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Surely it’s no coincidence that in the same week that the remake of Hairspray hits theaters, Amy Winehouse, Divine’s spiritual heir*, has made the Mercury Prize shortlist for her debut album, Back to Black. (Listen closely, and somewhere you can hear poor, snubbed-in-’06 Lily Allen grinding her teeth to nubs.) She’s up against the Arctic Monkeys (Fall Out Boy for people who prefer track jackets to eyeliner) and Dizzee Rascal (still pluggin’ away, god bless him). Still, I’m pulling for Winehouse. Not because I have any particular love for her album, but because the Arctics and Dizzee both already have a Mercury Prize to prop open the screen door on hot days. (The rest of this year’s lucky nominees are after the jump.)
While the Mercury Prize seems to be taken as seriously by its countrymen as a royalist monarchy or Rowan Atkinson, this collection of mostly wack-ass NME-rock still seems like a pretty piss-poor collection of musicians to hold up as representing the best the nation has to offer. Being American, and therefore living in a country responsible for things like this, I can’t really talk that much shit, but any Brits (or uppity Anglophiles) reading this are more than welcome to talk as much shit as they like in the comments box. At least there are no Antony-style “Well, he was born here” boners on this year’s list. I’m Irish and French, making it my genetic destiny to despise the English, and even I got pissed off about that one.
Bat for Lashes Fur and Gold (Echo)
Fionn Regan The End of History (Lost Highway)
New Young Pony Club Fantastic Playroom (Modular)
Klaxons Myths of the Near Future (Rinse/Polydor)
The Young Knives Voices of Animals and Men (Transgressive)
Maps We Can Create (Mute)
The Views Hats Off to the Buskers (1965)
Jamie T Panic Prevention” (Virgin)
Basquiat Strings Basquiat Strings with Seb Rochford (F-Ire)
* Minus the shit-eating, at least as far as we know.
Arctics, Winehouse Make Mercury Prize Shortlist [Billboard]
The reaction among a bunch of UK freelancers I know has been entertaining. Besides hating the list, they would like to do things to the View. Not pretty things at all.
Just as a heads up, “Back to Black” isn’t Amy’s
At least Bat for Lashes and Maps are kind of deserving according to my snob-o-meter. NYPC, too — but it seems a bit early for them.
It’s Winehouse’s to lose, though my money is on Bat for Lashes. Like a Mirimax historical drama, Fur and Gold seemed ready-made for the Mercury Prize. Not to say it isn’t real good.
And good for the Young Knives, who I like a lot but are too shrieky (and look too much like The Two Ronnies) for most. This should double their sales… to 50.
Just as a heads up, “Back to Black” isn’t Amy’s debut — breakthrough, maybe (or US debut, or whatev), but she had an album out before.
Dizzee Rascal is only given a “still plugging away, God bless him”? His new record is fucking great. Even if he already has this award, his record beats Amy Winehouse by a mile.
@Halfwit: thanks!
Halfwit: Thanks for pointing that out. My bad for not catching it.
Being American, and therefore living in a country responsible for things like this [Cat Power Wins 2007 Shortlist Music Prize]
Yeah, that’s so shameful. ‘Cuz y’know, with all her platinum albums and line of shoes from Candie’s, Chan Marshall is so overrated by the general public and undeserving of recognition. Man, every magazine I pick up, it’s always Cat Power, Cat Power, Cat Power – you’d think the Shortlist people would be hipper and pick somebody that everyone in America isn’t totally sick of. I had to tell my mother just the other day to stop asking me so many questions about Cat Power. Her popualrity has gotten totally out of hand.
And I mean, that record she got rewarded for – doesn’t everybody in America already own a copy already? And the critics just hated it. Yup, it’s good you pointed out this injustice, ‘cuz Cat Power winning the Shortlist Prize is certainly the best example *I* can conceive to typify America’s craven tastes.
Agreed, Dennis. And that Shortlist Prize list seems way more interesting than the Mercury.
I’m fairly certain I’d like to remain ignorant as to what “Basquiat Strings” is/are.
why would you want to prop open a screen door?
@dennisobell: Well done, Thank You
Something that I found interesting is that Radiohead has never won one of these. That includes OK Computer and Kid A wasn’t even nominated.
I love Amy Winehouse, but she’s no Sharon Jones. The Daptones have gotten a sweet gig as her touring band nonetheless.
@dennisobell: Man folks be pulling the ol’ Cap’n-Save-A-Feline something fierce today. In any event, the shame comes not from the Shortlist folks choosing Cat Power over some pop tart — at least that’s what I take stuff like the Candies quip to mean, unless Mary Timony recently got a contract — but from the coma-inducing, middle-of-the-road nature of the entire enterprise. (Or, if we want to be Chan-specific, let’s say it’s for hyping what amounts to her worst, or at least most snoozin’, album. Moon Pix 4ever.) Y’know, whatever criteria the nominating body were using to peg the “best” albums of the year, they came straight out of a playbook marked “middlebrow.” But, you know, “Fresh Air” fans need their warm, fuzzy musical blankets as much as anyone, I suppose. Don’t rock the boat, etc.
@jess h.: I’m not much of an Artic Monkeys
fan myself, but you pulled your shoulder out of its socket reaching for
that Fall Out Boy comparison.
@Bob Loblaw: Oh c’mon, they’re totally emo.
I don’t like Amy Winehouse’s music, but she reminds me of my friend’s hairless cat. And the cat is very endearing.
If you’re going to make the Amy Winehouse/Divine comparison, you really should have a picture from Female Trouble where Winehouse clearly got her look:
[www.austinchronicle.com]
(there are probably better stills out there somewhere.)
I saw Cat Power live last week, and it was one of the most horrible performances i’ve ever seen. They did an arrangement of “Tracks of My Tears” that was embarrassing. And her keyboardist, sporting a Rod Stewart rock mullet, introduced her as the “greatest soul singer in the world today.” Have they heard of Amy Winehouse?
@Vitamin B12: Dude, listen at the MySpace page at yr own risk. Terrible, pretentious string-grating ‘jazz by classicists’ string quintet crap.
@aluberalles: her keyboardist is gregg foreman of the delta 72, a man who has had bad hair forever.
@Nicolars: Well now I’m imagining a bald Amy Winehouse…well, she’s probably bald already. Somebody knock the wig off.
@Chairman Meow:
It’s uncanny.