MIA, Klaxons, Arcade Fire Up For Shortlist Prize

The people behind the Shortlist Music Prize have announced their aptly named Long List of 54 nominees for this year’s prize.

Often dubbed as the American version of the Mercury Music Prize, the award recognises albums that have sold 500,000 copies or less Stateside in the past year. Unlike the Mercury though, the artists are not limited by nationality, with acts from nine different countries in the running this year.

Amongst those in the running are Calvin Harris, Grinderman, Klaxons, Kings of Leon, Underworld, Of Montreal, Gogol Bordello, MIA and Arcade Fire.

The list of 54 acts was decided by a five strong panel featuring Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody, The Killers’ Ronnie Vanucci, journalist Rev Moose, radio DJ Chris Douridas and a host from Hunnypot Internet Radio.

The final ‘Shortlist’ of ten will be announced in the coming weeks.

The six previous Shortlist winners are Sigur Ros, N*E*R*D, Damien Rice, TV on the Radio, Sufjan Stevens and Cat Power. The 2008 list in full is as follows:

A Fine Frenzy - One Cell in the Sea
Against Me! - New Wave
Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Bad Religion - New Maps of Hell
Biffy Clyro - Puzzle
Bjork - Volta
Blonde Redhead - 23
BrakesBrakesBrakes - The Beatific Visions
Burial - Untrue
Calvin Harris - I Created Disco
Dead Heart Bloom - Chelsea Diaries
Digitalism - Idealism
Dollyrots - Because I'm Awesome
Eddie Vedder - Into the Wild Soundtrack
Feist - The Reminder
Fionn Regan - The End of History
Future of the Left - Curses
Gogol Bordello - Super Taranta
Grinderman - Grinderman
Gui Boratto - Chromaphobia
Iron and Wine - The Shepherd's Dog
Jesca Hoop - Kismet
Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
Juliette and the Licks - Four on the Floor
Justice - Cross
Keren Ann - Keren Ann
Kings of Leon - Because of the Times
Klaxons - Myths of the Near Future
LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
Le Loup - The Throne of the Third Heaven
Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends
M.I.A. - Kala
Maps - We can Create
o'Death - Head Home
Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
Parts and Labor - Mapmaker
Peter Bjorn and John - Writers Block
PJ Harvey - White Chalk
Puscifer - V is for Vagina
Robert Francis - One by One
Robert Pollard - Standard Gargoyle Decisions
Scout Niblett - This Fool Can Die Now
Serj Tankian - Elect the Dead
Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Stars - In Our Bedroom After the War
Swizz Beatz - One Man Band Man
The Bird and The Bee - The Bird and The Bee
The Hives - Black and White Album
The Thrills - Teenager
Underworld - Oblivion with Bells
Wheat - Everyday I Said a Prayer
Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
Working for a Nuclear Free City - Businessmen and Ghosts