Mercury Music Prize

Unfortunately, I haven't heard all of the albums - or indeed, all of the artists - up for the award this year. Kathryn Williams, MJ Cole, Nitin Sawney and Nicholas Maw have sadly failed to enter my consciousness, and I haven't really heard enough of The Delgados, Coldplay or Helicopter Girl to be authorised to comment. I do, however, have something to say about the rest. First Leftfield - a great band, I reckon. I loved their first album, and their latest has some really impressive, booming electronica on it. As an album, though, it doesn't quite stand up to the competition - too many fillers, in my opinion. Perhaps they've shot themselves in the ...  Read the complete review

I don't really know the value of the Mercury Music Prize but, quite frankly, I don't really care. If something I like wins the prize, it does not make it in any way better than it was before. Likewise, if nobody votes for my favourites I don't care because music is personal and, if it touches me as an individual, then that is all that counts. I really don't hold with these arguments that it is elitist nonsense, and that it can't be any good because 'I've never heard of any of the groups'. That to me is a bizarre and insular argument. If you truly love music do you not seek out new experiences and new sounds? Music that nudges and ...  Read the complete review

The problem with the Mercury Music Prize is the same problem that all music awards suffer from. The fact is that music is a very personal thing and as soon as a panel of judges decides that one album is 'better' than another then the decision is said to be controversial and arguments erupt concerning what went wrong and who should have won. There is no scientific formula for judging a song or an album, and if there is then it is a terrible way of judging a piece of music because a good song is about feelings and emotions, not marks out of ten. Having said that I would like to see either Death in Vegas or Badly Drawn Boy win the prize because ...  Read the complete review

The Mercury Awards were refreshingly different this year. I remember when Oasis and Blur jointly won the prize and Oasis promptly went started slagging Blur off. For some reason the press decided to make a big thing about this and for ages people were asking “whose better, Blur or Oasis”. At that time, controversy was selling music and Oasis milked it and became massive. This year there were no slanging matches between the nominated bands. In fact not only were they’re no scraps but the nominated groups even, shock horror, liked each other’s music. I heard that a lot the groups had each other’s albums and I know that Coldplay were ...  Read the complete review

Now looking at the nominations for this years mercury music prize the first thing that strikes me is the absence of any really big mainstream groups.In past years Spice Girls,Verve and such have been nominated but this year the line up is far less well known.I don't know if that is an indictment on modern popular music or whether it just shows that the same people don't have to win all the time. As to who will win I don't think it will be coldplay as they are now too well known.My money is on Badly Drawn Boy.Just you see. ...  Read the complete review