August 11, 2003

Not Quite Short Enough?




This year's nominees for the Shortlist Music Prize have been announced, and you can see the complete list here, along with which hipster luminary selected each nominee.

Most of these picks are mighty hip indeed, but there are a few headscratchers in there too. Like, what's up with Source Editor-in-Chief Kim Osorio choosing the Dip Set's emphatically nondescript "Diplomatic Immunity" album? I respect her efforts to buck the more-indie-than-thou vibe of these awards, but surely she could have picked a more interesting record from Hot 97's playlist to foment this rebellion. Although I suppose we should just be glad she didn't throw Benzino in there.

But the real shocker here is ?uestlove's selection of the already much hyped and widely reviled Northern State record. ?uestlove had invited the regulars at his website, okayplayer.com, to help him pick his selections for this year, and got over 500 responses (only one of which suggested Northern State, and did so sarcastically).
Not surprisingly, those regulars are now unanimously aghast at this choice.

Personally I don't hate these Beastie Girls as much as most heads seem to. If it wasn't for the noxious hoopla that surrounds them I might enjoy this gang as harmless lighthearted fun, which is all they probably aspire to. They don't seem to take themselves too seriously as far as I've seen, don't pretend to be anything they're not.

Unfortunately their hype machine is asking us to take them much more seriously than they take themselves, and is presenting them as many things they're not. So although I don't hate the Northern State girls themselves, I am quickly growing to hate the Northern State Phenomenon. And that's why I'm puzzled that ?uestlove would take this award, meant to shed light on groundbreaking artists who haven't yet received the attention and acclaim they deserve, and use it to trumpet such a lightweight act that's already getting far more hype than they need (for their own sake).

I recommend keeping an eye on okayplayer, things should get interesting when ?uestlove surfaces to confront this angry mob.

Posted by jsmooth995 at August 11, 2003 11:36 PM
Comments

wow... people really sweat the guy. he was probably doing it to provoke people. and it worked. but you gotta give credit where it's due... ?uestlove was the only person to select Little Brother.

But seriously give it up for Perry Farrell, who selected the Supernat compilation.

Posted by: eric at August 12, 2003 1:51 AM

The most egregious lists are those by Kim Osorio and Spike Jonze. Both picked albums that got major exposure, several by established artists with mainstream appeal.

I think I like The Chemical Brothers and Erykah Badu's selections the best (with Nic Harcourts bringing up the rear). Common's album, while it had a hit, is probably the most adventurous hip hop album from an established artist last year and Badu just picked a lot of my personal favorites.

Posted by: Jason at August 12, 2003 11:58 AM

I'm not surprised at Kim Osorio's picks one bit. It's because of those actions that I stopped buying the Source (AGAIN). I don't know what Osorio's ears are hearing but I would have never picked Dipset or Freeway because they are WAY over-hyped and lyrically are NOT there. I still don't see why artists like them continue to do the numbers they do. Sadly, no one cares about lyricism anymore and rap being used as a constructive tool is becoming more and more of a thing of the past.

Posted by: Pro B Matic at August 18, 2003 10:10 PM

Posted by: Damali at August 25, 2003 2:18 PM

wow... journey into the mind of ?uestlove.

if black people self hate... then white people must too.

if being black is about being cool... then being white is about being goofy.

if the world is against me... it must be a racial thing.

even oreoesque blacks don't stoop that low to just be on some straight up "im so embarrased to be black" shit. -?uestlove

when are people going to move past the whole Beasties/VanillaIce state of mind? It reminds me of old people talking about Commies and or the Great Depression. It's been almost 20 years since Licensed to Ill came out and people still can't get over it.

I will say it for the umpteenth time... people are still unable to break this equation.

hip hop = black

as soon as people realize that...

hip hop = music

...things will be cool.

ps. i'm so glad there are alternatives to forums like OkayPlayer.

Posted by: eric at August 25, 2003 4:36 PM

That's so funny!

Posted by: tickling at August 31, 2004 7:25 PM

Keep the good work.

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