Mercury Prize 2006

[hexagon_sun]

# Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
# Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Ballad Of The Broken Seas
# Edi[N]t[ERP]o[L]rs - 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

Yet another dire shortlist. To be expected maybe, but I honestly thought that Antony winning it last year represented a real seachange for the award and really hoped to see the likes of SFA, King Biscuit Time, Adem, Tunng and Euros Childs nominated this year. But no - the list is once again filled with the big guitar albums of the past 12 months (AM, Muse), the 'next big thing' (Guillemots, Hot Chip), a bunch of underachievers which the major labels desperately need to sell more of (Isobel Campbell, Editors, Hawley) and token nevergonnawinit folk/jazz/classical/world albums. Oh well, Thom Yorke gets my vote then.

 

[Napster]

Sway to win

 

[hexagon_sun]

Quote[/b] (Napster @ July 18 2006,11:57)]Sway to win

This year's MIA/Dizzy Rascal/Roots Manuva - not impossible but not very likely.

 

[C C Csiders]

What price Richard Hawley?

Personally, I like the album very much.

 

[Napster]

Quote[/b] (hexagon_sun @ July 18 2006,12:10)]

Quote[/b] (Napster @ July 18 2006,11:57)]Sway to win

This year's MIA/Dizzy Rascal/Roots Manuva - not impossible but not very likely.

Sway's better than all of those bar RM

 

[hexagon_sun]

Quote[/b] (C C Csiders @ July 18 2006,12:12)]What price Richard Hawley?

Personally, I like the album very much.

Me too, particularly the title track and "Ocean". He could be worth a punt.

 

[Mr. Benedict]

I agree with hexagon sun here - all a bit crap really.

 

[Shrimpbizkit]

Guillemots will win, and deservedly so.

 

[blues_r_best]

No Linus Loves or The Rifles?

Hot Chip or Muse to win, I love Black Holes and Revelations.

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

I'd go for Sway - liked pretty much everything I've heard of his so far (which, admittedly, isn't much!).

Very odd to see Muse on there... more sub-Radiohead pap, no doubt.

Matt

 

[sufcintheprem]

Muse and Radiohead really are vry different. I don't think I would ever group them together other than as 'guitar music'.

Have only heard bits of the new Muse album but it sounds very different from their older stuff and they seem like one of a select breed of bands that make progressive music without forfeiting what made their sound in the first place.

I'd like to get my hands on Thom Yorke's album. By all accounts, he was the main driving force behind Radiohead's increasing use of electronic effects and it'll be interesting to see what he comes up with. Apart from that, hopefully he'll get it out of his system and Radiohead will come back with a stonking return to form!

Oh yeah, pick a winner. Well, it's about time one of the nearly chart topping albums won it IMO. The prize seems to go fairly cyclically. I'd go Guillemots.

(PS, didn't realise that Different Class won it in the nineties. Probably one of the few albums that's won it that I genuinely hold in the highest esteem!)

 

[hexagon_sun]

Quote[/b] (sufcintheprem @ July 18 2006,14:53)]Muse and Radiohead really are vry different. I don't think I would ever group them together other than as 'guitar music'.

Obviously Radiohead's last 3 albums are very different to everything they did previously so you're right - you can't really say they sound alike but to my ears, Muse sound like they've never got over "The Bends". OK, they've taken a few pointers from The Neptune's production style for this new album but it still sounds like a poor man's "The Bends" to me.

Quote[/b] (sufcintheprem @ July 18 2006,14:53)]I'd like to get my hands on Thom Yorke's album. By all accounts, he was the main driving force behind Radiohead's increasing use of electronic effects and it'll be interesting to see what he comes up with. Apart from that, hopefully he'll get it out of his system and Radiohead will come back with a stonking return to form!

The Thom Yorke album is great but as I said in another thread - it's only essential if you really loved the last 3 Radiohead albums. As for them making a return to form, every album they make totally eclipses it's predecessor IMHO.

Quote[/b] (sufcintheprem @ July 18 2006,14:53)](PS, didn't realise that Different Class won it in the nineties. Probably one of the few albums that's won it that I genuinely hold in the highest esteem!)

I was looking back through the previous winners earlier today and last year, Badly Drawn Boy in 2000 and Portishead in 1995 are the only ones I've agreed with.

 

[Jonny_Stokes]

Consensus on the Os board is that as long as the f%&king Editors don't win it, we'll be happy. Ether the Guillemots or Scritti Politti or the slight favourites, but there's a fair spread of opinion.

 

[Ulysses]

I've only heard Muse, Thom Yorke and Arctic Monkeys so can't comment on rest (although Sway sounded decent in the itunes shop and i've liked mark lanagans stuff before). Out of those 3 i've heard i'd give it to Muse, just for the first two tracks on the album. Arctics were overhyped and Thom hasn't anything original or different to say in his.

My fav offering this year was by a band called Pure Reason Revolution but alas no nomination.

 

[shrimperman]

Quote[/b] (Shrimpbizkit @ July 18 2006,12:17)]Guillemots will win, and deservedly so.

They get my vote as well, the album is worth a purchase IMO. Not disappointed but surprised the Kooks didnt get a nomination

 

[C C Csiders]

Quote[/b] (shrimperman @ July 18 2006,21:42)]

Quote[/b] (Shrimpbizkit @ July 18 2006,12:17)]Guillemots will win, and deservedly so.

They get my vote as well, the album is worth a purchase IMO. Not disappointed but surprised the Kooks didnt get a nomination

Question: Why, if The Kooks are from Brighton does the lead singer sing in the strongest Scouse accent I've ever heard?

 

[Sandbach Shrimper]

Where are the Kooks on that list? I mean who the hell is Richard Hawley or Zoe Rahman or Lou Rhodes? You do get some random nominations for that prize.

 

[hexagon_sun]

Quote[/b] (shrimpboy @ July 23 2006,20:21)]Where are the Kooks on that list? I mean who the hell is Richard Hawley or Zoe Rahman or Lou Rhodes? You do get some random nominations for that prize.

Don't know who Zoe Rahman is but Lou Rhodes is the ex-singer of Lamb (coffee-table D&B/trip-hop duo) who's now doing rootsy, acoustic stuff and Richard Hawley used to be in The Longpigs and also played guitar on the last 2 Pulp albums. He's actually really good and in a perfect world, would be absolutely huge. He's certainly commercial enough and even Scott Walker described his voice as being "up there with the greats".

As I said before though, I'm not 100% convinced that some of these nominations aren't bought by the record labels. That may sound cynical but in an industry where pretty much every album/single 'recommended' to you (whether it's front of store HMV racking, Virgin listening posts or Xfm's album/single of the week) is only there because the record company paid for it to be there, anything is posssible.

 

[shrimperman]

Quote[/b] (C C Csiders @ July 19 2006,09:28)]

Quote[/b] (shrimperman @ July 18 2006,21:42)]

Quote[/b] (Shrimpbizkit @ July 18 2006,12:17)]Guillemots will win, and deservedly so.

They get my vote as well, the album is worth a purchase IMO. Not disappointed but surprised the Kooks didnt get a nomination

Question: Why, if The Kooks are from Brighton does the lead singer sing in the strongest Scouse accent I've ever heard?

Does he?

 

[Greenelk]

The Guillemots deserve to win (IMHO), the album is excellent, but they go to another level live.  They are very different to anything else around at the moment in that arena, and well worth seeing - should not just be dismissed as "next big indie band" cos it's not that simple!! honest!