Bemoaning what hasn’t made the shortlist of the Mercury Prize is now almost as much of an annual tradition as having a punt on the Grand National. However, the fact that so many feel almost personally affronted that one of their favourite albums has been overlooked is testament to the healthy passion music still invokes and, more to the point, what constitutes the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ variants thereof.
This year’s nominees are bound to stimulate as much pub debate as any other. While there are fewer ‘wild cards’ – possibly The Kit Downes Trio are the only act who might be unfamiliar to, say, a regular viewer of Later With Jools – it’s another list that will send people scurrying back to reassess the latest works of both the established (Paul Weller, Corinne Bailey Rae) and the emerging (Villagers, Wild Beasts). The 2010 shortlist is:
BIFFY CLYRO – Only Revolutions (14th Floor/Warner)
I AM KLOOT – Sky At Night (Shepherd Moon)
CORINNE BAILEY RAE – The Sea (Virgin)
VILLAGERS – Becoming A Jackal (Domino)
DIZZEE RASCAL – Tongue N’ Cheek (Dirtee Stank)
PAUL WELLER – Wake Up The Nation (Island)
THE XX – XX (Young Turks/XL)
FOALS – Total Life Forever (Transgressive)
LAURA MARLING – I Speak Because I Can (Virgin)
WILD BEASTS – Two Dancers (Domino)
KIT DOWNES TRIO – Golden (Basho)
MUMFORD & SONS – Sigh No More (Island)
Of course, healthy discourse isn’t the only good thing to result from all this. For many of these artists it will mean vital exposure on TV, radio and national newspapers and has, across the years, undoubtedly given a vital financial boost to many small labels. It could also be convincingly argued that the awarding of the prize to critically acclaimed acts such as Elbow gave them the extra push they needed to firmly establish themselves in the mainstream.
So, where’s my money going? I think I'll abstain - backing Tony McCoy in the National has probably used up my allocation of luck for this year...