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TV on the Radio claims Shortlist Music Prize
New York indie act TV on the Radio won the 4th Annual Shortlist Music Prize during a Monday night (11/15) event at the Avalon in Los Angeles, topping a list of finalists that included Franz Ferdinand , The Killers , Wilco , Loretta Lynn , Air, The Streets and Ghostface Killah.
The award was presented during the annual Shortlist Concert, which featured performances by the winners as well as finalists Nellie McKay and Dizzee Rascal. MTV2 will broadcast a half-hour special of the concert's highlights--which included an appearance by The Eagles of Death Metal--on Saturday (11/20).
TV on the Radio, a Brooklyn-based experimental rock trio, won for its debut album, "Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes," which hit stores in March.
The finalists--and a previous "Longlist" of 73 albums--were chosen by a panel of 22 nominating judges known as "Listmakers," including Perry Farrell, ?uestlove, Norah Jones, Dixie Chicks, John Mayer, The Cure's Robert Smith and Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba.
The Shortlist Prize, which is modeled on Britain's Mercury Music Prize, was spearheaded to create opportunities for "left-of-center" groups to cross over into the mainstream, according to organizers. Artists who have sold more than 500,000 albums during the year were not eligible for the award.
Earlier this month, Razor & Tie Records issued "MTV2 Presents: Shortlist of 2004 Nominees," a compilation that features tracks by each of this year's finalists, as well as songs from Longlist finalists Jem, Muse, Cafe Tacuba and Ryan Adams.
Damian Rice took last year's Shortlist award, and N.E.R.D. won in 2002. The inaugural award was presented to Sigur Ros in 2001.
