Two disappointments
I don’t ask for much. All I wanted last night was for Goldie to win Maestro and for British Sea Power or Burial to win the Mercury. But the Mercury judges clearly don’t care for my views and gave the prize to Elbow for The Seldom Seen Kid. Curses. But my Mercury choices never win, so I’m used to that.
Maestro, for those of you outside the UK, was a celebrity reality show where a selection of newsreaders, comedians etc competed against one another to be the best conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra. Normally the words ‘celebrity’ and ‘reality’ make me run a mile, but this one was really rather interesting. Not having had any formal musical training I had no real idea of what conductors do and, more importantly, how the greatly the conductor can change the sound and style of a piece of music. Maestro blew away some of the mystery and actually made the whole process look bloody difficult. Goldie, who did come second, was mesmeric. Not being able to read music he committed all of his pieces to memory. He had passion, he had power. The judges gushed over him. The phone vote went to comedian Sue Perkins. For those of you who can access BBC iPlayer click here to see Goldie conduct a wonderful Carmina Burana.
Huh prizes, who needs them anyway?
Ah, but The Seldom Seen Kid is awfully good, Anna. It was also my pick to win, the first time that’s happened to me. There’s always a consolation… what’s your pick for the Polaris?
Oooh – Polaris-wise I’d go for Basia Bulat or Caribou.
I’m not particularly fond of Elbow I’m afraid, but my real reason for being miffed is that James – another employee of eMusic Europe who sits opposite me – is a huge fan of the band. We’ve been involved in some ‘heated debates’ on the subject of the Mercury and now he’s gone and picked the winner.
Hello
You don’t know me from Adam, but I gotta stand by you in your support for Goldie, who was a revelation.
Like you, I normally don’t get hooked by most of the reality TV shows that clog up the schedules these days, but Maestro hooked me in.
…nice site, btw.
J
I, myself, am thrilled Elbow won. They deserve it. It’s one of my favorite albums so far this year!
I’m 29 years old and ever never won anything ever. Not even a raffle. So well done, Goldie, for winning the runner’s-up prize. And here’s to Anna, for saying people don’t need prizes.