From: owner-idealcopy-digest@smoe.org (idealcopy-digest) To: idealcopy-digest@smoe.org Subject: idealcopy-digest V7 #267 Reply-To: idealcopy@smoe.org Sender: owner-idealcopy-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-idealcopy-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk idealcopy-digest Saturday, September 11 2004 Volume 07 : Number 267 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [idealcopy] re: way OT: Franz Ferdinand win the Mercury Music Pri ze [Ian] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 10 Sep 2004 10:20:10 +0100 From: Ian Grant Subject: [idealcopy] re: way OT: Franz Ferdinand win the Mercury Music Pri ze At 09:30 10/09/2004, you wrote: >Can't help thinking it's the kiss of death for any artist to win the Mercury >and I was glad that the Streets lost the first time as well. I know what you mean, and there are plenty of precedents for the "kiss of death" theory, but it really needn't be anything but a serious profile boost: it inevitably depends on the individual(s), I suppose. To take the example of last year's winner, it propelled him to an entirely new level, even though he'd already been hyped by the press: I had conversations about Dizzee Rascal with people who'd never have heard of him, let alone heard him, otherwise. And it hasn't exactly prompted a crisis of confidence: I'm still trying to work out how he's managed to get an excellent (with some minor slips, one of which'll probably end up at number one in a few weeks) second album out already, despite apparently touring the world since winning that award. It's hard to imagine Mike Skinner being put off either. If he was going to be distracted by expectations, it would've happened already, I imagine. >The shock of >hearing an English voice rapping was quite shocking at first but it seems to >have allowed the new generation of Brit rappers (Dizzy, Estelle etc) to >start coming out with a more distinctive Brit sound. It's a weird one, that, but I agree. Thing is, British hip hop has had no profile for years, but it's put out some bloody fabulous records: while the US scene squabbles over underground/overground, West Coast/East Coast/South and so forth, the complete lack of commercial success for UK rap means that it's just about beats and rhymes, not getting paid for lazy recycling. For me, that actually means that it's often more fresh and invigorating than what's happening over the pond. To take an example, Lewis Parker's "It's All Happening Now" from a couple of years ago: a deeply listenable, engrossing record with production that turned knowledgeable heads over there as well as over here. It just didn't sell, that's all. Or Jehst, a really smart, sharp rapper. Or Roots Manuva, a very distinctive voice, who nearly made a breakthrough and might still at some point. Or Skinnyman, whose recent elpee is mighty fine. As for Dizzee Rascal, the exciting thing, I think, is that he has the potential to establish himself as a long-term, credible, worldwide force within that music, whatever you call it. That's never happened before: we've never created a Jay-Z here. >FF is a genuinely good record. One of judges hit it on the nail saying that >despite the whiffs of the past it could only have been written/made in the >past few years. Just hope they don't do a Roni Size Well, Roni Size just went back to the scene that created him: if you listen to d+b, his name's still everywhere. Ironically, that Mercury Prize probably helped to shape the d+b scene for a number of years, as it emphasised the split between the increasingly jazzy noodling of the Bristol lot and the seriously unpleasant noise of No U-Turn (which - convoluted Wire link alert! - prompted Colin Newman to proclaim the return of rock and thereby influenced Wire Mk III). You're right that the hype didn't help anyone much in the end, though. Cheers, ig. - --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.754 / Virus Database: 504 - Release Date: 06/09/2004 ------------------------------ End of idealcopy-digest V7 #267 *******************************