New Pantheon Award Finalists Revealed

Elton John, Ben Gibbard, the creator of the OC, Nic Harcourt, Ric Ocasek, Elijah Wood, John Cameron Mitchell, Beck, Ryan Schreiber from Pitchfork, Dave Matthews, and a bunch of others nominated albums for the New Pantheon Music Award (“The award, which continues the mission of the now-defunct Shortlist Prize in recognizing noteworthy albums that have sold less than 500,000 copies in the United States”).

THE FINALISTS
Animal Collective’s “Feels” (Fatcat)
Antony and the Johnsons’ “I Am a Bird Now” (Secretly Canadian)
Fiona Apple’s “Extraordinary Machine” (Epic)
the Arcade Fire’s “Funeral” (Merge)
Bloc Party’s “Silent Alarm” (Vice/Atlantic).
Death Cab For Cutie’s “Plans” (Atlantic)
the Decemberists’ “Picaresque” (Kill Rock Stars)
Kings Of Leon’s “Aha Shake Heartbreak” (RCA)
M.I.A.’s “Arular” (XL/Beggars Banquet)
Sufjan Stevens’ “Illinois” (Asthmatic Kitty)

Not even one of Suzanne Vega’s nominations were chosen! Most of Ryan’s were. Ben Gibbard nominated and was nominated.

AND as billboard points out, “Last fall, ‘I Am a Bird Now’ took the Mercury Music Prize, the U.K. award on which both the Shortlist and the New Pantheon are modeled.”

ALSO
* Kaiser Chiefs lead Brit Award nominations
* Rolling Stone’s Best Albums of 2005
* Best Music Writing of 2005