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, according to an award spokesperson. It was followed by a panel discussion that featured Listmakers Macy Gray and ?uestlove of the Roots.
Other artists competing for the honor and a $10,000 cash prize are Air (10,000 Hz Legend), Bilal (1st Born Second), Dandy Warhols (Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia), Jay Dee (Welcome To Detroit), Ryan Adams (Heartbreaker), Sigur Rós (Ãgætis Byrjun) and Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek (Reflection Eternal).
The winner will be awarded at a concert and party in Los Angeles later this fall.
The Shortlist Prize was created to honor creative and adventurous albums regardless of genre, much like the U.K.’s Mercury Music Prize, which this year went to PJ Harvey.
Only albums released in the U.S. after July 2000 that have not sold more than 500,000 copies at the time of their nomination were eligible, keeping with the founders’ intent to focus on emerging artists rather than established superstars. In July and August, 15 Listmakers selected up to five LPs each for a “longlist” of 49 prospective albums, which was then narrowed down in September.
Shortlist sponsor Virgin Megastore, in addition to providing the cash prize, will make a significant contribution in the winner’s name to victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
The finalists were originally to be announced September 14 in New York as part of the New York Times Arts and Leisure Weekend Lecture Series, but the event was postponed and relocated following the attacks.
