The Lex 20p Indie Prize 2008

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

It's that time of year again!

We want your nominations for the 4th Annual Lex 20p Indie Prize shortlist!

[Poll #1252320]

Nominations will close at lunchtime on Thursday, and the final poll will be posted soon after (remind me if I forget!), with the winner announced next week.

Last year's winner was Art Brut, beating the Arcade Fire and Mark Ronson. As ever, the definition of 'indie' is up to you but nominations should be vaguely kept to acts that have released something in the UK in the last 12 months (if you get stuck for ideas here is the Mercury Prize nominations thread).

Comments

[ruudboy.livejournal.com]

I have nominated Ballboy, for a fantastic comeback album including a ukulele song.

[ruudboy.livejournal.com]

Have I misunderstood? Is this supposed to be sh1t indie? Oh well, Interpol then for everybody getting excited by them at Latitude, and then them turning out to be just another dirgey act.

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

i think of it as the 'any good at all' indie/pop act that riles the lex the most. so eg santogold = fail

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

but that field is, like, null.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

The voting criteria are many!

- how good they are
- how awful they are but they still have to win somehow
- how ubiquitous they've been in the last year
- how much they wind up the Lex

[koganbot]

Yes, criteria are contradictory and you can use or discard them as you will:

--Best act that you can rationalize as indie
--Best act that you can rationalize as indie and is likely to irritate Lex
--Act most likely to irritate Lex (whether good or not) subcategory A: they irritate Lex because he thinks they're irremediably awful
--Act most likely to irritate Lex (whether good or not) subcategory B: they irritate Lex because he likes some of what they do but they have characteristics that he can't stand
--Act that is most indie
--Indie act that you hate but that has something
--Worst indie act
--Act that you have never heard but from what you've heard about them they epitomize something indie and irritating

My answers would be:
--Santogold, unless we can rationalize Robyn or Annie as indie (which I can, but I'll pretend I can't for the sake of simplicity, unless someone else nominates them)(and my guess based on two or three tracks is that the new Annie isn't going to be good enough, unfortunately)
--Ting Tings, unless we factor in the 12-inch version of the Pete Hammond Remix of Alphabeat's "Boyfriend," which is quite good (except if Lex were to hear it and like it that might undercut this category, unless he both hates and likes it or hates that they have one thing under their name that he likes)(actually, I've been known to tick the Hoosiers, but they hardly arouse anybody one way or another, really, do they?)
--Subcategory A: Ting Tings, I'd wager
--Subcategory B: Robyn, if we decide she's eligible
--The View, if they've had recent enough product; if not, any number of other bands whose names I've forgotten; has to be a guitar band made up of boys, though
--Ting Tings or Alphabeat (unless I decide I don't hate them)
--Scouting For Girls or The View or [some band that's even worse]
--Fleet Foxes (and I wish there were greater America consciousness at poptimists so that we all could wrestle with the Hold Steady and New Pornographers and Neko Case and acts with "Bear" in their title)

So for me the choices would be Santogold, Alphabeat, or Ting Tings (I mean, does anyone really get riled up about the View?)

[the-roofdog.livejournal.com]

I begrudge the View winning anything, even the Lex 20p Indie Prize, but they haven't released anything in the last 12 months (eagerly-awaited second album due shortly) so I don't think they're eligible. They did OK in the noms last year.

I was thinking of nominating the Script but they're too insipid to be described as indie even if meant in a derogatory sense.

[redcommieapples.livejournal.com]

Using this criteria:

-- Bon Iver
-- MGMT
-- Black Kids /Ting Tings
-- Annie (i'm not sure if we really can count Robyn as 2008 as she keeps popping up the same stuff every year since 2005)
-- The Kooks
-- Lykke Li / Foals
-- Scouting For Girls cakewalk
-- Ladyhawke

[koganbot]

Someone has to nominate Lykke Li!

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Well someone else has nominated Alphabeat as well, so you can go back and change your vote Frank!

[koganbot]

But what if I do that and then they don't make the shortlist?

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Good call on MGMT - that song they did, you know, that one, er, anyway - it was pretty good! If I could remember what it was called I would youtube it now!

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

MGMT don't irritate me! I don't like them at all but they don't make me angry like the Ting Tings.

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

OOH. The Hold Steady! I had forgotten them temporarily.

They are one of my favourite bands, sadly I have not heard the new album yet though.

[koganbot]

Xhuxk, who generally loves them, says it is their worst album. It also apparently is their most successful/beloved. Contender for Idolator/Pazz & Jop crown. I haven't heard it.

[whalefish.livejournal.com]

The new one is a grower. It is really good eventually.

It's probably the one I like least, but I am generally a "I preferred their earlier stuff" style indie bore anyway, so that was bound to happen.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

I like the Hoosiers! They have a charm about them that S4G/View/Enemy couldn't drum up if they'd been to finishing school for 100 years. I don't like them enough to buy their album though.