Nationwide Mercury Prize 2008 shortlist- The debate IS OVER
Update: So the list has been announced in a ceremony today, with some notable absences. Duffy, Coldplay and Lightspeed Champion were all left off the list, whilst Laura Marling and Burial both look like serious contenders for the prize. Official list as follows:Adele - '19'
British Sea Power - 'Do You Like Rock Music?'
Burial - 'Untrue'
Elbow - 'The Seldom Seen Kid'
Estelle - 'Shine'
The Last Shadow Puppets - 'The Age Of The Understatement'
Laura Marling - 'Alas I Cannot Swim'
Neon Neon - 'Stainless Style'
Portico Quartet - 'Knee-Deep In The North Sea'
Robert Plant And Alison Krauss – 'Raising Sand'
Radiohead - 'In Rainbows'
Rachel Unthank And The Winterset – 'The Bairns'
Tomorrow morning, the shortlist for the 2008 Mercury Prize is announced. Who should be on the list? NME's potential shortlist was as follows- my selections of their expanded list are highlighted in red. I've included a track of each of my selected albums for you to sample. Download the whole mix below as a zip, take a long listen to my picks, add your own and submit your personal list in the comments.
I'm voting for Lightspeed Champion and Laura Marling as the dark horses that will come and pull the rug out from underneath everyone else.
Who should be on the list?
Mercury Prize Shortlist Sampler.zip (Link 2)
Adele – '19'
Babyshambles – 'Shotter's Nation'
British Sea Power – 'Do You Like Rock Music?' ... Atom
Burial – 'Untrue' ... Archangel
Coldplay – 'Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends' ... Lovers In Japan (Acoustic)
Duffy – 'Rockferry'
Elbow – 'The Seldom Seen Kid' ... Bones Of You
The Enemy – 'We'll Live And Die In These Towns'
Estelle – 'Shine' ... You Are (ft. John Legend)
Foals – 'Antidotes' ... Hummer
Future Of The Left – 'Curses'
The Futureheads – 'This Is Not The World'
Hot Chip – 'Made In The Dark' ... Wrestlers
Jamie Lidell – 'Jim'
Johnny Flynn – 'A Larum'
Kate Nash – 'Made Of Bricks'
Kids In Glass Houses – 'Smart Casual'
The Kills – 'Midnight Boom' The Last Shadow Puppets – 'The Age Of The Understatement' ... Two Hearts In Two Weeks
Laura Marling – 'Alas I Cannot Swim' ... You're No God
Lightspeed Champion – 'Falling Off The Lavender Bridge' ... Dry Lips
Los Campesinos! – 'Hold On Now Youngster' ... You! Me! Dancing!
MIA – 'Kala' ... Paper Planes Mystery Jets – '21' ... Hideaway
Neon Neon – 'Stainless Style' ... I Told Her On Alderaan
The Pigeon Detectives – 'Emergency'
Portishead – 'Third' ... We Carry On
Radiohead – 'In Rainbows' ... House Of Cards
Spiritualized – 'Songs In A&E'
These New Puritans – 'Beat Pyramid'
The Ting Tings – 'We Started Nothing'
Tricky – 'Knowle West Boy'
Wiley – 'Grime Wave'
The Wombats – 'The Wombats Proudly Present... A Guide To Love, Loss And Desperation'
dull dull dull. If the mercury meant anything it would at least have people like Kevin Ayers or P J Harvey in there giving some class to what will inevitably be a list of this years indie 'greats'.
i don't see frightened rabbit on this list. midnight organ fight is definitely the best album of the year. nme gave it 9/10 and then don't list it ?????
Marc D- dull? Have you heard Lightspeed Champion? This is meant to reward innovation in music, and whilst PJ Harvey's album was very good, it's not too different.
People like M.I.A., Laura Marling, Lightspeed Champion, Foals and Burial are all making exciting music that is essentially entirely original. Also remember that the Klaxons (was their album boring?) won last year, and Anthony And The Johnsons the year before that.
So basically its not dull. Sorry!
anonymous- very good point. But lets remember that NME regularly give people good reviews and then throw them in the dumpster a few weeks later!