PJ Harvey Wins Mercury Prize

Congratulations to PJ Harvey for winning the 2011 Mercury Prize for her album, Let England Shake. This is her second win, her first came a decade ago for her 2001 record, Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea. Harvey is the only artist to have won twice, and one of few women who've won at all.

This year's shortlist of nominees wasn't without controversy, though. Aside from women being continually underrepresented (which is, let's face it, an industry-wide problem and not something unique to the Mercury Prize), some criticized the list for being too mainstream, not represented a diversity of musical styles or artists, or just being plain stodgy. Valid criticisms, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy with Harvey's win. She's an industry vet with many records under her belt, yet still managed to fly under the most mainstream music fans' radar. And in a industry that grows increasingly obsessed with youth and young upstarts, it's nice to see a more seasoned artist win.

Mercury Prize Shortlist: Ladies Represent?

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I never wanted this site to be one never-ending screed on how women are underrepresented in various aspects of the music industry. It's too easy, too obvious, and frankly, a little too "Feminist Pop Culture Blogging: 101." However, sometimes it needs to be pointed out that women are underrepresented in various aspects of the music industry, even those that provide an environment that's generally thought of as "diverse." The Mercury Prize shortlist was announced recently. Four women were among the nominees: Adele, Katy B., Anna Calvi, and indie stalwart, P.J. Harvey.

The Mercury Prize has come under fire for its lack of diversity before -- and to their credit, among this year's twelve nominees, quite a number of musical styles are represented -- but in their nineteen-year history, only five female artists have won.

In reaction to the Mercury Prize's lack of female artists, Wears the Trousers has proposed their own Venus/No-Penis prize:

We’ve selected a dozen of our favourite female-fronted British albums released between July 1, 2010 and July 11, 2011. Unlike last year, we decided to include artists who are already nominated for this year’s Mercury Prize, so PJ Harvey, Anna Calvi and Katy B can breathe easy.

The winner, chosen by YOU, will be announced on September 6. It’s the same day as the Mercury Prize is awarded, but alas the Trousers piggybank won’t stretch to match their £20,000 prize. Instead we’ll donate a whopping fifty quid to a charity of the winner’s choice.