Search Results for: mercury prize

Arcade Fire, M.I.A., Justice, and LCD Soundsystem are among the 10 finalists named for the Shortlist Music Prize. Also making the top 10 are Feist, Wilco, Spoon, Stars, Working For A Nuclear Free City, and Burial. The Shortlist Prize is widely considered the American version of Britain’s Mercury Prize and recognizes acts that have sold fewer than 500,000 albums in the States. Klaxons, winner of the most recent Mercury Prize, had been nominated for this year’s Shortlist, but did not make it into the final round. This year’s panel of judges includes Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol and Ronnie Vannucci… Read more »

In an industry that obsesses over first-week album sales, heavy MTV rotation and radio airplay, the Shortlist Music Prize is trying to help offbeat or niche recording artists find a wider audience. Now in its second year, the contest taps successful musicians to champion the work of peers who have yet to make an impact on the charts. Among this year’s “listmakers” are India.Arie, Alanis Morissette (news), U2’s Larry Mullen Jr., and filmmakers Baz Luhrmann (news) and Spike Jonze (news). “Most of the attention that records get as far as awards and all that stuff is based on record sales,… Read more »

PJ Harvey, Gorillaz and Nikka Costa are among the 10 finalists for the newly minted Shortlist Prize for Artistic Achievement in Music. The artists and their albums – Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea, Gorillaz and Everybody Got Their Something, respectively – were selected by a panel of “Listmakers” that includes Beck, Trent Reznor, Dave Grohl and Mos Def, as well as music journalists and producers. The Shortlist’s shortlist was announced Wednesday at the Museum of Television and Radio in Beverly Hills, California, during a broadcast of Listmaker Nic Harcourt’s “Morning Becomes Eclectic” radio program on 89.9 KCRW-FM,… Read more »

The animated hip-pop group Gorillaz are still in the running for the Mercury Music Prize – even though they refused to accept their nomination yesterday. Gorillaz were among twelve acts to be shortlisted, but they shunned the nomination saying they would refuse to accept the award. Now the band’s record label Parlophone are saying Gorillaz are still up for it because they had put them forward for the award and only they can withdraw them. Click here for the nominations, plus hear clips of how other acts reacted to the news that they were up for the award.

Young indie rockers Arctic Monkeys, who made history with Britain’s fastest-selling debut album in 2006, are out to prove they are no one-hit wonders with their second record released on Monday. Critics wonder if the weight of expectation will be too much for the musicians from the northern city of Sheffield, among the first to make it big by harnessing the power of the Internet. Alexis Petridis, music critic for the Guardian newspaper, called “Favourite Worst Nightmare” arguably the most anticipated second album in a decade. Judging by early reviews and the reaction of fans at gigs across the country,… Read more »

Amy Winehouse and Paul McCartney set their recent troubles aside to steal the show Wednesday at the Brit Awards, the British music industry’s most prestigious prizes. Rockers Foo Fighters and British bands Take That and Arctic Monkeys were all double winners at Britain’s equivalent of the Grammys. Although she wasn’t up for any awards, troubled retro-soul diva Winehouse received a rapturous reception when she appeared to perform “Valerie” with Mark Ronson. She followed that up with the sultry ballad “Love is a Losing Game” from her breakthrough album “Back to Black.” Winehouse, who appeared composed and confident, urged the crowd… Read more »