Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
Radiohead - In Rainbows
British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
Burial - Untrue
Estelle - Shine
Adele - 19
Laura Marling - Alas, I Cannot Swim
Rachel Unthank and the Winterset - The Bairns
Neon Neon - Stainless Style
Portico Quartet - Knee-deep in the North Sea
The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of the Understatement
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_Music_Prize]
(what's this?)[/url]

Seems to be a list designed specifically to avoid criticism rather than a list of good British records. Plus ça change.
As usual with these things, the inclusion of one or two complete turkeys (Adele, in this case - I have actually heard this record) sinks the whole tedious boat.

It's the Nationwide Technics National Wholefoods Mercury Vodafone Prize for The Benefit Of Q Readers.

We're unlikely to ever see any Shit and Shine on this list.

It's soooo broadsheet.

The fucking Times rock critic could have picked it.

I can honestly say that I have never heard any of those bands. Are they good then?

johnnyshape wrote:It's soooo broadsheet.

The fucking Times rock critic could have picked it.

Stuart Lee writes for the Sunday Times, reviewing mainly post-rock and avant-jass, so a shortlist where he gets a say might look interesting.

Adam I wrote:I can honestly say that I have never heard any of those bands. Are they good then?

My Da digs that Page/Krauss record.

Don't know any of the other records but there are some really shitty album titles in there.

What about the 2008 Mercury Shitlist?

The Canadian equivalent, the Polaris Prize, played it safe this year as well.

Basia Bulat, Oh, My Darling
Black Mountain, In the Future
Caribou, Andorra
Holy Fuck, LP
Kathleen Edwards, Asking for Flowers
Plants and Animals, Parc Avenue
Shad, The Old Prince
Stars, In Our Bedroom After the War
Two Hours Traffic, Little Jabs
The Weakerthans, Reunion Tour

Better luck next year I guess.

The Mercury is terrible every year. It is the same industry back slapping as the Brit awards.

As an afterthought, Alison Krauss is from Illinois which I think makes her moderately less British than Anthony Hegerty.

I heard those 'Shadow Puppets' people on the idiot-box, and dear God it was awful, awful CRAP.

Elbow's raison d'etre appears to be to make Cold Play seem interesting and edgy and unpredictable.

If BSP consider their music to be 'rock music', my answer is 'no, I do not like rock music', or perhaps 'usually, but not in this instance'.