Nominees for the 2007 the Shortlist Prize (kinda like a US version of the Mercury Prize) have been announced today. They are:

* Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
* Burial - Untrue
* Feist - The Reminder
* Justice - †
* LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver
* M.I.A. - Kala
* Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
* Robert Pollard - Standard Gargoyle Decisions
* Stars - In Our Bedroom After The War
* Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
* Working For A Nuclear Free City - Businessmen & Ghosts

No Beirut? Damn shame. My money's on Feist, but will have to check out Robert Pollard, Working For A Nuclear Free City & the new Stars. The winner is announced at some undetermined point in February.

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The Wilco frontman is headlining a Barack Obama fundraising gig in Chicago.

Fair play to him. Obama still seems to me like the most sane candidate for the US presidency (Read: thoroughly undesirable position of cleaning up Bush's mess).

Click me for story.

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