entered by the record label? Are you aware, Melissa?

But I don't know. *shrug*

Snow Patrol
The Streets
Keane
Jamelia
The Zutons (WTF?)
Joss Stone
Belle & Sebastian (RAH!)
Amy Winehouse
Basement Jaxx
Franz Ferdinand
Ty
Robert Wyatt

previously: Turin Brakes, Electric Soft Parade, The Coral

However good to see: Ty and Robert Wyatt - on the shortlist.

As is much of the Streets album most notably the new single.

I predict that there'll not be nearly enough Amy Winehouse love on this thread. It's a really awesome album.

i am depressed that Snow Patrol made the final 12, though.

almost forgot that it's to recognise UK artists, right?
even though he's on Nick's UK label

to get nominated guarantees Retail Point of Sale promotions in every retail chain, and the key e-commerce websites, plus extensive media / press coverage - the whole package in terms of economic opportunity cost is massive for record labels.

And even that in itself is a puzzler, because the apparent level of public interest wouldn't, you'd think, equal a significant upswing in sales. But every year it happens.

I posted this last time round, but I literally cannot fathom the mentality of whoever dashes out and buys a CD after it wins a prize voted by a panel of judges

Franz Ferdinand (‘Franz Ferdinand’) 3-1 Joint Favourite
The Streets (‘A Grand Don’t Come For Free’) 3-1 Joint Favourite
Snow Patrol (‘Final Straw’) 6-1
Keane (‘Hopes & Fears’) 6-1
Amy Winehouse (‘Frank’) 6-1
Basement Jaxx (‘Kish Kash’) 10-1
Jamelia (‘Thank You’) 10-1
Joss Stone (‘The Soul Sessions’) 10-1
Belle And Sebastian (‘Dear Catastrophe Waitress’) 12-1
The Zutons (‘Who Killed The Zutons’) 12-1
Robert Wyatt (‘Cuckooland’) 12-1
Ty (‘Upwards’) 12-1

if that's the case then why do you take such interest in the MMP at all?

Do they? Strikes me it should be the opposite, if you're largely unaware of subgenres and shifting fashions and whatnot then that makes you all the more likely to just buy what you like without worrying about some fanboy mongboard laughing at you.

if that's the case then why do you take such interest in the MMP at all?

Well, I'm not exactly going to lose sleep over it. I think the prize itself is totally pointless, but that doesn't stop it being an interesting talking point, any less than Big Brother is

Even the tabloids e.g Mirror and Star will publish the news - this is massive publicity.

I'm actually surprised Joss Stone is more an 'outside bet' than Amy, 'kidding' aside.

Keane winning would be a yawn.

The Streets album seems not as god as the previous. So, a shoe in to win?

Snow Patrol? Not as good as Franz. Soz Guyz.

Jamelia? A good outside bet. Ty? only album I have no knowledge of, which is good for me.

Robert Wyatt? Now that would be something!

I don't think this is a snob thing or an indie fuck thing or an ILM thing either - it just seems weird. I mean, I was never one for buying albums purely on magazines' recommendations either, but at least they'd give you a few hundred words telling you why the album in question is good

Can't comprehend anyone trusting Edith Bowman's taste though.

I want to know this too. Was a little disappointed by "Talk About Our Love" but Brandy + Timbaland = mmmm, awesomeness, potentially.

Edith Bowman - annoying daytime radio 1 presenter

Together with Jason off Big Brother, the only person I know who can make the Scottish accent sound awful.

Simon Frith, still? Ugh.

Sorry to take so long, I'm having trouble deciding whether to substitute polenta with the even more obvious cous cous.

currently Prof. in Film & Media Studies - University of Sterling
http://www-fms.stir.ac.uk/staff_info/frith.html

I don't think nomination makes people run out and buy your record blind/deaf as much as winning might. My guess is nominated acts get a load more people going into shops and *listening to them* to see what they're like, whereas the winning act is likely to see pure blind/deaf speculative sales, even to people who'd never heard of the act before. This probably happened more than usual with Dizzee, who was comfortably under the mainstream radar before last year's MMAs.

I Love Music: "fanboy mongboard" since 1999.

Ty, Wyatt, and Jaxx are non-starters. Franz Ferdinand, Jamelia and The Streets are too succesful to win the Mercury. Stone and Winehouse aren't guitar bands, and this is a guitar year. The Zutons would be an obvious Gomez/Talvin Singh kinda nomination, Belle and Sebastian are probably too... Belle and Sebastian to win, Snow Patrol vs Keane? Hmmm. Snow Patrol are probably more "credible", whatever that means. Keane would be a good placater of the industry actually, and I think after Dizzee last year they're going to want to give it to an artist that actually has mass appeal, so it probably is Keane's year.