BBC Sound Of WHO?!

So, what did you make of the BBC Sound Of 2010 longlist that was unveiled this morning? It makes mixed reading for me – I’m glad two of the three artists I nominated – Everything Everything and The Drums – are in there amongst the 15 artists chosen by me and 164 other music induztry chumps, but also a little bit befuddled by the other choices, and I’m gonna choose to view ‘em in Brian Clough mode – I’m right and THEY’RE WRONG. I hope so, anyway, because to suggest I’m fairly underwhelmed by the majority of artists on the list is a bit like saying Kanye has trouble staying in his seat.

That’s not to say there’s not things I like in there and in the interest of not coming across like a cynical twat – a point I’m probably labouring against in vain – I’ll highlight those first; I think Everything Everything will make a great record next year, The Drums will be able to hurdle the ridiculous early-noughties-esque hype surrounding them with a summer-defining debut, Delphic have an exciting, adrenaline-veined debut ready to go and Ellie Goulding and Marina & The Diamonds will make imaginative, individualistic pop songs highly evolved from 2009’s one-dimensional pop-stars.

As for the other seven – Daisy Dares You, Devlin, Giggs, Gold Panda, Hurts, Joy Orbison, Owl City, Rox, Stornoway and Two Door Cinema Club? I’ll hold up my hands and say I don’t muchly care for any of them and can’t see that changing over the next year. Two Door Cinema Club have made a surging, art-pop debut that sounds like an edgy Wombats, but I can’t see them lighting up the year in the way that The Temper Trap or White Lies, both on last year’s long list, did. Gold Panda has established himself as remixer du jour, and mighty fine his takes on Bloc Party and Marina & The Diamonds’ songs are, but he’s way off taking 2010’s dance scene by the scruff of its neck, which as the only DJ-dance-bloke on the list you’d hope he could. Owl City – can I call that Ow Shitty and get away with it? COURSE I CAN – and Hurts are electro-poppers whose camp histrionics I’m struggling to get my head round, Daisy Dares You makes Pixie Lott sound like Pavement, whilst Stornoway might just be this year’s Mumford & Sons. Which, if you’ve read my previous blogs, you’ll understand I’m just thrilled about.

There’s stuff on there I haven’t heard before – Rox and Devlin are two of those – but I’ve heard most of them and think there’s better coming from elsewhere in 2010; the likes of Frankie & The Heartstrings, The Chapman Family, Chew Lips, Chapel Club, Free Energy – great music will come from these bands and more and the fact they’ve been omitted from BBC Sound Of… list won’t affect that in the slightest. The best way to treat BBC Sound Of 2010 longlist, in fact, is as a starting point to go and find what’s missing – it’s a list that, annually, causes disagreements and arguments. That’s the one facet that this year, they’ve got spot on…