The Lex 20 Pence Indie Prize: THE SHORTLIST

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

After much deliberation the shortlist for The Lex 20p Indie Prize has been announced:

The Automatic
Camera Obscura
The Feeling
The Guillemots
Kasabian
The Kooks
Lily Allen
The Pipettes
Test Icicles
The Young Knives

All of these acts* have been nominated BY POPTIMISTS for their vital contributions to INDIE over the last 12 months. Let the debate commence!

Comments

NO FAIR

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

1) I don't like ANY of these
2) there is one nomination MISSING

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

The Camera Obscura album actually sounds pretty good. I like the new Pipas album as well. Blummin' fathands is to blame.

I'd be tempted to go with Test Icicles just cos of that good Alan Braxe remix (altho an instrumental version would be better - that guy's shouting gets v annoying v quickly).

[braisedbywolves.livejournal.com]

Footnote = Lily Allen is technically a brand?

[alkennedy.livejournal.com]

The Pipettes are most awesome for the dancing of.

Camera Obscura are pleasant-sounding but, as is the way with many members of the Scottish Indie Mafia, are tools.

[miss-newham.livejournal.com]

My nomination is missing! Not that I had much faith in it. I like The Feeling but surely they are an MOR band, seeing as their best songs sound like Supertramp?

[jel-bugle.livejournal.com]

I like Camera Obscura they are are on a proper indie label, but the rest I don't really know. Oh, that Kooks song is annoyingly catchy.

[fathands.livejournal.com]

I think I like the Guillemots.

I am not proud of having turned Steve indie.

[awesomewells.livejournal.com]

I have the Guillemots album on my iPod and have never listened to it. But then again I nominated Kasabian in full devil's advocate mode.

I will post that Test Icicles Spank Rock remix for your listening pleasure this evening. Also attempt to find the bosh Automatic remix from Cross Central.

[poptasticuk.livejournal.com]

Much better than the Mercury's!

WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE ? They are too stupid to be your REAL PARENTS.

[the-roofdog.livejournal.com]

I <3 the Young Knives. Apart from Alleng the rest can GO AWAY tho.

[mippy.livejournal.com]

A pedant writes: It's Guillemots, not The Guillemots. HONESTLY.

I like the Young Knives. They wear tweed, they sound a bit like Robyn Hitchcock and a bit like XTC, and their lead singer looks like a supply teacher. Or, if you will, the Asda SmartPrice Jarvis.

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

The Automatic should win. I am certain of this because of the following points:
1. They are not just good on 'Monster' they are good all over their album.
2. They understand the finer points of being shouty whilst maintaining a fiendishly catchy melody.
3. They are Welsh but not Lostprophets or Funeral For A Friend. We must really stop the latter two bands being what Wales is known for, in terms of current music.
4. Singer's fit, innee?
5. The Automatic are, in some ways, a bit like Pulp and that can only be construed as good by most people that aren't Lex.
6. A lot of the other bands on that list are almost frighteningly twee and tweeness is not something I personally would like to stand for. Having grown up in a twee place, I can say that The Automatic sound a lot like a reaction to twee and so this is valid'n'interesting and a bit Against The Grain. And I really don't want The Pipettes to win because although I quite like them they get rapidly irritating.

I cannot vote for Test Icicles because I bought The Automatic's album rather than theirs one fateful day in Brighton awhile ago, although I personally thought they were bloody brilliant.

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

Umm... Would winning be a good or a bad thing?

[whalefish.livejournal.com]

My tuppence worth...

The Automatic - I gave their album a go as I thought they deserved a fair crack and not just be written off as 'that Monster band', thought it was pretty weak though
Camera Obscura - GREAT when they do their big pop song thing (If Looks Could Kill is a 'tune'), but I find the twee stuff boring
The Feeling - how did these bastards sneak in here?
The Guillemots - Lovely lovely band, some of their album stuff's a bit pointless but Trains To Brazil is a little treasure of a song
Kasabian - nooooooooo, ape-like beery lad stuff, not a good thing
The Kooks - evil gits, but their songs are extremely catchy which has to count for something
Lily Allen - harmless, I suppose, not all that indie mind
The Pipettes - I like this lot now, really big fluffy songs
Test Icicles - a bit annoying over an entire gig or an entire album, but I do like their stuff, Circle Square Triangle is still one of my pre-going out records
The Young Knives - they look like Mark off Peep Show and his geeky mates from the chess club which initially put me off, but I was surprised on listening to them, I like them quite a lot

[bengraham.livejournal.com]

I guess it kind of depends what we're trying to prove here. Is the Lex 20p Indie Prize about finding out which group Poptimists like the most, from that list? Or are we truly trying to award something for being "indie" and this deserving of the Lex's prize?

I only ask because most people are going with the former... "I really like The Pipettes' album" or "Kasabian are evil", whereas I would prefer to go with the second option.

This then poses the problem of how you define indie, and I'm sure everyone has their own definitions, but according to mine, The Automatic would be rock (I guess), The Feeling, Lily Allen and The Pipettes would be pop and of the remainder, the most indie band there are clearly The Kooks, annoying as they might be. They have these catchy twee indie songs, indie clothes, indie haircuts and indie lyrics. So yes, vote Kooks for Lex's 20p prize, even if you don't like them, and crown them as the INDIE-EST BAND EVER.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Lily isn't indie at all. Whereas the Feeling (my nomination) are definitely indie (boys with guitars) but have made a brilliant pop song (vocal harmonies, c'mon!) which I am STILL not sick of and which I would listen to right now if Universal hadn't taken it off their front page and replaced it with the Puppini Sisters' Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy Of Company B.