September 13, 2002 — The Shortlist Organization announced today ten finalists for the second annual Shortlist Prize for Artistic Achievement in Music. The ten albums were selected by a panel of twenty-four "Listmakers" including U2's Larry Mullen, Jr., Iggy Pop, Alanis Morissette, Beck, Mos Def, Jill Scott, two members of the Strokes and film directors Baz Luhrmann and Spike Jonze. Elevation to the Shortlist is the second of three steps towards winning the Shortlist Music Prize, which will be presented on October 29th at a public awards concert at the newly restored Henry Fonda Theater in Los Angeles. Two hours before the concert begins, the Listmakers will convene in a private room high above the theater to select the winner of the 2002 Shortlist Music Prize. The result of their deliberations will be revealed at the end of the concert by a presentation to the winning artist.

The Shortlist Music Prize was created by founders Greg Spotts and Tom Sarig to expose and illuminate the most creative and adventurous albums of the year. This year's finalists include artists from the US, the UK, Sweden, Iceland, and Australia, and range from established artists (Bjork, Flaming Lips, Aphex Twin,) to debut artist the Avalanches, whose album "Since I Left You" has steadily grown from a self-produced Australia-only release to a top-twenty album on the UK charts.

"Think of the Shortlist as your CD shopping list for the fall," said Shortlist Music Project co-founder Greg Spotts. "Each album was hand-picked by a well-known musician, producer, or journalist, in the spirit of recognizing artists who take risks and push the boundaries of contemporary pop music."

Co-founder Tom Sarig noted, "The Shortlist honors creative achievement across all genres of music, from the energetic punk of the Hives to the late-night grooves of Zero 7. This year's panel of Listmakers were inspired by all sorts of experimentation, from the layered guitar soundscapes of the Flaming Lips to the lyrical diversity of rapper Cee-Lo, who is opening new doors for personal expression in hip hop."

Seventy-five albums were originally nominated to the Long List, which was published on August 22, 2002. To be eligible for nomination, a record must have been released between July 1, 2001 and August 19, 2002, and must not have been certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of 500,000 copies at the time of its nomination. In the last week of August, each Listmaker voted for his or her ten favorite albums from the Long List, and the top ten vote-getters were elevated to the Shortlist. The complete Long List, including the nominating Listmaker for each album, can be found at http://www.shortlistofmusic.com/ , which also features over thirty full-length songs from the nominated albums in Windows Media format. Tickets for the October 29th Shortlist Awards Concert can also be purchased at the Shortlist website.

This year's group of Finalists also includes N*E*R*D, a group founded by the production duo the Neptunes, who served as Listmakers on this year's panel. The Neptunes will sit out the Listmaker dinner since their group is now in contention for the Prize, and Shortlist rules prevented them from voting for their own album in the previous round which determined the ten Shortlist Finalists. The ten finalist albums are listed below:

ARTIST - ALBUM
Aphex Twin - Drukqs
The Avalanches - Since I Left You
Bjork - Vespertine
Cee-Lo - Cee-Lo Green and His Perfect Imperfections
DJ Shadow - The Private Press
Doves - Last Broadcast
The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
The Hives - Veni Vidi Vicious
N*E*R*D - In Search Of ...
Zero 7 - Simple Things

About the Shortlist:
The Shortlist Organization, LLC was founded in 2001 to create opportunities for left-of-center culture to cross over to the mainstream. The annual Shortlist Music Project is the organization's first endeavor, and will be joined in 2003 by the Shortlist Fiction Project. Shortlist award projects enable respected members of the creative community to share their cultural discoveries directly with the consumer, without an intermediary or filter. The long-term goal is to build the Shortlist brand into a powerful recommendation engine that will help grow the audience for adventurous creative works of all kinds.