I am sure that most of you are already aware that the inaugural longlist for the Scottish Album of the Year Award was announced this week and I think it's safe to say that the list took quite a few people by surprise. To be honest with you I don't really know what I was expecting, but from the 20 albums that made the long list there are a few that I was genuinely surprise to see on there and a whole lot more that I had plain old never heard of. I guess it's the eclectic nature of the list that makes it seem genuinely interesting. In case you've not already seen the list, it looks something like this:
6th Borough Project - "One Night In the Borough"
Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat - "Everything's Getting Older"
Bwani Junction - "Fully Cocked"
Chris Stout's Brazilian Theory - "Live In Concert"
Conquering Animal Sound - "Kammerspiel"
FOUND - "factorycraft"
Fudge Fingas - "Now About How"
Happy Particles - "Under Sleeping Waves"
Jonny - "Jonny"
King Creosote & Jon Hopkins - "Diamond Mine"
Mogwai - "Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will"
Mungo's Hi Fi - "Forward Ever"
Muscles Of Joy - "Muscles Of Joy"
Remember Remember - "The Quickening"
Richard Craig - "Inward"
Rustie - "Glass Swords"
Steve Mason & Dennis Bovell - "Ghosts Outside"
Tommy Smith - "Karma" Twin Atlantic - "Free"
We Were Promised Jetpacks - "In The Pit Of the Stomach"
As with all of these kind of awards it's inevitable that folk will gripe about what did and didn't make the final list. But having seen first hand how much hard work Stewart Henderson (Chemikal Underground/The SMIA and the driving force behind the awards) has put in behind the scenes in trying to encompass all of the various factions of the Scottish music scene, I reckon he's done a cracking job in pulling all of this together.
If you compare the final 20 choices with the top 20 albums chosen in last years BAMS Award, there are four albums in there that were in the BAMS top twenty: "Everything's Getting Older" , "Diamond Mine", "Kammerspiel" and "In The Pit Of the Stomach". Which I guess only goes to prove that the Scottish blogosphere has a pretty different viewpoint compared to the rest of Scotland's taste makers. Personally I would have loved to have seen Adam Stafford and Monoganon in the list, but I guess they might still edge towards being a bit too obscure for some folk (still fucking great albums mind). Personally I would love to see either King Creosote & John Hopkins or Happy Particles win it. Hopefully well see both of them making the final list of ten, which will be revealed on the 17th of May, if you want vote for your favourite album then you can do so on the 14th of May when the voting goes open the general public, with the general public’s choice guaranteed a slot on the shortlist. The winning album will be announced on the 19th of June at a ceremony in Glasgow, with the winner receiving a cheque for a whopping £20,000 and the nine runners-up receiving £1,000. Not bad, not bad at all.
Right I best rush off, as I am heading through to Fife with Randolph's Leap for The Eye O' The Dug Festival (that's my excuse for the rushed nature of this post). Before I go here are some covers from some of the artists that I wouldn't mind winning the innaugural SAY Award.
Aidan Moffat & Bill Wells - Cruel Summer (Bananarama cover)
Conquering Animal Sound - Dancing On My Own (Robyn cover)
FOUND - Eyes So Bright (Cate Le Bon cover)
Happy Particles - Lovestoned (Justin Timberlake cover)
King Creosote and Jon Hopkins - I Have Been Losing You (A-ha cover)
Remember Remember - Twin Peaks theme tune (Angelo Badalamenti cover)
Steve Mason - Borderline (Madonna cover)
We Were Promised Jetpacks - Blindsided (Bon Iver cover)
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