News: Elbow win 2008 Mercury Music Prize

I hate to tell you I didn't tell you so:
http://swearimnotpaul.blogspot.com/2008/07/news-mercury-music-prize-2008.html

But I said that Elbow would get too much backlash from the cool kids if they won the Mercury. Well they did, and the band The Cool Kids haven't complained. Yet.

Congrats to them, but I must say I'm surprised. The bookies must be delighted, as favourites Burial didn't get it this year. The Seldom Seen Kid is a decent album, but I don't think it's as good as some of the others on the lisy. That said I'm on the judging panel for absolutely nothing, so what would I know anyway? Plus, 82 on Metacritic. Maybe I just didn't give it a chance. I was probably too busy listening to Jape anyway.

Singer Guy Garvey said "I had a tenner on Radiohead. It just feels great, very unexpected. You look at it in the same way as Bedouin tribes look at a pint of milk. It doesn't happen very often but it's all the sweeter. It's been a long time we've been doing it so it's cause for celebration. To the rest of the lads I'm so proud to do it with it with my best mates."

Watch them winning the award here:

News: Mercury Music Prize 2008 nominations

The shortlist for the 2008 Nationwide Mercury Music Prize has been announced. As usual there's a mix of big-name artists and some lesser known ones. Here's the entire shortlist of nominations:
Adele - 19
British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?
Burial - Untrue
Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
Estelle - Shine
The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age Of The Understatement
Laura Marling - Alas I Cannot Swim
Neon Neon - Stainless Style
Portico Quartet - Knee-Deep In The North Sea
Robert Plant And Alison Krauss – Raising Sand
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Rachel Unthank And The Winterset – The Bairns

The smart money would probably be on Robert Plant and Allison Krauss as Radiohead have enough publicity already for that album; Alex Turner has won it before; Estelle isn't what the judges usually go for; Neon Neon might be a bit too experimental; Elbow would get too much backlash from the cool kids; Burial and British Sea Power would probably be accepted winners, but much of the public mightn't know them; and the others are not well known at all. Except for Laura Marling who should win this award. Definitely. Although I wouldn't be annoyed if Plant and Krauss won it.

Anyhow, I'll be cheering on Miss Marling.