This week saw the Mercury Music Prize Nominations being announced. And there were very few surprises in the list. The Horrors may have surprised some people, but their currency has been rising in recent months and they probably deserve the attention just for being a bit more interesting than most British guitar bands right now.
I’m not greatly interested in who wins the prize. It is unlikely to be the album I think is the best of the year (none of them are in the list) and it is unlikely to be the best act from the shortlist. I learnt to ignore the result of the prize back in 1993 (a year that included Sting in the shortlist…) when The Auteurs and PJ Harvey were passed over in favour of Suede. And then again in 1994 when Pulp, Blur and the Prodigy (all with pretty significant releases) were beaten to the prize by John Majoresque foghorn Heather Small’s M People.
I am pleased to see so many strong female acts in the list, and it is probably a good bet that one of them will be the first woman since Ms. Dynamite in 2002 to win the prize (and only the 5th since the prize started in 1992). I’m no fan of the latest wave of Kate Bush-alikes, and La Roux seems rather one dimensional, but they are very much more deserving of the prize than rock luddites like Glasvegas and the appalling Kasabian.
The thing that bothers me most about the prize is the way that the non-alt-rock/pop or dance acts are treated. It is a safe bet that the winner each year will be out of that camp, and not one of the jazz, folk or modern classical artists. I mentioned the 1993 prize before and the best album in that list was probablyJesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet by Gavin Bryars, an album that would never be given the prize. I’m no jazz expert, but I’d hazard a guess that Led Bib are a better Jazz act than Kasabian are a rock band.
I appreciate that the sales of all artists on the list rocket, and this is great news for the smaller acts, but why bother having a prize if only 50% of the shortlist are being seriously considered for the prize? And wouldn’t Speech Debelle get an even better career boost if she won the prize?
My favourite album in the list is Sweet Billy Pilgrim’s Twice Born Men, the shortlists token (apologies in advance for using this phrase) folktronica act. I didn’t think the band worked live when I saw them at the Union Chapel in London but the album is good with some great moments. There are about 100 different musical ideas on the song ‘Truth Only Smiles’ alone, which is 50 times as many ideas as Glasvegas have had in their whole career (wear dark sunglasses indoors, listen to The Jesus And Mary Chain). However, considering that there have only been a couple of surprises in the history of the prize, the aforementioned M People debacle and Antony And The Johnsons in 2005, their chances seem pretty slim.
By Dorian Rogers, July 2009
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