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	THE SHORTLIST AWARDS TV ON THE RADIO’S FOR THE TAKING

For four years, a small antidote to huge music-biz award ceremonies such as the Grammys and the AMAs has been quietly oozing its way into the hipster unconscious. But this year — with nominees such as Franz Ferdinand and the Killers getting major-league radio play and others such as Wilco and Air able to play arenas, amphitheaters, and similar large venues — it had seemed as though the Shortlist Music Awards (which took place November 15 at Avalon Theater, in Hollywood) actually had a chance at breaking through to a bigger audience.

Inspired by seeing deserving artists being mostly ignored in favor of pop icons and dancing teenagers, co-founders Tom Sarig and Greg Spotts looked at Britain’s Mercury Music Prize as an example of an award done right. So, for the past four years the duo has put together a nominating staff called the "listmakers" — mostly artists, a couple of journalists, and other music-biz insiders (Sarig calls them the "voices of reason") who share a common vision; this year’s group was diverse enough to include the Dixie Chicks, Jim Jarmusch, and Wil.I.Am from the Black Eyed Peas. Each of the listmakers chooses 10 albums that he or she thinks are deserving of the prize — which includes a statue as well as $10,000 — and that "longlist" is whittled down to 10 finalists. The listmakers then vote on the "shortlist," and the winner is announced at the end of a concert featuring both nominees and listmakers.

There are no genre-specific nominating rules, and no guidelines other than that the album must have been released during a certain time window. Oh, and one more thing: any nominated album must have sold fewer than 500,000 copies at the time of nomination.

It sounds complicated, but it works. Last year’s winner, Damien Rice, was a relative unknown when he was nominated, having sold only about 50,000 copies, according to Sarig. "I’m not saying we’re the only ones responsible for his much bigger success," says Sarig, who manages such bands as Le Tigre and Cake, "but I think we have something pretty good to do with it."

The artists agree this is a prize that actually, you know, "means" something. "I’ve always been in that position where you have to keep yourself, yourself," says Josh Homme, Queens of the Stone Age frontman and two-time Shortlist listmaker. "I think the real good feeling [of the Shortlist awards] is that other artists are saying, ‘You’re badass.’ "

This year’s "badass" artists: Air, Dizzee Rascal, Loretta Lynn, Nellie McKay, TV on the Radio, Wilco, Franz Ferdinand, the Killers, Ghostface Killah, and the Streets. All of those (and a few more of the "longlist" nominees) have tracks on MTV2 Presents: Shortlist Nominees, a national release on Razor & Tie. By the time you’ve read this article, this year’s ceremony will have appeared in edited form on MTV2, which has been running promos for the show non-stop. XM satellite radio, meanwhile, broadcast live from this year’s ceremony, interviewing the musicians as they stepped off the stage as well as broadcasting their performances.

Which brings us to the awards show and performances, which were, in a word, a bit anticlimactic after all the anticipation that had built up. Three of the nominees — Nellie McKay, Dizzee Rascal, and TV on the Radio — played short sets, and Josh Homme’s other band, the Eagles of Death Metal, were the special surprise guests. Though none of it felt made-for-TV (even if the predominance of cameras and camera operators milling about could have given it that flavor), McKay seemed tentative while singing her cabaret-style Bush disses, and Dizzee displayed a bit of exhaustion after a transcontinental trip that had him rapping on a remake of "Do They Know It’s Christmas?" in London on Saturday before flying to the states for the Monday show. The Eagles of Death Metal played retro rock that sounded fantastic; they were just picking up speed when they were cut off, only a few songs in.

Which left TV on the Radio, the deserved winners of this year’s prize, who veered everywhere from garage funk to noise rock to doo-wop in their half-hour set. Sweaty, burly, and commanding, their performance solidified what the event was about: though they played to a half-full audience, it appeared as if those in the room who didn’t have the band’s Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes (Touch and Go) bought the CD from the merch table on their way out.

But to TV on the Radio singer Tunde Adebimpe, the award meant more than increased sales. Right after winning, the stunned Adebimpe broke down the real-world benefits of the prize: "I’ll be able to pay some back rent. Which is rad."