mercury prize: the quicksilver success?
Tuesday, 31 August 2010 15:29
Each year twelve British and Irish artists are given the glory of having their albums nominated for the Mercury Prize, celebrating music of all genres and tastes. As the website states, ‘the music on the album is the only thing taken into account’. There is no prize for best live act, sexiest female or most elegant walk down the red carpet – it’s simply all about the LP. So an all round well respected and worthy prize, yes? You would think so. But there is often controversy over the prize and with rumours that Fuck Buttons and Gorillaz refused to put their albums up for nomination, you may wonder whether there is credit and even life behind the awards. Furthermore, this year’s shortlist has been termed one of the ‘safest’ shortlists of the Mercury’s history. But let us not be cynical as we explore this year’s line-up, looking at the favourites, and seeing what the prize can do to a budding artist.
Dizzee Rascal and The xx share odds on taking away the prize of £20,000 this year, fighting for their album to become the nineteenth winner of the Mercury Prize. I use the term ‘fighting’ loosely in this context, as there are artists out there who are rather sceptical towards the Mercury’s. Accompanying the xx and Dizzee on the list include Foals with their second album Total Life Forever, Biffy Clyro’s fifth LP Only Revolutions, and Laura Marling’s second album and second nomination I Speak Because I Can.
The list was introduced in 1992 to celebrate the full length and has always been considered an alternative to mainstream award shows like the Brits (despite previous nominees Take That and Spice Girls!?), and a certain level of credibility has always been associated with the awards. One thing the Mercury Prize can be appreciated for is the diverse nature of the music that is selected to represent the year that has been.
2010 is a little different. The list presents a largely guitar heavy collection of artists, with Dizzee’s album Tongue N’ Cheek actually looking quite alternative alongside an array of strings. The shortlist always seemed to employ a ‘tick box’ system in what music was included, feeling as though every genre and musical taste must be covered, which often resulted in the odd few novelty artist inclusions. Although this year the list does arguably tick many of the genre boxes, it seems somewhat less controversial or daring than in recent years, as most artists listed are no strangers to radio airplay. This could be a reaction to the result of last year in what could be considered a severe case of the dreaded Mercury curse.
The Mercury curse is something nominated artists often refer to, declaring that naturally they would love to take home the cheque, yet are slightly concerned of the result that the prize can hold for the winner. Speech Debelle was the winner of the 2009 Mercury Prize, but that created little fortune for her following year in music. Since then, she has been unable to sell many records, playing to relatively small crowds and ultimately departed from her record company. One of the advantages of simply being nominated is that album sales increase, yet the Mercury Prize has a bit of a history in crowning its winner before waving the artist off into the setting sun of their career. Perhaps the most famous case of this is 1999 winner Talvin Singh. But of course this is no guarantee.
For this year, it would seem intelligent to back The xx debut, as one could argue they are the most original artist on the shortlist, receiving both critical and commercial acclaim. Yet the winner can never be decided using straightforward intelligence. Perhaps the openness of the prize makes it as interesting as it is, and interesting the Mercury’s must be; otherwise they simply become another award ceremony glorifying the music of the past year for the sake of television audiences and sponsorship deals (note the full title of the awards – the Barclaycard Music Prize).
The Mercury’s do have importance in their celebration of alternative music, boosting the repertoire of up and coming artists, or as in this years case, highlighting the work of legendary artists such as Paul Weller. The Mercury’s are not exclusive awards, but rather all-encompassing of great song writing on the album. So why are artists like Gorillaz steering away from them? Is it the old cliché of being too cool for school (or rather awards)? Or are the Mercury’s simply not worth the trophy plaque they are engraved on?
The traditional album format is in decline as digital sales become more prominent, yet for the industrious musicians who work towards this ultimate product surely the Mercury prize awarding the best album of the year is an honour. While the future of the album in its physical and actual sense may be unknown, it is important that it is kept sacred for as long as it is here, and any award that promotes the importance of the album should be valued. Maybe it is time to put aside the award show snobbery and the politics associated with the Mercury Music Prize and to just be glad that the album is still getting the all important recognition. Here’s to another (hopefully) interesting year at the Mercury’s.
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