Mercury Music Prize Nominees

[CHAPPERS]

Well we can compare this years line-up with the nominees from ten and five years ago and see how much has changed.

1994
Blur - Parklife
M People - Elegant Slumming (Winner)
Ian McNabb - Head Like A Rock
Shara Nelson - What Silence Knows
Michael Nyman - The Piano Concerto and MGV
The Prodigy - Music For The Jilted Generation
Pulp - His 'n' Hers
Take That - Everything Changes
Therapy - Troublegum
Paul Weller - Wild Wood

1999
Thomas Ades - Asyla
Denys Baptiste - Be Where You Are
Black Star Liner - Bengali Bantam Youth Experience!
Blur - 13
Chemical Brothers - Surrender
Faithless - Sunday 8pm
Manic Street Preachers - This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours
Beth Orton - Central Reservation
Kate Rusby - Sleepless
Talvin Singh - OK (Winner)
Stereophonics - Performance & Cocktails
Underworld - Beaucoup Fish

In all honesty I believe that this years list contains more quality than 1994 by a long way.

The Streets, Joss Stone, Franz Ferdinand, Basment Jaxx, The Zutons, (gulp) Belle and Sebastian, Jamelia excite me more than the likes of M People, Take That, Michael Nyman, Therapy, Shara Nelson (not as a solo artist deary) and Ian McNabb.

The 1999 crop is a decent line up aside from the bastard Stereophonics.


ps How did Music For the Jilted Generation not win the award?? f***ing M People??

 

[Gwylan]

I agree that almost the entire music scene is stagnant, and that is across all genres. Indie is lacking the blurs, pupls, and Oasis's of 10 years ago. Nothing of real note has come out of the Dance scene. Urban has kind of dissapeared up its own arse and RNB is boring as hell.

I cant remember the last Album I bought that really blew me away or had lastability past a month or so. Its really depressing actually. Roll on the next big genre becasue something is desperatley needed to shake things up a bit.

Why does music have to be part of a genre. As I mentioned in my post above, Robert Wyatt has been making great albums since the 60s (he's even found room for a couple of Top 30 singles).
He's survived prog rock, punk, ska, new romantics, house, indie, hiphop and RnB...and plenty more besides. He's not been part of any scene nor has he appeared in a glossy magazine, but has just concentrated on making great music. I can't see any of the other people on this last lasting 40 years like he has. But then his survival has been based on talent and not on conforming to the latest scene.

 

[Staly]

Robert Wyatt's version of "Shipbuilding" has to be one of the best records of the last 30 years...

In my opinion...

 

[Theatre of Trees]

... and mine too.

 

[Albion Dan]

Why does music have to be part of a genre. As I mentioned in my post above, Robert Wyatt has been making great albums since the 60s (he's even found room for a couple of Top 30 singles).
He's survived prog rock, punk, ska, new romantics, house, indie, hiphop and RnB...and plenty more besides. He's not been part of any scene nor has he appeared in a glossy magazine, but has just concentrated on making great music. I can't see any of the other people on this last lasting 40 years like he has. But then his survival has been based on talent and not on conforming to the latest scene.

Im not saying good music needs to belong to a genre but most music is labelled to one. I only pointed out the genres above as they seem the ones that are currently the big players, and it usually takes something new and exciting to clean away the dead wood and start things off fresh again. Rock and Roll in the 60's, Punk in the 70's, Dance late 80s etc.

I think this years list is rubbish to be honest. Looking at 94s list, ok there is some commercial stuff in there but then there are some albums that are still classics, ie, Blur, Pulp, Prodigy, and Weller. I cant see many of the new list being in that bracket except possibly The Streets.

 

[The Clown of Pevensey Bay]

The 1999 crop is a decent line up aside from the bastard Stereophonics.

Ah, now Performance and Cocktails was a good album. Their second best, actually, after Word Gets Around.

It was after P and C that they suddenly became really wank.

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

was it the manics that won it in 1999? the legends.

hopefully keane will win it. if the streets do then all my faith in these kinds of awards will fade away....unless the manics won it again!