Shortlist Awards Concert showcases emerging talent

Though it’s intended to recognize the little guy, in the
end, the biggest act was the winner at the 2002 Shortlist Awards
Concert.

The Shortlist Music Project, now in its second year, was created
in the summer of 2001 to honor and give exposure to up-and-coming
musicians that might otherwise escape public attention. The
nominees are selected by a panel of listmakers. This year’s
panel included Beck, Iggy Pop, Mos Def and filmmaker Spike Jonze,
among others. The only rule for eligibility is that a nominated
record cannot have sold more than 500,000 copies in the United
States. Last year’s winners were Iceland’s Sigur
Ros.

Tuesday’s concert featured performances by three of this
year’s finalists: Dirty South funkster Cee-Lo, turntable god
DJ Shadow, and hip hop group/production crew N.E.R.D., whom
eventually won the night’s prize. For the other finalists,
Bjork, The Avalanches, The Flaming Lips, Aphex Twin, Doves, The
Hives, and Zero 7, music videos of their songs were shown in lieu
of an actual appearance.

The night also featured impressive performances between sets by
virtually unknown singer-songwriter Cody Chestnut and a reading by
the writer Toure from his collection of short stories.
Toure’s readings were accompanied by Mos Def singing.

Cee-Lo’s opening show performance set a standard that was
difficult to match. He revved up the crowd immediately, both
singing and rapping over his band’s deep and dirty funk
grooves.

DJ Shadow was up next, and following a rather lengthy
description of exactly how he planned to cut up and reassemble his
old album material for this set, proceeded to do just that. The
crowd, at Shadow’s request (really), cheered loudly whenever
a familiar sample from one of his better-known tracks came on, most
of them from his 1996 debut, “Entroducing.” He closed
the set following a brief diatribe against commercial radio with a
song he claimed to be an overt anti-war statement, though just how
it made such a statement remained unclear.

The next performance was from N.E.R.D., the innovative hip-hop-
rock hybrid and brain child of red-hot producers The Neptunes. One
member short and with lead singer Pharrell Williams complaining
about crowd’s energy and his voice problems, they played a
lackluster, abbreviated set to close the main part of the show.

Despite this, they were shortly announced as the winners of the
2002 Shortlist Music Award. The choice was an ironic one as
Williams closed his set with a heartfelt thanks to the fans who
helped their record recently go gold; the Shortlist Award is
intended for artists who haven’t gone gold.

The highlight of the evening came at the end, with a surprise
appearance by a super group consisting of two members of The Hives,
punk legend Mike Watt, Pete Yorn and the still-electrifying Iggy
Pop. They played an inspired but brief three song set to send
everyone home.

Ultimately, it may have been the biggest seller who took home
the prize, but this year’s Shortlist Awards still gave a
great deal of recognition to under-appreciated artists and put on a
great night of music to boot.