Mercury Music Prize 2006

[asv]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5188692.stm

Go the Chip!

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Ballad Of The Broken Seas
Editors - The Back Room
Guillemots - Through The Windowpane
Richard Hawley - Coles Corner
Hot Chip - The Warning
Muse - Black Holes And Revelations
Zoe Rahman - Melting Pot
Lou Rhodes - Beloved One
Scritti Politti - White Bread, Black Beer
Sway - This Is My Demo
Thom Yorke - The Eraser

That list is almost as lazy as nominations for the Brit Awards. 'Oh yeah, they did an album, best put them in.'

I'll put a shiny penny on Richard Hawley in vain hope. And I don't even like Coles Corner that much.

[Sovereign]

If Thom Yorke wins this I will not be happy. The Eraser is just a few Radiohead B-sides, which aint necessarily an insult as Radihead do just about the best B-sides of any band I know, but it was still a massive disappointment.

Actually, I take that back. Radiohead B-sides are much better than stuff that album, Meeting in The Aisle, Melatonin, Cuttooth, How I Made My Millions and Kinetic are all significantly better than anything thats on that album. The very best moments on The Eraser are about as good as the very worst Radiohead B-sides.

Does anyone else think its just bits of studio arsery leftover from the Kid A & Amnesiac sessions that he's decided to release as a solo record to earn a quick buck, and that the rest of the band refuse to be associated with, hence the solo album?

Arctic Monkey's will probably win, which is fair enough coz they're a decent, honest band who've somehow got caught up in a media maelstrom because being decent, honest and northern is exactly what sells right now.

[Ghost of Troubled Joe]

Where the fuck is Kate Bush's Aerial? Hmm? Hmm?

[SOTS]

Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Ballad Of The Broken Seas
Editors - The Back Room
Guillemots - Through The Windowpane
Richard Hawley - Coles Corner
Hot Chip - The Warning
Muse - Black Holes And Revelations
Zoe Rahman - Melting Pot
Lou Rhodes - Beloved One
Scritti Politti - White Bread, Black Beer
Sway - This Is My Demo
Thom Yorke - The Eraser

That list is almost as lazy as nominations for the Brit Awards. 'Oh yeah, they did an album, best put them in.'

I agree there. I find Editors' The Back Room to be quite mediocre. And unfortunately, i've seen Hot Chip perform live and cannot see why people are kicking up a fuss about them. One of the blokes was just hitting the woodblock in the same rhythm for the entire set.

Saying that though, I have never heard any of their studio recordings.

EDIT: I've just been listening to a bit on their site. I think it's just that their sound doesn't work particularly well live. Over and Over isn't a terrible song.

[Partridge's Love Child]

I bet The Editors win it, despite the fact that the album is boring as fuck.  They've managed to sound like Interpol, but yet seem to have nothing of interest about them.  This probably deserves an award in itself, though an award of a hefty boot up the catflap.  It's something of an acheivement to simulatneously sound like a truly great band, but yet sound astonishingly dull at the same time.

And where's Belle & Sebastian, eh?

[Almost Yearly]

Doing Cliff Richard covers.

[hands cold, liver warm]

I haven't heard any of those albums.

I am the hipster

[rjd2]

Sway nominated? Fair enough it was decent but surely their was better British Hip hop this year? Out of those that are their I've only listened to three and the best of those was the Muse album. I suppose they are too popular to win it though?

[Marvin]

Considering there's actually been a few decent nominations in recent years that's really a pretty shit list, very lazy.

[Peking O]

What's the token "urban" entry this year?

[rjd2]

What's the token "urban" entry this year?

Sway, he was on the Culture show a while back as well.
http://www.swaydasafo.com/

[Ciarán2]

There a few really good albums on that list. If I were on the judging panel I'd choose "Cole's Corner". I'll highlight the ones I've heard...

Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Hasn't really made much of an impression on me to be honest, I'll come back to it. Ho hum. I'll tip it to win, though. It's like "Definitely Maybe", and after Antony winning last year, the judges will want to be hip and down wiff ver kids again.

Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Ballad Of The Broken Seas
I just bought this today actually. And I bought Nancy Sinatra's "Greatest Hits" yesterday, to which it's been compared. I look forward to giving it a spin when I get home.

Editors - The Back Room
Ain't heard it.

Guillemots - Through The Windowpane
I've only played this the once, as it came out last week. I saw them live in February and liked them a lot, but felt that "From The Cliffs" didn't live up to their potential. I think I'm going to enjoy this rather more. I think it's a bit suspicious that it's been nominated though. They've been pushed by 'ver "Industry", making their 5 bands to watch list at the start of the year, and they went into the charts at 17 last week. So this feels like a marketing push. I suppose that's true of all the nominees, but this was a particularly late entrant.

Richard Hawley - Coles Corner
This is tremendous and should win. Like Antony's album last year, there is not one track on here which isn't superb. And it's a very pre-rock and roll album. Plus it's had a long time to settle into my heart.

Hot Chip - The Warning
They're interesting, like a mix of early Depeche Mode and Daft Punk. I also saw them live earlier in the year (supporting Goldfrapp), and thought they were great! One of them banged a block of wood in the same rhythm the whole time! ;-) Their album is good, but not earth-shattering. Might take a few more listens though. "Boy From School" and "Over and Over" are the two singles to tempt you in, if you are TOCMFIC.

Muse - Black Holes And Revelations
Haven't heard it, will probably buy it though.

Zoe Rahman - Melting Pot
Hadn't heard of this.

Lou Rhodes - Beloved One
Or this.

Scritti Politti - White Bread, Black Beer
A great little album. My second fave on the list after Richard Hawley. It's a real grower and a great summer listen, whereas "Coles' Corner" is more winter-night with a bottle of wine listening. This is an album to eat ice-cream to. Only 2 tracks have failed to really grab me - "No Fine Lines" and "Mrs Hughes". Otherwise, it's a great achievement. "The Boom Boom Bap", "Snow In Sun", "Dr Abernathy" and "Petrococadollar" (a brilliant dead-of-the-night listen in the midst of the summeriness) deserve special mention. But you can buy this one with confidence.

Sway - This Is My Demo
Thom Yorke - The Eraser

Haven't heard either. I'd be more inclined to buy the Sway album than the Thom Yorke one though.

I've been meaning to post in the 2006 LPs... thread as someone said there had been a dearth of good LPs this year. Well, I've bought 30 so far, and of them my faves are Pet Shop Boys' "Fundamental", The Feeling's "12 Stops...", Scritti Politti as mentioned above, Belle and Sebastian's "The Life Pursuit", Cat Power's "The Greatest" and Matmos "The Rose Has Teeth...". But pick of the bunch, perhaps, is Juana Molina's "Son".

Last year, I correctly picked Antony as the winner. I'll go with my gut feeling that Richard Hawley should get it and hope he does. But I've a sneaky suspicion the judges will play it safe, avoid giving it to Mark Lanegan (an American) and give it to the hype of the year, a real crowd-pleaser like Arctic Monkeys.

[Cack Hen]

Belle and Sebastian's "The Life Pursuit".

This is fantastic. I must have listened to it countless times. I am a Belle & Sebastian fanatical maniac, though.

The Life Pursuit (song)

This is the title track that was left off the album. I can't for the life of me work out why, it's very goood. I'd have definitely put it in instead of Song For Sunshine, which is one of their worst songs ever.

[lazyhour]

Hot Chip!  Hot Chip!

# Remember the time when you ate a hot chip?
# Remember the way it burned your lip?
# When you eat chips you better watch it
# Hot Chip!  Hot Chip!

One for the self-aggrandisement thread, there.  I don't really want Hot Chip to win because I don't like the Mercury Music Prize, but they certainly would deserve to.  Their debut is one of my top albums of 2004, and I've not heard the new one much, but it seems to be more of the great same.

Also I agree with Ciarán that this has been yet another fucking great year so far for new records.  Good call on the Matmos and B&S, sir.  I haven't heard the new Molina yet, but I have her previous two albums and dig them a lot.

[chand]

They should let Mark Lanegan have it, we can continue the trend of giving it to Americans and then next year MF Doom (born in London) can win it for something.

There's only two albums I've got off that list (Sway and Thom Yorke) and I'm not really bothered about either of them winning, particularly York cos he hardly needs it. I saw the the longlist and there was a bunch of stuff I was hoping they'd select off that, Matthew Herbert among them (I think for 'Plat Du Jour'). Psapp, Tunng and Plan B all made the longlist and I figured they were all good shouts for the list. I'm amazed Plan B didn't make it, he has all the ingredients of the token edgy nomination.

Here's 12 from 2006 I'd have had in my shortlist, in no particular:

Coldcut - 'Sound Mirrors'
James Blackshaw - 'O True Believers'
Matinee Orchestra - 'Matinee Orchestra'
Bibio - 'Hand Cranked'
Tunng - 'Comments Of The Inner Chorus'
Sol Seppy - 'The Bells Of 1 2'
That Fucking Tank - 'The Day Of Death By Bono Adrenalin Shock'
Psapp - 'The Only Thing I Ever Wanted'
Burial - 'Burial'
Leafcutter John - 'The Forest And The Sea'
Manyfingers - 'Our Worn Shadow'
New Flesh - 'Universally Dirty'

[Brutus Beefcake]

They should give it to Killing Joke.

[Partridge's Love Child]

Hadn't heard of this.

Lou Rhodes - Beloved One
Or this.

She did a session with that lovely Mr Radcliffe recently, it's really nice stuff actually.  She used to be in Lamb, or Lambchop or Mint Sauce, or one of those mutton-related bands.

[The Boston Crab]

The first Hot Chip album 'Coming On Strong' was fucking brilliant, you must check it out if you've gotten into them through that middling, house-lite plodding plop that is 'Over and Over' - ugh, it's staggeringly zilch.

The first album is fucking brilliant though, like NERD but with better tunes, more sincerity yet simultaneously more humour. The thing with NERD is that you could never believe they were just into the music, they always talked up the psychedelia angle to the nth degree but it was a fucking crock, they just weren't the Alpha Niggaz they wanted to be until they sold a few rekkids and just bought the slags who'd never fuck them before.

Hot Chip at their best manage to be touching, funny, intelligent and funky. 'Keep Fallin' has a cracking lyric about Sisyphus pushing that rock up that hill and it rolling back down as the bassline bounces up and down in the classic Haribo style. Up...and down...

"Give up all you suckers
We're the tightest mother fuckers
And you never seen this type of shit before now.
You're peeling potatoes
While we're sonic alligators
Making records sounding like we smoking crack now."

[Jaffit]

Richard Hawleys album is just beautiful.

It sounds very simple and not very ground breaking, but give ti time and it worms its way into your heart.

Theres a few tracks on there that make me shed a tear and im not ashamed to admit it.

[El Unicornio, mang]

Bibio - 'Hand Cranked'
Tunng - 'Comments Of The Inner Chorus'
Sol Seppy - 'The Bells Of 1 2'
That Fucking Tank - 'The Day Of Death By Bono Adrenalin Shock'
Psapp - 'The Only Thing I Ever Wanted'
Burial - 'Burial'
Leafcutter John - 'The Forest And The Sea'
Manyfingers - 'Our Worn Shadow'
New Flesh - 'Universally Dirty'

Those are some of the worst band and album name combinations I've ever seen

I've only heard bits of Belle and Sebastian, pretty good. I'll check out Richard Hawley though, The Longpigs were seriously underrated I thought

[Ciarán2]

I'm kinda torn now between wanting Richard Hawley to win and Scritti Politti to win.

[leoconsole]

Kinda hoping Hawley will win

Heard a bit of Hot Chip and it's ok. The Eraser is as ou'd expect, Everything else is shockingly bad.

Absolutely hate Arctic Monkeys. Manufactured pop shite.

There must have been better stuff released by british artists in the last 12 months? Surely?

Moz, Coxon & Belle and Sebastian is better than most of the rubbish nominated and they've all produced rubbish (by their standards) records this year

ho hum

[actwithoutwords]

While I love Richard Hawley, Late Night Final is a far superior record to Coles Corner, but then I suppose late recognition is better than none at all. Havent got the Hot Chip album but Boy From School is one of the best songs I've heard in ages. Not so sure about the Guillemots at all. Much like the bravery, I don't think they've lived up to their potential and the hype machine starts to look a bit silly.
Yorke-boy's album isn't great. I don't think he's cashing in though, I think he's just testing the water and had a load of doodles kicking around that he wanted to get out of his system. Hence the problem that it sounds like a load of doodles. That said, I think the title track and Atoms for Peace are both amazing. If only up there with the best of radiohead b-sides.
Some of the new material radiohead have been playing on tour is absolutely stonking though. Just as long as they get rid of the shit stuff...

Hard to say who they'll give it to, won't be yorke, won't be sway (gutted that sway got in over plan b, shambles. and reeked of 'he's black so he's probably more 'real'' type decision.), arctic monkeys are surely too obvious a choice, though they did surprise everyone giving it to the franz who were favourites a few years ago. hawley looks like a decent bet, along with editors (whose album isn't that bad. i quite like them.)

As a minor issue, Ciaran, The Greatest? I can't stand that record, I was incredibly disappointed with it after being in absolute love with You Are Free and the preview of the title track. It just feels... too clean and overproduced and wrong.

[Ciarán2]

Edited: post moved to 2006 LPs...

[Ciarán2]

How about we imagine ourselves to be on the Mercury Music Prize panel and, from the finalists choose our winners. We could have a vote on it and choose the Verbwhore/Mercury Music Prize winner for 2006. Democracy at its best!

My vote goes to...(agonizes for several minutes)....



Richard Hawley "Coles Corner"

Have a listen to a track from it here if you like....

Richard Hawley "I Sleep Alone"

I'll pick this one for its out of time quality, its out of the blue surprise factor and its out of the strong came forth sweetness. Just edges out "White Bread, Black Beer", only just...

[Ciarán2]

BUMP...

This is announced tonight. You can see who I want to win above. I'm not quite so confident that Arctic Monkeys will win as I was, but yes, it'll be an upset if they don't take it...

P.S. I went to edit my post up there to refresh the link to the download but see the rules have changed? Anyway, here is: Richard Hawley "I Sleep Alone". An excellent and fairly representative track from a superb album. Respect is due.

[TotalMink]

so who won!!!

[Robot Devil]

It's not announced yet. It's on BBC4, and all the acts are getting a little feature/performance. Hot Chip were great despite a poor mix, and I still like Arctic Monkeys. To win, and in general.

[Borboski]

Richard Hawley for me, followed by me Guillemots.  Guillemots isn't really great though, it's just a fun indie album.