Losing doesn't matter

HIGH NOTES

In its fifteenth year now, Britain's nationwide Mercury Prize has come to be seen as the single institution that assesses all that the UK has to offer in terms of musical currency.

And if there's one thing that I have learnt since being introduced to the prize, it is that this is one award that does not disappoint people who are passionate about music.

This year's shortlist for the prize was announced on Tuesday with 12 artistes being chosen from a group of over 200 artists who have released albums in the UK over the last 12 months.

And like before, we are faced with the impossible task of guessing who will take home the prize. But the fact of the matter (and the best part about this prize) is that it's never been solely about winning it. Any artist should be, and usually is, thankful to just be on the shortlist.

Why?
Simply because the Mercury is not just an award, it's a stamp of approval bestowed by a panel of people from the British music scene who care less about album sales and chart positions but far more about creative musical talent and sheer music-making skill. It is, in a sense, the most prestigious recognition of musical art.

As mentioned on the Mercury Prize website, the shortlist this year combines a list of artistes who write music and sing about life in Britain today. With this intention in mind, the list this year showcases an array of artists from diverse areas of the musical spectrum.

Notable contenders this year include The Arctic Monkeys, whose quick rise to fame accompanied their debut album and has seen them take their witty post-teen arrogance and jarring guitar decorum all the way to America and make something of a success of it.

Muse, currently Britain's most raved about rock veterans, released their album Black Holes and Revelations just two weeks ago only to have it go straight to number one on the UK album charts. They are a strong bet for the prize this year.

Thom Yorke of Radiohead fame finds his first exclusively non-Radiohead project The Eraser shortlisted despite average album reviews and Birmingham's Editors, made popular by their singalong singles, also claim a coveted slot on the short list.

The Mercury then goes on to recognise the talents of inventive electro quintet, Hot Chip whose chances of winning the prize are looking exceptionally good.

Also shortlisted are the highly uninhibited Gillemots, who originate in Birmingham and whose music showcases a mix of pop, punk, ska and a host of other styles and whose band members come from Brazil, Canada Scotland and England.

Two folk albums find their way onto the list, one by singer/songwriter Lou Rhodes and the other by Isobel Campblee and Mark Lanegan (the only American in the short list and also a former member of grunge outfit The Screaming Trees) Once again, two very strong contenders, if last year's winner Antony and the Johnsons is anything to go by.

Richard Hawley (former guitarist of Pulp) also makes the list with his critically acclaimed album Cole's Corner, and award-winning jazz pianist Zoe Rahman's Melting Pot features on the shortlist as a contemporary tour de force in jazz music.

The Mercury Prize continues to pay attention to urban British music by shortlisting rap/urban artiste Sway, but the biggest surprise for most would have to be the re-emergence and inclusion of 1980s pop sensation Scritti Politti aka Green Gartside.

Over the next two months you can come to expect a great deal of speculation from the British music press in regard to who is going to take this year's prize.

But curiously enough it's not unusual for the most reliable and informed sources to be entirely wrong. And that's what makes the Mercury Prize not just unpredictable but often excitingly controversial.

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THE MERCURY PRIZE SHORTLIST 2006

The Arctic Monkeys "� Whatever People Say, That's What I'm Not
Editors "� The Back Room
Guillemots "� Through the Windowpane
Hot Chip "� The Warning
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan "� Ballad of the Broken Seas
Lou Rhodes "� Beloved One
Muse "� Black Hole & Revelations
Richard Hawley "� Cole's Corner
Scritti Politti "� White Bread Black Beer
Sway "� This is My Demo
Thom Yorke "� The Eraser
Zoe Rahman "� Melting Pot