DiS' alternative Music Prize: The Neptune nominees announced
- Artists:
- Manic Street Preachers »
- Grammatics »
- The Week That Was »
- Micachu »
- PJ Harvey »
- PJ Harvey & John Parish »
- Patrick Wolf »
- Super Furry Animals »
- The Maccabees »
- The Phantom Band »
- Late Of The Pier »
- Emmy the Great »
- Rolo Tomassi »
After your rampant enthusiasm last year for DiS ' Pluto Prize (our reader voted alternative to the Mercury Music Prize) we're doing it all over again for 2009 with a new name: The Neptune Music Prize. DiS' award highlights 12 out of this world albums that we felt missed the Mercury cut go head to head for the alternative title of best album of 2009.
What with Pluto being 'declassified' as a planet and Neptune being the Roman god of the sea (continuing with DiS' ever present nautical theme...) we thought a name change was in order. So, at drownedinsound.com/neptune you'll find what we think are the best 12 albums from the UK crop this past year. As before, all were released in the time period used by the Mercury Prize (roughly July 2008 to July 2009), and the only bands excluded from inclusion are those already up for this year’s Mercury. So (sigh of relief), no Florence, La Roux or Kasabian, but sadly no room to celebrate Bat For Lashes, The Horrors, Friendly Fires or little-known newcomers Sweet Billy Pilgrim.
How does it work? Registered users can rate all of the albums, but we encourage you to only rate the albums you've heard (listen to them all on Spotify here). If you're not registered, sign-up now. It takes mere seconds. Note: You'll soon be able to rate all albums on the site.
Then what? At midday on September 7th voting will close, and the winner of the Neptune Prize will be announced.
The prize itself? DiS'll take the winning band out for a fish (& chip) supper at their convenience. Also, we'll be running competitions so that you, the voters, can win prizes associated with the nominated acts.
The Twelve Nominated Albums (in no particular order) are as follows:
- Manic Street Preachers Journal For Plague Lovers
- Emmy the Great First Love
- Late Of The Pier Fantasy Black Channel
- The Phantom Band Checkmate Savage
- The Maccabees Wall of Arms
- Super Furry Animals Dark Days/Light Years
- Patrick Wolf The Bachelor
- PJ Harvey & John Parish A Woman A Man Walked By
- Micachu Jewellery
- The Week That Was The Week That Was
- Grammatics Grammatics
- Rolo Tomassi Hysterics
Vote Now! drownedinsound.com/neptune
- Neptune Music Prize - Your Last Chance to Vote!
- Spotifriday - Listen to the 12 Neptune Music Prize Nominees
- DiS' alternative Music Prize: The Neptune nominees announced
- Spotify Playlist: Drownedin... 100 Songs of 2009 (So Far)
- Nicky Wire on the press, Shirley Bassey, and the future of the Manic Street Preachers: Part Three
- Nicky Wire on Richey & the Manic Street Preachers' return: Part Two
- Nicky Wire on the Manic Street Preachers' return: Part One
- In Photos: Manic Street Preachers @ The Roundhouse, London
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little Neptune guy! Brilliant!
still no love for Toddla T or Benga?
kudos for recognising Micachu, Late Of The Pier and Rolo Tomassi, though.
wait though
how is it calculated? if the ratings are totted up it seems a bit unfair as there's bound to be dicks who'll rate something zero despite probably not listening to it...it seems open to abuse
i preferred last year where you just picked the best one
I'd rather see
Lukid, Zomby or Actress in there but Benga would have been nice too I guess. I'll probibly be voting for Rolo Tomassi its the only thing on there that I'm interested in really.
don't worry
we've got clever maths to work it all out. we'll reveal how we're getting our average at a later date.
can i be the first...
...to launch into an astronomical riff about Neptune eclipsing Mercury?
OK, i'm done.
jimi
just so you know this list was compiled based on editorial choices, influenced somewhat by the records people were upset not to see on the mercury list, on threads on DiS, comments on our news story and comments on the guardian blogs, amongst other places.
yeah
whichever records we pick, i think it's good to acknowledge That Kind Of Thing is still bubbling along quite nicely.
Going by votes
will obviously miss a lot of albums deserving of the shortlist but whose creators don't have as much exposure as most of those on the list.
This has produced a very run-of-the-mill set of nominees (bar a couple of exceptions).
at the moment i'm torn between Micachu and LOTP
must do some more listening
you could say that about just about any poll ever
what's your alternative?
not really
because the bigger records will have been heard by as many people who don't like than as do like them. it'll be be a proportioned winner, however we'd hope in the next month and a bit people will take the time to listen to all 12 albums.
exactly
a list of 12 records no-one's ever heard of and none of the editorial team like, for the sake of making a list, would be a little childish and short-sighted. we want as many people as possible to discover some of the great records on this list which have only sold a few thousand copies.
yep yep
I've got no quibles, I just like to give these things a shout.
I DISAGREE
*etc etc etc arguing over silliness etc etc etc*
Kudos for LOTP, Micachu, TWTW, Grammatics, Tomassi, Phantom Band.
but
the mercury list is better...
I tried to do this earlier
but it wouldn't let me. Do I have to score every album? That doesn't make sense.
nope
score as many or as few as you want to (ideally only score them if you've heard them and you have quite some time to investigate them all). it should show the score once you've set it. if you're having any issues please let us know (we've spent the past few days testing it and eradicating bugs)
Why do the Brits
hate Antony so goddamn much for leaving the country? Come on, give The Crying Light it's due. And why is there no love for My Maudlin Career? Jesus.
sorry
we could only pick 12. can't catch them all.
now i might be a simple hyperchicken from a backwoods asteroid
but this shortlist is pretty dull. Some would say even worse than the actual Mercurys. I would say that
hmm
a little boring. rolo tomato for me
No Metronomy?
LOTP it is for me then...
No Future Of The Left?
Tututut
No 'band that I really like'?!?
What's going on Dis?
tell us what should be on there
this page is getting a lot of hits and you'd at least make some impact on those looking at it
I havent heard all the records on there
but the ones i have heard i dont like. Personally i've loved:
Brakes
Fanfarlo
Jarvis
those being just three.
C'mon Rick!
Can I just vote for Future Of The Left anyway?
i was toying with the idea of having an 11th one left open
to anyone voting and rating across the site
typo
meant 13th
Yeah sean do this!
No Future of the Left and The Bug is unacceptable!
Ah yes, it was up for it last year.
I hadn't heard it by then, was only just out.
so no nomination for
Calories - Adventuring?
how on earth not?
I concur with deadonthestairs
I'd rather hoped for:
1. Action Beat - The Noise Band Fron Bletchley
2. Aidan Moffat & The Best-Ofs - How To Get To Heaven From Scotland
3. Alasdair Roberts - Spoils
4. Calories - Adventuring
5. Dananananaykroyd - Hey Everyone
6. Joe Gideon & The Shark - Harum Scarum
7. My Sad Captains - Here And Elsewhere
8. Pagan Wanderer Lu - Fight My Battles For Me
9. Sky Larkin - The Golden Spike
Stereolab - Chemical Chords
10. Superman Revenge Squad - This Is My Own Personal Way Of Dealing With It All
11. This Town Needs Guns - Animals
12. worriedaboutsatan - Arrivals
cool.
Emmy's my favourite, but I'd be very happy with Maccabees or Rolo Tomassi winning either.
If there's justice in this world...
The Phantom Band should win it!
(Micachu is a close second)
Thats what I was thinking
FOTL would get my vote, along with RT.
i'd liked to have seen one of
aiden moffat, let's wrestle or darren hayman.
The Week That Was is the most overrated record of the year....
this list really is a bit dissapointing....there's more i like on the mercury
one reckon i've heard, and i quite liked it
from the rest of the descriptions, can't say i half a crap about hearing any others
i relate to the mercury list more, fyi
it would be sweet if
you put the spotify links next to the album names. I'm pretty lazy.
ah bollocks
you have put a link. I'm lazy...and stupid.
So in the spirit intended I am checking out the one's I don't know
I have to say I am impressed with Patrick Wolf's The Batchelor on first listen.
I now realise that i had somehow built totally false impressions of this album, possibly because l expected it to sound more like Accident & Emergency, which it does not. There is much less drama, and his voice is stronger and better than I expected.
checkmaaaate!
savage.
Good work
I think this is a wonderful idea. I think almost everyone who is interested in independent music has some kind of gripe about the Mercury. This is a nice response to that. Keep it up! So I hope any critical comments I make aren't taken as a slight on the concept of the Neptune.
I've listened to all the albums (some of them I already own, but I've given them all a good and equal listen on Spotify throughout today. I must say that I'm a little underwhelmed by most of the albums, but I'm underwhelmed by the majority of music I hear. There are, however, two or three shining gems that stand out miles above the rest for me.
My first pick has to be Checkmate Savage by the Phantom Band. This is my album of the year (and possibly next year too!) regardless of the other choices. It's an album that started off great, but each time I hear it another element seems to make itself heard from within the layers of atmospherics - it's as if the band deliberately programmed the CD to grow organically of its own accord!! :) Maybe by this time next year I'll be hearing full swathes of moondog-style harmonic percussion orchestras! I saw the Phantom Band live at T in the Park and again at Belladrum last week and they just get better and better (and more funny too - I seem to remember some acrobatics at Belladrum). Phant-omenal! sorry!
2nd choice is Micachu and the Shapes. To be honest I was a little disappointed by the album (when I finally got round to getting myself a copy) after seeing them live and being wowed by the incredible dynamic between the drummer and the two girls - very clever syncopation of rhythm and melody without losing their pop catchiness. But the album is a grower and I like it now.
3rd choice is Super Furrys. Just because it's Super Furrys. That's it.
xS
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