The Shortlist Organization announced today the complete “Long List” of eighty-six nominations for the 2003 Shortlist Music Prize, as selected by a panel of “Listmakers” including Flea, Erykah Badu, Perry Farrell, Chris Martin (Coldplay), and the directors Spike Jonze and Cameron Crowe. The ten finalists for the award will be announced in early September, and the third annual Shortlist Music Prize will be presented at a multi-artist concert on October 16th at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles. Plans for a Shortlist Awards Concert television special will be announced soon.
“This year’s Long List features artists from five continents and thirteen countries, ranging from rock to hip hop to folk to electronica,” said Shortlist co-founder Greg Spotts, “And each album is handpicked by one of the world’s top musicians or tastemakers.” Adds Shortlist co-founder Tom Sarig, “With over forty-five different labels represented, and half the nominees signed to independent companies, this year’s Long List shows a vibrant and prolific creative community.”
The complete Long List and each Listmaker’s individual picks can be found at the official Shortlist website, www.shortlistofmusic.com, along with a streaming radio station of the nominees provided.
Highlights of the Long List include a broad range of American rock, from the downtown cool of Interpol to the progressive complexity of Mars Volta and the heavy bass of Tomahawk. Also making the list are British rockers Radiohead, the Music, the Coral and Blur, and Icelandic soundscapers Sigur Ros, who won the inaugural Shortlist Music Prize back in 2001.
A number of Listmakers reached well outside their own genre for their selections, such as Dave Matthews, who picked jazz-funk outfit Soulive. The Chemical Brothers recognized the melancholy songstress Cat Power, and Mos Def gave the nod to fellow New Yorkers the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Listmakers with global tastes include Tori Amos, who tabbed Cuban vocalist Ibrahim Ferrer and Brazilian stylist Luciana Souza, and Tom Waits, who nominated Senegalese band Orchestra Babob.
A variety of solo artists will be competing for the prize, including Irish newcomer Damien Rice, Bright Eyes, Natcha Atlas, Jesse Malin and Gillian Welch, who was also nominated in 2001. This year’s hip hop nominations include conscious MC’s Common and Talib Kweli, the hard southern rap of David Banner, the transatlantic female duo Floetry, and the cockney-accented working class tales of The Streets. Entries from world of electronic music include the UK’s Four Tet, Norway’s Royksopp, the Latin-inspired chants of Sidestepper, and the synthetic disco of Metro Area.
