See, there you go, I told you Ghostpoet wouldn’t win the Mercury Music Prize. Still I am quite glad that PJ Harvey did. What I have heard of Let England Shake is good (I suspect that I will hear a lot more of it on 6 Music today though), so well done.
I thought I would list the Mercury Music Prize Nominated albums that I own, after my last blog. Turns out it is quite a lot. I really wouldn’t like to say what is my favourite of them, but there is some classy music in there. There is also a lot of dross, that given the choice I wouldn’t by again (Hard-Fi, The Thrills and Keane come to mind there)
1992
Primal Scream- Screamadelica
1993
Suede – Suede
1994
Blur – Parklife
The Prodigy – Music for the Gilted Generation
Therapy? – Troublegum
1995
Leftfield – Leftism
Supergrass – I Should Coco
1996
Pulp -Differen Class
Manic Street Preachers – Everything Must Go
Oasis – (What’s The Story) Morning Glory
1997
Roni Size/Reprazent – New Forms
The Chemical Brothers – Dig Your Own Hole
Beth Orton – Trailer Park
The Prodigy – The Fat of the Land
Radiohead – OK Computer
Suede – Coming Up
1998
Gomez – Bring It On
Asian Dub Foundation – Rafi’s Revenge
Cornershop – When I Was Born for the 7th Time
Massive Attack – Mezzanine
Propellerheads – Decksanddrumsandrockandroll
Pulp – This is Hardcore
1999
Blur 13
The Chemical Brothers – Surrender
Faithless – Sunday 8PM
Manic Street Preachers – This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours
Beth Orton – Central Reservation
Underworld – Beaucup Fish
2000
Badly Drawn Boy – Hour of the Bewilderbeast
Coldplay – Parachutes
Doves – Lost Souls
Leftfield – Rythm and Stealth
2001
PJ Harvey – Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
Elbow – Asleep at the Back
Ed Harcourt – Here Be Monsters
Radiohead – Amnesiac
Super Furry Animas – Rings Around The World
Turin Breaks – The Optimist LP
2002
Ms. Dynamite – A Little Deeper
The Coral – The Coral
Doves – The Last Broadcast
The Streets – Original Pirate Material
2003
Dizee Rascal – Boy In Da Corner
Athlete – Vehicles and Animals
Coldplay – A Rush of Blood To The Head
The Darkness – Permission To Land
The Thrills – So Much For The City
Martina Topley-Bird – Quiotic
Radiohead – Hail To The Thief
2004
Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand
Basement Jaxx – Kish Kash
Keane – Hopes and Fears
Snow Patrol – Final Straw
Joss Stone – The Soul Sessions
The Streets – A Grand Don’t Come For Free
The Zutons – Who Killed……….The Zutons?
2005
Anthony and The Johnsons – I Am A Bird Now
Bloc Party – Silent Alarm
Hard-Fi – Stars of CCTV
Kaiser Chiefs – Employment
KT Tunstall – Eye To The Telescope
M.I.A – Arular
Maximo Park – A Certain Trigger
The Go! Team – Thunder, Lightning, Strike
The Magic Numbers – The Magic Numbers
2006
Editors – The Back Room
Guillemots – Through The Windowpane
Hot Chip – The Warning
Muse – Black Holes and Revelations
Thom Yorke – The Eraser
2007
Klaxons – Myths of The Near Future
Bat For Lashes – Fur and Gold
Dizee Rascal – Maths + English
Maps – We Can Create
Young Knives – Voices of Animals and Men
2008
Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid
British Sea Power – Do You Like Rock Music?
Laura Marling – Alas, I Cannot Swim
Neon Neon – Stainless Style
Radiohead – In Rainbows
2009
Speech Debelle – Speech Therapy
Bat For Lashes – Two Suns
Glasvegas – Glasvegas
La Roux – La Roux
2010
Laura Marling – I Speak Because I Can
Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More
Back when I used to listen to a lot more music, I took the Mercury Music Prize a lot more seriously. I thought it recognised the good, but not popular artists. Unlike the Brits, I thought, it had some credibility (although Simply Red did get a nomination at one point).
In the past, winners have been outsiders, people that nobody really would have backed, Roni Size/Reprazent beating Radiohead and Suede in 1997 for instance followed by Gomez, Talvin Singh and Badly Drawn Boy.
Now I own quite a lot of the Mercury nominated albums (Over 70 from nearly 20 years of awards) so I like to think that I know a little of what I am taking about. But this year, mopre than ever I hope that one of the smaller, less well known groups win. If Adele, Tinie Tempah or Katy B win, I will give up on believing that the people in charge know what they are talking about. Elbow would be a terrible choice too. Build a rocket Boys nowhere near as good as The Seldom Seen Kid.
For me, Ghostpoet should win. Out of all of the music there, it is the only one that excites me. Mind you, as this is the one that I want to win, it won’t.
Right, I know its been a long time again, but never mind. Last Friday I went to see British Sea Power at the Wedgewood Rooms. The tickets were a Christmas present from my sister so it was good to finally get the use out of them.
I have liked the band since their 2002 album The Decline of British Sea Power, when they really sounded like David Bowie. Now their sound has matured alot and they have turned into a really excellent live band. I saw them a couple of years ago at The End of The Road festival in Dorset and have wanted to see them again for a while. They played brilliantly for nearly 2 hours, and didn’t disappoint.
Sorry its a bit quick, but better this than nothing.
I was meaning to write this last week, but due to being ill and then becoming addicted to Pokemon Diamond on the DS, but that is a different matter.
I have liked The Lovely Beth Orton since first hearing her guest vocals on the Chemical Brothers Exit Planet Dust album, through her proper debut album Trailer park, and everything up until Comfort in Strangers, so basically 15 years of great music. I had wanted to see her live for years and finally I got the chance to do so at this intimate seated gig.
In my opinion there aren’t may voices better than hers and with 2 Mercury Music award nominations, her songwriting isn’t bad either. Listening to her playing through the back catalogue was an absolute delight, She Cries Your Name opening the set was great and it got better from there. I really cannot wait for the new album to come out.
One thing I will say is that she is taller than I thought.
Before I start, thanks to Beeskiffle for getting H and I these tickets as an Engagement present.
The Brixton Academy is an awesome venue (save for it being an Academy and them scalping you for your hard earned cash at every opportunity)inside an old theatre, so it has a loveley sloping floor, so even I could see the stage behind the tall people. The stage looks like a set from Romeo and Juliet, with Italianate style bluidngs built around the wings. All in all its a pretty epic venue. Support for the evening came from Phosphorescent who were really good, but to be quite honest I was just a bit excited about what was to come.
I discovered The National late really, only after Boxer had come out and they were playing at an ATP festival. Anyway, I had fallen in love with Boxer, and Alligator and the new one High Violet, so seeing them again was bound to be good.
Great songs from all albums were playes, with Slow Show and Apartment Story being my highlights, but the “I’m Evil” part of Conversation #16 getting a good sing-a-long. The highlight however was the encore with a raucous version of Mr November including stage diving followed by the band asking for silence in the venue (which they got) and playing acoustically and singing without microphones. What happened was the quietest sing-a-long in musical history, an almost lullaby like air, which still gives me goose bumps thinking about it. Half way through the guy stood behind said to his friend “All gigs should be like this!” I am inclined to agree.
Midlake are a strange band to try and sum up. I like The Trials of Van Occupanther album, but I can’t think why. Its not like I can actually remember any of the songs, which is why I had a hard time at the Wedgewood Rooms when I went to see them last night.
They have recently been voted the best live act at the Mojo awards, beating Kasabian, Rufus Wainwright, the Arctic Monkeys and Florence and the Machine to the title, and they really were excellent, I can’t think of any other bands that would have a flute duet in one of their songs. What makes this award even better is that its voted for by the public, and unlike the NME, Mojo actually knows what it is talking about, being a proper music magazine. Anyway, I digress.
Excellent live they certainly are, and they seem to like Portsmouth, reeling off stories about the last time they were down this way, visiting the Submarine Museum. They also thought that their set was better than the one that they played at Glastonbury last week, which is nice. I will have to get their new album, as what they played last night was quite spectacular.
On a side note, the audience last night was really weird, there were a lot of SAGA age fans in the crowd (at least a third of them) but it made for a nice atmosphere and there was plenty of space and no moshing. Early in the evening The Jolly Green Dave Ware, told me that there was a woman that looked like ET to our left. Later she came up to me and asked if he was single because he was staring at her. I didn’t tell her it was because he thought she was an alien…
