The Problem With Music Awards

So the nominations for the NME awards are out and people are conforming to type and moaning about who is up for what award. Yeah, it's boring that Kasabian and Oasis face one another over numerous categories, despite the latter splitting up in 2009, and we probably don't need reminding that Muse are a good live band. However, the NME Awards, like many awards, are completely controlled by the fans so really, anyone tempted to moan about the results or bemoan the lack of their favourite band in the short-list only has themselves to blame.

This is a theme with lots of awards ceremonies and pays testament to the famous quote that “A camel is a horse designed by committee.” Conflicting voices lead to a confusing end product therefore an open forum list only leads to a homogenised result with no one party fully satisfied by the results. Add to this a band like Oasis or Muse who have huge and devoted fanbases and we end up with the same old results year in, year out. I'm not saying that the Best Band category at every music awards ceremony should be Dirty Projectors facing off against Sunn 0))) just to prove a point, but don't people get bored of prizes simply switching between Alex Turner and Noel Gallagher's mantle pieces?! Ideally, a magazine award ceremony should reward both the big hitters and those innovating off the radar.

Personally I don't really care for awards voted for by the people, they can't be trusted. Awards voted for by fans are just a parade for the bland and unimaginative. Imagine if the Oscar's were voted for by the American public? Meryl Streep would leave the ceremony dejectedly watching Megan Fox laden with statuettes for her 'acting' ability. Having said that the Mercury Music prize is voted for by an esteemed panel and last year they gave the prize to Speech DeBelle so who knows what to think?

Maybe we should just scrap prize giving do's all together? Besides causing record sales to spike and giving tabloid paparazzi somewhere to go of an evening they don't serve any great purpose. Crown me Villain Of The Year if you like, I don't care.