July 17, 2007

Winehouse, Arctic Monkeys Up for Mercury Prize

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mojo-photo-mercuryprize.JPG The nominees for this year’s Mercury Prize, honoring the best album by a British or Irish artist, were announced today in London; the list has both surprises and shoe-ins. Retro-R&B sensation Amy Winehouse and jumpy rockers Arctic Monkeys seemed guaranteed nods, and have been pegged as equal favorites to win, with booker William Hill giving them each 4-to-1 odds. (I love this whole British “odds on everything” thing. I’m 2-to-1 for going to grab coffee after this.) The Arctics won the prize last year for their debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not; fellow nominee Dizzee Rascal has also won before, back in 2003. Other artists nominated include Klaxons, The View, and New Young Pony Club. A full list of nominated albums, William Hill odds, and “for fans of” descriptions after the jump.

2007 Mercury Music Prize Nominees

Artist – Album (Odds) (MySpace and YouTube links)
For Fans Of: two other bands and something else

Arctic Monkeys – Favourite Worst Nightmare (4-to-1) (MySpace, “Brianstorm” on YouTube)
For fans of: The Libertines, Franz Ferdinand, youthfulness

Amy Winehouse – Back To Black (4-to-1) (MySpace, “Rehab” on YouTube)
For fans of: The Ronettes, The Supremes, eyeliner

Dizzee Rascal – Maths And English (8-to-1) (MySpace, “Fix Up Look Sharp” on YouTube)
For fans of: Busta Rhymes, Tricky, English as a foreign language

Jamie T – Panic Prevention (8-to-1) (MySpace, “Sheila” on YouTube)
For fans of: Billy Bragg, The Clash, boozing it up

Klaxons – Myths Of The Near Future (8-to-1) (MySpace, “Golden Skans” on YouTube)
For fans of: Kaiser Chiefs, Liars, Doctor Who

The View – Hats Off To The Buskers (8-to-1) (MySpace, “Wasted Little DJs” on YouTube)
For fans of: The Fratellis, The Strokes, obscure Scottishisms

Bat For Lashes – Fur And Gold (10-to-1) (MySpace, “Prescilla” on YouTube)
For fans of: Bjork, Tori Amos, autoharps

Fionn Regan – The End Of History (10-to-1) (MySpace, “Be Good or Be Gone” on YouTube)
For fans of: Nick Drake, acoustic Beck, adorable mop-haired Irish boys with guitars

The Young Knives – Voices Of Animals And Men (10-to-1) (MySpace, “Here Comes the Rumour Mill” on YouTube)
For fans of: Hot Hot Heat, The Cars, tweed suits

Basquiat Strings with Seb Rochford – Basquiat Strings (12-to-1) (MySpace)
For fans of: Kronos Quartet, Jon Metcalf, National Public Radio

Maps – We Can Create (12-to-1) (MySpace, “It Will Find You” on YouTube)
For fans of: Spiritualized, My Bloody Valentine, sitting alone in your room

New Young Pony Club – Fantastic Playroom (12-to-1) (MySpace, “Ice Cream” on YouTube)
For fans of: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Blondie, asymmetrical haircuts

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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