This story on Pedestrian TV about how Lisa Mitchell won the Australian Music Prize by default - by a process of elimination and determination to balance the scales, rather than a vote on the quality of the music involved - is quite brilliantly argued.
I particularly enjoyed the diagram below, which points out in brutal black and white how Sarah Blasko never stood a chance of winning the award.
Basically, anyone who's won an Aria and J Award appears to not be eligible to win the AMP. Whereas, anyone who's been nominated for the former two (but not actually won one) is a shoo-in.
Why not just call it the Australian Music Prize For Those Who Narrowly Missed Out On An Aria Or J Award, and be done with it?
(Sarah Blasko was the nominee that most of the judges - music critics from Australia's mainstream newspapers for the most part - would have voted for, according to the criteria they claimed to be applying. The fact they didn't speaks volumes for their own impotence: clearly, some powerful folk were overruling them.)
If you were one of the critics involved waking up yesterday morning to this article, wouldn't you resign your post as judge in shame?
Well, wouldn't you?
Let's give this award its full title, shall we?
The Australian Music Prize For Anyone Who's Female (Because We Arbitrarily Decided In Advance We Were Going To Give The Award To A Female This Year), But Not Sarah Blasko (Because She's Already Got A Couple Of Awards And She's Becoming A Bit Of A Tall Poppy) And Definitely Not Anyone Who Won An Aria Or J Award
Not as catchy, is it?
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Response from AMP judge and mediator, Chris Johnston here.
P.S. Just a word of warning: I don't tend to publish negative comments from anonymous sources on this blog. It seems rather pointless. At least Chris Johnston is standing up and being counted.
To be fair, Wolfmother lose out by the same criteria. If they'd won, you'd be complaining even harder.
ReplyDeleteDude, I *like* wolfmother
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I think both are crap. However, Mitchell more so than Blasko.
ReplyDeleteI don't care either way. I just think that the judges' decision was totally skewed. It makes a mockery of the whole concept of giving such an award...
ReplyDelete...um, much like giving any other award, now I think about it...
ReplyDelete(from Facebook)
ReplyDeleteRod Steele
I guess it would be tall poppy syndrome to suggest Lisa Mitchell she deserves nothing at all, that she should be happy for receiving nominations, while she's still paying her dues.
Yesterday at 20:04 ·
(from Facebook)
ReplyDeleteAlexandra Goffey, Steve Dillon and Hugh Brown like this.
Steve Dillon
Sarah Blasko singing 'Flame tree' was one of those moments you realise the combination of a great songwriter and a great singer can be a critical moment in Music History. I'll remember that not some award!
Yesterday at 21:06 ·
Kristian Brennan
ha ha ha
Yesterday at 21:31 ·
Poor Everett - you upset that no-one asked you to be a judge, then?
ReplyDeleteNo, Otis, I'm not. Through the years I've been extremely vocal in my disapproval of such awards - Australian, British, American, sales-based, 'merit'-based... I don't understand a) the need for them, and b) how they can possibly work in any sort of fashion that doesn't cater to the fifth favourite choice of all the judges.
ReplyDeleteBasically, any decision made by a panel of judges based on meritocracy invariably ends up giving the award to the album that offended the least people.
ReplyDeleteIt's also clear that the AMP judges are at pains to make their award ''different'' from the other awards - and simply can't afford to give it to an artist that has won one of the (spit) Australian music industry awards.
ReplyDeleteWhereas they themselves represent the...um... Australian music industry.